Now the Scott twins have coached against each other for the first time in the AFL, is it too much to hope the media focus will shift from their brotherly rivalry to the rivalry between their clubs?
In his first outing as Geelong coach, in round one of the NAB Cup on Sunday, Chris Scott led his side to an 18-point win over North Melbourne, the club his brother Brad has coached for the past year.
The Age's sports section greeted Chris' maiden victory in the brotherly coaching stakes - and subsequent triumph against the Western Bulldogs - with the headline "Twin Peaks".
As headlines go, it's a stretch. Yes, it highlights the first showdown between the League's first set of coaching twins, but can you really say two round one NAB Cup wins are "peaks"?
More interesting were Chris' comments on his refinement of Geelong's game plan, a refinement it seems has been minor.
"Did they kick it more? Probably at times. It's really hard because I don't know the old Geelong game intimately, I know it as an outsider and as an opposition (assistant) coach," Chris said at his post-match press conference.
"But we're certainly working on some things that we saw good signs of, but we've got a fair bit to go."
Also asked about Brad and whether they'd spoken in the lead-up to Sunday's match, Chris politely replied they had but not about football, then added: "We've got that question out of the way, let's move on."
Amen to that. Hopefully everyone takes the hint.
The final siren for Fev
So almost two months after a New Year's Eve celebration gone wrong, Brendan Fevola's career at the Brisbane Lions is over.
But, it seems, the Lions' press release last night announcing it had sacked the former Carlton spearhead and two-time Coleman medallist for "persistent breaches of his duties under his player contractual obligations" is not the end of the matter.
Media speculation about Fevola's future had intensified recently with widespread reports that a meeting between members of the Lions' hierarchy and the AFL last Friday had paved the way for the Lions to sack Fevola, with the AFL allowing them to split any settlement over the next seasons to avoid salary cap problems.
Shortly after the Lions' announcement, Fevola's manager, Alastair Lynch, responded by saying he did not regard his client's sacking to be legal. In other words, legal action may follow.
Lynch's statement also revealed the extent of Fevola's desperation to resume his career.
During the meeting in which Lions coach Michael Voss and football manager Dean Warren gave Fevola his marching orders, Lynch said, Fevola offered to spend all of 2011 playing for the Lions' reserves side and accept "whatever behavioural clauses the club wished to impose". All in an attempt to return to the Lions' AFL side in 2012.
However, The Courier Mail reports Voss met the Lions' board on Sunday, when he endorsed its decision to sack Fevola - which the report said was unanimous - and admitted recruiting him had been a "stuff up".
That it has been, for everyone involved in the deal.
As Mike Sheahan pointed out in Monday's Herald Sun, the Lions effectively lost five players after committing to Fevola - Lachie Henderson and the No. 12 draft pick they gave to Carlton in exchange for Fevola, and, variously because of the disenchantment and salary cap problems caused by Fevola's recruitment, Daniel Bradshaw, Michael Rischitelli and Jared Brennan. And, at 30, Fevola is "washed up".
Lynch's press release said Fevola was "shattered" by the news. Fortunately, it also said he will remain at the clinic, where he has been treated for the immediate future. His wellbeing is now the biggest concern.
Caution needed in Nixon scandal
The only thing certain in the Ricky Nixon-schoolgirl scandal is the uncertainty surrounding what's actually happened.
Since the story broke on Friday night of Nixon attending the city hotel room of the 17-year-old girl at the centre of the St Kilda nude photo affair, both sides have consistently given very different versions of events.
The girl has alleged a month-long affair. Nixon strenuously denies any sexual relations, admitting only "inappropriate dealings".
Add to this, video and audio tapes that allegedly corroborate the girl's story - of which Nixon takes issue with their authenticity - and you have a simmering powder keg. One that has to be treated with extreme caution.
Against this backdrop, the Herald Sun's chief football writer Mike Sheahan, in a front-page report on Monday, called for the AFL Players' Association to withdraw Nixon's player agent licence.
In the tabloid's opinion pages, it ran an editorial that says the girl's wellbeing is the top priority and Nixon, at least, owes her an apology.
Alongside this, columnist Rebecca Wilson says the scandal should be a wake-up call for the AFL to introduce rules on players visiting schools, and to develop strategies to better deal with the potential pitfalls of the social media. Clubs, players and the AFL needed to consider reining in the power of player managers too, Wilson wrote.
Meanwhile, The Age ran a page three interview with the teenager that, among other things, revealed her room- service dinner preferences and the alleged existence of mobile phone photos of Nixon in his underwear.
In the broadsheet's sports section, Michael Gleeson said Nixon was guilty, at the very least, of "profound stupidity and a gross lapse of judgment".
Nixon, himself, concedes this.
But with all other facts in this matter in dispute, people should be careful not to rush to judgment before all the evidence is in.
In short
Carlton ruckman Matthew Kreuzer's return from a knee reconstruction is on track but it's unlikely he will be ready to play by round one of the home and away season, the Herald Sun reports.
The Western Bulldogs have identified improved defensive pressure in their forward line as one of the areas that will help them bridge the gap on last year's grand finalists, Collingwood and St Kilda, with recruit Nathan Djerrkura to give them a boost in this area, The Age reports.
Gary Ablett's first appearance for the Gold Coast Suns has been put off for at least another week, with The Courier Mail reporting the Suns inaugural captain will not play in his side's NAB Cup clash with West Coast at Patersons Stadium on Sunday.
Sydney Swan Josh Kennedy has now developed the endurance needed to become one of the Swans' prime movers in the midfield, although new coach John Longmire has indicated the 188cm former Hawk will also spend time at half-forward in 2011: The Daily Telegraph.
Kevin Sheedy has compared GWS half-back Jeremy Cameron to Paul Roos, the champion Fitzroy/Sydney Swans centre half-back of the 1980s and '90s, The Daily Telegraph reports. Cameron impressed in the Giants' NAB Cup matches on Saturday night, prompting Sheedy to say: "He has got a lot to learn, obviously, but there is a little bit of Paul Roos about him, he has some good run and good flow. He reads it quite well, is a very good mark and he is a talented sportsperson."
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL
