By Danny Russell, Andrew Wu and Jon Pierik
In today’s AFL Briefing, your wrap of footy news:
- Carlton have a fresh injury concern over defender Mitch McGovern heading into a crucial final-round clash with St Kilda.
- Jack Viney signs a new contract to stay with Melbourne.
- Premiership Tiger Dylan Grimes has announced his retirement.
- Three-time premiership Hawk Liam Shiels will also hang up the boots.
Houston’s five-match ban for ‘serious breach’
Danny Russell
The AFL Tribunal has ignored an emotional plea from Port Adelaide defender Dan Houston to be eligible to play in this year’s grand final by suspending him for five games for his sickening hit on Izak Rankine.
Houston read out a statement to the tribunal at the beginning of the hearing to express his regret and remorse for the bump that left Rankine concussed and needing to be stretchered from the ground during Saturday night’s Showdown.
“I regret my decision to bump Izak, and I’m very sorry for the injury my decision caused,” Houston said.
“I remember the ball coming in my direction after [Mark] Keane’s double-fisted spoil. My first thought was to get the ball myself.
“I recall seeing Rankine when I was within a metre or so of him. I don’t remember making the decision to bump. I never meant to hurt Izak, let alone concuss him.”
Dan Houston’s bump on Izak Rankine was assessed at the tribunal.Credit: Fox Footy
Houston told the tribunal – consisting of chair Jeff Gleeson, KC, and former players David Neitz and Paul Williams – that he reached out to apologise to Rankine after the game.
“I like to think that I’m a fair player, and I have never been suspended before,” he said.
“I have played in many finals, but never in a grand final. Losing the opportunity to play in a grand final would be crushing to me.”
Houston’s counsel Ben Krupka asked the tribunal to impose a three-week penalty because the Port Adelaide player had not made contact with Rankine’s head.
He said it was possibly the whiplash or Rankine’s head hitting the ground that caused the concussion.
But tribunal chair Gleeson said Houston breached his duty of care and the breach was significant.
“We do not consider the consequence of missing finals and potentially a grand final impacts the sanction that should be imposed, particularly for such a serious breach and such a significant injury,” Gleeson said.
The tribunal found that Houston had time to think and weigh up his options and he chose not to tackle.
“He ran at speed for several metres and forcefully bumped Rankine. We are satisfied he made forceful contact to Rankine’s upper shoulder and neck,” Gleeson said.
“His forceful contact also resulted in Rankine’s head making forceful contact with the ground.
“Although Houston’s feet did not leave the ground, and he appears to have made some attempt to lower his body, the time he had to decide not to bump, the vulnerability of Rankine and the speed and force of his impact lead us to conclude that this was a serious breach of the duty of care.
“Although Rankine could have expected to be tackled, he could not reasonably have expected to be bumped high.”
The incident in question.Credit: Getty Images
The tribunal said it had considered Houston’s guilty plea, his good record of not being suspended across his 168-game AFL career as well as other comparable tribunal decisions such as the four-week suspension of Essendon’s Peter Wright earlier this year.
On Tuesday night, Port Adelaide indicated they would consider their position overnight whether to appeal the verdict.
Carlton’s injury list balloons out to 19
Andrew Wu
Carlton are dealing with a fresh injury concern over defender Mitch McGovern as the club comes perilously close to needing special dispensation from the AFL to field a squad for Sunday.
The Blues, with 19 players on their injury list, would not have enough fit men to name a squad of 26 if all five players listed as tests, including Charlie Curnow and Adam Saad, failed to prove their fitness and they suffered another injury at training during the week.
Forwards Harry McKay (quadriceps) and Jack Martin (hamstring) were ruled out on Tuesday but classy goal sneak Zac Williams was given the all clear to face St Kilda at Marvel Stadium.
Carlton’s Mitch McGovern has had hamstring tightness.Credit: Getty
Under league rules, the Blues would need league approval for a top-up player to be brought in from outside their senior list.
That player can only be selected if there were no further AFL-listed players available, regardless of selection issues such as team balance and the positions they played.
West Coast were forced to pluck top-ups from the WAFL in 2022 after a string of senior players had contracted COVID-19 and were unavailable due to health and safety protocols.
The Blues do not believe they will need to take such extraordinary measures but are battling a massive injury list that threatens to knock them out of the eight.
McGovern became the latest star under an injury cloud after experiencing hamstring tightness in the backs-to-the-wall victory over West Coast.
He has been officially listed as a test, alongside Curnow, Saad and small forwards Corey Durdin and Orazio Fantasia.
Saad has a hamstring injury, which usually require three weeks’ rest, but his strain is considered only minor. Skipper Patrick Cripps missed just a week with a similar injury in 2022.
Durdin has pulled up well, the Blues said, despite dislocating his shoulder on Sunday.
Victory against the Saints would lock the Blues in the eight while a loss would leave them vulnerable to being overtaken by Fremantle, who host Port Adelaide in the 207th and last home and away game of the season.
Hawthorn star Will Day has avoided season-ending surgery but he has suffered a partial dislocation where the collarbone meets the sternum.
Hawthorn’s Will Day won’t need surgery on his shoulder, but is in doubt for the club’s first final.Credit: Getty Images
The Hawks are yet to have a timeline on when he will return, leaving him in doubt for the club’s first final, should they qualify as expected.
“It’s really down to function and how he feels and pain and all those sorts of things but again, we’ve got to get beyond this week’s game first,” Hawks high-performance manager Peter Burge said.
Defender Jack Scrimshaw is in doubt to face North Melbourne after undergoing “very minor surgery” on a dislocated finger.
Western Bulldogs small forward Rhylee West will miss the club’s clash with Greater Western Sydney after undergoing surgery on Monday for a broken jaw sustained against North Melbourne.
West was subbed out for tactical reasons and not an injury but scans revealed a crack in his jawbone, the Bulldogs’ head of sports medicine Chris Bell said.
West’s availability for the first week of finals, should the Dogs qualify, is unclear until further assessment in the next 10 days.
Ruck Tim English is considered “more unlikely than likely”, the Dogs say, due to an ankle injury but he will given until the club’s main session on Friday to prove his fitness.
Jack Viney a ‘Demon for life’
Jon Pierik
Jack Viney has declared he is a Demon for life after snubbing rival interest and signing a fresh contract.
Viney, Melbourne’s vice-captain, was already locked in for next season, but has inked a three-year contract extension, tying him to the club until the end of 2028.
North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson had expressed interest in the robust premiership midfielder, who is the son of Kangaroos’ football department boss, Todd Viney.
Hard at it: Demons’ vice-captain Jack Viney has pledged his future to the club.Credit: Getty Images
Demons coach Simon Goodwin took aim at Clarkson on Tuesday for having mentioned 30-year-old Viney as a player of interest. The player himself then revealed he had pledged his future to the Demons.
“I’m a Demon for life – I always have been, and always will be,” Viney said.
“I love my teammates, my coaches, the staff and the passionate Dees fans. I have created some incredibly special memories and relationships over the past decade, and I couldn’t see myself wearing anything but the red and blue.”
Viney’s signature came two days after captain Max Gawn signed a contract extension.
Viney, a father-son draft selection in 2012, made his AFL debut in 2013. He was the best and fairest in 2016, and has played 218 games. Viney is determined to have the Demons back in premiership calculations next season after a year of tumult, the latest issue Christian Petracca’s concern about the professionalism of the program.
Demons list manager Tim Lamb said Viney was “a heart and soul player of our football club”.
“He has been a passionate Melbourne person since day dot, and to have him commit to the club for another four years is exciting for our players and supporters alike,” Lamb said.
Goodwin spoke about Clarkson’s comments on Viney before the Demons trained on Tuesday.
“Look, it’s something I wouldn’t do, talk about players from other clubs and where they’re at and what they’re doing from a list management perspective,” Goodwin said.
“But every coach is a little bit different in that space. I think what it shows is the respect that people have for Jack Viney and the type of player and person that he is.”
Goodwin said he was confident Petracca’s issues would be addressed. The Norm Smith medallist addressed teammates on Monday for the first time since it emerged he was considering his future at the Demons. He is contracted until the end of 2029.
“Christian’s going to be at this footy club for the next five years,” Goodwin said.
“He’s got five years to go on his contract, and he’s going to be part of the red and blue.
“Part of this process is to give a greater, deeper level of understanding of what he’s gone through, and then to move forward together as one.
“That’s the plan that we’ve all got ... to be fully connected and together as one, and Christian’s going to be at the footy club for the next five years.”
The 2021 Norm Smith medallist suffered a lacerated spleen, punctured lung and four broken ribs from an accidental knee from Collingwood captain Darcy Moore during the King’s Birthday match in June.
Petracca completed light training at Casey Fields on Tuesday.
Grimes announces retirement
Jon Pierik
Former Richmond captain Dylan Grimes is the latest Tiger to call it quits, as the club’s premiership era recedes further into memory.
End of an era: Triple-premiership defender Dylan Grimes.Credit: Getty Images
And North Melbourne veteran Liam Shiels, 33, has also confirmed this is his final year after 16 seasons across two clubs.
Grimes joins the likes of Trent Cotchin, Jack Riewoldt and Dustin Martin to have retired over the past year, while coach Damien Hardwick is now with the Gold Coast. Club chief executive Brendon Gale will soon leave and take up his post with the league’s newest club, Tasmania Devils.
Grimes, a beloved figure among his teammates for his dour work in defence through three premierships, told teammates on Tuesday of his decision. Grimes said he felt indebted to the club.
“The club had plenty of reasons to throw in the towel with me over many years with surgeries, form slumps or whatever [else],” he said.
“There is a part of me that has had a chip on my shoulder for my entire career to try and repay the debt I felt like I owed the club. Almost everything good in my life, I have because of here, so thank you.”
Grimes’ 234-game career, of which only five came this year because of a back injury, led him to be a Jack Dyer medallist, All-Australian, and two-time winner of the club’s prestigious Francis Bourke Award.
He also captained the club in 2022-23 when he and Toby Nankervis shared the honour.
“To be a great club you need to have great people, and this place is blessed with some of the best that there is,” Grimes said.
“I will miss the thrill of the contest, and I will miss the incredible feeling of playing in front of the best fans in the world … But I leave with no regrets and just a sense of pride for everything we have achieved together.”
Grimes was overlooked in the 2009 national draft, joining the Tigers with the second pick in the ensuing pre-season draft.
Gale said Grimes, who endured serious hamstring issues early in his career, would be remembered as one of the club’s all-time greats.
“Dylan arrived at the club via the pre-season draft and, straight away, you could tell that he was going to be a player that got everything out of himself, which 15 years later has certainly come to fruition,” Gale said.
“His importance to our team and club across a long period has been profound, and his contribution to our era of success has been outstanding. In a role that does not always receive the plaudits, Dylan exemplified, and he was respected and admired across the league as a top-line quality player.
“Dylan had a wonderful career and is one of our most decorated players, but his legacy at the club as a great teammate will be the most lasting.”
Grimes’ departure comes a day after teammate Shai Bolton said he was open to a trade to either West Coast or Fremantle, while premiership teammate Liam Baker could also be on the move home west. Jack Graham is also considering a move west, while running defender Daniel Rioli has been linked with the Suns.
Shiels, meanwhile, spent two seasons at Arden Street, having followed North’s coach Alastair Clarkson across after three premierships with the Hawks. He will play his 288th and final game, against the Hawks, on Saturday.
Farewell: Liam Shiels will play his last game in the AFL on Saturday.Credit: Getty Images
“I’ve been lucky enough to do what I love for the last 16 years, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to play out my last couple of years at the North Melbourne Football Club,” said Shiels, who was taken by the Hawks with pick No.34 in the 2008 national draft.
“I always thought I’d be a one-club player, but I’ll always be proud to have finished my football here. As much as I hoped I could have done more to put more wins on the board, these have been some of the most fulfilling years I’ve had.”
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