Naturally, much of the media coverage in the last 24 hours has centred on the Heath Shaw betting scandal.
Shaw, who along with Nick Maxwell, was disciplined by the AFL for betting on football and releasing inside information that was used for betting purposes, has admitted himself it was a "stupid thing to do" while his uncle, former Collingwood coach Tony Shaw, also labelled his nephew "stupid" in today's Herald Sun.
There is no more apt term to describe Shaw's involvement in a small bet on Maxwell to kick first goal in the match against Adelaide in round nine, with the odds tumbling from $101 to $26 on the option.
Shaw was simply stupid. He was stupid for putting himself in that situation, stupid for putting the club in that situation and stupid for putting the AFL in that situation.
But that is all he was and there are few who would argue that Shaw's actions were malicious, fraudulent or conspiratorial.
That is why it is disappointing to read comments from the likes of anti-gambling campaigners like Tim Costello and Nick Xenophon, who have used this incident to push the barrow of sports betting prohibition and paint the AFL as hypocrites.
"To say the AFL is regulating this is a bit like leaving Dracula in charge of the blood bank," Costello told the Herald Sun. "They are sending a confusing message by accepting gambling revenue and then saying they have the players under control."
"With so much money at stake, it was only a matter of time before an insider tried to capitalise on this insidious industry," Xenophon told the Herald Sun.
Both have shown little regard for Australian football and little understanding of the complexity surrounding issues of sports betting.
The biggest threat to any sporting code is the threat to its legitimacy. Any threats to the legitimacy of a code through match fixing, point shaving or organised spot betting fraud can eat away at the public confidence and subsequent standing of a sport like termites through wood. One need only look at how far and how quickly boxing has fallen.
But prohibition of sports betting is not the answer. Neither is an attack on sports bodies for having a relationship with gambling partners.
Sporting bodies like the AFL need to be vigilant and as is shown with the punishment handed down to Heath Shaw, the AFL is well on the front foot in protecting the integrity of the code. The intelligence network discussed in today's Age, set up three years ago, shows how seriously the AFL takes the issue of corruption.
But this could not have occurred without a working relationship with bookmakers.
To believe that prohibition of sports betting will stop actions like Shaw's is naïve as is the notion that sporting bodies cutting off relationships with betting organisations will have any positive impact on stamping out actions like those of Shaw.
All that will happen is that detection will become far more difficult.
Sports betting certainly wasn't legal in 1910 when Doug Fraser and Alex Lang were issued with 99-game suspensions for accepting bribes to underperform and the VFL certainly didn't have any relationship with the underground bookmakers of the era.
Sports betting is a fact of life. It is here to stay. The AFL is right to have a relationship with betting partners. It protects the integrity of the sport and allows incidents like that of Shaw to be uncovered. Without that relationship, actions far worse and far more damaging could go undetected.
Looking to other sports
Those coaches at the forefront of football evolution often look to other sports when thinking strategy, tactics and how to get a competitive advantage.
Basketball has long been looked too, particularly from a defensive set-up point of view. Much has been taken from rugby league when it comes to tackling and wrestling in the tackle with former Melbourne Storm wrestling coach John Donahue now at Carlton. Inaugural Fremantle coach Gerard Neesham used his water polo background to develop a possession-based gameplan while in charge of Freo.
Clubs also look at soccer, American football and hockey for various tactical, strategic and preparation initiatives.
The latest sport to join that list, according to Garry Lyon in today's Age, is lacrosse.
In a perceptive piece from the former Demons skipper, Lyon looks at how Alastair Clarkson has taken a great deal from lacrosse and it can be seen in the way Hawthorn is playing this year.
Clarkson is at "the forefront of the forensic analysis of lacrosse", assigning an assistant coach to study the game and its tactics to help bring strategic ideas into the AFL.
The focus on short and crisp passing combined with constant movement from those off the ball comes from lacrosse. So too is a focus on zone defence and frontal pressure. The influence of lefties and assist men also comes from lacrosse.
Alastair Clarkson has been widely lauded for his ability to look outside the square and Lyon's interesting analysis shows once again why the Hawthorn mentor is one of the most highly regarded coaches in the game.
A long road to hoe for Fev
Brendan Fevola may still dream of playing in the AFL again but Western Bulldogs recruiter Simon Dalrymple has placed him at long odds to ever get a look in.
"I think he'd be 100-1," Dalrymple told the Herald Sun.
"If clubs are at Casey games, you might have a look at him, but certainly no one's watching him in particular.
"If he kicks bags on the way home, that might change. But he'd be long odds.
"He's only kicking two or three a game and you still see some of the petulant behaviour occasionally, so there's still some issues there I think."
Fevola, 30, played 204 games for Carlton and the Brisbane Lions, booting 623 goals in an often-turbulent career that now seems to be over.
While it would certainly be unlikely that Fevola will ever play AFL footy again, it is pleasing to see that the dream still burns. Footy is a funny game and every now and then, 100-1 shots come in.
In short
The cousin of former New South Wales State of Origin captain and rugby league star Trent Barrett, Jake Barrett, is now part of the GWS Academy program in what is a "propaganda victory for the code" according to The Age.
The Western Bulldogs are "digging in" in their effort to keep Callan Ward with the club putting a new offer to the 21-year-old in a big to keep him at the Whitten Oval.
WA Football Commission chief executive Geoff Glass has hit out at claims by Caroline Wilson saying Patersons Oval was not fit to host an AFL final, telling The West Australian that the ground was "in very good shape in terms of being able to host an AFL final".
