By Brittany Busch
In today’s AFL Briefing, your daily wrap of footy news:
- Essendon Cricket Club is not happy about the AFLW fixture, which will displace them for the start of their season.
- The Bombers back exciting youngster Isaac Kako to emerge from his lean patch.
- Giants veteran Callan Ward’s worst fears confirmed with knee injury diagnosis.
- Big Demon banned for two games, Pickett gets a fine.
AFLW fixture makes Windy Hill turf war simmer
Brittany Busch
Essendon’s cricket and football clubs are at loggerheads over the use of the famed Windy Hill ground, a venue they’ve shared for over a century.
The AFLW season’s overlap into coming cricket season means the Essendon Cricket Club will not play on their home ground until at least round five of the coming season.
Cricket Victoria chief executive Nick Cummins said for the past two years, the cricketers had agreed to find alternate accommodation and not play at Windy Hill during October, to accommodate the end of the AFLW season.
Essendon’s AFLW team in action at Windy Hill.Credit: AFL Photos
But he said the cricket club expressed to the AFL earlier this year that the arrangement was no longer working, stating its desire to return to its home of 152 years for the full season and for the Essendon AFLW team to play elsewhere from October onwards.
Not only did he say the AFL refused, but when the fixture for the AFLW season was released last week the Bombers boasted about the “record” number of home games they’d been allocated at the venue, with two of those games scheduled during what is traditionally the cricket season.
“Effectively, a professional sporting body in Victoria is looking to bulldoze a community cricket club that’s run by volunteers,” Cummins said.
Cummins said Essendon Football Club, which is the primary lease-holder for Windy Hill, should instead work with the cricket club to come to an agreement that suited both outfits.
Windy Hill is spiritual home of the Bombers.Credit: Joe Armao
He pointed to the division of seasons agreement with the state government, which states the cricket season runs from October through to the end of March, while football gets from April to the end of September, and he said that tradition should be upheld.
Teams competing in a national competition are not bound by the agreement.
Cummins said the two sports had always coexisted, to the benefit of the sports leagues and the people of Victoria, and negotiations would be necessary as both sports continued to grow.
“We’d like to see the football club work with the cricket club for a mutual, agreeable outcome,” he said.
Last week’s AFLW fixture announcement revealed six games were slated for Windy Hill – which the football club has called “the heart of the Bombers for 2025” – including on the grand final eve public holiday.
It will be the most games played at Windy Hill in an AFLW season following record crowds last year, according to a statement released by the football club.
Essendon’s men’s team played their first match at Windy Hill in 1922 and their final match there in 1991, but the ground remains the club’s spiritual home.
The club’s chief executive, Craig Vozzo, said playing more games in front of passionate local fans was a big achievement for the club in its 10th AFLW season.
“Windy Hill is more than just a ground for Essendon,” he said in a statement. “It is an important part of the very soul of our club and our community, steeped in generations of Essendon history and tradition. To be able to host a record number of AFLW matches there this season is incredibly significant. It’s a powerful moment that connects our past with the exciting future of women’s football, and we can’t wait to see the red and black faithful fill the stands again this season.”
In 2021, Vozzo said the football club would be investing more into the Windy Hill redevelopment project in a push to establish the ground as a premium AFLW destination and to reflect the progress of the Bombers’ women’s side.
Essendon Cricket Club president Simon Tobin said his organisation was in favour of utilising the ground effectively, and was pleased the AFLW team would play four games at Windy Hill during the traditional football season.
“Football’s for football season,” he said. “And you know, Windy Hill is a community asset. It’s not owned by the football club. It’s not controlled by the football club. It’s shared by the football club and other stakeholders. There’s ourselves, there’s the bowls club, there’s a number of other groups that use the facility.”
He said the two AFLW games scheduled for October forced teams at every level, from juniors to first XI, to play away games or on substandard grounds throughout the month and for weeks afterwards while the turf was prepared for cricket. He said it put pressure on volunteers and junior coaches to staff Sunday games as well as Saturdays to accommodate the disrupted fixture.
“At the moment, the football club are refusing formal requests for mediation,” he said. “It’s put us in a very difficult position. Our preference is mediation, but other options include legal options, litigation, which we don’t we don’t want to do.”
Essendon Football Club declined to comment.
Bombers show faith in Isaac
Brittany Busch
Promising Essendon small forward Isaac Kako should focus on the defensive side of his game to unlock his potential, teammate Peter Wright says.
Essendon forward Isaac Kako feels the heat.Credit: Getty Images
Kako was one of the most exciting players in last year’s draft – a member of the Bombers’ Next Generation Academy who booted four goals in a pre-season match against Geelong in February.
But the No.13 draft pick has been held goalless for his past three matches, and is averaging 10.2 disposals per match.
Wright said the team wanted to get the ball into Kako’s hands as much as possible because of his ability to make something of his possessions, but the small forward should be focusing on chasing pressure and tackles.
“For him, it’s just bringing that real defensive mindset. I think that’s how small forwards really get into the game,” Wright told reporters outside the MCG on Monday ahead of Essendon’s Sunday night clash with Carlton.
“Clearly, Isaac’s someone with just a tremendous amount of talent. We love playing with him,” Wright said. “If he can just bring that consistent pressure, I think the rest of his game will flow from that and he’ll play a really important team role.”
The tall forward said the upcoming game was a big opportunity in a tight competition, and he relished the King’s Birthday eve timeslot against one of Essendon’s greatest rivals.
Mitch McGovern.Credit: Getty Images
“Any time you get two big Melbourne clubs playing against each other, you feel that extra bit of pressure and expectation from your supporter base,” he said. “I think on Sunday night it’s going to be a massive crowd, and that adds to the atmosphere. Where we both are on the ladder, it obviously means a lot to both teams.”
Carlton defender Mitch McGovern said the Blues, who are 13th on the ladder, were looking for a reset after their bye, and to bounce back for the second half of the year.
McGovern said the competition was too even to not be putting in a four-quarter effort, and that’s what his side would be focusing on after consistently letting other teams back into the game.
“We think we’re doing a lot right. We’re defending really well. We’re a connected group. We just need to finish our plays,” he said.
He said the side did not want to rely too much on its tall forwards and was working on a more even contribution.
“When you’ve got a tall target like them, like Charlie [Curnow] or Harry [McKay], it’s hard to not kick [to them] when you know how good they are and what they can produce,” McGovern said. “But it’s more for us being selfless teammates and bringing other people into the game, sort of how we can, I guess score better as a collective rather than individuals.”
Ward’s season over
Callan Ward’s AFL career appears to be over after it was confirmed the GWS veteran had torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee in Saturday’s narrow win against Richmond.
But the Giants are adamant the 35-year-old 327-gamer still has an integral role to play in their push for the 2025 premiership.
Teammate Lachie Whitfield said Ward, driven to see the Giants breakthrough for their first flag, was set for a “pretty big role” off-field.
Ward was in tears after suffering the injury in the first term before delivering a three-quarter-time address, on crutches, to spark their three-point win.
Whitfield consoled a visibly upset Ward on the sidelines, hugging and kissing him on the forehead.
“You do it for all your teammates, but playing 13 or so years with Cal – it’s just not great,” Whitfield said on Monday.
“He’s played a huge role in the whole upbringing of this club and the way it’s shaped it.
“It’s a pretty crappy way to finish it all for him, but he’s been saying he’s going to have a pretty big role to play for the rest of the year.
Callan Ward sheds tears as he leaves the ground on Saturday.Credit: AFL Photos
“He won’t just seep off into the distance, he’ll still be here.”
Asked about the three-quarter-time message that helped the Giants turn around a 34-point deficit, vice captain Josh Kelly said Ward had left the side with a question.
“He didn’t say this, but almost, ‘What would ‘Wardy’ do?’ ” Kelly said on Monday.
“He was just talking about our roles or what we needed to execute in that moment, reliability … just go out, perform, put your head over the ball.”
Ward had put his retirement plans on hold and signed on for another season this year, living apart from his family, who have moved to Melbourne.
He will consult a surgeon in Melbourne this week.
AAP
Demons forward banned again, Pickett fined
Melbourne’s mature-age draftee Aidan Johnson has been handed his second suspension of the season, while teammate Kysaiah Pickett was fined for striking.
Johnson, a key forward, was offered a two-match ban for jumping and bumping St Kilda’s Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera in Alice Springs on Sunday as the Demons lost by 28 points.
Wanganeen-Milera missed most of the second term but passed a concussion assessment and finished with 29 disposals.
The incident was graded as careless conduct, high impact and high contact, meaning Johnson is set to miss the King’s Birthday match against Collingwood and Melbourne’s round-14 clash against Port Adelaide.
While Wanganeen-Milera played out the game, Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin admitted the contact with his head spelled trouble for Johnson.
The 25-year-old, who was pick No.68 in last year’s national draft, has played only five games, after serving a one-match ban for a dangerous tackle in round one.
“Obviously when someone comes off to get assessed they’re going to have a look at it, so we’ll just let that play out as the week unfolds and see where that sits,” Goodwin said after the match.
“Fortunately for Nasaiah, he came back on the ground and passed his concussion test.”
Melbourne livewire Kysaiah Pickett was charged with striking Marcus Windhager and can accept a $3125 fine for his third such offence with an early plea.
The Demons pair were the only players from Sunday’s matches to draw action from the match review officer.
AAP
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport are sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.