MOST AFL coaches profess not to read the newspapers. It is probably not 100 per cent accurate, but it is to be hoped that if Magpie coach Mick Malthouse did scour the papers over his morning coffee and toast, that he skipped the sports pages.
The AFL commentariat has not been kind. The general consensus at the time was that Malthouse was wrong in not apologising to St Kilda's Stephen Milne after last year's "rapist" remarks during a Collingwood-St Kilda clash. And the talking heads came out strongly on Wednesday morning, critical of his remarks on SEN 1116 on Tuesday morning that downplayed the general outrage felt towards Collingwood cheer squad members who abused Milne last Friday night at Etihad Stadium.
Patrick Smith wrote in The Australian - where Malthouse is a fellow columnist - that the Magpie coach had taken the wrong option in not offering his complete condemnation of the remarks by the Collingwood supporters. "Malthouse has baulked at a moment in time that would have taken him a long way to what he desperately craves, statesmanship. Malthouse is a wonderful coach. Sadly for him, we have to leave it at that," he wrote.
Added Mark Robinson in the Herald Sun: "The Malthouse response, in a word, was sad. And desperately out of touch. Here's a 58-year-old father, husband and grandfather pouring water on an issue that, yes, is difficult to conquer, but one that needs responsible guidance from those with influence.
"Malthouse clearly doesn't get it. That he, too, called Stephen Milne a "f---ing rapist" is central to the issue. If he wasn't worried then, why worry now?"
In the same paper, Mike Sheahan called Malthouse's stand on unacceptable sledging from supporters as "obstinate" and also expressed disappointment that the SEN Morning Glory hosts - Andrew Maher, Tim Watson and Anthony Hudson - didn't take immediate issue with what Malthouse had to say.
In The Age, Caroline Wilson also called on Malthouse to apologise, and in a detailed analysis of what took place in the aftermath of last year's episode and again on Tuesday, said there were all sorts of inconsistencies and half-truths in evidence.
"To state the obvious, Malthouse, for the greater good, should have had the bravery to apologise to Milne. It's still not too late to face him like a man. Or, perhaps it wasn't a lack of bravery but that he really wasn't sorry. Or, that he thought he was above the game - greater good or not," Wilson writes.
What is intriguing about this whole episode is that once again, the Collingwood coach and its president - who is taking strident action to preach a zero-tolerance message when it comes to personal abuse - are not singing from the same song sheet. Malthouse appears increasingly defensive as the finals draw near and his coaching tenure come to a close.
If the Pies win back-to-back premierships, it will be a feat all the more remarkable given the obvious pressures that are bubbling underneath - and sometimes just above - the surface at the Westpac Centre.
Dons' Daniher mistake
Both the Melbourne papers have looked back at past footy events and eras on Wednesday. In the Herald Sun, former Essendon captain Terry Daniher says the Bombers made the wrong decision in overlooking his brother Neale for the vacant coaching job in 2007.
Neale Daniher was considered to have run third behind Matthew Knights (who got the job) and Damien Hardwick in the battle to replace Kevin Sheedy at Windy Hill.
"I don't know what Jacko (then Dons managing director Peter Jackson) was doing," Terry Daniher said. "I thought after 10 years he (Neale) was really starting to show some maturity as a coach and a person. He was a bit of a character in footy and you need it with coaches."
Knights learned the hard way that you don't want to be the person who replaces a legend. You want to be, as current Bomber coach James Hird has become, the person who replaces the person who replaced the legend.
Meanwhile in The Age, Rohan Connolly writes about the 21 years of success that Hawthorn enjoyed between 1971 and 1991 that yielded an incredible eight premierships.
Connolly, who was reviewing The Golden years; Stories from Hawthorn's Greatest Era, a book that will be launched at Waverley Park on Wednesday, described the era as "two decades of dominance".
"During the 1980s, the Hawks won 176 of their 244 matches (better than seven in 10), won a minimum 15 of 22 home and away games eight times, and finished the home and away rounds first, second or third eight times. It's the sort of football epoch of which clubs today can only dream," he wrote.
'Port problems not us'
The poor, old Port Adelaide Football Club is being pulled in all sorts of directions at the moment, but in an interview with the Adelaide Advertiser on Wednesday, SANFL president (and former state premier) John Olsen, said his League was not the cause for all the problems at Alberton.
"I'm sick of the SANFL being kicked as the problem at Port Adelaide when we are underwriting the Port Adelaide Football Club. This commission is bending over backwards to sustain this football club - and to give Port Adelaide the best chance to grow as a football club.
"In the past three years we've tipped $9 million into Port Adelaide. We're tipping in another $9 million - that is our money, not the AFL's money. It is on our overdraft."
Olsen added that there was no more money left for the SANFL to give to Port and denied suggestions he was part of a push to rebrand the club as the Adelaide Power and remove Brett Duncanson as president and replace him with 1975 Magarey medallist and former Port Magpie star Peter Woite.
As expected, the elimination of the Western Bulldogs from finals contention is leading to players with injury concerns being put out to pasture for the rest of the season.
Brownlow medallist Adam Cooney is among them, with the Herald Sun reporting that he will soon see a specialist to determine what needs to be done to repair his cracked patella. Even if only minor surgery is required, the Dogs are unlikely to pick him for the remaining three games this season.
The Bulldogs believe he will have access to the best information in Australia, but haven't ruled out sending him overseas to seek further specialist help.
IN SHORT
GWS coach Kevin Sheedy is considering offering an AFL lifeline to retired Port star Chad Cornes and his out-of-favour brother, Kane, reports the Adelaide Advertiser.
The AFL will make a significant contribution towards the cost of the new 60,000 seat sports stadium in Perth - the future home of the Eagles and Freo - but the exact amount won't be determined until after the new Collective Bargaining Agreement is reached with the AFL Players' Association, writes The West Australian.
Also in The West Australian, retired Freo midfielder Des Headland has called for Stephen Hill to use his voice and to demand more protection on the ground from his Fremantle teammates.
The views expressed here are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs.
You can follow Ashley Browne on Twitter at twitter.com/hashbrowne
