By Peter Ryan and Jon Pierik
The AFL have fined Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick $2000 after Fox Footy showed vision on AFL 360 on Monday night of the triple premiership coach flipping the bird.
Hardwick put his middle finger up in light-hearted fashion from the coach’s box after an umpire decided not to pay a free kick for insufficient intent late in Sunday’s clash with the Giants.
Hardwick was appearing as a guest on the show as part of its coaches’ segment, with the vision causing plenty of laughter. He was surprised when the vision was shown, but laughed and explained his response.
“I love Nathan Williamson, the umpire that made the decision, but I thought, ‘Oh, good, we are going to have one last crack at it’ and then when he called the boundary throw in, it was like, ‘What’?” Hardwick said.
He then said “oh no” as host Gerard Whateley admitted they were going to show the vision, and said: “You had to, you blokes”.
Damien Hardwick.Credit: Fox Footy
The Suns are expected to send Fox Footy a lighthearted question as to where they should send the invoice, and have accepted the call. Hardwick reposted the vision on X on Monday night with a friendly apology to AFL CEO Andrew Dillon.
West Coast star Harley Reid, Geelong Brownlow fancy Bailey Smith, and Hawthorn goalsneak Nick Watson were all fined earlier this season for the same act.
Grandson of former AFL boss to make debut for Collingwood
Jon Pierik
He is the grandson of a former AFL chief executive, and now the high-flying Charlie West is ready to make a splash of his own in the big league.
The uncapped West, the grandson of one-time league chief executive Wayne Jackson, trained strongly in howling wind on Tuesday, the Magpies later confirming he will make his senior debut against the West Coast Eagles at Marvel Stadium on Saturday.
Collingwood teammates congratulate Charlie West at training on Tuesday ahead of his debut.Credit: Justin McManus
While West impressed, premiership veteran Jordan De Goey is working his way back into full fitness, but did not take partake in all the drills.
De Goey also spent time completing sprints, and is at least a fortnight away from returning. The robust midfielder is determined to have an impact come the run home to the finals.
While the Magpies have confirmed West as their latest debutant, they’ve lost defender Billy Frampton for up to five weeks with a calf injury.
Collingwood confirmed on Tuesday that former Port Adelaide and Adelaide player Frampton had suffered “a moderate-grade calf strain” in last Saturday night’s win over St Kilda.
“Frampton experienced calf awareness during Collingwood’s round 15 game against St Kilda,” Collingwood’s head of high-performance Jarrod Wade said in a statement.
“The defender played the game out at a high level, however scans revealed a moderate-grade calf strain. Frampton is expected to be sidelined for four to five weeks.”
Collingwood indicated that De Goey doesn’t yet have a timeline for his return.
Jordan De Goey at training on Tuesday.Credit: Justin McManus
“Jordan De Goey is progressing well through his running program as he recovers from an Achilles issue,” Wade said.
“De Goey has increased his running loads and high-speed efforts and will look to integrate skills-based training into his program. A timeline on his return will be communicated in due course.”
Coach Craig McRae last weekend floated the prospect of West joining the senior side, and the springy marking tall impressed on Tuesday as he and his teammates moved through four training stations.
West and fellow tall Mason Cox were involved in several entertaining marking duels, each sharing the spoils.
The top-of-the-table Magpies have fielded only 31 players this season – behind only Geelong (30) – reinforcing why they have been such a consistent and stable force.
However, they have a clutch of promising youngsters desperate to be rewarded for their strong VFL form. West, with 25 goals from 10 VFL games, heads the list in this regard.
The 194 centimetre key forward booted six goals, including the post-siren matchwinner from about 35 metres out against Sandringham in the VFL on Saturday, and appears set to realise his dream.
While the Magpies can already sniff a premiership this season, club officials also know they need to continue to invest in their future. They were the oldest team, with an average age of 28.5 years through the first half of the season, and have had only Will Hayes debut.
West, from Woodville-West Torrens, was the No.50 draft pick at last year’s draft, and is likely to replace humstrung forward Beau McCreery.
McRae said after his team’s 34-point win over St Kilda at the weekend that West was close to a senior debut.
“I must admit, his magnet was really close this week. I didn’t tell him, but now it’s going to be really hard to keep him out,” McRae said.
“I’m rapt for him: a 19-year-old kid playing VFL, kicking a goal after the siren. He looks like he’s going to be hard to leave out next week.”
West travelled with his senior teammates to Perth in round nine, and was under consideration to make his debut against the Dockers, but lingering plantar fasciitis meant he had to miss.
He has spoken of the role his grandfather played in his rise as a junior, the pair regularly chatting after West’s games about what he did well, and what he can work on.
Uncapped pair – midfielder Harry DeMattia, the No.25 selection in the 2023 national draft, and ruckman Oscar Steene, a 2023 pre-season supplemental selection – are also pushing for senior selection. DeMattia has twice been an emergency this season.
With Scott Spits
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