That's a wrap for another big day of footy news. Scroll down to recap all today's headlines and join us from 7am tomorrow for another edition of AFL Daily.
AFL Daily: Live rolling footy news from around Australia for April 3, 2019
Melbourne players will tear down online bullies before Friday's clash against Essendon when they run through a banner made of negative tweets, including messages calling players 'scum bags' and 'dirty dogs'. Plus Nathan Buckley takes aim at the flaws of the AFL tribunal system and all today's footy news.
Welcome to our footy blog, AFL Daily!
Every weekday we will be bringing you all the breaking footy news from across Australia as it happens.
SUPERCOACH: YOUR ROUND 3 TRADE GUIDE
BAROMETER: WHO IS HURT AT YOUR CLUB?
We will be providing rolling news as it happens and giving you all the latest insights from our experts around the country.
Whoever you support, there is only one place to be.
FOLLOW ALL TODAY’S AFL NEWS AS IT HAPPENS IN THE BLOG BELOW
Updates
Martin's big pre-season paying off
Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew has hailed the influence of a more rounded Jack Martin in the Suns’ surprising start to the AFL season.
Dew’s men were friendless in the lead-up to the 2019 campaign, with many tipping them to finish bottom after the departures of star co-captains Tom Lynch and Steven May. But they’ve confounded critics to be 1-1 after two rounds.
Martin’s impact was telling against the Dockers, the 24-year-old finishing with 24 disposals and a brilliant goal that helped spark the Suns’ last-quarter fightback.
"We had a really good chat at the end of last year about what type of player Jack wants to be and how we could help facilitate that," Dew told reporters today.
"We’re confident we’ve held up our end of the bargain and Jack has certainly held up his with the way he attacked pre-season.
"He’s in really good shape so he’s given himself every opportunity to play more on the ball, but he can certainly be a dangerous forward as well.
"Some players can get 30 possessions and we’re not sure where they go … but Jack’s possessions are quality. If he can influence a game like he did, whether it’s 15 or 20 (disposals), we don’t mind."
The Suns will try to keep their early season momentum going when they face the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.
– AAP
Some big AFLW trade news … Tom Morris at Fox Footy reporting that expansion club Richmond wants to sign Western Bulldogs star Katie Brennan.
The Tigers will join the competition next season with St Kilda, Gold Coast and West Coast, and have already been linked with Brisbane forward Sabrina Frederick-Traub, who has told the Lions she wants to play for a Melbourne team next season.
Melbourne players will tear down online bullies before Friday's clash against Essendon – literally.
In an innovative approach to highlighting the harm of trolls, the Demons will run through a banner made of negative tweets they have received during their careers.
In a video to promote the initiative, players read out some of the tweets including:
Nathan Jones: "Nathan Jones is a dirty dog"
Neville Jetta: "Neville Jetta is a scum bag! Cheap shot"
Tom McDonald: "There's a lot of flog about Tom McDonald"
Max Gawn: "I'm (expletive) sick of seeing Max Gawn"
The issue of online bullying has been in the public spotlight after AFLW star Tayla Harris and West Coast forward Liam Ryan were abused on social media.
The Demons have dedicated Friday's match to raising money for Round For Reach, an initiative by the Reach Foundation – established by Melbourne champion Jim Stynes in 1994 – to tackle online bullying.
"Reach are an unreal organisation and they do terrific work in the youth space around Australia," Jones said.
"They’ve done some amazing work with our playing group as well and I think this week’s even more special. The message they’re promoting is around social media and bullying – and addressing that and bringing it to light.
"Hopefully we can raise plenty of money out of the game which contributes to what Reach are doing in the community."
Donate here: https://the-reach-foundation.giveeasy.org/roundforreach
Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley says justice prevailed after Mason Cox's successful appeal at the AFL Tribunal but the ruckman was still fined “for an act that happens quite often on the football field”.
Cox had his one-match suspension for rough conduct downgraded, clearing him to play in Saturday night’s Grand Final rematch against West Coast.
The four-man tribunal took just five minutes to deliberate that Cox’s off-the-ball collision with Richmond defender Dylan Grimes was careless rather than intentional.
Buckley said the tribunal outcome was a just result.
“Ultimately I think we got to the right result, in some shape or form,” Buckley said.
“Mason has been fined $3000 for an act that happens quite often on the football field.
“I don’t think his intent was to harm Grimes at all, I think it was just to play the game.
“If he’d have missed a game for that I think everyone would have been more than a little uneasy about it. I definitely would have been.
“But he’s still been fined for it.”
Buckley said the Cox case highlighted flaws in the MRO system.
He conceded match review officer Michael Christian had a difficult job but added he erred in referencing Richmond’s medical report when handing down Cox’s punishment.
It was revealed at the tribunal that the Tigers’ medical report cleared Grimes of concussion.
“It’s a very difficult job to do and to have one person accountable to it, and then to be able to be scrutinised and picked apart in the aftermath, I think he can only ever enforce the rules as they’re written and potentially he did that," Buckley told SEN radio.
“We were aware that there was nothing in the medical report.
“The medical report is put in immediately after the game. If there are concussion symptoms, that can shift and change.
“I think that there’s Chinese whispers in media, and that’s no good, but I also think that Michael contributed to that in some way by saying the medical report contributed to the finding.
“That is not a specific statement but it leads to a misjudgement about what Richmond wrote, from what I can gather.”
The tribunal did uphold Christian’s assessment that the Cox charge was high contact and low impact.
Demons to run through banner of abusive tweets
Melbourne players will tear down online bullies before Friday's clash against Essendon – literally.
In an innovative approach to highlighting the harm of trolls, the Demons will run through a banner made of negative tweets they have received during their careers.
In a video to promote the initiative, players read out some of the tweets including:
Nathan Jones: "Nathan Jones is a dirty dog"
Neville Jetta: "Neville Jetta is a scum bag! Cheap shot"
Tom McDonald: "There's a lot of flog about Tom McDonald"
Max Gawn: "I'm (expletive) sick of seeing Max Gawn"
The issue of online bullying has been in the public spotlight after AFLW star Tayla Harris and West Coast forward Liam Ryan were abused on social media.
The Demons have dedicated Friday's match to raising money for Round For Reach, an initiative by the Reach Foundation – established by Melbourne champion Jim Stynes in 1994 – to tackle online bullying.
"Reach are an unreal organisation and they do terrific work in the youth space around Australia," Jones said.
"They’ve done some amazing work with our playing group as well and I think this week’s even more special. The message they’re promoting is around social media and bullying – and addressing that and bringing it to light.
"Hopefully we can raise plenty of money out of the game which contributes to what Reach are doing in the community."
Donate here: https://the-reach-foundation.giveeasy.org/roundforreach
Swans fan Kenny turns 90
Jon Ritson
It is no exaggeration to say Kenny Williams lives and breathes the Sydney Swans and despite turning 90 yesterday his passion for the boys in red and white burns as brightly as ever.
Kenny, a real Swans institution, attended South Melbourne’s 1933 Grand Final win over Richmond and he was also there for the next premiership success 72 years later to lead the rendition of “cheer, cheer, the red and the white”.
Kenny, who started life in Melbourne before moving to Sydney in 1949, is there at every match.
He rarely misses a training session and he’s still hungry for more success to cheer from his front row seat behind the goals in the Noble Stand.
Every win is still a thrill, every defeat still hurts horribly.
He celebrated his milestone birthday surrounded by those who mean the most to him — his immediate family and his Swans family.
Adam Goodes and Jude Bolton were there to honour Kenny, much to his delight.
“Two of the best, those two,” he said.
He had no inkling that the club was planning to mark the occasion.
“I had a very big surprise,” Kenny said. “It was a very nice surprise though and to see so many people there for me.”
Crows put ruck trust in O'Brien
Jesper Fjeldstad
Adelaide coach Don Pyke will trust incoming ruckman Reilly O’Brien to play to the same systems as injured Sam Jacobs and has full confidence in him after an outstanding pre-season.
Jacobs, who hurt his knee in the club’s win against Sydney, will be rested in the Crows’ match against Geelong on Thursday night and the main ruck role will be handed to O’Brien, who has only two AFL games under his belt.
But Pyke was confident O’Brien was not only up to the level but also that only minor tweaks would have to be made to midfield setups to keep a sense of normality with a new leading man.
“Reilly is going to come in and take Sam’s place which is great for Reilly; he’s had a fantastic pre-season,” Pyke said. “It was neck and neck for a while with Sam for while and Sam obviously got the gig early but he (O’Brien) has had four years on the list, he’s built his craft and he’s looking forward to getting out there and leading the ruck.
“There’s some adjustments to make around that but systematically we want to play a similar style.
READ MORE: https://bit.ly/2FWK8uB
Melbourne great Garry Lyon says he is not the only figure at the Demons who believes Steven May needs to urgently address is professionalism.
Lyon on Tuesday slammed May for turning up at the Demons for the start of pre-season training “underdone” following his trade from the Gold Coast.
The former Suns co-captain, who will miss Friday's crunch game against Essendon with a groin injury, responded on Fox Footy's AFL360 last night, saying "people are entitled to their opinions".
“I came back (from pre-season) in what (shape) I usually do, if not a bit better," May said.
"And I got to the Dees and their standards were a lot shorter – everyone had to be under certain skinfolds and time trials had to be elite."
Lyon said on Wednesday morning that May needs to accept that he has to urgently address his professionalism because other people at the club share his opinion that May has not been meeting the standards of a high-profile recruit.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE MAY COMMENTS IN FULL
Garry Lyon fires back over May fitness
Melbourne great Garry Lyon says he is not the only figure at the Demons who believes Steven May needs to urgently address is professionalism.
Lyon on Tuesday slammed May for turning up at the Demons for the start of pre-season training “underdone” following his trade from the Gold Coast.
The former Suns co-captain, who will miss Friday's crunch game against Essendon with a groin injury, responded on Fox Footy's AFL360 last night, saying "people are entitled to their opinions".
“I came back (from pre-season) in what (shape) I usually do, if not a bit better," May said.
"And I got to the Dees and their standards were a lot shorter – everyone had to be under certain skinfolds and time trials had to be elite."
Lyon said on Wednesday morning that May needs to accept that he has to urgently address his professionalism because other people at the club share his opinion that May has not been meeting the standards of a high-profile recruit.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE MAY COMMENTS IN FULL
Join the conversation
AFL’s big fixture move in $4.5bn TV deal
After experimenting in recent years, the AFL will make a permanent change to the fixture as part of a massive new TV deal.
Read more
AFL’s round 1-16 Thursday night blockbusters revealed
The AFL has answered the calls of footy fans by scheduling Thursday night football in almost every round for 2025. See which games are scheduled for the first 16 rounds.
Read more