FORMER Essendon coach Matthew Knights still holds ambitions to coach despite being considered an outsider in the string of vacant coaching jobs.
The recent Richmond Hall of Fame inductee is reported in the Herald Sun as declaring his interest in the positions at Melbourne, Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs.
"I've managed to have 12 months off to freshen up and those two great years [at Essendon] probably whet your appetite to go on and coach again," Knights said.
"The three years at Essendon, I had two outstanding years - fantastic, you know, with the young group. We won eight in the first year and 10 in the second year and just had great support from the administration and the board … everyone was on the same course.
"The last 12 months obviously wasn't great, it wasn't ideal. We didn’t win the games we should have and had a tough year.
"[But] it was all about starting again, starting afresh with a new list after Kevin [Sheedy] … it's just whet the appetite."
Knights hasn't been framed in the market for any of the vacant coaching jobs with Sportsbet, but nothing should be discounted according to Herald Sun columnist Mark Stevens.
Stevens says Chris Scott was at the healthy odds of $21 before being appointed Geelong coach last year while twin brother Brad blew out to $26 before accepting the job at North Melbourne.
"The message from the above examples is simple: Expect the unexpected at Adelaide, Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs," Stevens writes.
Stevens points to former Roo, now Hawthorn assistant, Adam Simpson and Essendon assistant Brendan McCartney as the best roughies.
"[Simpson] plays a key role in stoppages at the Hawks - an area where the flag contender has regained their mojo this season," Stevens writes.
"Sources in the industry are adamant Simpson could step into the hot seat tomorrow if Clarkson fell ill."
McCartney, who crossed to Essendon from Geelong along with former coach Mark Thompson should also be put in your multis, says Stevens.
"Why all the talk about Simon Goodwin at Essendon when there is a candidate such as McCartney in the box near the developing James Hird?" Stevens asks.
Earlier in the year, Bombers coach James Hird was also full of praise for McCartney.
"I can't imagine there's a better coach in Australia in the way he develops players and teaches them to play football … I'm surprised someone like that hasn't had a chance at senior level because, in my time in footy, I don't think I've met a better coach," Hird told Fox Sports' On The Couch.
Barry still bristling
Many Swans fans were left scratching their heads last month when former premiership captain Barry Hall, announcing his retirement, said he wanted to be remembered as a Bulldog for life.
While the comment was made when Hall was dressed in Bulldogs colours, the club who threw him a lifeline after leaving the Swans in 2009, many still thought it pointed to a rift with former coach Paul Roos.
Despite initially denying any bad blood between the pair, Hall has come out swinging in his soon-to-be released autobiography, the Herald Sun reports.
"The worst thing was our disagreements were never openly discussed between me and [Roos]," Hall writes.
"Whenever there was a meeting, there was always other people - on his side - around.
"I felt like telling him to grow some balls and tell me what he thought face-to-face, but that never happened."
Roos, widely considered an affable character that possesses one of the best minds in football, earns only reserved praise from Hall for his coaching legacy
"Other people might have seen him as God's gift to coaching and the saviour of Sydney and that's fine. I'll nod my head and half-agree with them. He's got a great record," Hall writes.
"I'll have to say, though, that I lost a lot of respect for the bloke over the latter stages of my career at the Swans. I couldn't respect the way he went about things."
Roos, not one to enter into a slanging match, was surprised by the barbs from Hall but stopped short of returning fire.
"I can only apologise if he thinks there wasn't enough one on one," Roos told the Herald Sun.
"Some blokes are more comfortable with that type of [group] communication. My door was always open and I think all the players knew that."
Laissez-flair
In a season that's featured more spectacular marks than any in recent memory, it's hard to believe football could be considered more structured and regimented than ever before.
But that's the argument Melbourne legend Garry Lyon puts forward in The Age on Saturday.
Lyon, who is now inside the inner sanctum of Melbourne after coach Dean Bailey's departure, writes, "The landscape is unrecognisable from the one I retired from a dozen years ago".
Lyon goes on to ponder whether there is still room for an instinctive footballer that can't conform to the demands of the era of the forward press and defensive zone.
"The undeniable fact is there is a certain percentage of footballers today who struggle enormously with game theory," Lyon writes.
"They are very much in the "see ball, get ball" category. But the game has evolved so much in the past five years that getting your hands on the ball is sometimes less important that standing in the right place, at the right time.
"When the ball is coming down the wing, and you're playing on the opposite half-forward flank, your first thought is no longer about streaming into the forward 50 to get on the end of it, but rather to cover the 'exits', denying the opposition any easy transition."
Lyon uses the example of Richmond midfielder Shane Tuck, whose continued absence from the side has left many Tigers fans bemused.
"Commentators and talkback callers have been mystified as to why he hasn't had more game time. The fact remains that while Tuck's numbers in terms of contested football and clearances warrant selection every week, his inability to get his head around Damien Hardwick's demands when he doesn't have the football - or is in pursuit of the football - count against him."
However, pointing to the likes of Steve Johnson, Luke Dahlhaus Scott Pendlebury and Chris Judd, Lyon says there is still room for flair - provided it's backed by theory.
"The really successful teams today are not only laden with beautiful skilled footballers," Lyon writes. "They are also stacked with knowledgeable and switched-on football "students".
"The team meeting is no longer a place to sit in the back and hide if you want to get ahead in the game. It is a place of learning. It can become the difference between getting a game or not."
In short
Melbourne caretaker coach Todd Viney believes midfielders Colin Sylvia and Cale Morton will remain with the club beyond 2011, the Herald Sun reports. Viney said Sylvia was "a Melbourne person" while adding "we are confident Morton will play here next year."
The AFL Players' Association is closely monitoring the Kane Cornes saga, the Sydney Morning Herald says. AFLPA chief Matt Finnis says Port, who is rumoured to have told Cornes he is not required beyond 2011, are duty bound to honour its agreements with players. "He's entitled to that both under law, and under the rules that govern the competition," Finnis said.
Despite a standout season, West Coast midfielder Andrew Embley is unlikely to be offered more than a one-year contract at season's end, The West Australian reports. Negotiations are believed to have started with the premiership player but his age (30) is likely to count against him in a bid for a longer contract. Fellow veteran Dean Cox secured a two-year deal in June.
