There is a good chance Tom Scully will give a press conference this Friday, the Herald Sun reports.
If he does - and the paper says this is likely provided he gets through the Demon's training session on Wednesday unscathed - the attending media will only really be interested in one thing: will he or won't he be at GWS in 2012?
Of course, Scully could take the opportunity to knock the GWS rumours on the head once and for all, by announcing he is committed to Melbourne and will re-sign in due course.
This is unlikely. His management company, Velocity Sports, has consistently said Scully won't enter contract negotiations until the end of this season.
It's even less likely he'll out himself as a future Giant.
So you can bet, much will be read into every word Scully utters, every bit of body language he exudes. In other words, the guessing game will continue.
The Herald Sun also reported Velocity Sports representatives Alastair Lynch and Peter Blucher intend to visit Melbourne, probably this week, when they are likely to discuss Scully's future.
Blucher told the tabloid he and Lynch would not come to Victoria until Brendan Fevola's future was resolved (see item below), and while they planned to meet the Demons, it was primarily to negotiate a contract extension for Scully's teammate Jordan Gysberts.
Blucher reiterated Scully had not signed with GWS.
NAB Cup's future could be variable
This weekend's NAB Cup semi-finals and the following week's Grand Final could be the last we'll see, according to The Age.
Club apathy, disappointing crowds, the likely expansion of the home and away season to 24 rounds from 2012, were among the reasons clouding the pre-season competition's future, the paper reported.
It also pointed out the competition sponsor, NAB, has entered the final year of its five-year sponsorship deal with the AFL, while reporting the networks bidding for the 2012-16 AFL television rights were all agreed the competition should be scrapped.
The NAB Cup still has a few credits left, however. It was reported television ratings are up 10 per cent this year on last year, while overall attendances to this point of the competition are also slightly up on last year.
And it's that type of year-round obsession with the game that will ensure the pre-season competition remains in one form or another. Fans will not put up with waiting an extra two or three weeks to see their side in action.
And can you imagine clubs being happy starting the home and away season with just intra-club matches under their belts?
The AFL told The Age the NAB Cup's future beyond this year had not been confirmed, stressing no decision had been made to scrap it.
Players want piece of bonus action
It seems we weren't the only ones who felt pangs of envy when reading about the $850,000 bonus AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou collected in 2010.
While Demetriou earned his bonus by exceeding his employer's revenue targets, the AFL Players' Association has put its hand up to share in any future competition bonuses, according to The Advertiser's chief football writer Michelangelo Rucci.
Rucci says the AFLPA will demand a share of any revenue the competition generates above AFL's forecasts in negotiations for the 2012-16 collective bargaining agreement with the AFL.
Any such money the AFLPA reaps, Rucci says, would be paid to players in "pre-superannuation payments", in an initiative similar to the American NFL's 'annuity' program.
Under the past two CBAs, the competition's players were paid 27 per cent of the revenue forecast by the AFL in its five-year plans and budgets, but, Rucci said, that had equated to 21.5 per cent of the AFL's actual revenue in 2010.
Rucci says the AFLPA now wants to secure 25 per cent of the AFL's real income for its members.
Lions turn to a Kiwi
Not sure how much a New Zealander with a background in horse racing knows about football, but that's who the Brisbane Lions have turned to as their new CEO.
The Courier Mail reported on Tuesday Malcolm Holmes had been ratified as CEO by the Lions board with an appointment to be made soon. It was - the Lions confirmed Holmes' appointment at a press conference at 10am on Tuesday morning.
Given the Lions' well-documented on- and off-field troubles of recent times, Holmes has a big job ahead of him.
He'll be able to draw on more than 10 years' sports administration experience that has included heading the Brisbane Turf club and, most recently, New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing.
And you don't need to be a footy tragic to work wonders with an AFL club. Just ask Campbell Rose, who came to the Western Bulldogs in 2002 with little knowledge of Australian Football, but as CEO transformed a competition battler into a vibrant and competitive club.
Foxtel's AFL foothold may grow
Foxtel is pushing to televise every home and away game live from 2012, The Age reports.
Foxtel is bidding independently for an AFL licence to show five games a week live and is negotiating with Channels Seven and 10 - the likely free-to-air broadcasters under the 2012-16 television rights deal - to show the other four weekly games in competition to them, the report said.
The Age said Foxtel may secure the right to televise an extra Saturday and Sunday afternoon game, but was unlikely to reach agreement with Seven and Ten on their respective Friday and Saturday night games.
In short
The next Hawthorn president is expected to be one of its board members, most likely lawyer Andrew Newbold or Flight Centre founder Geoff Harris, The Age reports. Current Hawks president Jeff Kennett steps down at the end of this year.
Melbourne is concerned about the prospect of its VFL partner, Casey Scorpions, recruiting dumped Brisbane Lions spearhead Brendan Fevola, the Herald Sun reports. Fevola and his management company, Velocity Sports, are expected to consider offers from VFL sides on Tuesday or Wednesday, the report said.
The State Government will on Wednesday release details of an agreement between South Australia's cricket and football ruling bodies to stage AFL fixtures at Adelaide Oval, The Advertiser reports.
The report says for the agreement, which is predicated on a $535 million redevelopment of Adelaide Oval, to go ahead it must be approved by 75 per cent of SA Cricket Association members at a special general meeting that is yet to be called.
Gold Coast coach Guy McKenna says former rugby league star Karmichael Hunt's NAB Cup performances mean he is a "good chance" to make his AFL debut in the Suns' first match, in round two against Carlton, the Gold Coast Bulletin reports.
More Media watch
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
