Port must not risk Jurrah: Tredrea

Controversial former Demons player Liam Jurrah attends his first training session with Port Adelaide, in the hope of being picked up in the pre-season and rookie draft.

Liam Jurrah at Port Adelaide pre-season training. Picture: Sarah Reed. Source: adelaidenow

CLUB great Warren Tredrea says Port Adelaide should abandon plans to draft Liam Jurrah.

Tredrea says Jurrah's talent cannot be questioned, but the risk of drafting the troubled ex-Demon is greater than the reward.

"In the position Port's in now I wouldn't draft him," the Power premiership skipper said after Jurrah trained with the club for the first time yesterday.

"Sure, Jurrah's playing ability cannot be questioned, he has enormous talent, but he has a major court case hanging over his head and there is a chance he could go to jail.

"Port is trying to rebuild after a few years of inconsistency, it's got a new coach, new players and a young playing group. The last thing the club needs is some off-field instability, so to me the risk of drafting Jurrah is too great."

Tredrea, Port's games and goal record-holder, said the Power should let Jurrah, who is living with family in Adelaide, prove himself for a year in the SANFL before considering drafting him.

"Let the court case (in March) unfold, let him star in the SANFL for a season and then revisit drafting him next year," Tredrea said.

"Right now it's too big a risk to take him. With Port having a good off-season and investing so heavily in the development of its talented kids it doesn't need any unwanted distractions."

Port says it will not make a decision on whether to take Jurrah at the December 11 pre-season and rookie drafts until next Friday - after it has watched him on the track for 10 days.

The 24-year-old, who walked out on Melbourne in August, yesterday ticked two boxes. He attended his first pre-season training session and reported in reasonable physical shape.

There was no sign of the extra weight Jurrah was reportedly carrying following his decision to move to Adelaide.

But the freakish forward was aerobically poor. He struggled to keep up with his new training partners during a competitive football drill and lagged behind in several runs.

The last thing the club needs is some off-field instability, so to me the risk of drafting Jurrah is too great

Football manager Peter Rohde said he would not provide "a running commentary" of Jurrah's progress at Alberton, saying the 36-game, 81-goal forward wouldn't be judged until he had spent the best part of two weeks at the club.

He is being supported at Port by the club's Aboriginal employment and engagement manager Paul Vandenbergh.

New Power coach Ken Hinkley said he would give Jurrah "every opportunity" to prove himself worthy of being thrown an AFL lifeline.

This is despite the highly-skilled Jurrah, who comes from the indigenous desert community of Yuendumu, 300km northwest of Alice Springs, facing court in Alice Springs in March.

He is facing three charges of aggravated assault and one count of unlawfully causing serious harm over an altercation in March this year at a town camp on the edge of Alice Springs.

Hinkley said he had spoken to Jurrah twice in the past week and "he's really excited about getting an opportunity to show he can still play AFL football".

"We don't doubt that he can play the game, we've just got to make sure he's physically okay to play because he has had some significant injuries (wrist and ankle) in the past 12 months," he said.

"The fact that he's turned up here in a new environment to train - and I would imagine he knows there's some scrutiny coming his way - says his focus is pretty right."

Hinkley said the club would do its homework on Jurrah's off-field status.

"All of those things you've got to make good decisions about," he said.

"We as a club would be making sure we knew everything we need to know about any player because it's our responsibility to get the right people into the club."

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Crows to plead guilty to all charges

Adelaide Crows chief executive officer Steven Trigg could be forced out of his job. Picture: Sarah Reed. Source: adelaidenow

ADELAIDE Football Club will plead guilty to all charges at the AFL Commission.

The Advertiser understands the Crows will plead guilty to nine charges relating to alleged salary cap rorting and draft tampering involving Kurt Tippett tomorrow.

The AFL is considering banning Adelaide chief executive Steven Trigg and football manager Phil Harper from any involvement in football for five months, The Advertiser understands.

A club fine of $400,000 and ban from the first two rounds of the next two national drafts is expected.

Crows chairman Rob Chapman said long bans for its CEO and football manager could cost their jobs.

It is understood the board has already decided it could cope with suspensions lasting only four or five months. But anything longer and it is likely both officials will fall on their swords.

"That would probably be our toughest decision as a board," Chapman said.

"First we will have to see how the commission hearing pans out. Then our fans can be rest assured we will make decisions which will be in the best interests of the club."

Chapman - who faces a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario over Trigg and Harper - said last night he was in the "final stages" of preparing his submission to save the club from "punishment which might not fit the crime".

Earlier this month, Tippett's lawyer, leading Melbourne QC David Galbally, told the Herald Sun that Tippett was innocent of any wrongdoing in the deal.

The Crows do not expect a lengthy hearing tomorrow and sources say they view the handling of the crisis more as a series of negotiations than a trial.

It is regarded as too risky to plead not guilty to any of the charges - even if the club feels it could make a case for a not-guilty plea.

It is expected the hearing will listen to reasons for how each breach came about and what the mitigating circumstances were, if any.

The key for Adelaide will be to limit risk, having seen how Carlton took almost a decade to recover from its sanctions for salary cap breaches in 2002 and being restricted in two drafts.

The maximum penalty, to miss out on four drafts, would hit the Crows like a wrecking ball.

AFL chief Andrew Demetriou said he would not excuse himself from the hearing. There had been speculation Demetriou would be forced to withdraw himself, given conversations he had with Chapman on the issue.

"A lot of people will be relieved when we hopefully conclude the matter on Friday," Demetriou said.

"We've set aside the date to hear the matter. It could take longer and if it does we'll have to extend that."

WHAT THEY FACE

THE CLUB: Two charges of engaging in conduct in breach of the total player payments. One charge of engaging in conduct prejudicial to the draft.

STEVEN TRIGG: Two charges of engaging in conduct in breach of the total player payments. One charge of engaging in conduct prejudicial to the draft.

PHIL HARPER: One charge of engaging in conduct in breach of the total player payments.

JOHN REID: One charge of engaging in conduct prejudicial to the draft. One charge of engaging in conduct in breach of the total player payments.

KURT TIPPETT: One charge of engaging in conduct prejudicial to the draft. One charge of engaging in conduct in breach of the total player payments.

with Matt Windley

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Robbo heads the No.1 footy team

Best in news: Football writer Mark Robinson and premiership coach Paul Roos at last year's season launch. Source: Herald Sun

MARK Robinson has been appointed the Herald Sun's chief football writer, leading the No.1 footy team in Australia's biggest daily newspaper.

Robinson, 45, replaces Mike Sheahan, who stepped aside last year after 18 years in the top job.

"I'm honoured to lead the Herald Sun's team covering the greatest game in Australia," Robinson said yesterday. "Footy is the lifeblood of Victoria and the Herald Sun team is as enthusiastic as every fan out there.

"Mike Sheahan is an iconic person for the Herald Sun and all of us in the team are proud to build on his legacy."

A multi-award-winning sports journalist, Robinson has carved a respected 20-year career as a news-breaker, hard-hitting columnist and interviewer of the biggest names in footy.

Robinson also writes the enormously popular The Tackle column for the Herald Sun and heraldsun.com.au and appears on Fox Sports AFL360.

"Robinson is essential reading for everybody in football," Herald Sun editor Damon Johnston said yesterday. "He breaks the big stories, is a respected footy analyst and his appointment strengthens the Herald Sun's position as No.1 for footy."

Robinson will lead a team that includes premiership coach Paul Roos, Brownlow medallist Shane Crawford, Jon Ralph, Mark Stevens, Michael Warner, Glenn McFarlane, Scott Gullan, Warwick Green, Jon Anderson, Jay Clark, Bruce Matthews and Sam Edmund.

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Young Lions' lucky numbers

Brisbane draft pick Sam Mayes will wear the number 23 made famous by Shaun Hart. Source: Getty Images

Club champion Shaun Hart. Picture: George Salpigtidis Source: Herald Sun

BRISBANE Lions' top three draft picks - Sam Mayes, Marco Paparone and Michael Close - have inherited the numbers made famous by three of the club's premiership heroes.

Mayes will wear No.32, worn by triple-premiership player and 2001 Norm Smith medallist Shaun Hart.

Hart's 273 games with the Bears/Lions remains a club record for most games played wearing that number.

Paparone will wear the No.22 worn by dual-premiership defender and 1998 club champion Chris Scott. And Close has been allocated the No.33 worn by triple-premiership defender Darryl White.

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'Penny drops' for high-flying Beams

Dayne Beams at Collingwood training. Coach Nathan Buckley says he's expecting even better results from the midfielder next year. Picture: Wayne Ludbey. Source: Herald Sun

COLLINGWOOD coach Nathan Buckley says "the penny dropped" for Queenslander Dayne Beams this year and he expects the Magpies star to cash in next season.

The Gold Coast product's breakout 2012 campaign landed him All-Australian selection, elevation to the Magpies leadership group, a new contract and the Collingwood best and fairest award the Copeland Trophy.

It was a remarkable turnaround from 2011 when the injured and out of form Beams was omitted from Collingwood's grand final side.

Buckley said the 22-year-old midfielder had reported back from his pre-season break in outstanding physical and mental shape.

"He took massive strides in his attention to detail, his professionalism and his training standards last season so jlit was no surprise that carried on to his on-field form which went from strength to strength," Buckley said.

"The thing that stands out for me now is that he is still really hungry. From a coach's perspective, you look to see how players react to a great season like Dayne had in 2012 and what's the next step.

"He is not satisfied. He had a taste of a consistent season and wants to keep improving to see where the next level is going to take him."

"He is giving himself a chance of doing that too through hard work and application.

He took massive strides in his attention to detail, his professionalism and his training standards last season

"You try to create an environment where the penny drops for all of the players and the penny dropped for Beamsy and he was able to maximise his talents.

"He's had his setbacks but he learned from them and became stronger mentally."

Meanwhile, Buckley said Queenslander Lachlan Keeffe was a chance of being available for round 1 after a knee reconstruction.

Keeffe had worked his way into the Magpies' first-choice 22 and was a vital part of the defensive structure before the injury.

Picture gallery: Pies' pre-season punishment

"He has been really diligent in his recovery. It was a very unfortunate injury for him because he started the year so well and made a home for himself down back," Buckley said.

"By early next year he will be in full training and looking forward to starting the season. He'll be aiming for round 1 but we won't be pushing him.

"He's a big unit with long limbs so we have to approach his recovery differently. Keeffey is only young and he's got a long career ahead of him so we are going to take our time with him."

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Dogs put a brave face on slow-mo

Sprouting: Tom Williams, Ryan Griffen, Jordan Roughead, Daniel Cross and Tom Liberatore. Source: Herald Sun

WE have almost finished Movember and it is apparent from this photo that there hasn't been much growing at Whitten Oval.

It seems Western Bulldogs defender Jordan Roughead got caught up in Tuesday's storm, which obviously claimed the bulk of his moustache.

The hirsute group is calling itself the Moustaka Men. At least the boys are doing their best to raise awareness and funds for men's health.
 

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Tipping it in the right direction

Kevin Sheedy doesn't expect Kurt Tippett's possible attempt to price all clubs other than Sydney Swans out of the market to scare GWS off drafting him.

Reports suggest the Swans are prepared to pay Tippett $3.5 million over four years. Picture: Sarah Reed. Source: adelaidenow

KURT Tippett has moved a step closer to joining the Sydney Swans after the AFL allowed the former Crow to nominate for the pre-season draft.

The AFL has also allowed Tippett to wait until after tomorrow's hearing into salary cap and draft tampering charges before he nominates his financial terms.

GWS coach Kevin Sheedy yesterday gave the strongest indication yet the Giants won't be picking Tippett in the December 11 pre-season draft, even though they have the first pick.

"If we don't get him I hope Sydney do," Sheedy said. "It's great for AFL in Sydney."

Sheedy and the Giants are expecting Tippett to nominate a salary which would be too big for GWS to handle.

Reports suggest the Swans are prepared to pay Tippett $3.5 million over four years.

"He may or may not get through to us in regards to what he's going to put on himself in regards to payment," Sheedy said.

"We've got plenty of money, it's whether we want to spend it.

"If you go in the draft and get picked, you go to whoever picked you. That's the deal. If the money is right, we'll be going there."

Sheedy said Tippett fitted the Giants' needs well.

"We want to get a player like that, we need a ruck-forward," the veteran coach said.

"That will complement the height and the structure of the team as we set sail into the next three or four years of where we hope to get to."

While the Swans remain Tippett's goal, just when he will be able to start playing is the big unknown.The former Crow faces the real possibility of being deregistered for an extended period when the AFL hears the charges tomorrow.

The charges relate to an alleged 2009 agreement between Tippett and the Crows which allows him to be traded to the club of his choice for a second-round draft pick.

The charges also relate to an alleged payment of $200,000 made outside the salary cap. Tippett has played 104 games for the Crows in his five seasons in Adelaide.

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AFL indigenous decline wrong: Mifsud

Port Adelaide has picked up Jake Neade. Picture: Andrew Brownbill. Source: Herald Sun

AFL multicultural boss Jason Mifsud says any fears that clubs have gone cold on indigenous draft prospects "could not be further from the truth".

Mifsud addressed scathing criticism from former Fremantle recruiting boss Phil Smart who blasted AFL clubs for unfairly overlooking indigenous prospects.

Only four indigenous players were taken in last Thursday night's national draft.

Mifsud said the 2012 indigenous intake would likely exceed the yearly average when the pre-selected indigenous players, such as Port Adelaide's Jake Neade and Demon Dom Barry, and the top pick in the mini-draft, Jack Martin, were included in the tally.

"I know there has been some discussion about the low numbers in the national draft, but if you take the pre-selected players into account, indigenous players made up 8 per cent of the draft," he said.

"Given the majority of players have come through the rookie system (the rookie draft will be held next month) in the last number of years, we are on track to succeed our percentage of the last couple of years."

In a rare interview, Mifsud downplayed Smart's attack on club recruiting philosophies as "passion" but said the industry needed to work to increase the number of indigenous people in clubs' executive, coaching and administrative ranks.

"If we are serious about measuring success in the indigenous space, in a broader sense, they are the opportunities we need to be pursuing," Mifsud said.

"Ten per cent of our playing list is indigenous, but only two indigenous coaches out of 160 suggests that it is a significant opportunity for us to grow the influence and impact of indigenous people."

He said indigenous draftees weren't the only AFL hopefuls overlooked last Thursday night because of off-field issues.

"It is a bit narrow isolating it to indigenous players because I think, equally, there would be other talented players who are being asked to improve their level of dedication and discipline," he said.

"It is only 20 years ago that AFL lists were made up of 1 per cent of indigenous players. We should not forget we've come a long way in a short period of time."

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Substance issues in AFL 'volcanic'

Collingwood CEO Gary Pert says illicit drugs are the biggest problem facing the AFL, especially during the off-season.

Collingwood chief executive Gary Pert has raised unconfirmed rumours about AFL footballers not just using drugs, but dealing them. Picture: Alex Coppel Source: Herald Sun

GARY Pert dropped his drugs bombshell at a meeting of club chief executives and AFL bosses the day before the national draft.

It followed a long discussion about game equalisation strategies and took most of the league's powerbrokers by surprise.

In front of an audience that included AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou, Pert took the floor for 30 minutes and described what he says is an alarming illegal drugs problem among AFL players.

Yesterday he went further, calling it "volcanic behaviour" in the off-season.

The inference taken from some in the conference room at Gold Coast's Metricon Stadium was that Pert was speaking about Collingwood players - not just a wider industry problem as explained by the Magpies chief executive in yesterday's Herald Sun.

Pert is adamant he was talking generally about AFL players, not specifically his own.

He had broached the drugs topic with Demetriou a few days earlier and was given permission to raise it as an agenda item.

In emphasising the problem, he raised unconfirmed rumours about AFL footballers not just using drugs, but dealing them.

"I can confirm that I spoke to the CEOs about the types of rumours that are out there and do damage to the industry, no matter how accurate," Pert said yesterday.

Picture gallery: Pies' pre-season punishment

"But there was absolutely no specific reference to any player or any club."

The night before the Gold Coast meeting, Pert had dinner at the Crowne Plaza with West Coast chief Trevor Nisbett and let him know what he intended to do at the chief executives' conference.

Nisbett is no stranger to drugs and football and was at the helm when Ben Cousins and his mates were running amok in the west.

Yesterday, with the story plastered across the front page of the Herald Sun, Pert emailed his fellow chief executives to express disappointment that the story had got out.

But if his fears are right, it won't be long until a far bigger story breaks.

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Recruits walk into whirlwind

Collingwood recruit Quinten Lynch takes part in a running drill as the Pies found themselves back on the training track. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

Lynch gets down to what he knows best. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

COLLINGWOOD recruits Quinten Lynch, Jordan Russell and Clinton Young won't need any reminding of how big the club they've walked into is.

As they strode in for an "introductory" press conference at the Westpac Centre yesterday, the former free agents were greeted by 13 journalists, five TV cameras, three photographers and two Emirates air hostesses.

The air hostesses were there for a promotional shot with coach Nathan Buckley, but it's not something Lynch, Russell and Young would have been accustomed to at West Coast, Carlton and Hawthorn.

The three weren't the news of the day; the issue of illicit drugs, put on the table by Pies chief Gary Pert yesterday morning, was why this media call had more attention than it otherwise would have.

Not that Young seemed too fazed. "I don't think I'll be presenting too often in front of the media, so I'll be OK," he said.

Nor Lynch, who, after effectively taking the place of the maligned Chris Dawes, will face pressure to perform.

"I'm not really too worried about outside expectations, I'll be just talking to the coaches and looking forward to the challenge of playing in such a good side," Lynch said.

"Playing on the MCG most weeks ... is exciting, as is playing with such great players."

Buckley said the club's off-season recruiting policy - the Magpies brought in three experienced players, three first-round draft picks and offloaded Dawes and Sharrod Wellingham - had left it in better shape than 12 months ago.

Picture gallery: Pies' pre-season punishment

And it might get stronger yet if journeyman ruckman Ben Hudson is picked up in the rookie draft.

Buckley said he expects Darren Jolly to handle the majority of the ruck duties, along with Lynch, but also said he did not expect Jolly to play every game.

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