Ron Barassi, one of the game's greats, found himself back in the headlines after being attacked while rescuing a woman from thugs early on January 1. An equally unhappy fate befell Collingwood’s Travis Cloke , who had to be driven home from Queensland's Sunshine Coast after he was beaten up on the same night and couldn't fly.
Most clubs returned to training after the Christmas break on January 5, and injury talk was fresh on everybody’s lips.
New Blue Rob Warnock will miss up to two months with a foot stress fracture, while Richmond's Trent Cotchin continues to battle an achilles injury. A knee robbed West Coast of prize recruit Nic Naitanui for the start of the season, and left St Kilda without skipper Nick Riewoldt for the NAB Cup. And Collingwood revealed exclusively to afl.com.au that Paul Medhurst had injured his foot, after shaking off a back complaint.
Meanwhile, the Sydney Swans set what must surely be a January record by having two senior players retire before the month was out. First, midfielder Nic Fosdike succumbed to a persistent knee problem. Then, after the Swans firmly denied reports he was leaving, star defender Tadhg Kennelly pulled stumps to return to Ireland.
There was cheerier news, too, with Tiger Mark Coughlan set to make his AFL comeback, Croady up and running, Alastair Clarkson vigorously spinning Lance Franklin's shoulder surgery into a blessing, and supercat Tom Harley right for round one. Blue Andrew Walker just needs to rest his injured shoulder, Michael O'Loughlin is battling to be fit for the season opener, North have only one worry, and ageless warrior Brad Johnson want to play until he's on the pension.
One of sport’s more unusual recent traditions continued on January 21 when Bomber ruckman David Hille became the third player in a year to fall prey to Port Phillip Bay’s stingrays.
Across the globe, financial markets continued to tumble like a big man in the shallows, but there was some relief for beleaguered clubs, as AFL members largely defied the global trend, signing on in increased numbers.
The Doggies found a new sponsor, while North Melbourne confirmed it is here to stay. And hope sprang seasonal at Punt Road, where not only has membership leapt due to the Ben Cousins factor, but Graham Polak continues to stride towards recovery, after his horrific run-in with a tram last year.
In the file labelled 'a January to forget', North's Aaron Edwards began the new year looking to put a troubled 2008 behind him, but scuppered that ambition with a drink-driving incident, finding himself suspended by the club until round five.
The Brisbane Lions came down similarly hard on Rhan Hooper, fining the forward a hefty $40,000 for breaching his playing contract, an amount which the AFLPA approved.
There was no need for Adelaide to reprimand Brad Symes after he hopped on the back of a vehicle instead of sensibly walking from the training ground to the club’s changing rooms. Broken bones in both hands were punishment enough and will keep Symes from playing for up to eight weeks.
Over at Melbourne, the Dees commandeered the new Southern Star ferris wheel as an imperfect metaphor for Junior McDonald’s journey from rookie to captain, while the Cats added Gary Ablett, Jimmy Bartel, Joel Selwood and Corey Enright to their leadership group. Only Port Adelaide, which is hoping to steal premier Hawthorn’s secrets, is yet to name its new skipper.
Finally, as temperatures soared in Melbourne and tennis players wilted, Collingwood proved that footy players are a different breed of athlete. The Pies chose a 45C day to stage their final four-quarter practice match – under the close attention of their sports science department. Baked Pies, anyone?
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
