Here follows the AFL news list for this week.

1 PROGRAM OF MATCHES (all times are local) 

Round Two (All times are local)

Thursday March 27

Richmond v Carlton at the MCG, 7.45pm

Friday March 28

Essendon v Hawthorn at Etihad Stadium, 7.50pm

Saturday March 29

St Kilda v GWS Giants at Etihad Stadium, 1.40pm

Port Adelaide v Adelaide Crows at Adelaide Oval, 4.15pm

Fremantle v Gold Coast Suns at Patersons Stadium, 4.40pm

Sydney Swans v Collingwood at ANZ Stadium, 7.40pm

Sunday March 30

Brisbane Lions v Geelong Cats at the Gabba, 12.10pm

Melbourne v West Coast at the MCG, 3.20pm

Western Bulldogs v North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium, 4.40pm

2 IMPENDING MILESTONES 

Most Career Games – Brent Harvey, North Melbourne. Brent is due to play his 364th game this week, drawing him level with Brad Johnson in eighth position for most games in VFL/AFL history. The top 10 players in the game’s history are: Michael Tuck (Hawthorn, 426 games), Kevin Bartlett (Richmond, 403 games), Robert Harvey (St Kilda, 383 games), Dustin Fletcher (Essendon, 379 games), Simon Madden (Essendon, 378 games), Craig Bradley (Carlton, 375 games), Bernie Quinlan (Footscray/Fitzroy, 366 games), Brad Johnson (Western Bulldogs, 364 games), Brent Harvey (North Melbourne, 363 games), John Blakey (Fitzroy/North Melbourne, 359 games).

Most Career Games, Rookie List Player – Dean Cox, West Cox. Dean is due to play his 275th league game this week, equalling the record of St Kilda’s Stephen Milne for the most games in history by a player who began his career on the rookie list. Most games by rookie list players are - Stephen Milne (275 games, 2000 Rookie Draft), Dean Cox (274 games, 2000 Rookie Draft), James McDonald (264 games, 1997 Rookie Draft), Brett Kirk (241 games, 1999 Rookie Draft), Mal Michael (238 games, 1997 Rookie Draft), Darren Jolly (237 games, 2001 Rookie Draft), Michael Doughty (231 games, 2000 Rookie Draft), Russell Robertson (228 games, 1997 Rookie Draft), Quentin Lynch (227 games, 2001 Rookie Draft), Tarkyn Lockyer (227 games, 1998 Rookie Draft).

200 games – Nick Maxwell, Collingwood

200 games – Josh Hunt, GWS Giants

200 games – Andrew Mackie, Geelong Cats

150 games – Josh Gibson, Hawthorn

100 consecutive games from debut – Jack Redden, Brisbane Lions. Jack is due to become only the eighth player in VFL/AFL debut to play 100 games from debut, joining Jared Crouch (194 games from debut for the Sydney Swans), John Murphy (158 games from debut for Fitzroy), David Mundy (124 games from debut for Fremantle), Steven Wallis (113 games from debut for Footscray), Allan Woodley (110 games from debut for Hawthorn), Shane Woewodin (107 games from debut for Melbourne) and Ian Law (100 games from debut for Hawthorn).

100 games – Jeff Garlett, Carlton

100 games – Daniel Rich, Brisbane Lions

100 games – Nick Smith, Sydney Swans

100 club games – Josh Kennedy, Sydney Swans

100 club games – Josh Kennedy, West Coast

50 consecutive games – Matthew Broadbent, Port Adelaide

50 games coached – Nathan Buckley, Collingwood

3 TRIBUNAL MATCH REVIEW PROCESS

The expected process for the 2014 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 player was reported from the weekend’s matches:

Lewis Johnston, Adelaide Crows, reported by umpire Matt Stevic for making forceful contact from front-on against Steve Johnson, Geelong Cats, during the second quarter of the Round One match between the Adelaide Crows and the Geelong Cats, played at Simonds Stadium on Thursday March 20, 2014.

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 AFL INJURY LIST

The AFL wishes to advise the following recent changes have been made to the long-term injury list:

Adelaide Crows - Placed Nathan Van Berlo on the long-term injury list, with no replacement named at this time.

Essendon - Placed Alex Browne on the long-term injury list and upgraded Patrick Ambrose from the rookie list as his replacement.

Geelong Cats - Upgraded Jackson Sheringham from the rookie list as the replacement for Allen Christensen, who was already on the long-term injury list.

Hawthorn - Upgraded Derick Wanganeen from the rookie list as the replacement for Gavin Whitecross, who was already on the long-term injury list.

Melbourne - Placed Mitch Clark on the long-term injury list and upgraded Alex Georgiou from the rookie list as his replacement.

North Melbourne - Placed Tom Curran on the long-term injury list and upgraded Joel Tippett from the rookie list as his replacement.

St Kilda - Placed Lewis Pierce on the long-term injury list and upgraded Eli Templeton from the rookie list as his replacement.

West Coast - Upgraded Callum Sinclair from the rookie list as the replacement for Tom Barrass, who was already on the long-term injury list.

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:

Patrick McGinnity, West Coast. One match. One match served from the NAB Challenge.

Lenny Hayes, St Kilda, One match. One match served from the NAB Challenge.

Maverick Weller, St Kilda, One match. One match served from the NAB Challenge.

Cyril Rioli, Hawthorn, One match. One match served from the 2014 Grand Final.

Leigh Montagna, St Kilda, One match. One match served from the 2014 Premiership Season.

Currently Suspended (for the premiership season):

Andrew Walker, Carlton. One match to serve. One match from Round One.

Jake Melksham, Essendon. One match to serve. Two matches from round 23, 2014.

Brian Lake, Hawthorn. Two matches to serve. Three matches from the 2014 Grand Final.

7 UPGRADE OF NOMINATED ROOKIES TO SENIOR LIST

The AFL wishes to advise the following list changes have been made in the pre-season period under the AFL player rules regarding Nominated Rookie Players. Under the Nominated Rookie Rule, a club is eligible to nominate a rookie player who can play during the premiership season and finals series if a club has 38 players on its list (not including veteran players) and it satisfies the Total Player Payments requirements.

Carlton – Jaryd Cachia.

Carlton – Heath Scotland.

Collingwood – Ben Hudson.

Richmond – Matt Thomas.

Richmond – Orren Stephenson.

8 CHANGES TO MATCH START TIMES 

The AFL wishes to advise the following match times have been altered for the 2014 Toyota AFL Premiership Season:

Round Two, Saturday March 29 - Port Adelaide v Adelaide Crows at Adelaide Oval to now start at 4.15pm local time, from 4.10pm local time.

Round Six, Friday April 25 - Fremantle v North Melbourne at Patersons Stadium to now start at 6.45pm local time, from 6.40pm local time.

9 CHANGE TO AFL CONTACT POINT FOR MEDIA DURING APRIL 2014

The AFL wishes to advise that media manager Patrick Keane will be away on long-service leave through April 2014. The primary contact point for media through this period on weekdays will be James Avery – james.avery@afl.com.au and 0447 430 037 – and on weekends will be James Tonkin – james.tonkin@afl.com.au and 0413 432 775.

10 2014 NAB AFL UNDER 18S CHAMPIONSHIPS FIXTURE

Please find attached the fixture for the 2014 NAB AFL Under 18s Championships:

Sunday May 18

Vic Country v Vic Metro at Visy Park, 11am

Saturday May 24

SA v WA at AAMI Stadium, 12pm

Saturday May 31

WA v Vic Metro at Medibank Stadium, 11am

Sunday June 1

SA v Vic Country at AAMI Stadium, 11.30am

Saturday June 7

WA v SA at Medibank Stadium, 11am

Sunday June 8

Vic Metro v Vic Country at Visy Park, 11am

Saturday June 14

SA v Vic Metro at AAMI Stadium, 11am

Sunday June 15

WA v Vic Country at Fremantle Oval, 11am

Saturday June 21

Tas v Qld at Blacktown International Sports Park, 10.30am

NSW/ACT v NT at Blacktown International Sports Park, 12.50pm

Friday June 27

Vic Metro v WA at Simonds Stadium, 12.35pm

Vic Country v SA at Simonds Stadium, 2.35pm

Saturday June 28

NT v Qld at Visy Park, 12pm

NSW/ACT v Tas at Visy Park, 2.15pm

Wednesday July 2

Qld v NSW/ACT at Etihad Stadium, 3.35pm

Vic Country v WA at Etihad Stadium, 5.35pm

Thursday July 3

NT v Tas at Simonds Stadium, 11am

Vic Metro v SA at Simonds Stadium, 1.15pm

11 2014 NAB AFL UNDER 16S CHAMPIONSHIP FIXTURE

Please find attached the fixture for the 2014 NAB AFL Under 16s Championships:

Saturday July 5

SA v Vic Country at Metricon Stadium, 10.20am

Vic Metro v WA at Metricon Stadium, 1pm

Sunday July 6

South Pacific v World at Broadbeach, 9am

Tas v Qld at Broadbeach, 11am

NSW/ACT v NT at Broadbeach, 1.20pm

WA NW v Boomerangs at Broadbeach, 3.40pm

Tuesday July 8

WA v Vic Country at Metricon Stadium, 11am

SA v Vic Metro at Metricon Stadium, 1.10pm

Wednesday July 9

South Pacific v WA NW at Broadbeach, 9am

World v Boomerangs at Broadbeach, 11am

Qld v NSW/ACT at Southport, 1.30pm

NT v Tas at Southport, 3.30pm

Friday July 11

WA v WA at Southport, 9.45am

Vic Country v Vic Metro at Southport, 11.45am

Saturday July 12

WA NW v World at Metricon 2, 9.30am

Boomerangs v South Pacific at Metricon 2, 11.30am

Tas v NSW/ACT at Metricon Stadium, 11.30am

NT v Qld at Metricon Stadium, 1.30pm

12 GOLD COAST SUNS EXPANSION COMPENSATION PICKS

As a reminder to all media, the AFL wishes to advise the following Gold Coast Suns’ expansion compensation picks MUST be used at this year’s 2014 NAB AFL Draft. Expansion picks were able to be activated and used in any of the five drafts in the period 2010-2014 and the following three still-unused selections must therefore be used this year.

Gold Coast Suns, round one selection. Received from the Geelong Cats (compensation for the loss of Gary Ablett) in a trade in 2012.

GWS Giants, end round one selection. Received from the Brisbane Lions (compensation for the loss of Jared Brennan) via a trade to the GC Suns in 2010 and then a trade to the GWS Giants in 2012.

Gold Coast Suns, round three selection. Received from Collingwood (compensation for the loss of Josh Fraser) via a trade to West Coast in 2010 and then a trade to the GC Suns in 2013.

Clubs are able to trade these selections during the 2014 AFL Exchange Period.

13 2014 AFL KEY DATES

Please find attached the key dates for the 2014 season around club list requirements, Gillette AFL Trade Period and the NAB AFL Draft Process:

Friday 1 August by 2pm  - Draft Eligible Academy Player Nominations Lodged.

Friday 3 October - Gillette AFL Restricted Free Agency Offer and Unrestricted Free Agency Period Commences.

Friday 3 October by 2pm - Gillette AFL Father-Son Bidding Nominations; Academy Bidding Nominations lodged with AFL.

Monday 6 October 10am - Father/Son & Academy Players Bidding Meeting;  Gillette AFL Trade Period Commences.

Monday 13 October at 5pm - Close of Gillette AFL Restricted Free Agency Offer and Unrestricted Free Agency Period.

Thursday 16 October - Gillette AFL Restricted Free Agency Matching Offer Three-Day Period Ends

Friday 17 October at 2pm - Gillette AFL Trade Period Closes.

Friday 31 October by 2pm - List Lodgement (1); Rookie Promotion to Primary List; Retained 2nd & 3rd Year Rookies; Scholarship Players; Alternate Talent Player Nominations, TPP Estimates.

Saturday 1 November - Gillette AFL Delisted Player Free Agency Period (1) Commences.

Wednesday 12 November - Gillette AFL Delisted Player Free Agency Period (1) Closes; Out of Contract Listed AFL Primary List Players Draft Nomination Form and Player Request for Removal from List Form Lodged with AFL; New or Expired (after 3 years) Draft Nomination Form Lodgement.

Thursday 13 November by 2pm - List Lodgement (2).

Friday 14 November - Gillette AFL Delisted Player Free Agency Period (2) Commences.

Wednesday 19 November  - Delisted Primary List Draft Nomination Form Lodgement; Non–Retained Rookie Players Draft Nomination Form Lodgement; Players Not Registered or Played for Three years Rookie Nomination. Gillette AFL Delisted Player Free Agency Period (2) Closes.

Monday 24 November – SUBJECT TO CONFIRMATION - NAB AFL Draft Selection Meeting (Gold Coast Convention Centre).

Tuesday November 25 – Gillette AFL Delisted Free Agency Period (3) Commences.

Wednesday 26 November - Gillette AFL Delisted Player Free Agency Period (3) Concludes

Wednesday November 26 by 2pm - AFL Club List Lodgement (3) and TPP Estimates.

International Players Inclusion on Rookie List Form; Scholarship Players Rookie List Form Lodged; Father-Son and Academy Pre-Selected Rookie Nominations.

Friday 28 November - NAB AFL Pre-Season Draft Selection Meeting (11am, Telstra Webex); Notification of Pre-Selected Rookies Nominated on Monday November 25 if not selected in the Pre-Season Draft (11.05am); NAB AFL Rookie Draft Selection Meeting (11.10am, Telstra Webex).

Monday 1 December – Final Club List Lodgement.

Friday 12 December by 2pm - International Players Inclusion on Rookie List.

14 AFL INTERCHANGE CAP – IN-MATCH TRACKING OF ROTATION NUMBERS

The AFL has introduced an interchange cap at all matches in the 2014 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. The AFL Commission has determined that a cap of 120 interchanges per match will apply for Seasons 2014 and 2015.  The AFL will be electronically counting interchange numbers through all matches with the information relayed in real-time to clubs, media and the football public via Champion Data's normal statistical service. All media should note that any interchanges made at quarter breaks and due to the blood rule will not counted. An interchange as a result of a substitution, stretcher, concussion or other medical assessment will also not be counted, with that player not allowed back on the field for 20 minutes (and in the case of the substituted player, not at all). All media should note that AFL Interchange Officials have been instructed to count all interchange rotations during the match, with the scenarios listed above (where a player is not counted) subsequently recorded. All media should note that this will mean the interchange count will decrease by one on some occasions during matches. For example, where a team activates their substitute, the substituted player will be counted when leaving the field of play and, subsequent to that, the count will be decrease by one when the AFL Interchange Official is formally notified of the substitute. 

15 2014 LAWS OF THE GAME – INSTRUCTION DVD  

The 2014 Laws of the Game video is also now available on the AFL site for any interested media to view: http://www.afl.com.au/afl-hq/laws-of-the-game.

16 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.

17 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.

Ends

Patrick Keane