Voss anger at AFL Brisbane snub

Brisbane coach Michael Voss reckons the Lions were controlled in using the ball during their NAB Cup win against Collingwood.

AN angry Brisbane Lions coach Michael Voss has smashed the AFL for denying his side a home NAB Cup final.

The Lions will face Carlton in the pre-season decider on Friday night, but despite being the only undefeated side in the competition, will be made to travel back to enemy territory at Etihad Stadium.

"It's very disappointing. Which issue do you want to raise?" Voss said.

"Do you want to raise the fact we've lost the chance to advertise our game in the south east of Queensland?

"Or do you want to raise that if the Gold Coast were playing this game whether they would be playing in Queensland?

Brisbane coach Michael Voss prepares to talk to his players in the NAB Cup match against Collingwood. Picture: Robert Prezioso.

"We're happy to come down here because we've got a Victorian supporter base and they're terrific.

"But the NRL has already started their season and we've got two Queensland teams who aren't playing in Queensland this weekend.

"We haven't played a home match at all and we're not going to ... clearly it's not acceptable."

NAB Cup final round schedule

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley reckons the Pie's NAB Cup match with the Brisbane Lions was 'terrible.'

The Gabba is unavailable due to cricket commitments. The Suns' Metricon Stadium loomed as the next-best option, but the AFL has chosen Etihad because it believes it will attract the biggest possible attendance.

Voss, who had been encouraged by watching his side storm over a depleted Collingwood in the second half to win by 34 points last night, was visibly angered when the line of questioning moved to the venue for Friday's night's Grand Final.

"It's captain's call so we move on, but I just think we've lost a terrific opportunity," Voss said.

"We're trying to grow our own supporter base, we've had a tough couple of years and we're trying to grow it again and any opportunity you get to do that why wouldn't we be doing it? I don't understand.

"We sit up here as ambassadors of the game, we're in the northern outpost trying to grow the game.

"We've missed a chance to grow our supporter base against another code that happens to be the dominant, No.1 code in our state.

"We've missed that chance and that leaves me quite angry because I've been up there for 20 plus years."

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley did a double-take when told the Brisbane-Carlton match would not be played in Queensland.

"Where is it?" Buckley said.

"We discussed it late in the game in the box that clearly Brisbane are the undefeated side and they get home ground advantage, so we presumed the game would be at Metricon.

"Vossy has got every right to be disappointed."

Buckley described last night's loss as "terrible game of footy", but praised several of his younger players in what was an experimental line-up. Dane Swan, Scott Pendlebury, Heath Shaw and Travis Cloke were all rested.

Asked about Swan's unauthorised TV interview, Buckley said his star player deserved to be fined.

"Our players know the rules and Dane and his management didn't follow the rules so it's pretty simple," he said.

"There was a commercial gain individually for something that he didn't follow the collective protocols. Dane knows it, I know it, 'Perty' (CEO Gary Pert) knows it, every player at the football club knows it, so it was a no-brainer.

"It's pretty simple, If you don't follow the expectations and needs and demands of the football club you cop your whack and move on.

"It's not a huge issue, but five grand is not a sniff of money, there's a fair bit there and I dare say that 'Swanny' would understand you couldn't do it the same way next time.

"It doesn't take away any of the positives that we're seeing from a football perspective. He or his management, whoever was responsible for letting (people) know what was going on, made a poor decision."

Last night's match started in sauna-like conditions - the mercury was still 32C at the opening bounce - and both sides rotated to the extreme.

With the controversial interchange cap lifted due to the heat, Collingwood finished with an extraordinary 168 rotations and Brisbane 143.

23.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bombers rely on the silent treatment

Essendon coach James Hird is becoming an expert at swatting away anti-doping investigation queries. Picture: Quinn Rooney. Source: Getty Images

IT was all quiet in the national capital on Friday night as Essendon was confronted with another series of questions after the Cronulla debacle played out just hours before.

It is a delicate situation and arguably the silence from the Bombers hierarchy was either a silence wrapped with confidence or a silence cloaked with fear.

The Bombers flew out of Canberra within 90 minutes of dismantling Greater Western Sydney, and Cronulla, which earlier that day stood down its coach Shane Flanagan after findings of "serious management failures", was a topic for another day.

Bombers' chairman David Evans wouldn't even pass comment about the Cronulla situation.

Chief executive Ian Robson would only say Flanagan was stood down and not sacked to correct a mistake at James Hird's press conference, while Hird has quickly become a pro at swatting away queries about the anti-doping investigations.

We'll talk about the Essendon Football Club and we won't talk about anyone else

"I've said a number of times there's an investigation going on, but the resilience of the players of the Essendon Football Club to go out and play and train the way they're training shows the character of the people and sometimes you need events to happen to work out where the quality of people are," Hird said.

The day before, Hird said it would have been impossible for his players to have not noted the events at Cronulla, where more than a dozen players had been offered six-month suspensions if they came forward to ASADA.

Asked if he, as coach, had noted the controversial actions to stand down Flanagan, Hird said: "I've heard second-hand but, as I said yesterday, we'll talk about the Essendon Football Club and we won't talk about anyone else."

The Cronulla situation has similarities but is not entirely mirrored.

The Bombers might be naive, but they remain extremely confident their players were not given performance-enhancing drugs.

The key plank at both clubs is Stephen Dank, who was employed as a sports scientist briefly at the Sharks in 2011 and who worked for 12 months at Essendon last year.

Dank maintains he has done nothing wrong. The Cronulla investigation suggests otherwise.

What's intriguing is the startling revelations that equine supplements were given to Cronulla players.

That will cause more concern for the Bombers.

The internal Cronulla investigation, which saw Flanagan stood down and four others sacked, was run by ASADA's former deputy chair Dr Tricia Kavanagh, who took no prisoners.

The Bombers also have an internal inquiry, but theirs is being run by former Telstra chief Ziggy Switkowski.

At the centre of both is the management processes.

Evans has admitted Essendon is aware of mistakes it has made, and AFL boss Andrew Demetriou recently made it crystal clear what he thought of the practices of Essendon players being taken off site to be given injections, with suggestions an external doctor was used, as well as a registered nurse.

We can only wait to see what further blood-letting happens at Essendon.

Dank was let go after Essendon learnt of his activities, which included a serious questioning of his expense accounts, which were revealed by the Herald Sun to be of tens of thousands of dollars.

High performance manager Dean Robinson has been stood down. He is unlikely to return, and has started legal proceedings against Essendon.

And football manager Paul Hamilton resigned. Hamilton is said to have not known of Dank's activities.

Internally, the Bombers believe they haven't been inactive as they confront the club's biggest scandal.

The critics say they should have been as active when players were being shuttled across the road from Windy Hill, where maybe police had surveillance on the clinic.

23.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cotchin is hungry for success

Carlton v Richmond. MCG. Trent Cotchin goal in the fourth Picture: George Salpigtidis Source: Herald Sun

TRENT Cotchin is mortal. Which is a relief, given many might question whether the Richmond star had any weakness.

A season of sustained brilliance was rewarded with a runner-up finish in the 2012 Brownlow Medal.

He has since taken over as Tigers captain.

He seemingly can't be tagged, stopped or hated. In short, Cotchin has become the new Lenny Hayes: the player everyone loves to love.

But the relief comes from finding that Cotchin can be jealous like everyone else, as well as nervous.

Those emotions came to the fore in September as he found he envied those teams contesting the finals, and he proposed to his girlfriend Brooke in Bali.

Cotchin admits another September spent watching, rather than playing in, finals was hard to take.

"It's a funny one. I try to take myself away from me as a footballer when I watch those games. If I get too involved, I become too jealous and upset about the whole thing that I am not playing on the big day," he says.

"They are fantastic games to watch, and you can enjoy them, but there is always that little bit of hunger when you are watching them and a fair bit of jealousy as well."
That hunger - from Richmond's 12th consecutive failed campaign to make the finals - would eventually drive Cotchin to his biggest pre-season yet, but first he had a personal matter that needed his attention.

A matter that needed detailed planning and precise execution given his determination to propose to Brooke at the luxurious Semara villas.

"I had planned it prior to going to Bali and we had friends over there who helped me out with organising it at a specific beach in Uluwatu," Cotchin says.

"We booked one night at the place and, thankfully for me, there was a wedding up the top (of the resort) so the only option was a beach-front restaurant (Finn's Beach Club).

"So you catch the inclinator (escalator) down and as we went down there was "Marry Me" in candles on the beach.

"I stopped the inclinator on the way down and proposed. Then we went on down to the beach to have a nice dinner for two. And she said yes!"

The wedding will take place post-season, but Cotchin has unfinished business beforehand.

His drive to improve on his breakout season is enormous, as is his desperation to focus on the team's performance as its new captain.

New Richmond captain Trent Cotchin at punt Rd today. Cotchin wont be wearing the number 17 jumper made famous by Jack Dyer but will instead stick with his number 9 Picture: Klein Michael Source: Herald Sun

YOU hear the throw-away line issued by most players fresh from a stellar season: I can get better.

In Cotchin's case it seems possible, given the achilles injuries that once plagued him are gone.

"I reckon I would have probably done 90 per cent of every (training) session and I think that's about a 30 per cent increase in load in comparison to last year," he says.

"So that's massive for me and my head and confidence going into the season.

"You still need to get a kick and you can be as fit as you want without getting a kick, but it does give you confidence going into games.

"Having more load during pre-season, your body backs up quicker and faster and the more fit you are, the quicker your body recovers.

"Last year there were times I couldn't even train one session during the week.

"But hopefully that's not the case this year and I will be able to get decent work in between games rather than sitting on the sidelines making sure I am ready for the weekend."

Cotchin's style of play comes close to insulating him from taggers.

He is a pure ball player, ripping the ball loose from packs, winning his own possessions, linking up in scoring chains, and then marking as a forward in the manner of Jimmy Bartel.

Perhaps that is where the admiration comes from, with Cotchin happy that his conduct has impressed the football world.

"Look, it's almost humbling for people to have so much respect for you," Cotchin says.

"You are always going to have respect from your own supporters so it's nice to have people from other clubs or who don't even support the AFL say it's fantastic to see what you are doing, or congratulations on the captaincy, or good luck with it all.

"It's what you are after in life whether you are in football or business or working for someone.

"You are always after that respect and it's what I strive for in my life in general. Not too many people have much bad to say about me.

"I don't know if I am speaking out of line, but hopefully not too many people have negative thoughts."

Most people also wouldn't know that he won a car in a media award last year and donated it to a children's charity.

Richmond's Trent Cotchin reaches for the ball during the round one AFL NAB Cup match between the Tigers and Melbourne at Etihad Stadium. Picture: Getty Images Source: Getty Images

Cotchin has a straightlaced image - he was home for dinner close to sober following the club's Mad Monday celebrations - but now that he is captain he says he actually has to go out more, bonding with his fellow teammates.

"I am pretty much a clean skin. A lot of the boys say I am a bit of a grandpa and so forth. I always cop stick for that," he says.

"I enjoy my time with the boys, but I don't do too much of it. I have to have that balance because it's important to be part of the team and know what they are up to as a group."

HIS hobbies are simple - working with Brooke on her baby clothing business, travelling overseas, and getting down to the beach with family and friends.

They have two enterprises in development - homewares business Nooks & Crannies, and the clothing company Miku.

Cotchin's focus over the pre-season has been "more of a team approach", helping challenge the young players who will help Richmond rise up the ladder.

He is excited by the progress of young players such as Matt Arnot, Matt Dea and David Astbury, aware that Richmond must find a level of consistency across four quarters if it is to play finals football.

"I felt last year in the majority of matches I had an influence at some stage, but like we did as a team we probably failed to play out the entire game," Cotchin says.

"It's been well documented we lost a number of games by under two goals, and if we were more focused for the majority of games we would have won them, and then played finals."

Cotchin knows expectations will continue to build until they reach a crescendo with the Round 1 blockbuster on Thursday, March 28 against Mick Malthouse's Carlton.

He is smart enough not to make empty promises, except to state the Tigers will be ready.

"It is the first time Mick is coaching an actual game for them, and obviously (close mate Matthew) Kreuzer and I banter about who is in a better position coming in," Cotchin says.

"But when it comes down to the crunch it will be those willing to put their head over the ball and win the contested footy.

"One percenters will win that game, not the showy things.

"We have lost the last four or five (Round 1) games, so it's going to be so exciting."

23.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Suckling injury ends season

Matthew Suckling injured his knee in this contest during today's NAB Cup match against Richmond. Picture: Getty Source: Getty Images

Matthew Suckling injured his knee in this contest during today's NAB Cup match against Richmond. Picture: Getty Source: Getty Images

HAWTHORN defender Matt Suckling is devastated after scans yesterday confirmed he has ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

While he is likely to miss the season, Sydney yesterday had not ruled out a synthetic graft to get premiership defender Alex Johnson back sooner after he, too, suffered a serious knee injury.

Suckling, a crucial player in the Hawks' premiership hopes, will consult an orthopaedic surgeon in the next couple of days and is expected to undergo a traditional knee reconstruction which is likely to keep him out until next season.

Scans also revealed that the 24-year-old had not suffered other significant injuries to his knee which buckled when he tried to avoid a tackle from Richmond's Troy Chaplin in the third-quarter of Saturday's game against Richmond at Aurora Stadium.

Suckling, who was only one of three Hawks to play all 25 games last year, was a crucial player coming out of defence with his piercing left-foot kicks which rated in the elite bracket for play-making.

With another of the club's left-footers, Clinton Young, moving to Collingwood, Suckling had the chance to push further up the ground into the mid-field.

Hawthorn football manager Mark Evans said yesterday the incident looked so simple, but unfortunately the result wasn't.

"He is obviously devastated," Evans said.

"He has worked hard to get where he is as an established player on the back of a couple of years of some very good performances.

"But he knows that he has got nothing left to do but to have the operation and get into his rehab and come back fitter and stronger."

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson has been a critic of the pre-season games, labelling the competition a TV gimmick and nightmare for coaches. "As disappointing as it is for the player - and it's shattering because it's 12 months out of footy - but you've just got to forge ahead," Clarkson said, after the one-point loss to Richmond.

"There's no other way, both for the club and the player."

Sydney's Johnson will have scans on his knee after sustaining what medical staff believe to be a ruptured ACL. Should the scans confirm the Swans' fears that Johnson needs a reconstruction, he is expected to give serious consideration to LARS surgery.

Premiership hero Nick Malceski has had two LARS surgeries and recovered to play in less than half the time of conventional surgery.

Swans co-captain Jarrad McVeigh, who said teammates heard a "snap" when Johnson went down on Saturday night, said the injury was a shattering blow for both player and club.

"We might see him at the end of the year, I'm not too sure, but it's obviously not a great result," McVeigh said.

He said with the quick, 193cm backman able to play on tall and small opponents, Sydney had no one that could fully replace him. "He'll be sorely missed," McVeigh said.

23.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Fighting spirit back, says Boak

Port Adelaide captain Travis Boak in full flight against West Coast. Picture: Getty Source: Getty Images

PORT Adelaide captain Travis Boak has learned something about the team he has just taken over.

The Power has rediscovered its truest spirit - that old-fashioned fight and grunt.

Its players also have ambition again.

"We're sick of being down the bottom of the ladder and I think we're starting to take gradual steps forward,'' Boak said.

"It's only going to happen with effort and we know that, and we'll continue with that through our last game against Sydney, and then hopefully take it into the season.''

Boak noted his team's strong work ethic in the six-point NAB Cup win against West Coast. 

"We out-tackled them and out-pressured them and I think that's what got us the win in the end,'' he said.

"But that's one game - we've got to continue it now.

"The boys tried really hard for the four quarters. We had a big focus on the tackling and pressuring and we did it for four quarters.

"It's great to do it for the whole game. We've been down for a while and a lot of the guys are ready to take the next step."

23.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Judd set for final

Carlton star Chris Judd is set to play against Brisbane in the NAB Cup grand final. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

FORMER Carlton captain Chris Judd will make his first appearance for the season when he lines up against Brisbane Lions in Friday night's NAB Cup grand final at Etihad Stadium.

It will be Judd's first game of the season.

Judd, who relinquished the captaincy at the end of last season after five years in charge, has been nursed through the pre-season after straining a hamstring.

The Blues are expected to name the 29-year-old's successor - tipped to be Andrew Carrazzo - at Wednesday night's season launch and Hall of Fame dinner.

Carlton is also expected to recall Bryce Gibbs and Tom Bell for the grand final after they were rested from Friday night's clash with Adelaide.

The last time Carlton and Brisbane made the final of the pre-season competition was in 2007, when the Blues won by 25 points.

While Lions veteran Simon Black (knee) is likely to miss the clash, ruckman Matthew Leuenberger may join Billy Longer and Stefan Martin to help combat Carlton's three-pronged ruck division of Robert Warnock, Matthew Kreuzer and Shaun Hampson.

23.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Lions' fury grows over final snub

Lions chairman Angus Johnson feels the AFL has shunned the club's attempts to get a foothold in the competitive sporting market in south-east Queensland. Picture: Rob Maccoll Source: The Courier-Mail

FURIOUS Brisbane chairman Angus Johnson will demand an explanation from the AFL for the "indefensible" decision to hold this Friday's NAB Cup grand final in Melbourne.

The Lions finished on top of the table after the preliminary rounds of the pre-season competition as the only undefeated side but must still travel to Etihad Stadium for the decider against Carlton.

The AFL issued a statement on Saturday night justifying the decision by saying: "Etihad Stadium was chosen as the location ... as the Gabba was not available to the AFL as Brisbane's home ground, due to cricket commitments, and the largest possible crowd would be drawn at Etihad Stadium ahead of any potential game at Metricon Stadium.''

Brisbane coach Michael Voss took aim at the AFL after the 34-point win over Collingwood on Saturday night catapulted the Lions into the final.

An angry Johnson also could not hide his disgust at the decision when contacted by The Courier-Mail yesterday and said he would be "expressing displeasure" to AFL Commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick and chief executive Andrew Demetriou.

"It's just totally unfair and indefensible, completely indefensible," Johnson said.

"I couldn't believe it when I heard the reason we are being forced to play in Melbourne again was ticket sales. That is an incredibly short-sighted view that is difficult to fathom."

Johnson feels the AFL has shunned the Lions' attempts to get a foothold in the competitive sporting market in south-east Queensland.

"The code had an opportunity to play a final in Queensland, to showcase the game," he said.

"Growth in the game is not going to come from Victoria, it's going to come from Queensland and NSW.

"My concern is that we thought the AFL was aware of the challenges we face in an expansion state.

"It's on the public record that Andrew said the AFL had taken their eye off the ball with Brisbane, that we had not received the same support as the Gold Coast Suns.

"This is just a slap in the face for the club. If the Suns had finished on top of the table, there is no way the final would be in Melbourne.

"We are also playing an established, traditional Melbourne club. As we have seen over the past few weeks, clubs like Carlton, Collingwood, Hawthorn and Essendon practically live with the AFL.

"They are constantly lobbying the AFL and putting pressure on the AFL. Carlton essentially have a home final with one more day's rest than us."

The Lions received support from Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley, who backed Brisbane's claim for the decider in their home state

"We discussed it late in the game in the box that clearly Brisbane are the undefeated side and they get home ground advantage, so we presumed the game would be at Metricon," Buckley said.

"Vossy has got every right to be disappointed."

23.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cotch learns from Katich

Richmond captain Trent Cotchin is learning about leadership from former Test opener Simon Katich. Picture: Michael Klein Source: Herald Sun

NEW Richmond captain Trent Cotchin has prepared himself to lead the club through an unlikely alliance with cricketer Simon Katich.

The former Australian Test star meets Cotchin often to discuss leadership strategies.

Cotchin says it has given him a better understanding of dealing with the complex range of personalities that feature in any group.

"He is a Richmond supporter and a really good guy. He is a bit of a mentor to me," Cotchin said of Katich, who played the last of his 56 Tests in 2010 and captained Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League this season.

"(Richmond assistant coach) Wayne Campbell came up with the idea at the start of last year, that it would be good to have someone who is quite similar in personality and has had a fair bit of experience in leadership in a different caper, and we came up with Simon.

"We had met him a couple of times in Sydney when he was living there.

"He has been captain of a few sides and been around a lot of the stars of Australian cricket, and I catch up with him to talk about life in general and about any feedback he has for me."

Most cricket fans would consider Katich's most dramatic intervention the time he pinned Michael Clarke to the dressing room wall for leaving a Test celebration early.

That is not Cotchin's style, but he says he wants to stand for something.

"There are examples of dealing with different personalities in a side, and there are always different personalities," he said.

"It's just about finding a balance and always sharing your thoughts and making a stand about things you believe in."

Cotchin said he had tried to become a sponge when surrounded by leaders, learning from predecessor Chris Newman, talking to captains of industry, and reading the books on leadership Richmond great Tommy Hafey leaves for him at the club's reception desk.

"Even just things like doing an appearance on Game Day, you might speak to Tom Harley very briefly and get one point to take forward."

23.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Face facts, Ablett just too good

Veteran FOX FOOTY expert Mike Sheahan reveals his always popular top 50 AFL players. Find out who made the cut.

Gold Coast captain Gary Ablett reclaims top billing from Hawthorn superstar Lance Franklin, who has dropped to fourth spot in Mike's Top 50. Picture: Adam Head Source: The Courier-Mail

IS THE worth of a great player diminished in a team sport simply because he plays for a lowly team, as some would have you believe of Gary Ablett?

The cynics argue the Gold Coast champion is pretty much allowed to do as he pleases by the better teams because those teams know they are vastly superior overall.

They say it doesn't matter as much if he has 40-plus possessions, the result in most cases is a foregone conclusion.

I say that's nonsense.

It seems to me every team that has a player good enough to run with Ablett assigns that player to the little bloke; he simply burns them off as the game unfolds.

Consider the following stats from 2012 and then find a fault in the Ablett package.

He finished sixth in the Brownlow in a team that won three games, he led his club in the following categories: long kicks, short kicks, handballs given, handballs received, tackles, inside-50s, rebounds from defensive 50, hardball gets and looseball gets.

He was equal-third for contested marks, too.

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE: CLICK HERE TO SEE MIKE'S FULL LIST PLUS EXCLUSIVE FOX FOOTY VIDEO AND RATE EVERY PLAYER

If there was a category for ground covered in a game, I suspect he would have won that one, too.

Even his famous father would have to nod in appreciation of such a comprehensive list.

Gary Ablett Jr is the most complete player in the game.

It was the view of a massive percentage of the player group of 2012, it is the assessment of so many neutral supporters and me in my annual task picking the top 50 players in the AFL in order.

The argument that he should be downgraded because his team is down the bottom is simplistic, fatuous, disrespectful.

Is Bobby Skilton's exalted status in the game diminished by the fact he won more Brownlows (three) than he played finals (one)?

The same question can be asked of Kevin Murray, who played finals in just two of his 18 seasons with Fitzroy, yet won nine club best and fairest awards and represented Victoria 24 times. Another all-time great.

Ablett Jr plays a different game to his father, yet both will be remembered as legends of the game.

The younger Ablett has been voted by his peers the most valuable player in the game four times - at two clubs.

His father, widely regarded as the most talented player ever, won the award once. Wayne Carey, the best player I have seen, won the MVP twice.

Enough. Surely the debate is won.

Picture: George Salpigtidis Source: Herald Sun

Collingwood's Scott Pendlebury comes in second.

He is a superb player, deceptively tall at 191cm, not a speedster yet rarely run down, possessed of huge endurance and resilience, and he has an outstanding work ethic - he led Collingwood for tackles last year despite missing four games.

He has finished top three in Collingwood's best-and-fairest in five of the past six years.

TOMORROW: BLOG LIVE WITH MIKE FROM 11.30AM AEDT

I have elevated Patrick Dangerfield to third spot.

While it's death by a thousand cuts with Ablett and Pendlebury, Dangerfield can turn a game in five minutes.

They say his teammates call him "Raging Bull''; what the rest of us know is he was born to wear Mark Ricciuto's No.32 guernsey.

He is about to turn 23, he has played 89 games and kicked 94 goals, he is the most dynamic midfielder in the game, a reminder of the young Chris Judd at West Coast.

Picture: Klein Michael Source: Herald Sun

I have pushed Buddy Franklin down from No 1 12 months ago to No 4.

He remains the most exciting player in the game, yet the flaws remain.

He isn't strong overhead and no one with any level of interest in football needs to be told about his kicking for goal.

He booted 69.64 from 19 games last year, including 3.4 in the Grand Final. Remove the 13 he kicked in the picnic against North Melbourne in Launceston in Round 10 - OK, give him five, his next best return last year - and it's an average of just better than three a game.

What was encouraging was a one-grab pack mark against the Western Bulldogs in the recent NAB Cup game and a significant reduction in the bend in his run-up when kicking for goal.

Franklin is followed by four high-quality midfielders - Josh Kennedy, Joel Selwood, Trent Cotchin and Jobe Watson - who could have come in any order.

Cotchin might end up being the best of them because of his dash, but, for the moment, Selwood's record is amazing, while Kennedy and Watson are blue-collar men with energy, strength, nous and impact.

Scott Barbour/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

The second punt in my top 10 - Dangerfield might be seen as a gamble at No 3 - is his Adelaide teammate, Taylor Walker.

He is a natural key forward who reminds me a little of the young Tony Lockett.

He is a superb athlete for a man of such imposing dimensions - 192cm, 100kg - has nice hands and is a thumping kick. Accurate, too (63.35 last year).

He kicked four or more goals in 11 of his 19 games. He thrived under Brenton Sanderson, although a couple of lapses of discipline cost him five games to suspension.

At 22 (23 late in April), the sky is the limit for him.

There's a school of thought he will suffer from the departure of Kurt Tippett, with more opposition pressure coming his way.

His ability to cover ground and score from up to 60m will solve that potential problem.

CLICK HERE TO SEE MIKE'S FULL TOP 50 AND HAVE YOUR SAY

Dayne Beams rounds off the top 10. His development - on and off the field - in the past couple of years is extraordinary.

Best-and-fairest in 2012, a member of the leadership group in 2013. Wow. That's what a wild young man can do when he realises he has both rare talent and a rare opportunity

As always, lots of good players miss a berth in the 50.

Jordan Lewis is desperately unlucky, but how many midfielders can you have before the list becomes unbalanced? I have 30.

Picture: George Salpigtidis Source: Herald Sun

Lewis Jetta also was in until the final scan. He is a gamebreaker who was the leading goalkicker for the premiership team last year. Spots in the 50 don't come easy; he needs to back up again this year.

Then there's Matthew Boyd and James Kelly and Eddie Betts and Michael Hurley ...

23.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kennedy to stick with Sydney

Going nowhere: Josh Kennedy won All-Australian honours and finished tied for eighth in the Brownlow Medal count in 2012. Picture: Phil Hillyard Source: Herald Sun

FIRST Adam Goodes and Kieren Jack, now Josh Kennedy. The Sydney Swans will today confirm they have re-signed the supremely talented midfielder for four more years.

"I will be forever grateful to the Swans for this opportunity," Kennedy told The Daily Telegraph.

"When I came here four years ago to think that I would be in the position that I'm in now signing another four-year deal is an amazing feeling. I've played this game since I was two years old and always loved it and always believed that I could do it."

Kennedy, the third generation of a Hawthorn family dynasty, has gone from also-ran to superstar at Sydney to become one of the game's truly elite midfielders.

He arrived at the Swans having played just 13 senior games in two seasons at the Hawks. His father John Kennedy Jr played in four Hawthorn premierships in the '80s and his grandfather John Sr coached the club to three titles in the '60s and '70s.

After debuting at the Swans in 2010, Kennedy finished third (2010), second (2011) and first (2012) in the club's best-and-fairest award.

In 2012 he won All-Australian honours and finished tied for eighth in the Brownlow Medal count.

Kennedy has made the most of his chance in Sydney and will remain here until the end of the 2017 season at least.

"It was something I always wanted to do and, given the opportunity, I felt that I could turn things around for myself and the Swans were willing to give me that opportunity," Kennedy said.

"They were really clear with what they expected from me in my role and it's just gone from there with games and confidence. I just love being part of this group with ... my teammates who are now my family up here. It's a fantastic journey and hopefully it's still only beginning."

Kennedy said his decision to stick with the Swans was about winning premierships.

"A lot of things come into it but at the end of the day you play football to be part of a successful team," he said.

"Last year we showed we can be a successful team and I want to be part of that. Once you've tasted that success nothing else compares. There is no high quite like it.

"We've got a really good group here and hopefully we can continue that success."

In other news, Swans premiership defender Alex Johnson will have scans after sustaining what medical staff believe to be a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.

Should he need a knee reconstruction he is expected to consider LARS surgery. Premiership hero Nick Malceski has had two LARS procedures and recovered to play in less than half the time of conventional surgery.

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