Here follows the AFL news list for this week.

1 PROGRAM OF MATCHES (all times are local)

Round Four
Friday April 24
Richmond v Melbourne at the MCG, 7.50pm

Saturday April 25
St Kilda v Carlton at Westpac Stadium, Wellington, NZ, 11.10am
Essendon v Collingwood at the MCG, 2.40pm
GWS Giants v Gold Coast Suns at StarTrack Oval, 5.40pm
Fremantle v Sydney Swans at Domain Stadium, 6.40pm
Port Adelaide v Hawthorn at Adelaide Oval, 7.10pm

Sunday April 26
Brisbane Lions v West Coast at the Gabba, 1.10pm
Geelong Cats v North Melbourne at Simonds Stadium, 3.20pm
Western Bulldogs v Adelaide Crows at Etihad Stadium, 4.40pm

2 IMPENDING MILESTONES

400 goals – Travis Cloke needs two goals to reach 400 career goals.
400 goals – Jack Riewoldt needs nine goals to reach 400 career goals.
Most Games Coached – Michael Malthouse, Carlton. Michael is due to coach his 714th senior game this week, after previously coaching 135 games with Footscray, 243 games with West Coast, 286 games with Collingwood and 49 games with Carlton. This will take him level with Jock McHale in first spot for coaches in the history of the game. The leading 20 coaches in the game’s history are Jock McHale (714 games with Collingwood), Michael Malthouse (713 games with Footscray, West Coast, Collingwood and Carlton), Kevin Sheedy (679 games with Essendon and the GWS Giants), Allan Jeans (575 games with St Kilda, Hawthorn and Richmond), Tom Hafey (522 games with Richmond, Collingwood, Geelong and the Sydney Swans), David Parkin (518 games with Hawthorn, Carlton and Fitzroy), Ron Barassi (514 games with Melbourne, Carlton, North Melbourne and the Sydney Swans), Leigh Matthews (461 games with Collingwood and the Brisbane Lions), Norm Smith (449 games with Fitzroy, Melbourne and South Melbourne), Dick Reynolds (415 games with Essendon).
Most Games, Pair of Brothers – Burgoyne family. The Burgoyne brothers (Peter 240 games and Shaun 272 games) are due to reach 513 combined games this week, drawing them level with the Wakelin brothers as sixth-best pair of brothers in VFL/AFL history. The leading families are Madden (710 games comprising 378 for Simon and 332 for Justin), Nankervis (578 games comprising 325 for Ian and 253 for Bruce), Cornes (550 games comprising 255 for Chad and 295 for Kane), Coventry (533 games comprising 227 for Syd and 306 for Gordon), Richardson (518 games comprising 277 for Wayne and 241 for Max), Wakelin (513 games comprising 252 for Darryl and 261 for Shane), Burgoyne (512 games comprising 240 for Peter and 272 for Shaun), Rocca (499 games comprising 257 for Saverio and 242 for Anthony), Matthews (487 games comprising 332 for Leigh and 155 for Kelvin) and McVeigh (478 games comprising 232 for Mark and 246 for Jarrad),
Most Club Games – Corey Enright, Geelong Cats. Corey is due to play his 292nd game this week, drawing level with Darren Milburn in third spot in the club’s history. The most games for the Geelong Cats are Ian Nankervis (325 games), John Newman (300 games), Darren Milburn (292 games), Corey Enright (291 games), Peter Riccardi (288 games), Matthew Scarlett (284 games), Joel Corey (276 games), Jimmy Bartel (274 games), Garry Hocking (274 games), James Kelly (259 games) and Paul Couch (259 games).
Most club games – Sam Mitchell, Hawthorn. Sam is due to play his 264th game for Hawthorn this week, drawing him level with Peter Knights in ninth position for most games in the club’s history. The most games for Hawthorn are Michael Tuck (426 games, 1972-91), Leigh Matthews (332 games, 1969-85), Shane Crawford (305 games, 1993-2008), Chris Langford (303 games, 1983-97), Don Scott (302 games, 1967-81), Kelvin Moore (300 games, 1970-84), Gary Ayres (269 games, 1978-93), Jason Dunstall (269 games, 1985-98), Peter Knights (264 games, 1969-85), and Sam Mitchell (263 games, 2002-current).
150 games – Tom Hawkins, Geelong Cats
100 games – Ben Reid, Collingwood
100 games – Rhys Palmer, GWS Giants
100 games – Andrejis Everitt, Carlton
100 games – Jake Melksham, Essendon
100 club games – Jay Schulz, Port Adelaide
100 games as captain – Jobe Watson, Essendon
50 games – Charlie Dixon, Gold Coast Suns
50 games – Lachie Neale, Fremantle
50 games – Luke Brown, Adelaide Crows
50 games – Travis Colyer, Essendon
50 games – Ben Jacobs, North Melbourne
50 club games (all as captain) – Phil Davis, GWS Giants
50 consecutive games – Zach Tuohy. Zach has played 49 games in succession for Carlton since round one, 2013.

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:
Shane Mumford, GWS Giants, reported by umpire Ben Ryan for engaging in rough conduct against Jeremy Laidler, Sydney Swans, during the second quarter of the Round Three match between the GWS Giants and the Sydney Swans, played at the SCG on Saturday April 18, 2015.

4 2015 AFL Women’s Draft

The 2015 AFL Women’s Draft will be held in Melbourne today, Monday, April 20 at 7pm in the Limelight Room at Etihad Stadium. Media are invited to attend. Entry is via Gate 4. The Draft will be live streamed: http://www.aflcommunityclub.com.au/index.php?id=1828

Players selected by Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs will play in two women’s exhibition matches in 2015; Sunday May 24 at the MCG and Sunday August 16 at Etihad Stadium.

5 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.

6 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:
Alex Sexton, Gold Coast Suns. One match. One match from round two.
Billie Smedts, Geelong Cats. One match. One match from round two.

Currently Suspended:
Hayden Ballantyne, Fremantle. One match remaining. Two matches from round two.

7 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 Brent Reilly on the long-term injury list and upgraded Jake Kelly from the rookie list as his replacement.
Geelong Cats have placed Lincoln McCarthy on the long-term injury list with no replacement named from the rookie list at this time.
North Melbourne has placed Nathan Grima on the long-term injury list with no replacement named from the rookie list at this time.
Port Adelaide has upgraded Nathan Krakouer from the rookie list as the replacement for Billy Frampton, who was already on the long-term injury list.
Richmond has placed Ricky Petterd on the long-term injury list with no replacement named from the rookie list at this time.

8 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.

9 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.

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 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.

12 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

13 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

14 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.

15 MEDIA ENTRY TO THE MCG

The Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) wishes to advise all media working at matches at the MCG they should enter the ground through Gate 3, unless they have underground parking for particular matches. Access control at the ground does not allow entry at Gate 2, for AFL accreditation passes. Further, the MCC also wishes to advise that any equipment being taken up to the host radio boxes or television broadcast boxes should be taken up via goods lift 8, and not the patron lifts 5-7.

16 MEDIA ENTRY TO ETIHAD STADIUM, PRIOR TO PUBLIC GATE TIMES / COLLECTION OF AFL RECORDS

All media who require entry to Etihad Stadium before public gates are open can do the following: Media may enter via Gate 9 from Level B3 (carpark) and Level 1 (concourse) one and a half hours prior to gate entry time. There will be a staff member at each entry point who will check AFL accreditation and will grant access to the Corporate Suites Level where they can access the Press Box, Radio Boxes and TV Broadcast area. A match day AFL record can be collected (one per person) from the customer service staff on the corporate suites level.