(DAILY ONE LINERS) Hawthorn: A game-eve calf injury has forced Hawthorn captain Luke Hodge out of tonight’s Round 1 blockbuster against Collingwood.

FIRST of all a confession.

Not only was I at the MCG last night for the Melbourne opening of the 2012 season, but I actually thought that Richmond would beat Carlton

(DAILY ONE LINERS) Fremantle: Coach Ross Lyon has resisted the temptation to rush back David Mundy, ruling the star midfielder out of Saturday night’s clash against Geelong at Patersons

IT”S been a busy few days for star players in the final year of their current contract signing new deals to stay with their current club. Big name deals in the last week include Sam Reid (Sydney Swans),  Michael Hurley (Essendon), Brett Deledio (Richmond) and Joel Selwood (Geelong). We can now report that Collingwood ace

(DAILY ONE LINERS) West Coast: When the going gets tough in season 2012, West Coast midfielder Matt Rosa won’t have to search too hard to find motivation.

  OVER the last two weeks we’ve given you our Season Preview for each club, where they’ll finish and why. So for those of you that missed it or want everything on one page, here we go (click the club name to read the full review):  2012 Final Ladder Projection 1. Hawthorn 2. Geelong 3. Carlton 4. Collingwood 5. West Coast

WE continue our season preview in a pocket series in the lead up to the 2012 AFL season with the team that we predict will finish as the premier team of the competition. And that is Hawthorn

JOEL Selwood has continued the recent trend of signing a five year contract after it was announced by the Geelong Football Club that they had extended the contract of their new captain through to the end of 2017.  This marks the fourth five year contract announced over the last week, the others being Sam Reid (Sydney

WE continue our season preview in a pocket series in the lead up to the 2012 AFL season with the team that we predict will finish in second position. And that is Geelong

THE injury count keeps on growing and there’s only been one game played. Collingwood leads the way with 14 (!!) injuries, Adelaide continues to have the fewest with just one. We’ve tried to make this list as accurate as possible but most clubs aren’t up to date on their sites so let us know if we’ve made

WE continue our season preview in a pocket series in the lead up to the 2012 AFL season with the team we predict will finish in third position. And that is Carlton… Rising stars: Kane Lucas is one that needs to improve. He has been in the system for a couple of seasons now and

(DAILY ONE LINERS) Hawthorn: The Hawks’ Broc McCauley will tackle experienced Collingwood ruckman Darren Jolly at the MCG on Friday night

THE Adelaide Football Club has joined in on all the contract activity signing Jared Petrenko and Brodie Smith to new deals to stay with the club. Patrenko, 22, has played 36 games with the club he joined as  as the 25the pick in the 2008 Draft. After an injury-marred start to his career he rebounded last year to

WE continue our season preview in a pocket series in the lead up to the start of the 2012 AFL season with the team that we predict will finish in fourth position. And that is Collingwood. Rising stars: Jarryd Blair and Alex Fasolo have been the two that have been the bolters into the squad

WE continue our season preview in a pocket series in the lead up to the 2012 AFL season with the team that we predict will finish in fifth position this season. And that is the West Coast Eagles

THE Port Adelaide Football Club has confirmed that defender Jackson Trengrove will miss the season opener against St Kilda with a hand injury. Trengrove, 21, had injured his finger against Melbourne in the first round of the NAB Cup and subsequent tests showed that he had sustained a fracture. Port Adelaide General Manager- Football Peter

THE Richmond Football Club has signed a new five year contract with Brett Deledio that will see the top midfielder remain at the club through to the end of 2017. Under the new Free Agency rules, Deledio, 24, would have been a Restricted Free Agent (RFA) after the end of this season. Instead he will remain

ACCORDING to team mate Heath Shaw, Collingwood captain Nick Maxwell may be unlikely to play this Friday night in the round one blockbuster between the Magpies and the Hawks. At training earlier today Shaw was reported as saying ”Maxy is pretty doubtful, I think.” “He’s keeping everyone guessing and he gives himself every chance to play

NORTH Melbourne’s mature age recruit Sam Gibson was brilliant for the Werribee Tigers in the opening VFL match of the season on Saturday. So much so, he is likely to be promoted off the rookie list to make his senior debut with the Kangaroos against Essendon in round one this week. He is a terrific accumulator,

ST KILDA midfielder David Armitage impressed in the first VFL game of the season to put his name up for selection in the Saints’ season opener against Port Adelaide. Armitage was clearly the Saints best midfielder for Sandringham, where he netted 26 disposals ahead of the next best Saint Farren Ray, with 16 touches. “He’s

WE”VE had a stream of good news over the last month when it comes to Jarryd Roughead’s availability to play in Round 1 of the 2012 season. That run of good news has now come to an end. The Hawks have been taking a measured approach to Roughead’s return from a ruptured achilles tendon suffered midway

PORT Adelaide’s Dom Cassisi has signed a contract extension with the club that, though the term has not been revealed, should see the club’s captain finish his playing career with the Power. Cassisi, 29, has had a long and productive career with the club that selected him with the 50th pick of the 200 Draft,

RESULTS for Round 1 of the 2012 Premiership Season
SYD 14.16 (100) def GWS 5.7 (37)

THE Richmond Football Club has signed a two-year contract extension with ruck- forward Tyrone Vickery. “We are thrilled to have Ty continue with Richmond for at least another two years,” said Richmond General Manager of Football Craig Cameron. The 8th overall pick of the 2008 Draft, Vickery, 21, is now set to stay with the Tigers

(DAILY ONE LINERS) Football Nation’s daily feature providing our readers with a quick update of news from around the league. Essendon: How Mark Thompson got his spark back

The premiership season begins tomorrow and Football Nation has taken the opportunity to update the injury list for each club.  Adelaide maintains it’s clean bill of health while Gram (St Kilda) and Masten (West Coast) join the list. We’ve tried to make this list as accurate as possible but most clubs aren’t up to date

ON the eve of the 2012 premiership season, the Essendon Football Club has announced that they have signed a new contract with star foward Michael Hurley that will keep him with the club through to the end of the 2017 season. Hurley, 21, the 5th pick of the 2008 Draft, has played 47 games with

Greater Western Sydney Giants vs Sydney Swans
WHEN: Saturday March 24, 7.20pm AEST
WHERE AND WHEN: ANZ Stadium (NSW)

(DAILY ONE LINERS) Hawthorn: Hawks half-back Matt Suckling hopes his big summer in the gym will help him become a better player in

THE West Coast Eagles, having already lost Mark LeCras and Mark Nicoski in the pre-season, have seen their injury toll rise again today after midfielder Chris Masten hurt his face at training today. Masten, 22, has a suspected fracture to his cheekbone and will have scans that will determine whether or not he will undergo surgery to

THE Richmond Football Club announced today that they had promoted tall forward Brad Miller and small forward Addam Maric off their rookie list. The moves paves the way for them to be selected for inclusion in the Tigers’ lineup for their traditional opening round match with Carlton on March 29. Maric, 21, was the first

THE number a player is drafted at is not always a true indicator of their ability or a reflection of what will happen in future years. Ben Carbonaro looks at what has become of players who were top 30 picks five years ago. For too long, recruiters and football fans have salivated over the players

FOOTBALL Nation’s The F Word is back by popular demand and there is no better way to re-launch the show than to hold it exclusively from the VFL season launch. In the first episode for the season, we caught up with new Werribee coach Scott West, the former Western Bulldogs champ, to discuss how he is going to

WE continue our season preview in a pocket series with the team that we predict will finish in seventh position this season. And that is the Fremantle Dockers. Rising stars: Jayden Pitt is one who we have seen enough of to suggest he is going to step up this season. He came to the club

WE continue our season preview in a pocket series with the team that we predict will finish in eighth position this season. And that is St Kilda

WE continue our season preview in a pocket series with the team that we predict will finish in ninth position this season. And that is the Sydney Swans

(DAILY ONE LINERS) Sydney Swans: Adam Goodes is the toughest match-up in football and he’s proud of it

FOOTBALL NATION OPINION YOU would think that, as the coach of a brand new expansion team in the AFL, you would have a measure of job security that would be the envy of your peers. After all with expectations at a fledgling club so low surely fielding a team and showing some spirit would be enough

(DAILY ONE LINERS) Hawthorn: A good big man is always better than a good small man. That’s why Hawthorn’s Lance Franklin and Collingwood’s Travis Cloke are the best two players in the

With the NAB Cup competition over and the premiership season due for commencement this Saturday, Football Nation takes a look at the injury report for each club. It’s good news for Adelaide with a clean bill of health but Carlton leads the way for the walking wounded with ten players carrying injuries. ADELAIDE CROWS Name

IT is with great sadness that we write of the passing of AFL and Melbourne Football Club legend Jim Stynes has passed away. Stynes, (23 April 1966 – 20 March 2012) passed away at 8.20am this morning after a long battle with with brain cancer. He was just 45 years old and is survived by

THE West Coast Eagles lost the NAB Cup Grand Final last night to the Adelaide Crows, and in so doing added another injury to their already depleted forward line with Mark Nicoski going down

ON Saturday, Israel Folau was reported after separate rough conduct incidents in the second and third quarters of the Giants NAB Cup match against Richmond. On Monday his case was heard by the AFL Match Review Panel and he was cleared on both charges

(DAILY ONE LINERS) Greater Western Sydney: The only person sweating more than Israel Folau about his date this week with the tribunal is AFL boss Andrew Demetriou

IT’S been a long preseason for the Carlton Football Club. After being written of in terms of being serious contenders for the AFL premiership, the Blues have underwhelmed going winless in the NAB Cup

TOM Scully, the prized star recruit of the AFL’s newest club the GWS Giants, will miss the season opener with a fractured cheekbone

THE story that emerged yesterday began with news of an unnamed recruiter admitting to the AFL that “his club would baulk at picking up an Aboriginal footballer unless he had at least one white parent.”

WE continue our season preview in a pocket series with the team that we think will finish in 10th position. And that is Essendon

ON the eve of the 2012 season, Nathan Buckley’s ascension to the head coaching position of the Collingwood Football Club will be one of the most scrutinised changes in the AFL.

AFTER weeks of speculation about his future, the Richmond Football Club announced last night that they had extended the contract of their coach Damien Hardwick through to the end of the 2014 season

(DAILY ONE LINERS) Geelong: New captain Joel Selwood and Brownlow medallist Jimmy Bartel are among a host of Geelong stars who will return for the Cats’ final AFL pre-season hit-out against the Western Bulldogs on Saturday

THE Hawthorn Football Club announced today that ruckman Max Bailey will miss the start of the home and away season, and as many as three months, with a wrist injury

(DAILY ONE LINERS) West Coast: High flying West Coast big man Nic Naitanui has leapt in as early favourite to win the coveted AFL mark of the year

WE continue our season preview in a pocket series with the team that we predict will finish in 14th position this season. That is the Gold Coast Suns

ON February 8 of this year the North Melbourne Football Club suspended rookie Majak Daw after he “breached rehabilitation protocols and internal codes”. Daw’s suspension came less than a day after news that a knee injury sustained during pre-season training was going to keep him out of the NAB Cup competition. At the time it seemed as

WE continue our season preview in a pocket series with the team we predict will finish in 15th position. That is North Melbourne

(DAILY ONE LINERS) St Kilda: St Kilda forward Nick Riewoldt has admitted he was shocked by the sudden defection of Ross Lyon to Fremantle Dockers, but says he holds no grudge against his former coach

WE continue our season in a pocket series with the team that we predict to finish in 16th position. That is the Brisbane Lions. Rising stars: Aaron Cornelius could be the man that the Lions need to focus on as a leading target for years to come. This season could be a launching pad alongside

(DAILY ONE LINERS) Brisbane: Daniel Merrett may not want to play forward but Michael Voss thinks he will have to get used to it after he excelled there in Brisbane’s 64-point preseason thrashing of Carlton

OUR season preview in a pocket series continues with Port Adelaide. We predict it to be another lack-lustre season for the Power and for Port to finish second last in 17th spot

OUR award-winning VFL expert BRENT DIAMOND previews the 2012 season and gives his premiership prediction. IT has been a journey that has had plenty of highs and lows, but the time is now for the Werribee Tigers to build for their greatest shot at premiership glory. While they have lost a youthful coach on the rise in Paul Satterley

OUR senior editor BRENT DIAMOND previews the AFL season club-by-club and begins with his prediction for the wooden spoon this season. That is the new team – Greater Western Sydney

Game by game results round-up for Round 3 of the 2012 NAB Cup competition

THE DEMONS were demoralised by the Hawks on Saturday night. Perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised – but the raw fact was that the Demons were supposed to be a legitimate finals contender and improver this season

(DAILY ONE LINERS) Carlton: Blues forward Jarrard Waite says he looking forward to a fresh start in season 2012 after another frustrating and injury-plagued year

The Melbourne Football Club has announced that Liam Jurrah is being held by police following an incident overnight.

(DAILY ONE LINERS) Carlton: Blues skipper Chris Judd will make his 2012 debut in Maroochydore this weekend, as Carlton squares off against the Brisbane Lions in Round three of the NAB Cup

JUST one week after fracturing his cheekbone in training and undergoing his third facial surgery in a year, the Brisbane Lions skipper was back at practice yesterday

(DAILY ONE LINERS) Essendon: The Bombers have included defender Jason Winderlich to their lienup for this weekend for his first game since he injured his knee in round 4 against Carlton last season.

RICHMOND star midfielder Brett Deledio will be rested in this weekend’s match against Geelong in the NAB Cup as the Tigers prepare him for the start of the home and away series. Deledio, 24, has been out of the Tigers line up since he hobbled off the field during an intra-club practice match on February

SIX months after blood clots were discovered on his lungs following a post-season shoulder operation, North Melbourne’s Daniel Wells looks set to be a chance for the Kangaroos when they play the Western Bulldogs in Ballarat this Sunday. The Herald Sun has reported that  Wells, 26,  has been taken off blood-thinning medication which prevented him from participating in

WESTERN Bulldogs defender Tom Williams will miss up to 16 weeks after undergoing shoulder surgery. Williams, 25, was injured during the opening minutes of the first quarter of the Bulldogs’ NAB Cup match against Carlton on Sunday afternoon at Etihad Stadium.  The injury happened when Williams landed awkwardly while diving for a mark. Initial tests

(DAILY ONE LINERS) Brisbane: Lions coach Michael Voss says he was lucky to keep his job after last season, when the club won just four games

KARMICHAEL Hunt’s decision to sign on for another couple of seasons for the Gold Coast went largely unnoticed until yesterday. Craig Hutchison, of the Sunday Herald Sun, quietly broke the news in Sunday’s paper but was only dismissed by other media outlets before a conference with Hunt yesterday. Hunt was the first NRL star player to convert

THE CARLTON Football Club has tonight confirmed that defender Jeremy Laidler will miss up to six weeks after hinjuring his left knee during Sunday night’s NAB Cup match against the Western Bulldogs. As reported earlier, the television coverage showed it to be a gruesome looking injury, with Laidler’s patella protruding at an awkward angle.  Trainers were able

THE HAWTHORN Football Club have just made an announcement that scans have revealed that rookie midfielder Alex Woodward has ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee. The injury occurred during Saturday night’s NAB Cup match against the GWS Giants in Launceston and he will now miss the entire 2012 season. The 18-year-old rookie had been selected

(DAILY ONE LINERS) Geelong: Cats spearhead James Podsiadly is on the verge of a senior return and could be back as early as this weekend against Richmond

THE VFL will continue to be shown live on ABCTV for at least this season but doubt still surrounds future coverage. AFL Victoria recently signed a one year deal with the option of a second year but with the ABC’s decision to focus more on dramas and current affairs, state league sports may be on

  THE NAB Cup can produce only glimpses of what we can expect in the season proper. Surely, we can’t be worried by Carlton’s inability to post a signifiant victory or Collingwood’s indifferent form. Or surprised of Hawthorn’s impressive form, Melbourne’s rise, Greater Western Sydney’s struggle or Geelong’s versatility and new breed. But one thing

FOOTBALL NATION OPINION AFTER last night’s impressive victory over Collingwood, Melbourne coach Mark Neeld found himself  standing up for and defending 20-year-old forward, Jack Watts. “I see Jack as a very talented young footballer who has played 40 games … people talk about his whole career – his whole career is about two years long,”

The AFL has just announced that St Kilda will be awarded the victory, and four NAB Cup points, after Essendon was unable to make the game in Wangaratta last night

DAYS after Richmond announced their intention to play a pre-season match in India in 2013, the St Kilda Football Club revealed this afternoon that they have held preliminary discussions with the AFL about playing for premiership points in Wellington, New Zealand

(DAILY ONE LINERS) Gold Coast: Suns coach Guy McKenna has urged his young stars to step up and take the scalp of a Geelong premiership player tonight

THE WEST COAST EAGLES will get one of their best players back this weekend when Daniel Kerr takes the field against Port Adelaide this Saturday

Back on Feburary 1 we wrote that “the key to the Western Bulldogs getting their on-field mojo back is defender Brian Lake”. If we’re right then it’s good news for the Bulldogs as Blake looks set to make a return to action for the club this Sunday against the Blues

(DAILY ONE LINERS) Richmond: Brett Deledio has set his sights on a return in the third round of the NAB Cup as he steps up his recovery from a hamstring injury

Is it the Curse of the Captaincy? Following on from yesterdays injuries to Brisbane captain Jonathan Brown and Melbourne co-captain Jack Grimes, reports have confirmed that GWS Giants co-captain Luke Power will miss a month

FREMANTLE’S young midfielder Anthony Morabito, 20, has been ruled out for the team’s opening game of the upcoming season with a quadriceps injury that occurred last Friday

MELBOURNE co-captain Jack Grimes is out for two weeks after suffering ligament damage to his shoulder. In spite of the injury, the news was greeted with relief by the club and supporters as initial fears suggested far more serious damage.

(DAILY ONE LINERS) Adelaide: With as much as 200mm of rain predicted to fall in Alice Springs, Jason Porplyzia will be hoping the match goes ahead after edging closer to his long-awaited comeback yesterday

THE BRISBANE Lions have confirmed that captain Jonathan Brown will miss six weeks to a cheek fracture suffered at training this morning.

CHANNEL 7 reporter Tom Brown has just tweeted that Melbourne co-captain Jack Grimes has left practice after injuring his shoulder

Over the last two weeks Contributing Editor Brent Diamond has put together his team by team list of fantasy footy players that are hidden gems. Now that the series has been published here is a summary for all the clubs with links to each article for more details

ON THE MATTER of Damien Hardwick’s contract, Tigers CEO Brendon Gale has said that the club would not rush a decision because of the airplay that the issue received in the media yesterday

(DAILY ONE LINERS) Essendon: The Bombers will recall captain Jobe Watson for its NAB Cup clash against St Kilda on Saturday, but Michael Hurley is likely to miss again with a hamstring injury

SYDNEY’S dual Brownlow medalist Adam Goodes has been given a one match suspension, Geelong’s Josh Hunt, charged for a sling tackle, out for two

COLLINGWOOD has confirmed that Andrew Krakouer “will undergo an ACL reconstruction and collateral ligament repair surgery after injuring his knee in a VFL practice match against Geelong

SPECULATION that star Collingwood forward Travis Cloke will move on has been turned up a notch as news has emerged today that he has signed with sport management company RCM Sport.

(DAILY ONE LINERS) Geelong: The Cats have started negotiations with premiership coach Chris Scott for a contract extension

HAWTHORN defender Stephen Gilham has received some good news, getting the green light to step up his training after his injured knee was evaluated by surgeon Julian Feller