SHANE Crawford took no prisoners on Sunday. First, he used his Sunday Herald Sun column to blast Melbourne's decision to drop Brent Moloney from its leadership group rather than suspending him.
Then on the Sunday Footy Show he got stuck into Gold Coast captain Gary Ablett, questioning whether his social life was compromising his preparation for games.
Crawford's comments seemed to stem from the presence Ablett has maintained in Melbourne since joining the Suns.
Following the Suns' round three loss to the Western Bulldogs, he stayed behind in his hometown for three days.
With Ablett subsequently missing the Suns' round four game against Melbourne with a calf niggle, Crawford questioned whether he had taken any short cuts in his recovery following the Bulldogs' game.
Crawford then went one step further, asking whether some of the Suns' big-name signings were in "party mode".
But Ablett's manager, Liam Pickering, and Suns coach Guy McKenna soon hit back.
Pickering told The Age Ablett's Melbourne stay after the Bulldogs game had been extended by a day so he could fill in for teammate Karmichael Hunt on Monday night's One Week At A Time on ONE HD.
And McKenna said he had no concerns about Ablett's social life.
"It would be (a concern) if he were spending time with Shane Crawford socially," he said light-heartedly.
Not surprisingly, Crawford's comments were big news in Monday's papers. Both the Herald Sun and The Age ran with the story, the little paper on its back page.
Courier Mail columnist Andrew Hamilton also urged Ablett to cut back on the time he spent in Melbourne, arguing "perception is everything in football".
But surely Guy McKenna and his key lieutenants at the Suns know their captain and his level of commitment better than anyone else.
If they're comfortable Ablett's focus is where it should be, it's dangerous to second-guess them.
Remember, most of McKenna's football education has come under Mick Malthouse.
Malthouse has never been someone to tolerate individuals putting themselves ahead of the team. We can't imagine McKenna is any different.
Media-player relations a touch frosty
The relationship between the media and the players it reports on relies on trust, understanding and cooperation.
Of course, there are conflicting interests at play. Players are entitled to privacy in their downtime away from their clubs. The media should respect that.
But players need to understand the media's role in promoting the AFL. Given the competition pays their wages, it's in their interests to be part of this promotion as well.
But, equally, when they do, they are entitled to expect that what they say will be reported accurately and fairly.
These competing interests have been at issue recently.
Collingwood skipper Nick Maxwell categorised the current relationship between the players and the media as "a war".
Maxwell told SEN radio on Saturday players were too scared to be themselves in front of the media now, fearful "they are going to get something turned against them and they are going to be seen as an idiot if they say the wrong things".
Of course, there are two sides to the story.
While Maxwell acknowledged the media and players needed to work together to give the game's fans access to their heroes, many in the media would argue clubs are not allowing this to happen.
A coalition of New South Wales media organisations last week wrote to the AFL bemoaning the "draconian restrictions" on their access to players at Melbourne-based clubs.
Likewise, The Age's Rohan Connolly questioned whether Maxwell was aware of "the increasing amount of roadblocks" clubs put in place to restrict media access to players.
The Age reports these issues will be one of the key topics debated at a meeting of the club's chief executives next week.
Hopefully, some resolutions can be reached there that help restore some of the trust lost on both sides of the media-player divide.
TV rights negotiations almost over
By the end of this week we should finally know which channels we'll be watching the footy on next season, the Herald Sun reports.
But just which free-to-air channel(s) that will be is still unclear.
The Herald Sun reported the AFL will meet with Channel Nine on Monday morning to hear the network's final offer for the broadcast rights to free-to-air AFL games from 2012-16.
The tabloid said the AFL could announce the rights winners on Monday afternoon but was more likely to do so later this week. Current free-to-air rights-holders Channels Seven and Ten would first be given the opportunity to better Nine's offer, it reported.
Nine's involvement is a coup for the AFL. Earlier this year, it was widely seen as a rank outsider more focused on securing the NRL television rights.
But its re-emergence clearly has caught the attention of those at Channel Seven.
During the network's coverage of the Melbourne-Gold Coast game on Sunday, commentator Dennis Cometti whimsically observed: "We might not be calling (AFL games) next year."
There is already one clear winner - the AFL. Nine's involvement will not only ensure the rights' price drifts up towards the $1 billion mark the AFL is reportedly eyeing, with the network's reported commitment to live telecasts likely to force its competitors to make a similar commitment.
The draw again under fire
It seems every time we have a draw now, it opens the floodgates for another debate on its place in the game.
The Carlton-Essendon draw on Saturday was the third this year and, predictably, some are getting sick of the unresolved emotions these results leave us with.
Former Richmond and Western Bulldogs player Nathan Brown is one who wants to send the draw into extinction.
Brown told Triple M yesterday he favoured introducing extra time with the first side to score a goal declared the winner.
Other anti-draw types have also recently advocated goal shoot-outs as suitable tie-breakers.
Media Watch is becoming increasingly tired of such arguments.
We agree with the Herald Sun's Mark Stevens that the draw is an intrinsic part of our game.
Yes, it leaves an empty feeling in both competing sides. But is that a bad thing?
Especially when there's no danger they will happen as frequently as they do in soccer. The most draws to have occurred in one season was five in 1921.
Let's not rush to introduce contrived draw-breakers. Other sports may need them to produce regular results. We don't.
In short
Gold Coast coach Guy McKenna has blamed the substitute rule for injury suffered by Michael Coad in the Suns' loss to Melbourne on Sunday, the Gold Coast Bulletin reports. The defender strained his hamstring when forced to return to the ground after suffering cramps, the Suns having already activated their substitute player.
Adelaide coach Neil Craig is under growing pressure from Crows fans to show he can change tactics mid-match following the Crows' fadeout loss to Port Adelaide on Saturday night, The Advertiser reports.
Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse told the Herald Sun he could see parallels between his side's game plan and the forward press and team defence James Hird had introduced to Essendon.
Geelong star Paul Chapman said the Cats would still use the lingering disappointment of their 2008 Grand Final loss to the Hawks as extra motivation for Tuesday week's clash with Hawthorn, The Age reports.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
