AFL 2012

[Troy]

Who would have thought that Carlton would lose to Adelaide and Port. Puts them near the bottom of the ladder and thanks to Adelaide winning both games they are in second spot. Too hard to tell who will get through until we see some proper games this weekend.

Ladder: AFL Ladder - AFL.com.au

 

[Troy]

You wouldn't believe it but Jonathon Brown injured his face again. Suffered a fractured cheekbone again after getting a knee to the face in a marking contest. This is the third time in 12 months he has had to undergo surgery on his face after being injured in marking contests. The guy is fearless but how much is too much and how much more can his face take.

 

[Aniking]

Once again I think it's being taken way too seriously. If this was the first time he had injured his face, nobody would be questioning anything and it'd be put down as a freak accident. That's all it is, just a freak accident, and really only one of his three facial injuries in the past 12 months he could have prevented.

The first he leapt to the side to mark the ball just as an opponent turned around, therefore copping a knee to the head. Unavoidable, complete accident. The second he ran back with the flight of the ball and copped a forearm across his face. Avoidable, but a complete accident, especially considering it was by his teammate who only had eyes for the ball until the last moment. Now this one Matt Maguire was going back with the flight of the ball to impact the marking contest and when he leapt in the air his knee happened to hit Brown's head, who was one of two men involved in the contest before Maguire came jumping through. Unavoidable, complete accident.

Maguire was too distressed to speak to the media about it, however I watched AFL 360 earlier tonight where Michael Voss spoke about what happened and he basically said it was an accident, end of story, and he was apparently standing very close to it. He didn't say it in those words, and I know coach's aren't gonna come out and blast their players about training too hard (mainly because that's ridiculous) but he basically said they were doing what they were instructed to do.

Personally I thought it was all blown out of proportion the second time and knew it would be again by the media. I can understand why it has created so much discussion, but to say Brown should hang it up or change his ways is silly. It's a tough, contact sport and the players know that freak injuries can happen. If Brown is saying he'll be back in a few weeks, that's all that matters. He'll get surgery, he'll recover and that'll be that.

 

[Troy]

It was an accident but surely after three similar injuries in the space of 12 months it can't be good at all for his face. How much more punishment can it take. It is a massive blow for Brisbane if he misses any of the normal season since they need him if they are to bounce back from their terrible season last year.

 

[Aniking]

Apparently he has had successful surgery and will be returning to training as early as Monday. He won't be available to play until Round 3, so he's only missing 2 home and away games at this point. That's unless there's some sort of setback, but he won't be back in full training until closer to the start of the season, so a setback would only come in the form of an injury to a leg at this stage.

 

[Troy]

Good result in the end for him. Can't believe that he will be back at training next week!

 

[Troy]

Odd situation yesterday with the NAB Cup. St Kilda and Essendon were scheduled to play a match out in the country, poor weather was forecast so St Kilda decided to take a three hour bus ride. Essendon decided to fly but the weather was so bad that they couldn't land and so they didn't appear for the match. Saints had to play an intraclub match and the AFL decided that the points will be shared. St Kilda at first protested and demanded the four points since it is basically a forfeit but have now backed off and won't be chasing the four points. Unfortunate for the locals, they bought every single ticket available and then they missed out on seeing a proper match.

 

[Andrew]

Weird situation to be in really.

Melbourne played sensational last night beating the Magpies.

WCE/Adel next week NAB Grand Final whilst other games will go on. Looking forward to Dogs/Blues soon

 

[Aniking]

Idk how I feel about this. I'm an Essendon fan, and us being given 2 points really doesn't matter as we lost our first 2 NAB Cup games. Not sure why we flew, but Saints showed up and had an intra-club match in the rain, so I don't mind it if they're given the 4 points. They still won't make the final.

As it stands, only 7 teams are mathematically able to make the final, 8 if the Saints are handed all 4 points. The Ladder looks like this:

1. Adelaide: 12, 165.59%
2. West Coast: 12, 134.59%
--------------------
3. Hawthorn: 8, 194.12%
4. Geelong: 8, 137.29%
5. Sydney: 8, 125.20%
6. Melbourne: 8, 108.49%
7. Collingwood: 8, 100.77%​

Even if Saints are given the points, the fact they didn't play hurt them as their percentage is 87.84%

 

[Troy]

Weird situation to be in really.

Melbourne played sensational last night beating the Magpies.

WCE/Adel next week NAB Grand Final whilst other games will go on. Looking forward to Dogs/Blues soon

There is still another round of matches next week, the Grand Final is the week after.

Idk how I feel about this. I'm an Essendon fan, and us being given 2 points really doesn't matter as we lost our first 2 NAB Cup games. Not sure why we flew, but Saints showed up and had an intra-club match in the rain, so I don't mind it if they're given the 4 points. They still won't make the final.

As it stands, only 7 teams are mathematically able to make the final, 8 if the Saints are handed all 4 points. The Ladder looks like this:

1. Adelaide: 12, 165.59%
2. West Coast: 12, 134.59%
--------------------
3. Hawthorn: 8, 194.12%
4. Geelong: 8, 137.29%
5. Sydney: 8, 125.20%
6. Melbourne: 8, 108.49%
7. Collingwood: 8, 100.77%​

Even if Saints are given the points, the fact they didn't play hurt them as their percentage is 87.84%

Yeah Saints don't have a chance of making the final even if they got the points so in the end it doesn't really matter that they only received the two points. Adelaide have surprised me so far, a lot of players are wanting to impress the new coach and they are playing some good football.

North were disappointing against Sydney in the wet, left it all until the last quarter and even then it wasn't enough. I don't think that we have ever kicked a supergoal in the NAB cup which is really strange.

 

[Troy]

In some crazy news Liam Jurrah has been interviewed by police after an incident in the Northern Territory. Someone was attacked with a machete and according to reports Jurrah was one of two being interviewed about the incident. If true this would be the end of his football career but there isn't much news about what actually happened yet.

 

[Kylie]

I heard about this on the radio on the way home from work. He's actually been arrested over it by the sounds of it. Found an article:

Demons confirm AFL player Jurrah's arrest

Melbourne forward Liam Jurrah is in an Alice Springs jail after the AFL player was involved in an incident allegedly involving a machete.

Local police said two 23-year-old men were arrested following an incident on Wednesday night at the nearby Little Sisters Town Camp.

The Demons announced on Monday that they had granted Jurrah personal leave so he could return to Central Australia and help with family and community issues.

"Police were called around midnight to attend a disturbance ... on arrival, police found a 35-year-old man with serious head injuries alleged to have been inflicted by a machete," Northern Territory police said in a statement on Thursday.

"Two men aged 23 years are currently in police custody with investigations continuing."

Melbourne also confirmed that Jurrah was in custody and that no charges had been laid.

"We are not aware of any further information and, therefore, not in a position to make comment at this time," the Demons said in a statement.

The Demons are expected to send a club official to Alice Springs soon.

Alice Springs police are investigating whether there is a link between the incident involving Jurrah and another that happened near Alice Springs around the same time.

A 15-year-old was hospitalised with severe head injuries and a 30-year-old woman is in custody.

Before Wednesday night's incident, the Demons had been hopeful that Jurrah would be back at the club within a week.

Jurrah is an initiated member of the Warlpiri people who live in Yuendumu, a community about 300km northwest of Alice Springs.

He is the first player from a remote central Australian community to play in the AFL.

There have been reports of deep-seated and violent disputes in the Yuendumu community.

In announcing Jurrah's leave on Monday, Melbourne said he was going home "to support his family and community through a challenging period".

New Demons coach Mark Neeld had said last week that Jurrah would probably be out of action until at least round one of the regular season as he recovers from off-season wrist surgery.

Jurrah was Melbourne's leading goalkicker last season, with 40 from 18 games.

He has kicked 81 goals in 35 games since making his senior debut three years ago.

 

[Troy]

AFTER being ordered to leave Alice Springs immediately, Liam Jurrah landed in Melbourne on Friday afternoon and has managed to avoid the awaiting media.

Jurrah was in court early on Friday morning after he was linked to a brawl at the Little Sisters Town Camp - on the outskirts of Alice Springs. Following the brawl, Jurrah was arrested.

Hearn Mackinnon, a Deakin University lecturer, told AFL.com.au the incident seemed to be related to "a long-running inter-family dispute" that had been going for 18 months.

In court, Jurrah was ordered to leave Alice Springs and abstain from alcohol.

A police prosecutor told the Alice Springs court that Jurrah was affected by alcohol when he armed himself with a machete during a violent brawl.

The prosecutor said Jurrah was accompanied by another man who was armed with an axe.

The prosecutor said the pair were at a local town camp when a fight erupted.

In a police interview, Jurrah denied any involvement in the fight.

He has been told he cannot return to Alice Springs until it is time to again face the court.

Prior to that time he must report to a Melbourne police station twice a week and abstain from alcohol.

Jurrah has been charged with unlawfully causing serious injury and being armed with an offensive weapon. Bail was set at $3000.

The original three charges have been rolled into two.

In a media statement, the AFL said it was very concerned by the seriousness of the allegations.

AFL general manager of football operations Adrian Anderson said it was a complex issue that involved challenging cultural dynamics.

"This is a difficult and traumatic situation for everyone involved. Melbourne Football Club has kept the AFL informed and we will continue to liaise with the club as more details emerge," Anderson said.


Wow this is not good at all. Melbourne apparently bailed him out today and helped him get back to Melbourne. Very serious allegations, going to be quite some time before he plays because I can't see Melbourne playing him until it is sorted out.

 

[Heisenberg]

Very poor effort by Collingwood tonight, that's all I have to say.

Yeah it may only be NAB Cup and the real stuff doesn't start til Round 1 but that was a bad showing to lose by about 80 points.

 

[Troy]

I enjoyed both matches tonight. Collingwood had a lot of senior players out whilst Adelaide played close to a full squad so I wouldn't be worried about that loss. Adelaide looked really good out their with an attacking game plan, you can see that Neil Craig isn't there anymore. Adelaide will make the final now thanks to winning every game and having a huge percentage.

Essendon vs. Sydney was a really good game as well, quality finish to a NAB Cup match and it brings up their first win of the season.