From Freo to the Lions' den
IT SEEMS old coaches never die they just become assistants or football managers.

A day after former North Melbourne coach Dean Laidley joined Scott Watters' new team at St Kilda as midfield coach, The Courier Mail's Andrew Hamilton reports recently deposed Fremantle coach Mark Harvey might join the Brisbane Lions as a senior assistant to coach Michael Voss.

Hamilton writes that the Lions are pursuing Harvey to play the mentoring role they originally earmarked for former Adelaide coach Neil Craig.

Lions football manager Dean Warren told Hamilton signing Harvey would be a coup for the club.

"No doubt he would add a significant amount of experience and knowledge to our coaching team, and being a senior coach would be a terrific help to Vossy," Warren said.

"He is very strong on strategy and analysis and will bring great match-day strengths. Our discussions have been pretty positive."

If you were the only person in the southern hemisphere who missed it, Harvey was sensationally sacked by Freo on September 15, a year after taking his young team to sixth place, on the back of an injury-ravaged 2011 season and despite having a year to run on his contract.

The following day, Fremantle confirmed they had poached Ross Lyon from St Kilda to replace Harvey, unveiling their prized signing before a voracious media pack that questioned the manner in which Freo and Lyon had negotiated a four-year deal behind their respective employee and employer's backs.

Meanwhile, the Lions' interest in Harvey stems from their wide-ranging review this season that resulted in Voss' reappointment for the next two seasons, but which also recommended he be supported by an assistant with senior coaching experience.

Voss took the Lions to sixth in his first season as coach, but has since led them to 13th in 2010 and 15th last season.

Hamilton writes that the Lions' board will not "tolerate" a third consecutive poor season and has included "strict performance benchmarks" that Voss has to meet to keep his job in 2013.

Note: Harvey's appointment was confirmed on Thursday afternoon.

Stynes' inspirational battle
For the past two-and-half years Melbourne chairman Jim Stynes has fought cancer with the same single-minded focus he had in his 264 games with the Demons.

On Wednesday, he told 3AW he had been in a "really bad way" two weeks ago - so bad his wife, Sam, said she feared he would die - but had "turned a corner".

Which means, Stynes being Stynes, his fight will continue.

On Thursday, the Herald Sun reports this has involved him becoming the first person in Australia to trial a new drug that targets cancer cells without destroying healthy ones.

The tabloid writes that the drug is an extension of a US product called Ipilmumab and is a "new immune stimulation treatment".

Oncologist Grant McArthur told the Herald Sun Stynes had been selected for the trial because of the tenacity he had shown in his fight against cancer.  

Despite the mental strength Stynes has displayed publicly throughout his illness, he told 3AW he was not sure he would win his cancer battle. He also said the thought of not seeing his children grow up often reduced him to tears.

Nonetheless, Stynes still manages to find some good in the hand he's been dealt. "There is beauty in the experience," he said.

For Stynes, that beauty has been the shift in his focus from football and his youth work with Reach to his family.

However, as we've seen throughout the past two and a half years, Stynes will always find time for Melbourne. On Wednesday, he shared his appraisal of new Demons coach Mark Neeld.

"It looks like we have a coach now that is really serious and he is not going to relax," Stynes said. "He is not going to sit back and let it all happen. He is going to create it - it's good."

Stynes also said he hadn't thought about stepping down as chairman. "When the time is right, we'll make the right decisions," he said.

The Power of Leon
It seems the AFL career of 'retired' Collingwood star Leon Davis may not be over after all. At least not if Port Adelaide's inaugural captain Gavin Wanganeen has his way.

Wanganeen told The Advertiser Davis would be a "perfect fit" at the Power and urged them to throw him an AFL lifeline.
 
The 2009 and 2011 All-Australian walked out on the Magpies last week citing a desire - through his manager Liam Pickering - to be closer to his family in Western Australia, although close friend and media commentator Brian Taylor told 3AW the pay cut the Pies were asking him to take in 2012 had been a factor in his decision.

Davis has since said he is open to continuing his AFL career in Perth with West Coast or Fremantle and also in South Australia where his partner, Janelle, is from.

The WA clubs, Adelaide and Port Adelaide are yet to officially declare an interest in drafting Davis.

Recruiting the 30-year-old would also seem to be at odds with the youth policy Power coach Matthew Primus is implementing at Alberton Oval. But Wanganeen thinks Davis could play an important role in his former club's planned revival.

"The thing with Leon is that he is still at the top of his game," Wanganeen said. "He was an All Australian running defender this year and those types of players just don't fall off trees.

"Port shouldn't be put off by Leon's age because he's still playing top football. I know Matty (Primus) went with younger players last season but Leon could play a key role for a year or two.

"Not only could he give the club an immediate lift and add some real rebound from defence but he could teach the club's young defenders about the game."

Wanganeen suggested the most cost-effective way for Port to snare Davis would be with the No.2 pick it holds in the pre-season draft.

Another prospective Giant profiled
This year's upcoming national draft lacks the usual sense of anticipation - that is, unless you're a Greater Western Sydney fan.

The Giants hold 11 of the first 14 picks so their fans can smile when they see this year's best young footballers profiled in the lead-up to the November 24 draft night. But for the rest of us it's like having our noses rubbed in all the talent our clubs have no chance of getting.

Matthew Buntine is one such footballer. The Herald Sun's Jay Clark predicts the Giants will take him in the draft's first five selections - all of which they hold.

What they will get - and what the rest of our teams will miss out on - is a defender who Clark says: reads the play better than anyone in this year's draft batch; is a natural leader who has captained every team he's played in since under-11s; can shut down small and tall forwards; is strong in one-on-one marking contests; and is an elite kick. 

Buntine also averaged 22 possessions a game for the Dandenong Stingrays in this year's TAC Cup and showed he could push into the midfield and have an impact.

Oh, and Clark says he plays like St Kilda star Sam Fisher.

The only other club Clark gives any chance of snaring Buntine is Port Adelaide, at selection No. 6.

Hayes' comeback on track
St Kilda vice-captain Lenny Hayes told the Herald Sun his comeback from a knee construction is on track but he refuses to target a specific return date.

"With these things, and at my age as well, things can happen with hiccups here and there," Hayes said.

"I will just play when I'm ready. I spoke to Scott (Watters) about that and he said whether it's round one or round six, just get yourself right."

Hayes said he expected to start the pre-season on a modified program but hoped to join the Saints' main training group before Christmas.


The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL

Follow Nick Bowen on Twitter at @NickBowen71