MORE: AFL Injury List | Mike Sheahan defends Ricky Nixon interview
Davis remains in hospital
Courageous GWS co-captain Phil Davis remains in intensive care after injuring his kidney in Saturday's win over Sydney. He is expected to leave intensive care on Thursday, but will remain in hospital for at least a week. There is still no timeframe on his expected recovery period. "He was diagnosed with bleeding from his kidney and treating this has been the focus of doctors over the past three days. We are pleased that he has shown some very positive signs over the past 24 hours which is encouraging for everyone," chief executive David Matthews said. "Our primary concern is obviously Phil's health and recovery. At this stage it's still hard to say how long that recovery period will be but he is progressing well and resting comfortably."
Zakka Cracker for Bombers
Essendon have been boosted on the eve of their first round by the news that key Bomber David Zaharakis has signed a new three-year contract that will keep hm at the club until the end of the 2017 season.
James and the Giant Interview
AFL boss Andrew Demetriou has declared he personally approved James Hird's interview for the Essendon website video program The Hangar and that the suspended Essendon coach didn't breach the terms of his year-long ban. "They said, would it be okay to do that interview," said Demetriou, on Wednesday morning when asked how it had all been arranged. "I advised (Essendon chairman) Paul Little, and then, of course, our people advised the chief operating officer, that there was no issue about breaching the agreement. He conducted a pretty straight up and down interview that appeared on The Hangar last night and we saw no issue with it," he said.
Hale for Hawks
Hawthorn ruckman/forward David Hale has re-signed with the club for another season, extending his time at the Hawks until the end of 2015.
More boosting for Brisbane
On top of Jack Redden signing a new deal on Tuesday, the Lions have re-signed forward Josh Green to a new two-year contract while Tom Rockliff looks likely to also sign a new deal.
Dockers ramp up defence
The AFL website is reporting that Fremantle defender Garrick Ibbotson is set to re-sign with the Dockers. Twenty-six-year-old Ibbotsom was set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, leading to his former coach Mark Harvey to suggest on 6PR that he'd make a very attractive prospect for several sides, despite a tough run with injury. Yet, Ibbotson looks likely to stay in Perth now and sign on board for the Dockers.
Long-Term Injury List 1
Melbourne has confirmed that forward Mitch Clark has been added to the club's long-term injury list as he takes time away to deal with personal issues. Rookie Alex Georgiou has been upgraded and is a chance to make his debut against St Kilda on Saturday. The Saints have also added a player to the long-term list, with ruckman Lewis Pierce on the sidelines with stress fractures. Rookie Eli Templeton has been upgraded to the senior list.
Long-Term Injury List 2
Adelaide skipper Nathan van Berlo has also been added to the Crows long-term injury list as he battles an Achilles issue, although there is no replacement for him at this stage. For Adelaide's opponent in their Round 1 clash, Geelong have added Allen Christensen (back) to the long-term injury list and upgraded rookie Jackson Sheringham on Tuesday.
Long-Term Injury List 3
North Melbourne have also made some changes to their list, with forward Tom Curran added to the long-term injury list as mature rookie Joel Tippett was upgraded.
Magpies take it to the Max
Former Collingwood skipper Nick Maxwell says the Magpies are determined not to let their Round 1 shellacking by Fremantle hit the team's confidence ahead of a Round 2 date with fellow first-up loser Sydney. "It's easy for it to happen but it's up to us to make sure it doesn't," Maxwell told SEN. "Obviously we were gutted after that but you do your review and you start looking forward to the next game and the hardest part is we don't get to play this week. It would have been really nice to be able to play this week but we don’t have the opportunity so we have to chew on it over the weekend and go forward to next week. Our supporters, they'll be filthy, they'll be angry but they'll also be really disappointed cos you come into round one and we've been training for five months, we've been working to it. (But) you can't let it affect you. We always say just worry about what you can control and you can't control people outside who are going to talk about you and your performance, all you can do is look the guys in the eye who you train with and work with and make sure you put forward a better performance."