Here follows the AFL news list for this week.
1 PROGRAM OF MATCHES (all times are local)
Round Seven
Friday May 15
Essendon v North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium, 7.50pm
Saturday May 16
Adelaide Crows v St Kilda at Adelaide Oval, 1.15pm
Hawthorn v Melbourne at the MCG, 2.10pm
Carlton v GWS Giants at Etihad Stadium, 4.35pm
West Coast v Gold Coast Suns at Domain Stadium, 5.40pm
Sydney Swans v Geelong Cats at ANZ Stadium, 7.20pm
Sunday May 17
Western Bulldogs v Fremantle at Etihad Stadium, 1.10pm
Richmond v Collingwood at the MCG, 3.20pm
Brisbane Lions v Port Adelaide at the Gabba, 4.40pm
2 IMPENDING MILESTONES
Most Career Goals – Lance Franklin, Sydney Swans. Lance has kicked 675 career goals and needs six goals to reach Bob Pratt (681 goals for South Melbourne) in equal 21st spot in the game’s history.
400 goals – Jack Riewoldt needs three goals to reach 400 career goals.
Most Career Games – Adam Goodes, Sydney Swans. Adam is due to play his 356th game, drawing him level with Bruce Doull and Paul Roos in 11th position for most games in VFL/AFL history. The top 15 players in the game’s history are: Michael Tuck (Hawthorn, 426 games), Kevin Bartlett (Richmond, 403 games), Dustin Fletcher (Essendon, 397 games), Brent Harvey (North Melbourne, 390 games), Robert Harvey (St Kilda, 383 games), Simon Madden (Essendon, 378 games), Craig Bradley (Carlton, 375 games), Bernie Quinlan (Footscray/Fitzroy, 366 games), Brad Johnson (Western Bulldogs, 364 games), John Blakey (Fitzroy/North Melbourne, 359 games), Bruce Doull (Carlton, 356 games), Paul Roos (Fitzroy/Sydney Swans, 356 games), Adam Goodes (Sydney Swans, 355 games), Doug Hawkins (Footscray/Fitzroy, 350 games), Chris Grant (Western Bulldogs, 341 games).
AFL Life Membership - Paul Chapman, Essendon. Paul is due to qualify for AFL Life Membership this week with his 300th official game since his debut in 2000, comprising 275 premiership games, 23 pre-season games and one State of Origin game.
250 games – Jarrad McVeigh, Sydney Swans
Most Games, Rookie List Player – Michael Firrito, North Melbourne. Michael is due to play his 237th league game this week, taking him level with Darren Jolly in seventh spot for most games by any player who began his career on an AFL rookie list. The most games by rookie list players are - Dean Cox (290 games, 2000 Rookie Draft), Stephen Milne (275 games, 2000 Rookie Draft), James McDonald (264 games, 1997 Rookie Draft), Matthew Boyd (243 games, 2002 Rookie Draft), Brett Kirk (241 games, 1999 Rookie Draft), Mal Michael (238 games, 1997 Rookie Draft), Darren Jolly (237 games, 2001 Rookie Draft), Michael Firrito (236 games, 2003 Rookie Draft), Michael Doughty (231 games, 2000 Rookie Draft), Ben Rutten (229 games, 2002 Rookie Draft).
200 games – Grant Birchall, Hawthorn
100 games – Ben Reid, Collingwood
100 games – Nathan Brown, Collingwood
50 games – Gary Rohan, Sydney Swans
50 games – Aaron Hall, Gold Coast Suns
3 TRIBUNAL MATCH REVIEW PROCESS
The expected process for the 2015 AFL Season under the AFL Match Review system is that the AFL will issue a media release late on the Monday after each round detailing the penalties to be offered to players for incidents from that round of matches, or the reasons why no further action was to be taken.
The clubs and players then have until 11am on the Tuesday morning to decide whether to accept the penalty on offer, or whether they wish to contest the charge at a Tribunal hearing, to usually be held on the Tuesday night. The AFL will formally detail all instances on the Tuesday of whether cases will proceed to the Tribunal or not.
The following players were reported from the weekend’s matches:
Harry Taylor, Geelong Cats, reported by umpire Matt Stevic for striking Travis Cloke, Collingwood, during the third quarter of the Round Six match between the Geelong Cats and Collingwood, played at the MCG on Friday May 8, 2015.
Will Langford, Hawthorn, reported by umpire Scott Jeffrey for wrestling Callan Ward, GWS Giants, during the third quarter of the Round Six match between Hawthorn and the GWS Giants, played at Spotless Stadium on Saturday May 9, 2015.
Callan Ward, GWS Giants, reported by umpire Scott Jeffrey for wrestling Will Langford, Hawthorn, during the third quarter of the Round Six match between the GWS Giants and Hawthorn, played at Spotless Stadium on Saturday May 9, 2015.
Mark Baguley, Essendon, reported by umpire Brendan Hosking for engaging in rough conduct against Michael Barlow, Fremantle, during the third quarter of the Round Six match between Essendon and Fremantle, played at Domain Stadium on Saturday May 9, 2015.
4 TRIBUNAL HEARING LOCATION
The AFL Tribunal is held in the AFL media room on Level LB2 at Etihad Stadium. The AFL wishes to advise that all media covering the Tribunal hearings at Etihad Stadium need to park in the B2 car park (entry off the Bourke St extension) and report to the Etihad Stadium security office to gain admittance via the internal ring road. There will be no access via AFL House to any AFL Tribunal hearing through the season, as our offices will have closed by 6pm each day.
5 CURRENTLY SUSPENDED PLAYERS
The AFL wishes to advise the players that have completed and currently serving MRP suspensions across the competition are as follows:
Completed:
Chris Yarran, Carlton. Three matches from round three.
Currently Suspended:
Jordan Lewis, Hawthorn. One match remaining. Two matches from round five.
Stephen May, Gold Coast Suns. Two matches remaining. Three matches from round five.
Luke Hodge, Hawthorn. Two matches remaining. Three matches from round five.
6 LONG-TERM INJURY LIST CHANGES
The AFL wishes to advise the following recent changes have been made to the long-term injury list.
Adelaide Crows have placed Harry Dear on the long-term injury list and upgraded Reilly O’Brien from the rookie list as his replacement.
Collingwood have upgraded Tony Armstrong from the rookie list as the replacement for Levi Greenwood, who was already on the long-term injury list.
Gold Coast Suns have upgraded Andrew Raines from the rookie list as the replacement for David Swallow, who was already on the long-term injury list.
7 APPLICATIONS FOR DAY PASSES FOR AFL MATCHES
The AFL wishes to advise it has updated its system for the production of day passes for late accreditation applications to cover single matches during the Toyota AFL premiership season. Day passes are now printed with a headshot, meaning any application must be lodged by Wednesday 5pm in the week of the match being requested, with a suitable headshot. Please contact Patrick Keane for any further queries.
8 NOMINATED ROOKIE PLAYERS
The following list changes were made in the lead-up to round one under the AFL player rules regarding Nominated Rookie Players, who can play during the premiership season:
Carlton – Ciaran Sheehan and Cameron Wood.
Collingwood –Jack Frost.
Gold Coast Suns – Greg Broughton and Adam Saad.
Richmond – Kane Lambert.
9 2014 LAWS OF THE GAME – INSTRUCTION DVD
A video on the AFL Umpiring Department approach to the 2015 Toyota AFL Premiership Season can be found at this link - http://www.afl.com.au/video/2015-02-18/how-the-game-will-be-umpired-in-2015 . In 2015, umpires have a number of cues to look for when paying a stricter interpretation of Holding the Ball, and also how to adjudge blocking / shepherding in marking contests when it is a 2v1 contest. The full explanation is detailed here for all interested media.
10 GWS GIANTS EXPANSION COMPENSATION PICK
As a reminder to all media, the AFL wishes to advise the following GWS Giants expansion compensation pick MUST be used at this year’s 2015 NAB AFL Draft. Expansion picks were able to be activated in any of the five drafts in the period 2011-2015 and the following selection remains available.
Gold Coast Suns, end round one selection. Received from Fremantle (compensation for the loss of Rhys Palmer) via a trade to the GWS Giants in 2011 and then a trade to the GC Suns in 2012.
The club is able to trade this selection in the 2015 AFL Exchange Period.
11 2015 NAB AFL U18s CHAMPIONSHIPS
Please find attached the fixture for the 2015 NAB AFL Under 18s Championships. Please note the fixture is subject to change (all times are local).
Division One, Round One
Saturday May 23 – WA v SA at Lathlain Park, 11am
Sunday May 24 – Vic Metro v Vic Country at Simonds Stadium, 11am
Division One, Round Two
Saturday May 30 – SA v Vic Metro at AAMI Stadium, 10.45am
Sunday May 31 – WA v Vic Country at Medibank Stadium, 12pm
Division One, Round Three
Saturday June 6 – SA v WA at AAMI Stadium, 12pm
Sunday June 7 – Vic Country v Vic Metro at Simonds Stadium, 12pm
Division One, Round Four
Saturday June 13 - WA v Vic Metro at Domain Stadium, 11.20am
Sunday June 14 – SA v Vic Country at AAMI Stadium, 11am
Division Two, Round One
Saturday June 20
NSW/ACT v Tasmania at Gold Coast, 10am
Queensland v NT at Gold Coast, 12.30pm
Division One, Round Five
Friday June 26
Vic Country v SA at Simonds Stadium, 12.35pm
Vic Metro v WA at Simonds Stadium, 2.35pm
Division Two, Round Two
Saturday June 27
Tasmania v Queensland at Simonds Stadium, 12pm
NSW/ACT v NT at Simonds Stadium, 2.10pm
Division One, Round Six
Wednesday July 1 – Vic Metro v SA at Etihad Stadium, 5.05pm
Thursday July 2 – Vic Country v WA at Simonds Stadium, 1.15pm
Division Two, Round Three
Wednesday July 1 – NT v Tasmania at Etihad Stadium, 3.05pm
Thursday July 2 - NSW/ACT v Queensland at Simonds Stadium, 11.05am
12 2015 NAB AFL U16s CHAMPIONSHIPS
Please find attached the fixture for the 2015 NAB AFL Under 16s Championships. Please note the fixture is subject to change (all times are local).
Round 1
Saturday July 4
WA v Vic Country at Metricon Stadium, 9am
SA v Vic Metro at Metricon Stadium, 11.20am
Sunday July 5
Tas v NSW/ACT at Southport, 11am
Qld v NT at Southport, 1.30pm
Round 2
Tuesday July 7
Vic Country v Vic Metro at Metricon Stadium, 12pm
WA v SA at Metricon Stadium, 2pm
Boomerangs v World XV111 at Metricon Stadium, 4pm
Wednesday July 8
Qld v Tas at Southport, 11am
NT v NSW/ACT at Southport, 1pm
Round 3
Friday July 10
Vic Country v SA at Southport, 10am
Vic Metro v WA at Southport, 12pm
Boomerangs v World XV111 at Southport, 2pm
Saturday July 11
NT v Tas at Metricon Stadium, 10am
Qld v NSW/ACT at Metricon Stadium, 12pm
13 2015 AFL KEY DATES
Please find below the INDICATIVE key dates for the 2015 season around club list requirements, AFL Trade Period and the NAB AFL Draft Process:
Friday 9 October - NAB AFL Restricted Free Agency Offer and Unrestricted Free Agency Period Commences.
Friday 9 October by 2pm – NAB AFL Father-Son Bidding Nominations; Academy Bidding Nominations lodged with AFL.
Monday 12 October 10am - Father/Son & Academy Players Bidding Meeting; NAB AFL Trade Period Commences.
Sunday 18 October at 5pm - Close of NAB AFL Restricted Free Agency Offer and Unrestricted Free Agency Period.
Wednesday 21 October - NAB AFL Restricted Free Agency Matching Offer Three-Day Period Ends
Thursday 22 October at 2pm – NAB AFL Trade Period Closes.
Friday 30 October by 2pm - List Lodgement (1); Rookie Promotion to Primary List; Retained 2nd & 3rd Year Rookies; Scholarship Players; Alternate Talent Player Nominations, TPP Estimates.
