AFL 2021: Keep up to date with the latest off-season news across the competition
Jack Gunston played just one game in 2021 and was floated in trade talk, but Hawthorn has reason to hope 2022 will be a very different year for the veteran goalkicker.
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Hawthorn is confident veteran forward Jack Gunston will be back up and running at full strength for the upcoming pre-season after an injury-ravaged year.
Gunston had surgery on his back in December of last year and managed just the one game, against the Saints in Round 7, before he was sidelined again, resulting in a follow-up procedure in August.
Hawks Physical Performance Manager Luke Boyd said star goalkicker, who turned 30 last week, was on track to return for pre-season.
“Jack has been building a really good strength base over the past couple of months and has now commenced his running program,” Boyd told the Hawthorn website.
“He has been feeling really good after the follow-up procedure and he’s been in at the club on a regular basis lately to ensure he is getting himself in the best shape possible.
“The big focus for him has been to build his strength through his hips and back in preparation for next year.”
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Gunston was one of several Hawks players who were reportedly on the table during the recent trade period with the club determined to improve its hand in the upcoming national draft under new coach Sam Mitchell.
Despite some interest from GWS in fellow Hawks forwards Luke Breust and Chad Wingard, neither player nor Gunston moved clubs.
The official AFL pre-season begins on November 22 for the one to four-year players with entire playing groups expected back on December 6.
Betts reveals shock footy comeback
— Phillippa Butt and Nathaniel Chambers
Eddie Betts will play for the Palmerston Magpies when he turns out for his Northern Territory Football League debut this season.
The star AFL footballer was rumoured to be choosing between the Wanderers and the Magpies but the latter club has since announced it has scooped up the star.
Coach Josh Heath said the club was “excited and honoured” to have Betts and his family choose to be involved.
“We are very fortunate to have someone of his calibre on board, mentoring and developing our juniors and as assistant coach of our senior group,” he said.
“We fully support his initiatives in engaging and working with Indigenous communities and people throughout the Northern Territory.”
Betts set down in Darwin on October 16 and is currently undergoing quarantine in Howard Springs and while he will play once he comes out will also be engaging remote communities.
However, the move will only be for a limited time with Betts set to join the Geelong coaching staff on January 17.
But there are plenty of rounds in-between where NTFL fans and fans of the man himself will get to see him take to the field.
“It’s pretty high (the chance of playing for the Magpies),” Betts told the NT News before the confirmation.
“I’m not driven to come up and play for money – I just want to help the club develop and work with its younger players.
“My main objective is coming up to work with the Indigenous communities.”
Voss adds extra name to new coaching panel
— Jay Clark
Carlton has appointed a new coaching and innovation manager to help get the best out of the Blues’ new coaching panel next season.
News Corp understands the Blues have appointed former North Melbourne, Port Adelaide and Melbourne development manager Aaron Greaves to its coaching panel.
Greaves, who worked with new senior coach Michael Voss at the Power, will help support Voss and his lieutenants and oversee their coaching program.
Greaves is a specialist in coach education and communication and will help ensure the Blues’ coaches are using the right methods to engage, educate and motivate the players.
Carlton has a new-look coaching staff for next season with Voss leading a panel including Ashley Hansen, Aaron Hamill and Tim Clarke.
The next few weeks are considered crucial as Voss and his assistants look to bed down a new Carlton game plan before pre-season training starts.
Greaves was poached from the AFL where he worked in the umpiring department.
ROOS LOCK IN BNF GUN ON LONG-TERM DEAL
Marc McGowan
North Melbourne has ticked off arguably its top re-signing priority, with new Syd Barker medallist Jy Simpkin extending his stay at the club until 2024.
Simpkin, who is considered a leading option to be Jack Ziebell’s captaincy successor, was due to come out of contract at the end of next season but has added another three years to his deal.
Attention now turns to fellow young stars Tarryn Thomas and Cam Zurhaar, whose own deals will expire next year, while veterans Ben Cunnington and Todd Goldstein are in the same boat.
Simpkin is fresh from a career-best campaign that saw him emerge as a legitimate inside-outside midfield threat and win his first Kangaroos best and fairest award.
He averaged a career-most 27 disposals, five inside 50s and five clearances, including an elite three out of the centre.
“I’ve been committed to North for a long time and they’ve given a lot to me,” Simpkin said.
“I’ve worked (hard) to get into the position where I am today to be at this club. I’m really faithful to the club and I’m really looking forward to the future.
“If we can keep this mix going and keep the energy and vibes around the club … I’ve got no doubt in my mind we’ll be playing September footy quicker than what other people think.”
Simpkin promises to be the face of North’s on-ball brigade for the foreseeable future, but suddenly has an army of young talent around him, as well as Cunnington and Jed Anderson.
The Roos prioritised the midfield in their rebuild and added Luke Davies-Uniacke, Thomas, Will Phillips and Tom Powell with first-round selections.
They are also set to crown South Adelaide phenom Jason Horne-Francis with the No.1 pick in next month’s AFL draft.
Simpkin was shocked to beat Cunnington for the club champion award but said it was “a massive honour”.
“It’s something you dream of as a kid, growing up to make AFL and play AFL, but to win a best and fairest is just a massive honour,” he said,
“I see it as a bit of a reward for the hard work over the past few years … I’ve put my head down, bum up and worked as hard as I could.
“Just to think my name’s up there forever with some of the greats of the game – it’s pretty special.”
MORE: EVERY RETIREMENT AND DELISTING
In other contract news:
■ Collingwood has re-signed speedster John Noble with a two-year extension. The 24-year-old joined the club in the 2019 mid-season draft, taken at pick 14 replacing the injured Lynden Dunn on the Pies list. He’s since played 44 games and has impressed through halfback and on the wing. The Pies have also locked away defenders Jack Madgen and Tom Wilson for 2022. Wilson recently took out the best VFL clubman award at the Best and Fairest earlier this month
■ Richmond cult figure Matthew Parker’s AFL career revival will continue after he secured a one-year to remain at Tigerland. The former St Kilda forward was picked up by the Tigers in this year’s mid-season draft and managed six games in the back half of the season.
“Matt did not put a foot wrong after he joined us mid-year, as demonstrated by his quick elevation to the senior team,” Richmond General Manager-Football Talent Blair Hartley said.
“It is a credit to the work he has done behind the scenes to get himself back in a position to tackle a full AFL season ahead.”
De Goey’s plan to emulate rival’s rise to superstardom
Magpie Jordan De Goey says he wants to emulate Melbourne gun Christian Petracca’s rapid ascent to superstardom in 2022 off the back of an intense off-season overseas training regime.
De Goey is training with Johnny Louch in southern California’s W Training Facility through his Monster Energy partnership.
He will spend four more weeks training in the US before returning in top condition for the start of Collingwood’s pre-season training under new coach Craig McRae.
“Monster’s headquarters is here in California, so when the opportunity arose I jumped at it,” De Goey said on SEN.
“I thought it was a great idea to be able to mix up my training because it’s shocking what’s going on in Australia at the moment with the Covid stuff, it does make it hard to train.
“So being over here you have access to different gyms and also trails.
“So far, it’s been really good.
“The mountain biking is what a lot of the other athletes up here do, so I’m just having a go at it and it’s something different.
“It really builds your legs up, so instead of putting weight on your back, this is just another way to do it over here.”
The 25-year-old, who will soon enter free agency, said he’ll be fit as he’s ever been by the time he arrives back in Melbourne.
“I think definitely this will be the best shape I’ve come back in,” he said.
“I think mentally, as well, I’ll be in a really good headspace after being over here and being able to come over here and try something new and meeting some new people.”
De Goey said he felt inspired by the performances this year of Petracca, a similar midfielder-forward type who last month inspired Melbourne to its first premiership since 1964.
“He (Petracca) took his game to a whole new level which was really exciting to see, and it was great to watch him do that,” De Goey said.
“That’s definitely something I want to do.
“To be honest, in Australia your fitness almost seems to plateau because you’re doing a lot of the same stuff.
“I’m feeling really refreshed mentally and physically, so I’m ready to attack next year.”
Louch, who is training De Goey in the US, said it was about getting the Magpie out of his comfort zone.
“He’s in shape, but what happens with a lot of athletes is they plateau, they do the same stuff over again,” Louch said on SEN.
“Someone like him, he’s not a quitter, that’s for sure.
“We brought other athletes out here who ended up walking home.
“He’s one of those guys that just needs to change things up a little bit more and make it fun.
“He’s at the perfect age of 25 to really push his training and start to be more intense with it.
“I can only say positive stuff about him because he’s strong, but there’s definitely room for improvement.”
Tigers reward Stack, mid-season pick
Richmond has confirmed the re-signing of young defender Sydney Stack on a one-year deal.
The Herald Sun revealed earlier this month that the 22-year-old had put pen to paper after impressing in the back half of the season following a turbulent start to the year. The Tigers have also awarded emerging tall Ben Miller with a one-year contract extension along with mid-season draftee Matt Parker.
Ex-Saint Parker played the final six games of the year for the Tigers.
Miller made his debut in the final game of the season after having to wait four years to play first AFL game.
“Matt did not put a foot wrong after he joined us mid-year, as demonstrated by his quick elevation to the senior team,” Tigers talent manager Blair Hartley said.
“We are excited to be able to keep him around for 2022 and look forward to seeing a lot more of him in Richmond colours.
“It is a credit to the work he has done behind the scenes to get himself back in a position to tackle a full AFL season ahead.”
There are various incentives and guarantees built into Stack’s contract, including games played next season.
Stack spent Christmas and the start of this year in a Perth jail after breaching Western Australia’s Covid-19 laws during a trip home for his grandfather’s funeral.
He returned to Melbourne in March after copping a big fine for the breach, and endured an extended VFL stint to build form and fitness before breaking into Richmond’s senior side for good in Round 17.
Stack’s talent and hardness have never been in question and he averages 15 disposals across his 33 AFL matches.
“Both Sydney and Ben were able to work their way into the AFL line-up late this season, which should hold them in good stead for 2022,” hartley added.
“We are excited about what they can achieve next year with another pre-season under their belts and look forward to working with them this summer.”
Earlier, premiership-winning defender Michael Hibberd has signed a one-year contract extension with Melbourne.
Hibberd, 31, played in the back pocket in the Demons’ 2021 grand final win over the Western Bulldogs after missing a significant portion of the pre-season through injury.
But some other big names remain in contract limbo for 2022.
Among those hanging in the balance, still deciding whether to continue or yet to come to terms are West Coast’s Josh Kennedy and Shannon Hurn, Roos Trent Dumont and Shaun Atley, Collingwood’s Mason Cox and ex-Giants captain Phil Davis.
Melbourne list manager Tim Lamb said the club was pleased to have retained Hibberd’s service.
“We are rapt that Michael will be going around again next year,” Lamb said.
“We are confident that with a full pre-season under his belt, he will have a really strong 2022 season.”
Since making his senior debut in 2011, Hibberd has played 173 AFL games, including 89 for the Demons, whom he joined from Essendon in 2017.
In a season when Melbourne’s backline won continual praise from AFL pundits, Hibberd played 17 games.
He was dropped for the Demons’ qualifying final against Brisbane to make way for Joel Smith, but when Smith went down injured, Hibberd found himself named in the preliminary and grand final teams.
Hibberd’s fellow premiership players Jake Lever, Tom McDonald, Christian Salem, Clayton Oliver, Max Gawn and Alex Neal-Bullen have all earned contract extensions of their own this year.
But on Monday, Melbourne announced it had delisted Marty Hore and Kye Declase.
The two star Eagles veterans are expected to continue for at least one more season.
Max Lynch swapped black and white for Hawthorn’s brown and gold this week, paving the way for Cox — who attracted interest from Fremantle — to likely secure a new deal.
Richmond hasn’t announced Sydney Stack’s re-signing, but the Herald Sun revealed this month the Tiger would score a new contract after starting the year in a Perth prison.
Ben Miller is waiting to learn his fate at Punt Rd, but Bigoa Nyuon and Noah Cumberland will be redrafted.
Two ruckmen watched the Tristan Xerri situation closely during the trade period, because of the potential flow-on effect to them.
North Melbourne’s Xerri wanted to cross to St Kilda but a deal wasn’t struck, helping Saint Paul Hunter’s cause for a lifeline.
But Kangaroo Tom Campbell could be up against it now.
Marty Gleeson’s delisting at Essendon left Dylan Clarke as the last uncontracted man standing at Tullamarine and his wait continues, while Carlton will redraft Lochie O’Brien and Matt Cottrell.
Watch: Gruelling USA workouts reveal new De Goey
Jordan De Goey isn’t resting on his laurels after a blistering second half of the 2021 season.
The 25-year-old Collingwood star is working hard in his off-season at The W Training Facility in California, an athlete-focused gym owned by Johnny Louch, as part of his Monster Energy partnership.
Vision from Louch’s Instagram account shows De Goey completing resistance training, box jumps and balance drills with battle ropes during a testing workout.
His physical condition after returning from previous off-season breaks has come under fire, with the Herald Sun reporting early last year that it played a role in his relationship fracturing with then-agent Ben Niall.
But De Goey appears to be in career-best shape as he looks to build on a strong football year.
His transformation into effectively a full-time midfielder coincided with him averaging 29 disposals, five inside 50s and four clearances across his last nine matches of the season.
De Goey finished fourth in the Copeland Trophy behind club champion Jack Crisp, in what was best individual campaign since being short-listed for the All-Australian team after kicking 48 goals in 2018.
He is one of three high-profile Magpie free agents next season, along with Darcy Moore and Brayden Maynard, who will be top re-signing priorities for football boss Graham Wright.
De Goey was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2014 AFL draft, with father-son selection Moore selected four spots later and Maynard snapped up at No. 30.
“It was a pretty good draft for (national recruiting manager) Derek (Hine) and his guys back in 2014,” Wright told 3AW this week.
“We’d certainly like to have those guys signed up and I’ve had conversations with all of their managers.
“We’ll progress those once we get through the next few days and start to hopefully lock them away for the long term at the Collingwood footy club.”
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Originally published as AFL 2021: Keep up to date with the latest off-season news across the competition
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