GEELONG VFL coach Matthew Knights expects other teams to come at the undefeated Cats in the second half of the season as it crept to flag favouritism with a 55-point shellacking of Werribee at Simonds Stadium on Saturday. Knights said the Cats have improved even further on last year’s premiership season despite an overhaul of

COLLINGWOOD midfielder Luke Ball appears likely to return in a blockbuster match against Geelong next fortnight after starring in today’s VFL match for the Pies against Williamstown. Ball, who found plenty of the ball, was likely to have a week of intense training this week with the VFL having a state representative match against the

GEELONG speedster Jackson Sheringham is set to miss the next two months with a shoulder injury he sustained in a sickening incident against Frankston in the VFL last week. Scans on Sheringham’s shoulder this week came back worse than expected. “He’s going to be missing for a significant amount of time, again there’s no timeline,

FOUR Rounds into the 2013 VFL season, Geelong and the Casey Scorpions remain undefeated while pre-season fancy Werribee is floundering after heavy defeats against Williamstown and Sandringham. Regular contributor Andrew Calleja takes a look at how your side is faring and the month ahead.   Bendigo Gold Went into Round 1 with a side averaging just

THE Hawks weathered the storm and held off a surging North Melbourne yesterday but the win came with a price with news confirming that Cyril Rioli will miss at least seven weeks of football with a hamstring tear. The star forward, who had four goals, five marks and 20 disposals against the Roos, went down

ANZAC Day is a special event on the SANFL calendar but it wasn’t the football on the field that created the headlines this week, it was the half time confrontation between the coaches. Reigning premier Norwood moved back to the top of the ladder after beating West Adelaide by 26 points, after trailing by 10

ESSENDON veteran Mark McVeigh has bowed out after 232-AFL games, preferring to give his spot to a rookie-listed player in the lead up to

This could well be a defining round for many clubs. There are some great clashes, starting tonight with the Cats vs. Bombers, which will definitely get the juices flowing. Last weekend’s results were generally expected, the exception being the Suns enormous victory over a very disappointing Richmond, who can kiss their finals chances goodbye. The

NORTH Melbourne midfielder Ben Cunnington was suspended for one week at the VFL tribunal last night for tripping Williamstown’s Brett Goodes while playing for North Ballarat against Williamstown on Sunday. Cunnington was in line to return for the Roos against West Coast on Saturday, after he collected 34 disposals, 10 tackles and kicked four goals in the Roosters’ seven

A full board of games this weekend as we settle in for the run home. Who will make a charge at the top 4 and who will make a play for a spot in the final 8? Who cares – we need a winner this weekend! The good: Tie – Lions and Roos, stirring stuff.

The bye weeks are done and as the competition moves into the Multicultural Round FN’s roving reporter DANIEL PAPROTH previews all the action in Round 14 of the AFL including the players to watch in your SuperCoach and DreamTeams.     Carlton vs Hawthorn Friday 7:50 MCG Hugely important contest here for both sides. It’s a must-win

THE bye week round are over but they have not passed without a number of high profile players going down each week.  The worst result had to be for Carlton who, even though they weren’t playing, lost one of their stars for the rest of the season. Here are the headline injuries from last weekend:

We reach the third and final bye week of the competition and FN’s roving reporter DANIEL PAPROTH previews all the action in round 13 of the AFL including the players to watch in your SuperCoach and DreamTeams.       Sydney vs Geelong Friday 7:50 SCG Intriguing match up on Friday night in Sydney this week. The Swans

NO team was hit harder with injuries last weekend than Port Adelaide who saw five players  leave the field.  Here are the headline injuries from last weekend: Graham Johncock (Adelaide) -  Johncock missed the Crows’ match against St Kilda because of a back injury that kept him out of training last week and will need to show

WE take a look at which AFL players have impressed so far in the VFL in their bids for recalls INJURY-prone Essendon forward Scott Gumbleton got through another hit-out for Bendigo. It was his fourth major hit-out since coming back from back and hamstring injuries. However, his chances for a recall for this week’s clash

Western Bulldogs
vs
Port Adelaide Power
WHEN: Sunday June 17, 4.40pm
WHERE: Etihad Stadium, VIC
LAST TIME: Western Bulldogs 24.13 (157) d Port Adelaide 15.7 (97), round 22, 2011 at AAMI Stadium

Gold Coast Suns
vs
North Melbourne Kangaroos

WHEN: Saturday June 16, 7.40pm
WHERE: Metricon Stadium, QLD
LAST TIME: North Melbourne 17.25 (127) d Gold Coast 13.15 (93), round 5, 2012, at Etihad Stadium

ONE bye week done and dusted, two to go. Fair to say this week’s games are somewhat affected as teams coming of the rest tackle those that played last week – which team has the upper hand? The good: The away teams. A most unusual round in which the visiting teams managed to take home

We move into the second bye week of the competition and FN’s roving reporter DANIEL PAPROTH previews all the action in round 12 of the AFL including the players to watch in your SuperCoach and DreamTeams.         West Coast vs Carlton Thursday 7:40 Patersons Stadium West Coast lost their top spot on the ladder, albeit

ONE good thing about the bye weeks is that with fewer games you would expect fewer injuries. But unfortunately it’s not to be and this week’s headline injuries reads like a Who’s Who of AFL football: Alan Didak (Collingwood) – Minutes into his first game back Didak went down with a a groin injury and scans

AARON Sandilands left Saturday’s game against Richmond  five minutes into the first quarter with what was thought at the time as being an ankle injury. The club has now revealed that a medical report has indicated that the big man has suffered a “turf toe” injury to his right foot and will miss up to 10 weeks.

What an amazing weekend of footy – upsets, hidings, comebacks, resignations, celebrations and a baker’s dozen for Buddy. A dull moment, never! The good: How good was Friday night’s slugfest between the Tigers and Saints? Both teams were legless towards the end, yet bravely fought out an incredible finale that saw each team register six

As we move into the first bye week of the competition FN’s roving reporter DANIEL PAPROTH previews all the action in round 11 of the AFL and includes the players to watch in your SuperCoach and DreamTeams.       Carlton vs Geelong Friday 7:50 Etihad Stadium Hard to believe that about a month ago Carlton would have

THE next three rounds of SuperCoach resembles one of my favourite songs from the Backstreet Boys back in the day. Teams will be shot to pieces and trades will be burned as a result of six teams having a bye each week. It would have been nice if SuperCoach saved us the pain and started

THERE are currently 128 players on the injury lists across all clubs, and we begin our weekly look around the league with the headline injuries from last weekend’s games: Ask McGrath (Brisbane) –  McGrath went down with a knee injury in the first quarter of the Eagles game and spent the rest of the first half

ESSENDON development coach Hayden Skipworth is hopeful exciting young talent Anthony Long can “get a good run at the rest of the year” after an injury-plagued career which led to his delisting at the end of last season. Long was subsequently put on the Bombers rookie list for one last crack although his injury problems

This weekend’s round of matches will be pivotal as teams jockey for position as they enter the multi-bye rounds, which will no doubt allow for some analysis and home truths. There has already been a hint of coaches utilising this period to sneak in a 2-3 week break for inured/sore players, as even minor surgery

Collingwood Magpies
vs
Gold Coast Suns
WHEN: Sunday June 3
WHERE: MCG, VIC
LAST TIME: Collingwood 19.15 (129) d Gold Coast 11.9 (75), round 18, 2011, at Metricon Stadium

HOPEFULLY over the past couple of weeks you have traded in your cash cows for a new crop and subsequently left yourself plenty of cash for some serious upgrades over the next few rounds. Even though the cash is there to splurge, we still need to buy smart. This time of the season there are

THERE are currently 127 players on the injury lists across all clubs, and we begin our weekly look around the league with the headline injuries from last weekend’s games: Simon Black (Brisbane) – Technically not a game injury, Black was ruled out for two weeks yesterday with a knee injury that he sustained while nursing

Our weekly look at injuries around the league begins with a look at the headline injuries from last weekend’s games: Marc Murphy (Carlton) – After originally declaring that Carlton’s best-and-fairest winner would not be back until after Round 13 bye, the club has now confirmed that after shoulder surgery on Monday night he might not

THE bye comes at a perfect time for the Northern Blues but perhaps it couldn’t come at a worse time for the Werribee Tigers after stringing together three consecutive wins. Since the final quarter fadeout against Williamstown, the Tigers have gathered some much-needed momentum to jump to fifth position on the ladder, ironically just percentage

IN comments released through the Carlton Football Club website today, Blues skipper Chris Judd has been the voice of calm as he called on his team and its supporters to remain positive after their drubbing by new powerhouse Adelaide

ADELAIDE and Port Adelaide have joined a chorus of AFL teams wanting their own stand one teams in state league competitions, which has further been enhanced by selection issues. State league clubs have been forced to have scheduled byes mainly because of the Foxtel Cup, an initiative by the AFL. Already in the VFL, Collingwood

The suspension of Geelong premiership defender David Wojcinski for three weeks, effectively five weeks after byes are taken into account, brought into question the VFL draw which sees teams allocated four byes and a week off for the VFL representative game against Tasmania on the 26th May. Frankston, Casey, Box Hill, Coburg and Sandringham all

THE Foxtel Cup is a terrific initiative but is it actually worth the hurdles it has added to state league fixtures?, asks BRENT

GEELONG veteran David Wojcinski will now have wait until at least round 11 against Carlton for his 200th AFL match. Wojcinski was last night handed a two match ban for his heavy hit on Melbourne bound youngster Jack Viney, who suffered a broken jaw from the incident, but it is effectively a four week ban because of two

MELBOURNE forward Liam Jurrah will make his long-awaited return to footy for the Casey Scorpions against Geelong at Simonds Stadium on Saturday. It was confirmed today that Jurrah will return after a horror off-season of events in Northern Territory and also his fitness was limited through injury. It is expected that he will do some

WE look at those pushing for selection at your AFL club in the lead up to round four

Bendigo was ruthless from the start yesterday, writes BRENT DIAMOND as he takes a look at all the weekend action from the

THE Brisbane Lions see tonight’s clash against Carlton as a terrific “opportunity” to make a statement on Good Friday eve. The Lions began the season in terrific style with an upset win over Melbourne at the MCG last Saturday, which was only the start of the Demons’ horror week. ”I keep using the word opportunity, but we’re playing against

FOOTBALL NATION OPINION THERE is a growing concern amongst the players that this season of AFL football will be too physically taxing on them, and that due to each team only having one bye, teams will be forced to rest players for certain games during the season. In their push for the re-introduction of the

THE Box Hill Hawks had recruited so well over the pre-season that many believed they would seriously challenge for the flag. Yes it’s only round one, but their opening performance to the season was nothing short of disappointing. We were at the game yesterday and for much of it, they looked out of it from the opening

FN’s roving reporter DANIEL PAPROTH previews all the action in Round 23 of the AFL. He also provides some helpful hints for last-minute changes to your Dream Team or Supercoach Teams. Fremantle vs Collingwood, Friday 8:40, Patersons Stadium Desperate times for Fremantle, with its finals hopes all but dashed after an inexplicable 98-point loss to

FN’s roving reporter DANIEL PAPROTH previews all the action in Round 21 of the AFL. He also provides some helpful hints for last-minute changes to your Dream Team and Supercoach teams as Fantasy Footy begins finals. St Kilda vs Collingwood, Friday 7:40, Etihad Stadium Collingwood faces one of their biggest tests in recent weeks against

PORT Melbourne’s 24-point win over Sandringham was a tribute to skipper Ryan ‘Shooter’ McMahon’s 200th match. Certainly McMahon reaching 200 games in the VFL is unheard of in the current climate where most teams are dominated by AFL alignments and the turnover of players at every club – stand alone or not – is enormous.

FN’s  roving reporter DANIEL PAPROTH previews all the action in Round 18 of the AFL. He also provides some helpful hints for last minute changes to your Dream Team or Supercoach Team. St Kilda vs Adelaide, Friday 7:40, Etihad Stadium Adelaide will head into this match with some confidence; one of their four wins this

FN’s roving reporter DANIEL PAPROTH previews all the action in Round 17 of the AFL. He also provides some helpful hints for last minute changes to your Dream Team or Supercoach teams. Adelaide vs Essendon, Friday 8:40, AAMI Stadium It was Richmond that started Essendon’s “downfall”, and despite a period last week where they appeared

FORGOTTEN St Kilda rookie Robert Eddy is inching closer towards a late season reprieve after starring for Sandringham in its loss to the Northern Bullants in the VFL on Saturday. Eddy was named as Sandy’s best despite copping a “bad corky”. He hasn’t played a senior AFL match since last year’s grand final loss to

FN’s roving reporter DANIEL PAPROTH previews all of the action for Round 15 in the AFL. He also gives a few handy hints on last minute changes to your Dream Team or Supercoach teams. Western Bulldogs vs Melbourne, Friday 7:40, Etihad Stadium A big clash here as both sides will be fighting for the lower

FN’S roving reporter DANIEL PAPROTH previews all the action in the AFL in Round 13.  He also gives a few handy hints for last minute changes to your Dream Team and Supercoach teams. Western Bulldogs vs Adelaide, Friday 7:40, Etihad Stadium Who would have thought that midway through the season, this clash would be fought

FN’s roving reporter DANIEL PAPROTH previews all the action in the AFL for Round 12. He also takes a look at who should be your last minute changes for your Dreamteam and Supercoach teams for this round. St Kilda vs Western Bulldogs, Friday 7:40, Etihad Stadium Some have described this clash as an “elimination final

FN’s roving reporter DANIEL PAPROTH previews all the action in Round 11 of the AFL. He also gives you a few hints on some last minute changes to your Supercoach or DreamTeam teams. Essendon vs Melbourne, Friday 7:40, MCG The bye has proved to be more of an adversary to teams this season, rather than

AFL – Round 11 The Bombers ($1.22) are fresh off the bye and should be ready to fire on Friday night against the Demons ($4.50). We can expect a spirited showing from the Dees after their apparent ‘bruise free’ style against the Blues. They’ll be keen to disprove that opinion. The Pies ($1.20) are hot

FN’s roving reporter DANIEL PAPROTH previews all the action for round 10 of the AFL and gives his predictions on who to watch in the Supercoach and Dreamteam ranks this week. Melbourne vs Carlton, Friday 7:40, MCG Carlton have a decent record against Geelong in recent times, and whilst Brett Ratten and the club will

FN’s roving reporter DANIEL PAPROTH previews all the action in round seven of the AFL and includes who to watch in the Supercoach and Dreamteam ranks for this week. Any late changes to your team? Take a look at some handy hints below.   Port Adelaide vs Hawthorn, Friday 8:40, AAMI Stadium Port Adelaide are

Hawthorn ($1.18) are coming off the bye and will be too strong for Port Adelaide ($4.90) on Friday night, however the Power will be keen to show some spirit which has been questioned in recent weeks. The Bulldogs ($1.75) meet the Swans ($2.10) in Canberra and have a good record there. They were shown up

ST KILDA may consider more fresh blood with Nicholas Winmar and Arryn Siposs entering the mix for selection against Carlton on Sunday. St Kilda’s VFL affiliate Sandringham coach Brett Lovett believes the Saints, who have already tried out youngsters Jamie Cripps and Will Johnson, will look to some young talent more immediately in order to

FN’s roving reporter DANIEL PAPROTH previews all the action in round five of the AFL. He also looks at who to watch in the Supercoach and Dreamteam ranks and predicts who will win the Anzac Day Medal in the blockbuster Essendon v Collingwood clash… Brisbane vs St Kilda, Gabba, Thursday 7:40 Both teams had the

WESTERN Bulldogs midfielder Jason Akermanis is likely to make his return to football for Williamstown in the VFL in a fortnight’s time after being left out of the VFL squad last night. The banished midfielder – who faced a club ban after writing a controversial story on homosexual footballers and lying about his contribution to

THE Box Hill Hawks were one of the premiership fancies in the VFL before the start of the season. But they have had an unfortunate run with matches in regards to not playing the full four quarters and 15 minutes of footy has cost them in several matches this season. But on Sunday at Box

Vote now in our exclusive AFL coach ratings for round 11. Rate your coach now

FN EXCLUSIVE GOLD Coast coach Guy McKenna has warned other AFL clubs to be careful when attempting to snare NRL recruits that don’t have a “history of the game.” McKenna believes former NRL star and Gold Coast recruit Karmichael Hunt is one out of the box given that he grew up playing with the Sherrin.

HAWTHORN’S Mark Williams and the retiring Stuart Dew return from injuries on Sunday for Box Hill Hawks and could be called upon for next week if the Hawks beat the Bombers on Saturday

ST KILDA defender Matt Maguire is rated his biggest chance of returning to the Saints this Saturday night against the Western Bulldogs, after one-week bans to key position players Zac Dawson and Justin Koschitzke