By Marnie Vinall and Roy Ward
In today’s AFL briefing, your daily wrap of footy news:
- Bulldogs consider AFLW timeslot switch.
- Seb Ross wants to play on after Saints exit.
- Taylor Walker will extend his AFL career for another season.
- Owies’ tackle ban stands, sneaky forward to miss Blues’ elimination final.
The Western Bulldogs have privately pushed for their first home AFLW match at Whitten Oval to be rescheduled after a clash with the men’s elimination final.
When the men’s finals fixture was announced, the Bulldogs were disappointed because they had lobbied the league to avoid a potential clash between their two sides.
The Bulldogs’ Alice Edmonds breaks free in a practice match against Gold Coast.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
The men’s elimination final against Hawthorn was fixtured on Friday night at the MCG, clashing with the round two women’s game against Port Adelaide, the club’s first match at the refurbished Whitten Oval. The AFLW game is scheduled to start at 5.05pm, while the men’s game is at 7.40pm.
AFL executives met on Tuesday to discuss a range of scenarios proposed by the Bulldogs to maximise attendance at the AFLW match, including moving the women’s game to an earlier 4pm start, moving it a day later to 11am on the Saturday or playing it as a double header at the MCG with the men’s final on the Friday night.
However, many of the AFLW’s match-day events have been planned months in advance for the twilight spot at Whitten Oval. The clash also creates issues around staff who work for both teams and puts some Bulldogs fan in the position of having to choose between attending the women’s or men’s game.
The Bulldogs have only five AFLW home games this season, four at Whitten Oval and one at Mars Stadium in Ballarat.
Saints say goodbye, but Ross wants to play on
Roy Ward
Veteran midfielder Seb Ross wants to play on in 2025 after St Kilda told him they won’t offer him a contract.
Seb Ross, middle, walks off the ground with St Kilda at a loss in May.Credit: AFL Photos
The Saints publicly announced their plans on Wednesday, sending the 31-year-old from Horsham on his way after 211 games, 13 seasons and two best-and-fairest awards.
Ross was drafted by the Saints with pick 21 in 2011 and made his debut the next season, spending seven seasons in the leadership group. He’s now pledged to keep his football options open for next season after playing 13 games this campaign.
“St Kilda will always be the place that gave me the chance to live out my childhood dream of playing AFL football, and I will forever be grateful for that,” Ross said.
“While I’m not closing the door on football moving forward, I leave the Saints with some lifelong friends and some incredible memories.
“I’d like to thank all of the teammates I’ve shared the journey with over the years, as well as all my coaches, the staff and the broader St Kilda community for making my time here so special.
“I’m comforted knowing that whatever comes next, I have my incredible wife Marnie and our children, Charlotte, Vinny and Henley, by my side. They truly are my world.”
Saints football general manager David Misson said it was difficult to let Ross go after such exceptional service.
“These types of decisions are never easy to make, particularly given Seb’s calibre as both a person and a player, which has yielded incredible respect from teammates and supporters alike. However, as we position our list for the future, this decision, albeit incredibly difficult, needed to be made,” Misson said.
“Seb has given everything to St Kilda over the journey and has experienced more than his fair share of hardship throughout in terms of team success, but his commitment through it all has been a defining feature of his career and character.”
Walker to extend AFL career into an 18th season
AAP
Adelaide stalwart Taylor Walker is more determined than ever to return the Crows to the finals after signing a one-year contract to extend his AFL career into an 18th season.
Walker, who turns 35 in April, says he still has great motivation to continue playing as the Crows digest missing the finals for a seventh-straight season.
“Being a one-club player means a lot to me and I still feel I have plenty to contribute to the team,” he said on Wednesday.
Star Crows forward Taylor Walker.Credit: AFL Photos
“I love working with our exciting young forward line and get a lot of satisfaction out of seeing them develop their own games.
“As a team, we didn’t get the results we wanted this year.
“But that only makes me more determined to continue working hard to get our club back to where it belongs.”
Walker, a former club captain, is Adelaide’s all-time leading goalkicker with 641 goals from his 278 games so far.
Adelaide’s list manager Justin Reid said Walker’s leadership remained vital for the Crows.
“You can’t measure what Tex brings on and off the field for our football club,” Reid said.
“The fact that his playing career is continuing well into his 30s speaks to his professionalism and the way he approaches his training and preparation.
“He drives high standards and makes his teammates better, and we’re very pleased that will continue for another season.”
Suspension stands: Blues won’t appeal Owies’ tackle ban
AAP
Carlton forward Matthew Owies will miss his side’s elimination final against Brisbane after a marathon night at the AFL tribunal where his one-match ban for a dangerous tackle on St Kilda’s Jack Higgins was upheld.
Matthew Owies kicks long for Carlton against St Kilda, but won’t be available for his team’s first final.Credit: Getty Images
The 27-year-old’s failure to overturn his suspension is a major blow to the Blues, who will miss Owies’ talents in front of goal. His 33 goals this season were crucial in helping his side sneaking into the finals in eighth place.
The Blues will not be challenging the ban, the club said on Wednesday.
Owies was charged with careless conduct, medium impact and high contact for the driving tackle, even though a similar tackle from Western Bulldogs defender Liam Jones on Aaron Cadman on Sunday was met with only a fine.
Higgins returned to the field soon after the tackle, having been cleared of concussion symptoms.
Tribunal chair Jeff Gleeson said Owies’ tackle was unreasonable and had the potential to cause injury, even though Higgins was uninjured.
“We find that this was rough conduct and that the grading is careless, high contact and medium impact,” he said.
Owies told the tribunal on Tuesday night he loosened his grip on Higgins’s arms as they were going to ground but was unable to immediately release his hold as they were moving too fast.
His club’s lawyer, Peter O’Farrell, said his challenge was no more impactful than Jones’s tackle on Cadman.
“The extent of force was minimal from Owies, we would submit,” he said.
Nick Pane, representing the AFL, said Owies could have released Higgins’s arms after he released the ball, allowing the tackled player to brace his fall.
“This was an inherently dangerous tackle, and the force with which player Higgins’s head hit the ground meant that there was potential to cause a more serious injury,” he said.
After the tribunal returned its guilty verdict in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, O’Farrell argued Owies’ penalty should be reduced because of exceptional and compelling circumstances.
Namely, he had an exemplary record and could attract players to AFL from basketball as a result of his background playing the game.
The tribunal retired to deliberate, again, before saying they were not satisfied that the circumstances were exceptional or compelling enough to overturn the ban.
Owies’ hearing, which was initially scheduled to kick off at 8pm Melbourne time, was delayed until 10pm after the evening’s earlier hearing for Demons forward Kysaiah Pickett lasted a mammoth three hours.
Pickett will miss the first three games of the 2025 AFL season after failing to overturn a three-match suspension for a bump on Collingwood’s Darcy Moore.
The challenge during the Demons’ 46-point defeat on Friday night, which forced the Magpies captain from the field with concussion, was judged as careless conduct, severe impact and high contact.
“We are required to consider whether there was unreasonable conduct that was likely to cause injury,” Mr Gleeson said.
“We find that there was.”
Melbourne missed out on finals following their 14th-placed finish, so the ban carries over into next year.
Pickett apologised to Moore for the injury and said he did not expect him to go to ground so quickly.
“My intention was to protect space by taking Darcy off the line and win the ball in front of me,” he said.
“This is the normal way I’ve contested the ball and made a play on the ball in other games.”
It’s not the first time Pickett’s bumping has got him into trouble.
Pickett missed Melbourne’s first game of this season after being banned for a high bump on Patrick Cripps in last year’s semi-final loss to Carlton.
He also received a one-match ban for a bump on Adelaide’s Jake Soligo in Gather Round (round four).
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