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Thursday, July 3rd, 2008 at 7:25 am
BY STEPHEN BAKER
NORTH Melbourne CEO Eugene Arocca is spearheading a push on behalf of poorer clubs for more travel money from the AFL.
Mr Arocca claims that the AFL should increase the reimbursement given to clubs by the AFL for interstate travel.
Clubs are subsidised for a travel party of 45 players and staff, however the wealthier Melbourne clubs, such as Essendon and Collingwod now send a entourage of up to 55 people.
Mr Arocca said yesterday that it was crucial for less wealthy clubs to to be able to compete equally when it comes to interstate travel.
“The numbers should be increased,” he told The Age newspaper.
“I worked at one club that did not worry about this issue and could pay for extra people to go - Collingwood. North Melbourne is obvioulsy in that position.”
The Kangaroos have struggled this season when it comes to travelling outside of Melbourne.
Of their five interstate matches this season, North Melbourne is yet to notch a win and has an average losing margin of nearly 30 points and are scheduled to travel to AAMI Stadium to face Port Adelaide for round 16.
Arocca said that the extra staff that clubs are sending comprised fitness and conditioning coaches, physiotherapists and massage therapists as clubs strive to speed up player recovery on the back of interstate travel.
Bulldogs CEO Campbell Rose echoed Arocca’s call.
“We know that we have to live within our means and spending more money does not always mean winning, but spending in the areas of recovery, injury management and medical services is one of the core things for staying on the on the park. It’s an agonising decision, to know you need those extra people but can’t afford it.”
AFL ground operations manager, Jill Lindsay said yesterday that the AFL would consider the request as part of its planning for next season.
“We have taken their request and it will be discussed at executive level as the budgets are cut for next year,” she said.
FOOTYHEADS: Should clubs be given increased travel assistance?
Have your say, FootyHeads!
Thursday, June 19th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
BY FRANK IENCO
NORTH Melbourne’s David Hale says his side will need to make up for the loss of ruckman Hamish McIntosh and he is ready to lead the charge when the Kangaroos face Hawthorn this Saturday.
McIntosh is expected to be out for up to ten weeks, Hale says he expects to be given the first chance to fill his important shoes.
“The role of the No. 1 ruckman is there now and I’m guessing I’ll be first off the rack,” Hale said today.
“Drew (Petrie) and I did it for three quarters on the weekend so I’m assuming that will be the same role we’ll have this week,” he said.
“H (McIntosh) will make a big hole in the side so one of us will have to step up.”
While North considered massive outsiders for the match, Hale says their recent two meetings - including last year’s semi-final victory - indicates the ‘Roos have every chance of beating the Hawks.
“We’re looking forward to it and obviously coming off last week as well when we didn’t perform so well, we’re hoping to hit back,” Hale said.
FootyHeads, North Melbourne are paying a whopping $5.15 on Sportsbet to topple the Hawks on Saturday. How much of a chance do they have?
Have your say, FootyHeads!
Monday, June 16th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
BY FRANK IENCO
LANCE Franklin will be free to play against North Melbourne this weekend if he takes an early guilty plea for rough conduct on Adelaide’s Michael Doughty.
The match review panel this afternoon assessed Franklin’s bump on Doughty to be negligent (one point), low impact (one point) and high contact (one point).
This equates to a demerit points total of 125 (a one game ban) but can be reduced to 93.75 with an early guilty plea, meaning Franklin will avoid suspension.
While accepting the early guilty plea will put the Hawks star out of Brownlow Medal contention, going to the tribunal will put him at risk of the one game ban.
The news was not so good for Collingwood’s own star forward Travis Cloke, who is certain to face a stint on the sidelines unless he succesfully challenges the charge of striking Carlton’s Michael Jamison.
That incident earnt him 125 demerit points, which will be added to the 93.75 points Cloke was given for an early guilty plea for headbutting Melbourne’s Matthew Warnock last Monday.
The total of 218.75 points equates to a two game suspension, an early guilty plea will only reduce that to 164.06 points - or a one match ban.
In other news from the match review panel, North Melbourne captain Adam Simpson will avoid suspension for striking Docker Ryan Crowley.
His five year good behaviour record means he can reduce his points total to just 70.31.
While Crowley and Kangaroo Daniel Pratt will only recieve fines if they make an early guilty plea for wrestling, as will Tiger Shane Tuck for making negligent contact with an umpire.
Have your say, FootyHeads!
Monday, June 16th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
BY FRANK IENCO
North Melbourne has suffered a major setback to their finals aspirations, with the news ruckman Hamish McIntosh will be out of action for the next 10 weeks.
McIntosh suffered a knee injury in North’s loss to Fremantle on Saturday, a result that sent the Kangaroos crashing out of the eight at the expense of Carlton.
The injury means McIntosh will not return to the field until the eve of the finals - should the ‘Roos get that far.
Have your say, FootyHeads!
Thursday, June 12th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
BY FRANK IENCO
North Melbourne ruckman Hamish McIntosh says it is important his side returns from Perth with the four points after they play Fremantle at Subiaco this Saturday.
While it is only the mid-point of the season, the Kangaroos sit right on eighth spot, with St. Kilda, Carlton and Port Adelaide within two wins of snatching their top-eight berth.
“It’s definitely a must-win for us,” McIntosh said. ”We’re sitting eighth now with plenty of teams chasing our tail. We’ve got to get a win on the board.”
The ruckman said Freo still presented a great danger, despite their poor form this season.
“I know they’ve only had the one win but you’ve got to think of the games, they’ve been in front four or five games going into three-quarter-time against quality opposition. They only lost to Geelong by a point.”
“They may only be 1-10, but they are a much better side than that,” he added. ”Going over there as well, playing them on their home ground is going to be a very tough challenge.”
Have your say, FootyHeads!
Wednesday, June 11th, 2008 at 10:33 am
BY BRAD KLIBANSKY
WESTERN Bulldogs president David Smorgon has admitted his club, Melbourne and North Melbourne would not survive if the league stopped the annual special distribution (ASD) fund.
A report in today’s Australian suggested Adelaide chairman Bill Sanders, a long with other club bosses, believe all AFL aid to vulnerable clubs must be stopped at the end of the 2009 season.
Speaking on SEN, Smorgon said: “I would say we would not be able to survive if that $1.7m from the ASD is removed at the end of the 2009.”
The three clubs this year received a total of $4.1million in AFL assistance.
FOOTYHEADS, should the AFL commission drop the ASD for struggling clubs?
Have your say, FootyHeads!
Monday, June 9th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
BY FRANK IENCO
Sydney midfielder Adam Goodes will avoid suspension if he pleads guilty for a high bump on West Coast’s Adam Selwood during the Swans win at Subiaco on Saturday night.
Goodes was charged by the match review panel with a level one offence for rough conduct for the incident, totalling 125 demerit points, but this can be reduced to 93.75 points with an early guilty plea meaning Goodes will be available to face St. Kilda this weekend.
Selwood himself was charged with a level two striking offence on Amon Buchanan, but will also beat a suspension with an early guilty plea.
In other news coming from the match review panel, Western Bulldogs ruckman Ben Hudson will also avoid a suspension for striking St. Kilda’s Leigh Montana with an early plea.
But Fremantle’s Heath Black was not so fortunate, with the match review panel placing a possible three match ban for striking Brisbane’s Troy Selwood, or two matches with an early plea.
Black, Troy Selwood, Geelong’s Paul Chapman and North Melbourne’s Michael Firrito were all fined for wrestling incidents from the weekend’s matches.
Any incidents from today’s Melbourne-Collingwood match will be announced by the match review panel tomorrow.
FootyHeads, what do you make of the match review panel’s assessment from this weekend’s matches?
Have your say, FootyHeads!
Thursday, June 5th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
BY BRAD KLIBANSKY
NORTH Melbourne chairman James Brayshaw has pleaded for his team to fight for their right to play more Friday night football.
The Kangaroos and Cats will battle at Telstra Dome in a rare chance for the club to strut their stuff under the spotlight of Friday night football.
Speaking today at a sponsor’s function in St Kilda, Brayshaw said he expected his team to come out firing and make a massive impact.
“It’s a massive night for us. Friday night football is huge. We like to think we put it on the map,” Brayshaw said.
“We don’t get too many cracks at it these days so we want to make a big impact when we do.”
“Friday night it’s a huge stage, there’ll be a huge crowd there. Really, we’ve got to measure up.”
Have your say, FootyHeads!
Wednesday, May 28th, 2008 at 9:56 am
BY BRAD KLIBANSKY
NORTH Melbourne coach Dean Laidley says he very happy with the current state of the club and believes they are heading in the right direction.
Speaking on SEN radio this morning, Laidley said he is really pleased with what has happened at the club on and off the field since the start of the season.
“From a coaches point of view I have been really pleased with what has happened,” Liadley said.
“With James (Brayshaw) and Eugene (Arroca) coming on board, we have see an increase in both membership and sponsorship and I feel that between the three of us we are really leading the club.
“It has been fantastic and I think our supporters look at it and think they got that right, we are really moving forward.”
Have your say, FootyHeads!
Friday, May 23rd, 2008 at 2:58 pm
BY STEPHEN BAKER
THE North Melbourne Football Club may still receive the financial sweeteners promised to them by the AFL, despite advising the league that they will not play games on the Gold Coast in 2009.
League CEO, Andrew Demetriou, confirmed today that despite snubbing the AFL’s push to relocate them to the Gold Coast, the club believes that it remains entitled to over $1.2 million dollars promised to the club to as part of their deal to play three “home” games at Carrara next year.
“We don’t walk away from agreements,” he said.
“We’re very consistent, we’ve got a great record on that but the fact of the matter is that we’ve got on-going discussions with the North Melbourne Football Club.”
“They’ve made it clear that they don’t want to play on the Gold Coast and we respect that, they’ve said clearly… that they want to play all their games in Melbourne, so we respect that and we’ll do what we can to accomodate that.”
Mr Demetriou bristled at suggestions that the Kangaroos were loathe to initiate formally breaking the contract, fearing the loss of their cash bonanza from the AFL.
“It’s not about the cash,” Mr Demetriou argued.
“It’s about the fact that they’ve got a great desire, which we respect, to play all their games in Melbourne and if they want to be the North Melbourne Football Club we should respect that.”
“North Melbourne Football Club wants to play every game in Melbourne and we respect that,” he repeated.
FOOTYHEADS: Should North still receive the money promised to them for playing three “home” games at Carrara if they refuse to be fixtured to play there?
Have your say, FootyHeads!
Thursday, May 22nd, 2008 at 1:05 pm
BY FRANK IENCO
NORTH Melbourne coach Dean Laidley has praised veteran midfielder Brent Harvey ahead of the club stalwart’s 250th senior game against the Western Bulldogs on Sunday.
Harvey debuted for the ‘Roos in 1996, the year they won the flag, and has since gone on to kick 286 goals in a memorable career with the club.
“He’s (Harvey) just been a wonderful player. I’ve had the privilege to coach him now for six years in his career,” Laidley said.
“He’s been a marvellous talent and I think since I’ve been coaching him he’s won three best and fairests.”
But to celebrate Harvey’s milestone with a win over the unbeaten Bulldogs, Laidley admitted the ‘Roos will need to be at their best and match the same tackling effort they put on in the second half of last week’s win over West Coast.
Have your say, FootyHeads!
Wednesday, May 21st, 2008 at 11:57 am
BY BRAD KLIBANSKY
NORTH Melbourne chief executive Eugene Arroca has echoed the sentiment of club chairman James Brayshaw saying they will honour their contract to play ‘home’ games on the Gold Coast.
Speaking on SEN this morning, Arroca said the club will be playing their remaining two games on the Gold Coast this year, and their three scheduled for next season.
“The fact is publicly we are supporting Gold Coast games,” Arroca said.
“We will be there for ‘08 and will be there in ‘09 pending a discussion with the AFL.”
Have your say, FootyHeads!
Wednesday, May 21st, 2008 at 10:46 am
BY BRAD KLIBANSKY
NORTH Melbourne chairman James Brayshaw has hit back at league boss Andrew Demetriou saying the club tend to honour their Gold Coast playing contract.
Today’s Herald Sun reported league boss Andrew Demetriou saying the club will no longer play ‘home’ games on the Gold Coast after this season due to poor crowd figures.
Speaking on SEN radio this morning, Brayshaw said the club would honour their contract that expires at the end of next season.
“We have a contract to play games on the Gold Coast and we will honour that,” Brayshaw said.
“I don’t know where Andrew is coming from.”
Have your say, FootyHeads!
Wednesday, May 21st, 2008 at 9:27 am
BY BRAD KLIBANSKY
NORTH Melbourne midfielder Daniel Wells says he has no intention of heading home to Western Australia next season to play for either West Coast or Fremantle.
As reported in today’s Age, Wells falls out of contract at the end of the season, but says he is happy at the club and isn’t thinking about a new contract.
“I’m happy at the Roos,” the 23-year-old said yesterday. “The club’s been fantastic for me ever since I’ve been here. They’ve done a lot of stuff outside of footy and I appreciate what they have done (and) I really enjoy playing here.”
just want to get my playing (form) back on track, improve my performance and down the track, we’ll speak about (a new contract).”
Have your say, FootyHeads!
Friday, May 16th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
BY STEPHEN BAKER
NORTH Melbourne defender, Josh Gibson has said that poor ticket sales for Saturday night’s game against the West Coast Eagles wouldn’t adversely affect the players.
“I haven’t played in front of an empty stadium” he joked today, when asked about the expected attendance.
Gibson was adamant that regardless of the turn out, the players would still be focused on getting a win on the board.
“I’m pretty confident that there’ll be good numbers out and it doesn’t really matter how man people are in the crowd as a footy oplayer you’ve just go about things the same way.”
Have your say, FootyHeads!
Thursday, May 8th, 2008 at 10:39 am
BY FRANK IENCO
North Melbourne midfielder Brent Harvey says his side needs to only make slight improvements to play finals football again in 2008.
Harvey says the team’s selfless attitude has been a highlight of the first seven rounds of the season, as has been the return of forwards Nathan Thompson and Leigh Harding.
With North Melbourne sitting in seventh on three wins, three losses and a draw before this weekend’s general bye, Harvey says there is still room for imporvement.
“Our forward line structure and our defenders have stuck (at it) and have been pretty good, so there’s a few positives to come out of the start of the season,” he said.
“If we can just work on them and improve by five, six or seven per cent, we can make the finals again.”
Have your say, FootyHeads!
Thursday, May 8th, 2008 at 10:26 am
BY FRANK IENCO
Sydney Swans coach Paul Roos says the character clause that is included in the selection criteria for the AFL Hall of Fame is difficult to police, but it should be taken seriously.
His comments come as the decision on whether Wayne Carey will be one of this year’s inductees will be made at tonight’s Hall of Fame dinner.
Carey is due to face a Melbourne court later this month following an incident at his home last January, after being charged with assaulting police and resisiting arrest, and is also due to face court in the United States in July.
It is expected that Carey, who is this year eligible for selection in the Hall of Fame after retiring in 2004, will miss out on selection because the criteria takes into account a person’s character and integrity.
But Roos, who himself was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005, says while it is difficult to assess someone’s character it still remains in the selection criteria.
“While the character clause is there you have to take it seriously,'’ Roos told Sydney’s Daily Telegraph.
“It’s a really loose term and everyone is going to have different interpretations of what determines good character and what character trait rules you out of the Hall of Fame,” he said.
“It’s an extremely delicate one and I must admit in a way I’m glad I’m not a part of the Hall of Fame selection panel because I’d feel uncomfortable judging someone else’s character if I didn’t really know the full circumstances.'’
Stay tuned to FootyHeads for updates on tonight’s Hall of Fame dinner.
FootyHeads, should Wayne Carey be inducted in the AFL Hall of Fame this year? Or should he wait for several years as Gary Ablett Senior did?
Have your say, FootyHeads!
Friday, May 2nd, 2008 at 1:54 pm
BY STEPHEN BAKER
AFTER a horrendous off-field week for the Kangaroos, skipper Adam Simpson says the players are now firmly focused on beating Adelaide at AAMI Stadium this weekend.
North Melbourne haven’t beaten Adelaide in their past six encounters but Simpson said the side was determined to end the Crows winning run.
“We’ve got a pretty big challenge ahead of us,” he said at Melbourne Airport prior to flying out to Adelaide.
“They’ve had the wood on us obviously and our record at AAMI Stadium hasn’t been great either.”
“We’ve tried a few things that haven’t worked against Adelaide, so we’ll have to go in with a different tack this week,” he said.
“Adelaide are favourites because they’re a good team and we’re playing them on their turf and they’ve won the last six games against us.”
“Every now and then you do think that the odds are stacked against you when you see some other games, but this game I think they deserve (favoritism).”
Simpson was confident, nonetheless, that the Roos could come away with the points tomorrow night.
“This is one of those weeks where it’s going to be a battle and I reckon it could be pretty tight,” he said.
Simpson’s thoughts are swimming against the sentiment of punters with Sportsbet having the Crows as warm favourites at $1.48 and North Melbourne at $2.70 in head to head betting.
FOOTYHEADS: Can Adelaide maintain their dominance over North tomorrow night?
Have your say, FootyHeads!
Friday, May 2nd, 2008 at 7:55 am
BY ANDREW LOWTHER
SYDNEY Swans ruckman Peter ‘Spida’ Everitt has called on the AFL to introduce free agency to avoid players being made to play for clubs they don’t want to play for.
The much travelled veteran says he was forced to stay at Hawthorn despite asking to be traded to the Swans at the end of 2005.
In today’s Herald Sun Everitt says his commitment to the Hawks was subsequently questioned by teammates.
“There are no hidden facts,” Everitt said.
“I tried to get out a year earlier, I wasn’t allowed to…And I remember Luke Hodge bringing it up, ‘Are you fully committed to the whole cause?’”
“The only thing I will say is that if you have served a side long enough, the older players could have a say in where they want to go.”
Everitt, 34, looks certain to end his career at the end of this season after stints at St Kilda, Hawthorn and the Swans.
FOOTYHEADS: Will free agency mean the rich clubs get the best players?
Have your say, FootyHeads!
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008 at 7:11 am
BY STEPHEN BAKER
A furious James Brayshaw is demanding answers from the AFL after the league fined Sydney $25,000 for having an extra man on the field during the crucial final seconds of Sunday’s draw at Docklands.
The North Melbourne boss told the ‘Herald Sun’ newspaper that he was far from happy with the league’s decision to slap a fine on the Swans for the mix-up.
“I am still waiting for answers,” he said.
“The AFL has to come out and and explain to the North Melbourne Football Club why we don’t get four points out of that game after they had nineteen blokes on the field.”
Brayshaw said that his club was adamant that they deserved to be awarded the four points from the game as a result of the extra player on the field.
“We didn’t write what we wrote because we thought the Swans would get a fine, we wrote what we wrote because we thought the evidence was overwhelming there were nineteen players on the field for thirty-five seconds in the dying stages of the game,” he said.
As reported on FOOTYHEADS yesterday, AFL Operations manager, Adrian Anderson, said that the decision to fine Sydney $50,000, of which half was suspended, was based on the fact that the extra player, Sydney’s Jesse White “did not go near where the play was taking place and involve himself in the contest for the ball.”
The league also took into account that North Melbourne didn’t call for a headcount when the extra player was detected and that both clubs agreed that the move was human error.
FOOTYHEADS: Do you support Brayshaw’s call for Sydney to be stripped of their points rather than fined?
Have your say, FootyHeads!
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