Tuck deserves a second chance: Dad
TRAVIS Tuck endured a public fall from grace in late 2009.

After police found him unconscious in his car with drug apparatus nearby, Tuck was given a 'deemed' third strike under the AFL's illicit drug policy, having failed two previous drug tests.

The first player to have registered three strikes under the drug code, Tuck was suspended for the first 12 weeks of 2010, but permitted to return after eight weeks in the VFL.  

In handing down its verdict, the tribunal took into account the fact Tuck had been receiving treatment for "severe depression" for 10 months and accepted the incident that led to his third strike had been a "lapse in the treatment regime".

Nonetheless, despite Hawthorn's subsequent support and his own best efforts on the training track and with the Box Hill Hawks in the VFL, Tuck never played another game with the Hawks.

Delisted at the end of 2010, he trained on with the Hawks in the hope of being rookie-listed in 2011, but the club ultimately awarded its last rookie spot to former Melbourne ruckman Paul Johnson. 

The decision would have been an agonising one for club and player. Tuck, then 23, had to face the likelihood his AFL career was over after just 20 games.

The Hawks knew they were not only delisting Tuck the player, but also Tuck the son of former club captain Michael, who still holds the League records for games (426) and premierships (seven).

The Hawks had also previously discarded Travis' older brother Shane after he spent 2000-01 on their rookie list without playing a game. After a stint in the SANFL, Shane went on to forge a successful career with Richmond that next year will stretch into its ninth season.

So the Hawks would have been mindful that in discarding Travis Tuck they risked having another Tuck running around for an opposition club.

But the far more important consideration was Tuck's health and the Hawks pledged their on-going support for him even as he left to play in the VFL with Werribee.

The Hawks would have been pleased to see Tuck put his best foot forward with Werribee in 2011, putting together a consistent season in the midfield that is likely to have him on some clubs' radar as the national, pre-season and rookie drafts approach.

On Tuesday, Michael Tuck spoke with the Herald Sun. His message to any clubs considering Travis? Give him a go, he won't let you down.

Tuck snr said Travis had overcome his off-field problems after undergoing counselling.

"After he made the blue he hasn't been anywhere near that stuff, and he's going quite well at the moment," Tuck snr said.

"If he had done anything wrong, you would have heard by now. He's definitely on the straight and narrow."

Tuck snr said Travis had proved at Hawthorn he could play at AFL level and, at 24, had a lot of football ahead of him.

We hope Tuck gets another chance in one of the upcoming drafts. Although they'll have mixed emotions, we're pretty sure Hawks supporters will feel the same way.

Saints will rue losing Walsh: Sheahan
Herald Sun chief football writer Mike Sheahan was no fan of this year's International Rules Series but he did see one thing he liked - Irishman Tommy Walsh.

Having left St Kilda after two years on its rookie list for the Sydney Swans during trade week, Walsh was a star in attack for Ireland in its comprehensive 2-0 victory over Australia.

After watching Walsh in the hybrid game, Sheahan was impressed by his size - 195cm and 97kg - and play: "He knows his way around a football field".

So much so, he found it "strange" Walsh had been unable to crack it for a senior game at the Saints.

Although the Saints tried to hang onto Walsh during Trade Week, Sheahan believes the lack of opportunity Ross Lyon's former regime afforded Walsh could come back to bite them.

"Certainly he will get his chance in Sydney, a chance the Saints will soon wish they had offered him," Sheahan wrote.

St Kilda's new focus on development
Perhaps the new player development academy St Kilda has recently announced is a concession of its inability to fast-track talented youngsters like Walsh in recent years.

So focused is St Kilda on making its development academy a success, Saints football manager Chris Pelchen told the Herald Sun's Jon Ralph the soon-to-be-appointed academy director will enjoy similar standing and powers to newly appointed senior coach Scott Watters.

Under the Saints' new vision, the academy director and his academy coaches will work with the Saints' young players for up to 40 per cent of the time the youngsters spend at the club.

Although Watters will make all selection and game-based decisions, he will essentially cede responsibility to the academy director to develop his young players, Ralph wrote. Both will be on an "equal footing" and report to Pelchen.

Pelchen told Ralph the Saints' new structure was based on English Premier League club models.

"Many [AFL] clubs have a development model which they do well, but they still answer to the senior coach," Pelchen said.

"Where we are going is the senior coach sets the technical direction and looks at this year, and the academy director looks at next year and beyond. It's not working exclusively of each other, they are running parallel."

Pelchen credited Watters for his "trust and selflessness and confidence" that the academy would give him what he needed as senior coach.

Pelchen also told Ralph the Saints' relationship with VFL partner Sandringham had been altered, with new Saints development coach Simon McPhee to coach the Zebras in 2012, with skills acquisition coach Paul Hudson to serve as Sandringham forwards coach and leadership and development coach Jaymie Graham to serve as its defence coach.

Pelchen said AFL Victoria general manager Grant Williams had told him St Kilda's coaching relationship with Sandringham had gone from the "the worst or second-worst" in the VFL to "the best".

Sheedy keen on Setanta, but not Lovett
Irishman Setanta O'hAilpin is a good chance to find a new home at Greater Western Sydney after Giants coach Kevin Sheedy told SEN radio he was interested in the recently delisted Carlton tall.

"I’m always interested in players that have got an opportunity to put their hand up and keep playing. We have done very well out of that over the years," Sheedy said.

"He is a player that you may be still to see the best of him. He is a player that can play quite well, the final he played [against West Coast] he almost helped [Carlton] win the game.

"So he has the capacity to win the ball in difficult times in that game.

"[Giants list manager] Stephen Silvagni would be the person communicating with him. [O'hAilpin] will take some pressure off some of the younger boys. And I don’t mind him myself."

However, Sheedy denied the Giants had approached former Essendon speedster Andrew Lovett. Lovett's AFL career seemingly ended when he was sacked by St Kilda after being charged with rape just months after being traded to the Saints. Lovett was acquitted of those charges this year.

In short
Geelong's brigade of on-ballers has helped bring the "big-bodied midfielder" back into vogue, The Australian's Stephen Rielly writes. Rielly wrote that James Hird and Brendan McCartney were following the Cats' example at Essendon and the Western Bulldogs respectively, while new Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson looked set to follow a similar path at West Lakes.

Sanderson has also urged his young Adelaide players to fight for a position in the Crows' best team, The Advertiser reports. "At some stage in your career there comes a time as a young player when you've got to make a statement and take a senior player's spot," Sanderson said. "Internal rivalries need to exist. They need to exist in a healthy manner."

Port Adelaide head fitness coach Cam Fallon told The Advertiser the club's expanded coaching and fitness teams would ensure a higher level of individual attention for Port players this pre-season.

Victorians are likely to dominate the first 20 selections in this year's national draft, The Australian's Greg Denham writes. Denham wrote that as many as 18 Victorian youngsters could be taken in the first 20 picks.

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL

Follow Nick Bowen on Twitter at @NickBowen71