Weird cat in the mix

ADELAIDE coach Neil Craig wasn't a happy man after the Crows' capitulation against Essendon on Friday night, causing some grievous bodily harm to the AAMI Stadium coach's box telephone.

And he won't be too thrilled to wake up on Sunday morning to find his coaching future being questioned yet again.

This time, however, it's not former Crows skipper and now Bombers assistant coach Simon Goodwin who is being talked about as his replacement.

The new favourite, according to Mark Stevens in the Sunday Herald Sun, is former defender Nathan Bassett.

Ask anyone in Adelaide football circles, writes Stevens, and they will tell you Nathan Bassett is "a bit of a weird cat". But they will also declare him a genius.

Craig himself is a fan, Stevens insists, and former Port Adelaide skipper Warren Tredrea is also on the bandwagon.

"He is coaching Norwood in the SANFL as if they are an AFL team ... the press, video analysis, everything," Tredrea told The Advertiser.

Whether introducing a level of professionalism into the SANFL necessarily means Bassett is a genius - or indeed "a weird cat" - it's nice to see a new name thrown into the pot of prospective AFL coaches.

Meanwhile former star Crow Tyson Edwards has declared that Craig's time is up.

First Edwards offered some praise: "He's changed the culture of the footy club I think, he's been the catalyst behind that, and he needs to be given credit for that," he told Adelaide radio station FIVEaa.

"He's got us to some finals series when opposition and people watching didn't think we'd make it, he's got a fantastic leadership program there now."

But then he applied the blowtorch: "I've just got a feeling it's time for a bit of a change there. As much good as he's done, I just think it's time that we did have a look at something else.

"I know (former Sydney leader) Paul Roos has said he won't coach and (Mick) Malthouse says he won't coach next year, but I would be exhausting every option to see if there is something we can freshen the place up a bit with."

Polak calls it quits

Former Richmond and Fremantle ruckman-forward Graham Polak has retired from football.

Speaking exclusively on Channel 7's Game Day, Polak said a recent concussion playing for East Perth in the WAFL, which left him unconscious on the field for three minutes, had convinced him to walk away from football.

Polak was struck by a tram in Polak was struck by a tram in mid-2008, suffering serious head injuries that seemed likely to end his career but he came back to play five senior matches with the Tigers in 2009 and 2010.

Polak said the concerns of family and friends over his head trauma had helped him make his decision. He said wife Alyce was pregnant, and he wanted to be around for his family's sake.

"[My career] has had its ups and downs, but for my health, and for the emotions of my friends and my family, I am deciding to hang my boots up once and for all and move on to the next phase of my life."

Heppell the captain-coach

Essendon defender Dyson Heppell's former U18 coach says he is not surprised by the young star's seamless transition into AFL ranks.

Damian Carroll, his coach at Gippsland Power in the TAC Cup last season, told The Age that Heppell, who is favourite to win the NAB AFL Rising Star award, was "pretty much the captain-coach of Gippsland Power last year himself. He's just one out of the box.

"Anyone who was at that preliminary final last year saw we were 27 points down and he grabbed the team and lifted us over the line. He was obviously a major reason why we got to the grand final and he got us a chance to play on the big stage which was great."

''But probably more impressive was probably after the game because he got everyone involved, parents and trainers and everyone to sing the song. I think that was the quality of the kid as much as the footy side with him."

Ablett the younger still hopeful

A groin injury has set back Nathan Ablett's prospects of a return to the AFL to play with his brother Gary at Gold Coast.

Gold Coast football manager Marcus Ashcroft told the Sunday Herald Sun that the injury came as Ablett had struck form in the reserves.

"He was elevating himself to being right in the mix," Ashcroft said. "He was just unfortunate that, at times, he has had niggle here and there.

"We would love to have someone (in the side) who has played in a premiership, and who has experience and size. We need someone like him. But we will let it go as long as we can.

"We have got eight rounds to go, and we are just focusing on trying to get everyone to have the chance to play over the next eight weeks."

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