By Roy Ward and Marnie Vinall
In today’s AFL briefing, your daily wrap of footy news:
- Popular Essendon veteran Michael Hurley calls time on his career.
- Blues spring selection surprise ahead of Pies blockbuster
- St Kilda’s Dan Hannebery hangs up the boots.
- Richmond’s Daniel Rioli pens a five-year deal with the Tigers.
- Brett Ratten backs Saints’ review.
Check back throughout the day for further updates.
Hurley bids farewell and hopes Dons find stability for next generation
Roy Ward
Michael Hurley’s career would make one hell of a rollercoaster ride.
The highs have been dizzying, such as his four-goal performance against Hawthorn to put the Dons into the finals in 2009, the lows horrific, including the supplements saga and most recently, a staph infection following hip surgery which put him out for all of 2021 and only saw him back in the VFL in the last six weeks.
Essendon’s Michael Hurley will play his last game on Saturday night.Credit: Getty Images
But the 32-year-old has stood tall for the Bombers and in a week when the club is in tumult, Hurley will say his goodbyes in Saturday night’s clash with Richmond at the MCG, in what will be his 194th AFL game and first since 2020.
The Bombers made a show of their love for the two-time All-Australian defender on Thursday with the club, staff and players all attending his retirement press conference, including embattled coach Ben Rutten, who could be about to lead the club for the last time given the uncertainty surrounding his job after the club changed presidents this week and flagged a pursuit of Alastair Clarkson.
“I’m pretty proud of the way I have handled myself through some difficult times,” Hurley said on Thursday.
“It’s been a journey I didn’t expect. Such high highs and some pretty low lows, but I’m proud that I’m leaving a club that means so much to me with so many great people in my life and so many relationships close to my heart.”
Hurley admits he didn’t quite see retirement coming until recent weeks as the club and player discussed what was ahead of him.
But he will proudly don the red sash on Saturday and, hopefully, change to a coaching polo next season. His experience will be needed with the club down to only three players over 28 years of age and that could drop to two, if Dyson Heppell receives a long-term deal to move interstate.
“My body is one thing, the mind as well,” Hurley said.
“I feel like the hunger is there but it will probably be there for the next 10 years but potential opportunities and some great, honest chats about where it sits, the list dynamics and everything that is going on around here - it just felt right.”
Hurley at the club’s training session on Thursday.Credit: Getty Images
Whoever is coaching Essendon next season, Hurley wants the young players there to have a more settled, stable football club than he has had over the last 14 years, and he paid tribute to Rutten for focusing on the players this week amid the turmoil.
“I can’t speak for the whole playing group but, for me, there is an element of frustration,” Hurley said.
“Throughout my career I’ve craved stability and a settled footy club and it doesn’t seem to be that way at the moment - hopefully that works itself out and the younger guys coming through get the stability I’ve craved.
“It has just shown the character of ‘Truck’ [Rutten]. He has come in, worn the media [attention] and always put the players first. It would be easy for people to just see him as a senior coach and forget he is a father, a husband and mate to all of us.
“It’s a bit sad how he has had to wear this. It’s been hard for the players and I’ve felt for him but it shows his character that he has come in chest out, working for us and trying to give us the best environment to win football games.”
While it has been two years since Hurley has played at AFL level due to his recovery from the staph infection - during which he had to learn how to walk again - he hopes to finish with a bang, and to be able to play footy at a lower level next season.
Rutten told him on Thursday before training he would get to play seniors one last time.
“There were a handful of moments when I thought I wouldn’t get back,” Hurley said. “From the initial stage of being in hospital to needing major surgery and the middle part of this year where I had a couple of [calf] setbacks.
“I questioned whether I was doing the right thing by the club and myself to keep trying but I’m really glad I did and I had the support of everyone to get back and get this final opportunity.
“It means a hell of lot. When I got sick, I really wanted to comeback and not have that be the end of my career.”
Cerra, Williams in for Blues as Magpies bring back DeGoey for MCG showdown
Roy Ward
Carlton are poised to bring Adam Cerra and Zac Williams back into the side for Sunday’s must-win clash with Collingwood at the MCG.
The Blues, who need to win to be sure of making the eight, look ready to throw Williams back into the team on Sunday despite him having not played since suffering a high-grade calf injury in round nine against his former club GWS Giants.
Cerra was a late withdrawal last week with adductor tightness so was expected to return but Williams was thought to potentially be in line for a return in the VFL as his calf injury was a serious one which, when he first went down, looked so bad it was feared to be a ruptured achillies.
Zac Williams hasn’t played since round 9.Credit: Getty Images
Midfielder George Hewett has also been named but will need to make more progress with his back injury before he is considered for Sunday’s game, last week the Blues listed Hewett as likely to miss the rest of the home and away season. Big man Tom DeKoning has been named on the extended bench after missing last game.
The Magpies, looking to stitch up a top four spot, have named Jordan De Goey (hip flexor) and Jack Ginnivan (hamstring) to play while youngsters Finlay Macrae and Oliver Henry are on the extended bench.
De Goey missed last week and Ginnivan was in doubt until the team was named on Thursday night.
Fremantle’s finals hopes have received a boost with Nat Fyfe named after his latest hamstring injury this season but the Dockers have lost marking target Rory Lobb to a shoulder injury with big man Lloyd Meek called into the side to face GWS Giants in his place.
Geelong will be without Jeremy Cameron and Rhys Stanley due to injury and will manage star playmaker Tom Atkins for the clash with West Coast Eagles while the Cats have brought back Esava Ratugolea and Isaac Smith.
Richmond will be without important midfielder Jack Graham who aggravated a toe injury in last Sunday’s win over Hawthorn with Jack Ross coming into the side in his place for Saturday night’s clash with Essendon.
The Tigers still hope they can bring back Graham and Dustin Martin should they win and lock in a finals spot.
Melbourne omitted James Jordon and Brisbane made no changes for their showdown on Friday night in Brisbane with Jordon in the emergencies.
North Melbourne made six changes, five due to injury, for their final round clash with the Gold Coast Suns, with Jason Horne-Francis among those brought into the side while the Suns have left out Izak Rankine due to injury.
Hannebery to play one last game, against former side
After four injury-plagued seasons with St Kilda, Dan Hannebery will bow out against Sydney where he enjoyed his greatest highs in his decorated career.
Hannebury announced on Thursday that Sunday’s final-round clash with the Swans at Marvel Stadium will be his last after 225 games.
St Kilda’s Dan Hannebery has announced his retirement.Credit: Getty Images
Off contract, the 31-year-old said while his body was finally feeling good, and he would have liked to have played on, he recognised St Kilda needed to look to the future.
“The reality is I’ve had a number of injuries and I’m not getting any younger,” Hannebery said.
“We’ve got some really good young kids coming through and in terms of where the club’s going we need to make sure we get as many games into them as possible as they’re hopefully going to drive us forward.”
Hannebery made his debut in 2009 and played eight seasons with the Swans but due to persistent soft-tissue injuries has only managed 17 games, including two this season, since switching to the Saints for the 2019 season on a big money deal.
A three-time All-Australian, Hannebery was part of Sydney’s 2012 premiership and played in grand finals in 2014 and 2016.
He helped St Kilda return to the finals in 2020, which he said was a special memory of his career.
While he and the Saints have been mostly starved of success and his game time severely limited, he said he hoped he would be remembered for his off-field contribution to the club.
He said he had carried the “disappointment” from St Kilda fans that he hadn’t been able to make an impact on the field.
“I’ve been extremely disappointed, the club has, supporters have been pretty flat as well,” Hannebery said.
“I felt that throughout the whole time to be honest and I felt the outside noise a little bit, although I’ve tried not to buy into it it has got to me a little bit because I’ve wanted to be out there more than anyone.
“I’ve tried to help as much as possible, whether that’s been meetings, driving the group, driving standards, explaining what needs to be done from a training game perspective and helping wherever possible.”
He said he’d had “tunnel vision” for so long about getting his body right, including a trip to Germany this year for treatment, that he hadn’t really considered life after football.
Saints coach Brett Ratten said Hannebery had done all he could for the club in challenging circumstances. “Everyone will say he didn’t play many games and evaluate it through that and say it wasn’t a success but Dan’s had a huge success on others off the field. He’s worked closely with some of our younger players; his voice and leadership in meetings.
“I think he’s influenced others on the field to grow in those spaces so he’s had a contribution here - not the way he wanted but he’s contributed in different ways and he’s been first class.”
AAP
Richmond defender Rioli signs five-year contact extension
Marnie Vinall
Richmond defender Daniel Rioli could be a Tiger for life after signing a five-year contract extension, the club confirmed on Thursday.
The deal will mean the 25-year-old, who was a key part of the club’s three recent premierships, will remain at the club until at least the end of 2027.
Rioli has played 135 senior games since being drafted with Richmond’s first pick in the 2015 national draft, 100 of those as a forward before transitioning to the back line.
Rioli, who was recruited from North Ballarat Rebels via the Tiwi Islands, said he has a strong connection to the club and committing to them for the long term felt amazing.
“It’s awesome, I am basically a Tiger for life now, and I would not want to be anywhere else,” he said in a statement.
Richmond defender Daniel Rioli pens five-year deal with the club.Credit: Getty Images
“Walking into the club every day and seeing your teammates and all the brother boys I have formed strong ties with, it is pretty special.
“You get to see all your best mates, and you do not get to do that anywhere else. Probably the [other main] reason I signed as well is because I know the future is looking bright for us.
“My little uncle Maurice is coming through now as well; playing alongside him is something I never thought I would get a chance to do, it is a dream come true.”
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick believes Rioli should be in serious contention for a debut All-Australian spot after his outstanding 2022 season.
“The great thing is to see him evolve as a player, we saw him come in early and be a part of those three flags up forward,” Hardwick said on Thursday.
“But then we see him change position and grab it with both hands and a possibility of an All-Australian halfback this year, which is a real feather in his cap.”
Richmond are trying to balance remaining in contention for more premierships and regenerating through youth.
Premiership heroes Shane Edwards, Kane Lambert and Josh Caddy have already retired this year, following on from the departures of defenders David Astbury and Bachar Houli at the end of 2021.
Former captain Trent Cotchin and veteran forward Jack Riewoldt remain without contracts for next season but are pushing to play on. “We had a laugh the other day with Jack that we’re signing up everyone else bar him but that’s happens when you’re 33, going on 34,” Hardwick said.
“Him and Trent have just been terrific this year, the roles they’ve played and the execution they’ve played and the leadership they’ve given us. They’re holding up their part and we’ll make those decisions at the back end of the year.”
With AAP
‘We’re trying to improve’: Ratten backs St Kilda review
Coach Brett Ratten has welcomed the extensive review into St Kilda, led by club president Andrew Bassat, to determine why they faded so badly in the second half of the year to miss finals football.
Ex-North Melbourne coach David Noble has been roped in to help, with the review to also feature an external assessment of the club’s list. Noble was sacked by North Melbourne after round 17 this year but remains highly regarded having spent time with the Brisbane Lions, Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs.
Ratten, who signed a two-year contract extension in July, said he wanted to get to the bottom of his team’s season demise.
St Kilda started with eight wins from their first 11 matches, but their form plummeted after the mid-season bye, only adding another three victories.
“The review is something that we’re all open to; review all parts of our program and have a look at our list and making sure that the process is better than what it was this year in certain areas because at the end of the day we’re trying to improve,” Ratten said on Thursday.
“We look back now and we have let ourselves down and we want to play finals, that’s the space we want to get back to.”
St Kilda coach Brett Ratten has backed the club’s review of its poor second half of the season.Credit: Getty Images
Ratten wasn’t overly familiar with Noble but thought he was “ideal” to be part of the investigation.
“With his experience in three parts of a footy program - the GM of footy, senior coach and list mismanagement - [he] is an ideal person to come in and have a look at what we’re doing here,” he said.
“If we can just take some small percentages off certain areas of the program, and change our process slightly in certain things, I think it will help our footy club. I’m excited about it and think whatever comes of it will help us.”
Sitting 10th heading into the final round, St Kilda are looking to finish the season on a high with a win at Marvel Stadium on Sunday over second-placed Sydney.
AAP
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