That's a wrap for another big day of footy news, scroll down to recap all the headlines and join us again from 7am tomorrow for another edition of AFL Daily.
AFL Daily: Sam Murray set to face anti-doping hearing, rolling footy news for Tuesday, July 30, 2019
It's more than a year since Collingwood defender Sam Murray tested positive for illegal drugs in a post-match test. He is finally set to face an anti-doping tribunal.
Collingwood defender Sam Murray is set to learn his fate over a positive drug test before the finals.
Murray is serving a provisional suspension after testing positive to cocaine in a match-day test after last year's Round 19 clash against Richmond on July 28.
He faces a maximum ban of four years when he faces an AFL anti-doping tribunal.
"I think everyone is saying, how can Australian swimmer Shayna Jack be told that she’ll get a four-year penalty this week when Murray’s still waiting more than a year on?” Herald Sun reporter Jon Ralph said on Fox Footy's AFL Tonight.
“Here’s the state of play. He’s accepted a provisional ban from ASADA right when he took the cocaine and the anti-doping hearing from the AFL is coming up.
“The league had told me it would be late June, early July, so clearly that’s been pushed back a bit. I think it will still happen before finals.”
Murray will try to argue for a two-year ban, which could end at Round 21 next year.
"(In that scenario) you can probably train with the club from March, ‘please let me be on the rookie list’," Ralph said.
“Then they’ve got to make a decision about whether the cocaine use was one-off, or whether he’s even a guy they need on their list."
Recap all today's news in the blog below.
Updates
Adams quits as Coburg coach
– Ben Higgins
Former Kangaroo Leigh Adams is hopeful of joining an AFL club after stepping down as coach of VFL club Coburg.
“I would have loved to (see it through). We thought we were going in the right direction,” Adams said.
“I thought it was best to get it out there as quickly as I could, to the board, and we came to an amicable decision to move on.”
Read the full story here.
New: SuperFooty Podcast
Will the three caretaker coaches all land their club's full-time job?
The future of Rhyce Shaw, David Teague and Brett Ratten are top of the agenda on this week's SuperFooty Podcast, plus Collingwood's injury crisis, problems at Fremantle and the hilarious story behind Brian Taylor's autobiography.
LISTEN NOW:
Mid-year draftee close to Roos debut
Tim Michel
Mid-season draftee Lachlan Hosie is mounting a strong case for a late-season debut at North Melbourne after an impressive run of VFL form.
Hosie, a 189cm forward who was taken at pick No.5 by the Roos, has booted 13 goals in seven VFL matches.
However, the 22-year-old’s haul could have been much greater on Saturday against Northern Blues, when he kicked 2.6 and reeled in six marks.
“He’s certainly putting his hand up and he’s fighting for an opportunity,” interim coach Rhyce Shaw said.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do if he does get that chance.”
Key defender Scott Thompson is pushing to return from a ruptured testicle for Friday night’s clash with Hawthorn.
However, backman Sam Wright will play his last game for the club in the VFL this weekend after ankle and foot problems.
Suns have been a success, Cochrane insists
Gold Coast hasn't played a final in its nine-year existence but that hasn't stopped chairman Tony Cochrane labelling the club's formation a success for the AFL.
In a passionate speech in his chairman's address during last Sunday's match against Essendon, which was attended by AFL chief Gillon McLachlan, Cochrane said the Suns have played a role in growing participation numbers in Queensland at the grassroots level.
“I want to talk about our success,” Cochrane said.
“What have the Gold Coast Suns done in nine short years?
“We have made (these facilities) a centre of excellence for the AFL on the Gold Coast, that is pretty self-evident.
“The community are proud of it and so are we here at the Gold Coast Suns.
“Our real success is born out of the growth of AFL at all levels in both the Gold Coast region and importantly our academy region in North Queensland and more generally in Queensland.
“Facts don’t lie, the total participation this year in Queensland in AFL is up 5.2 per cent to 265,760 registered participants.”
St Kilda ruckman Billy Longer is taking a break from the game to focus on his mental health.
The Saints have announced Longer will sit out the remainder of the season.
Longer hasn't played since suffering a serious concussion in the VFL in late May.
The 26-year-old has managed just one AFL game this year and is out of contract.
Saints football manager Simon Lethlean said Longer would continue to receive support from the club's medical team during his time away from the club.
“We have been working with Billy as he deals with some physical symptoms that have prevented him from getting back to full training,” Lethlean told the club's website.
“After working with our medicos, the club and Billy have decided that the best approach is for Billy to step away from football for the remainder of the season and concentrate on his health and well-being.
“We will continue to support him through our club doctor and make sure he has access to specialists as required.”
Longer is the second St Kilda player to step away from the game following midfielder Jack Steven, who returned to the VFL a fortnight ago.
Collingwood midfielder Dayne Beams this week returned to the club after his mental health break, while Aaron Hall (North Melbourne), Matthew Broadbent (Port Adelaide) and Lin Jong (Western Bulldogs) have also taken a time-out from playing footy.
Western Bulldogs premiership star Tom Boyd retired this year, citing physical and mental health issues.
Saints ruckman takes mental health break
St Kilda ruckman Billy Longer is taking a break from the game to focus on his mental health.
The Saints have announced Longer will sit out the remainder of the season.
Longer hasn't played since suffering a serious concussion in the VFL in late May.
The 26-year-old has managed just one AFL game this year and is out of contract.
Saints football manager Simon Lethlean said Longer would continue to receive support from the club's medical team during his time away from the club.
“We have been working with Billy as he deals with some physical symptoms that have prevented him from getting back to full training,” Lethlean told the club's website.
“After working with our medicos, the club and Billy have decided that the best approach is for Billy to step away from football for the remainder of the season and concentrate on his health and well-being.
“We will continue to support him through our club doctor and make sure he has access to specialists as required.”
Longer is the second St Kilda player to step away from the game following midfielder Jack Steven, who returned to the VFL a fortnight ago.
Collingwood midfielder Dayne Beams this week returned to the club after his mental health break, while Aaron Hall (North Melbourne), Matthew Broadbent (Port Adelaide) and Lin Jong (Western Bulldogs) have also taken a time-out from playing footy.
Western Bulldogs premiership star Tom Boyd retired this year, citing physical and mental health issues.
Rhyce Shaw’s purported ascension to the top job at North Melbourne is news to him, the caretaker coach refuting reports he is set to be unveiled as the club’s permanent replacement for Brad Scott.
Shaw has impressed since taking over before the Kangaroos’ round 11 game, but he is adamant media claims that he has already secured the senior coaching role are wide of the mark.
“Nothing has changed since last week … it’s the same old, same old,” Shaw told reporters on Tuesday.
'“It’s getting a little bit awkward (answering questions about it) but I’m just going with the flow … I can’t do much about it.
“I’m just trying to control what I can and that’s coach North Melbourne against Hawthorn at the weekend … that’s all I can do.
“It’s a bit of a funny situation but I’ll just roll with it.”
– AAP
Roos job not mine yet, says Shaw
Rhyce Shaw’s purported ascension to the top job at North Melbourne is news to him, the caretaker coach refuting reports he is set to be unveiled as the club’s permanent replacement for Brad Scott.
Shaw has impressed since taking over before the Kangaroos’ round 11 game, but he is adamant media claims that he has already secured the senior coaching role are wide of the mark.
“Nothing has changed since last week … it’s the same old, same old,” Shaw told reporters on Tuesday.
'“It’s getting a little bit awkward (answering questions about it) but I’m just going with the flow … I can’t do much about it.
“I’m just trying to control what I can and that’s coach North Melbourne against Hawthorn at the weekend … that’s all I can do.
“It’s a bit of a funny situation but I’ll just roll with it.”
– AAP
Roos slams 'deplorable' Dees
AFL premiership coach Paul Roos has teed off on his former club Melbourne and called the Demons’ season “deplorable” following a shocking fall from grace in 2019.
Melbourne copped the wrath of club legend Garry Lyon last week, who called their preliminary final appearance last season an "aberration" of the past decade, and on Monday it was Roos unleashing.
The Demons snapped a 12-year finals drought in 2018 but despite keeping their star-studded midfield, they’ve fallen off a cliff this season and won just five of 18 games.
They sit second-last on the ladder and face premiership contenders West Coast and Collingwood over the next fortnight.
Roos coached Melbourne from 2014-16 but only produced a 31 per cent win record before he parted ways with the club after 66 games.
“They’ve won five games – it’s been a deplorable season … you can’t sugar- coat it,” Roos told On The Couch.
“Given the injuries, if they had have won eight to 12 (games), you could justify it. But five wins with the talent they have is just unacceptable.
“There’s no recognisable brand. That’s the disappointing thing from my point of view.”
Roos said the Demons had to be tougher in defence.
“I always say ‘contested footy, defence’, because we know in this particular year — for whatever reason — most teams are turning the footy over,” Roos said.
“We talked about Richmond before, if they turn the ball over, they’re safe behind the ball. If Melbourne turn the ball over, they just get scored against — and we’ve seen that for the last two years. That fixed it up at the end of last year, that’s what I want to see.
“Players don’t mean to kick it out of bounds on the full, players don’t mean to miss a target — it’s frustrating. But get your defence set up, be hard to score against and we know that’s the panacea for success.”
– AAP
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