The Australian
Carlton's' only hope of eclipsing Suns is three-way deal for Jared Brennan
Stephen Rielly
JARED Brennan's future seems certain to be in the Gold Coast sun, with coach Guy McKenna bringing his new team's interest in the 26-year-old out into the open yesterday before Carlton conceded that it has little hope of wooing him to Melbourne.
The Blues spoke with Brennan's manager, Tom Petroro, yesterday but not long after McKenna said the Suns would be "a player" in the chase for the Brisbane utility. Carlton football operations manager Steven Icke said he could not see a way for the Blues to compete. Brennan is understood to be entertaining a four-year offer worth close to $2.4 million from the Suns.
"Gold Coast has more money and the draft picks to get the deal done," Icke said. "If Jared wants to leave south-east Queensland, we're interested. But if it is a contest, then as I said Gold Coast has more money to spend and a fistful of picks to work a deal.
AFL welcomes back Krakouer
Courtney Walsh
AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou yesterday cleared the way for former Tiger Andrew Krakouer to return to elite football less than a year after he finished a prison term for a vicious assault in Perth.
Krakouer's career seemed over when he was jailed in July 2008, for at least 16 months for an attack judge Kate O'Brien deemed vicious and cowardly in Fremantle 18 months earlier.
But Demetriou yesterday said Krakouer, who was a runaway winner of the Sandover Medal on Monday night for the best player in the WAFL after a stellar season with Swan Districts, had served his time.
afl.com.au
Birdman flies to Lions
Jason Phelan
Former Adelaide high-flier Brett Burton has flown north to Brisbane to take up a position as the Lions’ physical performance manager.
Burton, 32, retired from football midway through the 2010 season after struggling to shake a knee injury that required surgery. Throughout his 177-game career at the Crows, Burton developed a reputation for his meticulous approach to physical preparation and frequently topped the club’s pre-season time trials.
With an honours degree in sports science to back up his extensive experience in the field, Burton was courted by cross-town rival Port Adelaide before deciding to take up the Lions’ offer.
“Throughout my career I’ve always kept a keen interest in fitness and have always wanted to go down that pathway once footy finished,” Burton said in a statement released by the club on Wednesday.
The Herald Sun
MCG to get a $55m facelift for Southern Stand
Stephen McMahon
NEW bars and food courts for fans are the centrepiece of the $55 million facelift for the MCG's Southern Stand.
The overhaul will make it easier for fans to get into the games and have a more enjoyable experience, with better catering areas, upgraded function rooms, plasma TVs and better toilets.
The Melbourne Cricket Club yesterday provided $25 million on top of the $30 million already pledged by the State Government to make sure Melbourne remains the country's sporting capital.
The major works, starting next year, will take place outside the football season and should be finished before the following AFL season.
Nothing fishy in missing Brownlow votes
Jon Ralph
THE AFL has dodged a bullet over its lost Brownlow vote saga, with bookmakers confirming no suspicious betting for the Round 8 Melbourne-West Coast game.
AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou will read out the votes of the game at the Brownlow Medal on Monday night aware the league cannot account for them.
They were lost in a breach of protocol, forcing the league to evaluate and tighten its regulations for Brownlow votes.
A match-day parcel of paperwork delivered to AFL House did not contain the votes, forcing umpires Simon Meredith, Stuart Wenn, and Jacob Mollison to submit them again.
The league refused to comment yesterday on the tightened regulations. But it did confirm it had reviewed the betting trends on that game, and was confident the votes did not end up leading to an ill-gotten gain.
