Mop-head onto Saints primary list
St Kilda livewire rookie Eli Templeton has been promoted to the senior list to replace injured young ruckman Lewis Pierce. With a distinctive mop of hair and an uncanny knack around goal, Templeton has immediately developed a cult following and is now eligible for selection ahead of this Saturday’s season opener against Melbourne.
Tippett upgraded
Rookie Joel Tippett will be elevated to North Melbourne's primary list. The 25-year old arrived at Arden Street via the 2013 rookie draft from West Adelaide where he spent two years in the SANFL. Tippett began his career at the Brisbane Lions in 2007 and later moved to the Gold Coast Suns in 2011. The younger brother of Sydney key forward Kurt, Tippett played in all three practice matches during North’s pre-season campaign against Carlton, Hawthorn and Geelong.
D-Day for Clark
Melbourne forward Mitch Clark looks likely to be place on the club's long-term injury list on Tuesday as the Demons give him time to overcome 'personal issues'. "Footy's irrelevant at the moment, it's about getting him healthy, getting him in a good place and hopefully he's back at the footy club as soon as he can. But we haven't really got a time frame on that," coach Paul Roos told Fox Footy. However, in some better news for the Dees Jay Kennedy-Harris and Alexis Georgiou are in line to make their debuts against St Kilda.
Griffen heading west?
Western Bulldogs skipper Ryan Griffen seems unlikely to line up against West Coast in Sunday's clash at Patersons Stadium. Griffen has been struggling with back tightness throughout the pre-season and could only do light laps at training on Tuesday. Bulldogs coach Brendan McCartney maintained Griffen was 'very, very close to playing' at Tuesday's press conference, but it still seems somewhat unlikely. However, the Dogs look likely to select veteran Robert Murphy for his 250th game against the Eagles. Murphy injured his shoulder during training in February but was fortunate not to need surgery and now appears likely to play. "I'm surprised how well it has recovered but it's fully healed," the defender told Fox Footy.
Walker, McVeigh accept
Carlton defender Andrew Walker has accepted a one-week suspension for rough conduct after slinging Angus Monfries into the fence at Etihad Stadium during the Blues first-up loss to Port Adelaide. Walker will miss next Thursday's blockbuster clash with Richmond at the MCG. And, Swans skipper Jarrad McVeigh has accepted a reprimand and 45 demerit points after elbowing Giants midfielder Rhys Palmer in the guts during last Saturday's loss.
Giant floored
GWS co-captain Phil Davis remains in hospital with a kidney injury following his side's historic 32-point win over the Swans on Saturday. Davis injured his kidney through an accidental blow in the first quarter but played out the match for his side. According to a club statement, the 23-year-old continues to be monitored in hospital and there is no word on when he will make his return to the team.
Red-letter day for Lions
Brisbane have resigned Jack Redden on a new two-year deal that will see the 24-year-old stay at the club until the end of the 2014 season.
Jumpin' Joe
Essendon coach Mark Thompson says Joe Daniher will probably play as a back-up ruckman to Paddy Ryder in Friday's season-opening clash with North Melbourne. "We said we wouldn't do it last year and (in) his first game he played he went into the ruck and went better in the ruck," Thompson told the AFL Website. "As long as he looks after his knees - the ball-ups and the boundary throw-ins aren't a problem anymore - [it's] just a centre bounce really where you get that big clash."
Carey comes in for Cameron
Former North Melbourne skipper Wayne Carey has declared Jeremy Cameron may be on the way to becoming the 'best forward of all time'. Speaking on Channel 7, Carey said Cameron's 95 goals in 38 games put him ahead of some of the game's greats at a similar stage of their careers.
No deja vu Hawks
Hawthorn skipper Luke Hodge is confident there will be no 2009-style premiership hangover as the Hawks look to become the first club to win back-to-back flags since Brisbane's three-peat. "I think if you look, at it we had a lot of injuries (in 2009). Then when we started to get guys back in, I guess we were still thinking our game plan was going to be the way to beat opposition teams. I think we smashed Collingwood late in 2009 and got within a point of Geelong and we thought we're getting blokes back on the paddock and we're right to go, but we didn't realise until the following year that we had probably slipped behind in the game plan side of things and we probably had to update the game," Hodge told SEN. "So this year, it's a totally different feel. We've got a number of blokes on the track. We're still looking to improve the game plan in little tweaks here and there but until you've played the real football in home and away games, that's where you'll understand where you're sitting at."
Ricky Reaction
Journalist Mike Sheahan has responded to social media criticism of disgraced player agent Ricky Nixon following Nixon's On The Couch interview on Monday night. Speaking to SEN, program host Sheahan felt people saying Nixon didn't admit to anything were wrong. "I don't think that's fair," Sheahan said. "Here's a bloke who said, 'yes. I'm addicted', yes, he took cocaine. Yes, he's ruined his life. I think it's clearly unfair when people say that … Now a couple of times he got to the point of accepting responsibility and baulked which is probably a bit disappointing for him."
Where there's a Will ...
West Coast defender Will Schofield has confidently predicted the return of good times for the Eagles in season 2014 ahead of their opener against the Western Bulldogs on Sunday. Under new coach Adam Simpson, West Coast have been one of the pre-season's stand-out sides and while Schofield was pretty negative about his chances of being a Dream Team success for anyone when speaking on Perth's 96FM on Tuesday, he had this to say about his team's chances: "It's going to be a very good year this year. It's going to be interesting."