Fixture chaos as industrial action forces last minute change to Tassie clash, Nicks opens up on Rachele omission

The AFL have brought foward Hawthorn’s Round 24 clash with North Melbourne at UTAS Stadium in Launceston, after industrial action threatened the availability of the ground’s light towers.

Amid a dispute between the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union and TasNetworks has led to recent power outages across Launceston.

As a result, should another outage hit UTAS Stadium during the Hawks-Roos match, originally scheduled to begin on Saturday afternoon at 4:40pm (AEST), unionised workers at TasNetworks are set to look the other way, according to the ABC.

The league confirmed on Friday afternoon that the match would be moved forward to start at 12:30pm (AEST), over four hours earlier than initially planned.

To prevent three matches being played simultaneously on Saturday afternoon, Richmond’s clash with Gold Coast at the MCG has been moved back from a start time of 2:10pm (AEST) to 3:20pm (AEST).

Other options included switching the match to Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium, North Melbourne’s home ground – however both the Hawks and Kangaroos had already made the trip to Launceston in preparation.

‘About values’: Nicks opens up on Rachele omission

Adelaide’s young gun Josh Rachele has been axed for repeatedly failing to adhere to the AFL club’s team-first values.

Crows coach Matthew Nicks said Rachele’s dumping wasn’t solely related to the past two weeks when the 21-year-old has been central to on and off-field controversy.

“It’s not isolated, it’s not a moment, it has got nothing to do with this week,” Nicks told reporters on Friday.

“There’s a lot more to this than a period of time.

“It’s about values, about the standards that we are looking to uphold consistently. Central to that is being team first.

“Josh and I have had a number of conversations, that’s not isolated to recent events.

“This is something we’ve been working on for a long period of time, not just Josh and I, but the team and what is it we stand for.”

Rachele angered his club and Port Adelaide with inflammatory comments leading in to last Saturday night’s Showdown between the South Australian rivals during a paid radio spot.

“I did mention before that the Port supporters don’t have many teeth. I shouldn’t have said that,” he told radio station 5AA.

During the game, which developed into one of the most fiery clashes between the arch foes, Rachele kicked a goal in the second quarter and celebrated by sprinting to the boundary, pointing at his teeth.

Nicks said that celebration wasn’t the tipping point in dropping the third-year forward rated among one of the league’s brightest talents.

“There are a lot of things that Josh is doing that we just love,” Nicks said.

“We love his energy, we love his enthusiasm, he brings an incredible passion to our group.

“I’ll make it clear: this has nothing to do with the way Josh celebrates.

“In fact, we love the way Josh goes about his footy and the enjoyment he brings to the footy, it does send a real vibe through our group.”

Nicks denied turning his back on the 56-gamer, who is contracted at Adelaide to the end of the 2029 season.

“For Josh, he knows I’ve got his back. I’ll always have Josh’s back,” Nicks said.

“In fact, at the moment when a kid’s in a tough time, as it is now, there’s a lot of attention around, a lot of noise around at the moment, and the reason for that is because Josh is such a liked player, he’s a high-profile player.

“I’ve got no doubt he’ll be a leader of our footy club in the near future and going forward.

“And so right now, we’re working on making sure that he is a leader that we want others to follow.”

Meanwhile, Nicks denied Irish-born defender Mark Keane has walked out of the Crows.

Keane is considering a fresh contract from the Crows while also canvassing offers from rival clubs in Melbourne.

The key backman returned to Ireland on Thursday for what Nicks said were personal reasons and will miss Adelaide’s last game of the season, against Sydney on Saturday night.

Asked if the 24-year-old had walked out on the Crows, Nicks replied: “I can guarantee that is not the case.”

(AAP)

Curnow to miss Blues’ must-win Saints clash

Carlton will have to beat St Kilda without Charlie Curnow in order to seal an AFL finals spot after the gun forward failed to overcome an ankle injury.

Curnow had been named on Thursday to return for Sunday’s game at Marvel Stadium, but was officially ruled out on Friday.

It’s a hammer blow to Carlton’s hopes of locking in their top-eight berth, while Mitch McGovern (hamstring) also appears unlikely to get up.

Carlton can seal finals with a win, but a loss to the in-form Saints will give Fremantle a chance to leapfrog them.

“I’ll start with the bad news, Charlie’s not playing. So that’s the not-so-great news,” coach Michael Voss said.

“We sort of thought that he might be able to pull up pretty well from some of the things that he did the other day, but hasn’t pulled up as well as what we expected.

“So we’ll just make that call now and obviously it gives us an opportunity to be able to lock in on what our forward mix is going to be. So obviously banking in that we can get the job done a couple of times in a row.”

Charlie Curnow has been ruled out of Carlton’s clash with St Kilda. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Harry McKay (quad), Jack Martin (hamstring), Adam Saad (hamstring), Lachie Fogarty (collarbone), Jordan Boyd (adductor), Tom De Koning (foot/lung), Adam Cerra (hamstring) and Matt Cottrell (shoulder) are also sidelined.

Voss wouldn’t rule Sam Docherty, who suffered a third ACL tear in March, out of making a comeback in finals if the Blues make it.

Brodie Kemp, who kicked four against the Eagles, will stay in attack but the Blues believe Curnow will be fine to play in the first week of finals if Carlton qualify.

“It’s something that he’s obviously had to manage for a little while, but just feel like we just need to give it that little extra (time to) settle so it can settle down a little bit more,” he said.

“But that’ll be three, four weeks, after his last incident. So feel pretty confident that obviously the best-case scenario getting through and playing, that he’ll be fit and available.”

McGovern (hamstring) didn’t train with the main group and clearly appears in some doubt to play.

“We’ll give him every opportunity to be able to get up,” Voss said.

Corey Durdin dislocated his shoulder against West Coast and is also touch-and-go.

Adam Saad is expected to return after a week out with a “very low-grade” hamstring injury with Voss saying Carlton had opted not to risk him on a flight to Perth.

“He’ll play,” Voss said.

(AAP)

New grand final captain’s medal to honour Barassi

Ron Barassi will become a permanent fixture of grand final day, with the AFL set to introduce a new medal to honour the Australian Rules champion.

One of the most important figures in the game’s history, Barassi’s passing at the age of 87 in September 2023 prompted calls for an award to be renamed after the legendary player and coach, with many suggestions that the premiership cup itself be named after him.

As revealed by News Corp journalist Glenn McFarlane on Fox Footy’s Midweek Tackle, the AFL will instead introduce a medal named after Barassi to be awarded to the premiership captain, in a similar vein to the Jock McHale Medal given to the premiership-winning coach named in honour of the Collingwood coaching icon.

According to McFarlane, the new medal could be implemented as early as this season.

“It [the medal] will go to the premiership skipper, which I think is fairly appropriate given that Ron was twice a premiership skipper with Melbourne,” McFarlane said.

“It’s not over the line yet, but we’re pretty sure it’s going to happen this year. Prototypes have already been looked at including Ron’s image on the medal.”

Co-host Jon Ralph added that the medal will be given to the premiership captain by past premiership captains, similar to how the McHale Medal and Norm Smith Medal for best afield are awarded by previous winners.

Barassi was a six-time VFL premiership player with Melbourne, including as captain of their 1960 and 1964 grand final wins; but his contribution to the game as a coach was arguably even more profound.

He was a four-time premiership-winning coach, claiming two apiece with Carlton and North Melbourne – the latter’s the club’s first two ever flags – with his masterminding of the Blues’ famous comeback victory over Collingwood in the 1970 grand final from 44 points down at half time thanks to a pioneering handball-happy game style seen as a foundational moment for modern football.

Hassa Mann (L) and Ron Barassi carry Melbourne’s 2021 premiership flag. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Houston ban confirmed after Port’s bizarre ‘Vegemite lid’ defence

Dan Houston’s five-match suspension for his bump on Adelaide’s Izak Rankine has been upheld at the AFL Appeals Board.

Houston was initially given a five-match suspension by the AFL Tribunal for the hit that left Rankine with a concussion and a shoulder injury, but Port Adelaide sought to challenge the decision given the ban would officially end his season.

The unsuccessful bid ensures Houston’s season is done, with the Power to play a maximum five matches before the end of the season should they reach the grand final.

The Power argued the Tribunal erred in establishing that Houston made high contact to Rankine, and that an error of law was made in determining that he had erred in making a choice to bump, calling as they did at the Tribunal for the ban to only reach three weeks – which would guarantee Houston be available for the grand final should the Power make it.

Most bizarrely of all, the Power lawyer attempted to make the case that Houston hitting the top of Rankine’s shoulder should not be said to constitute high contact with a truly strange ‘paint lid’ and later ‘Vegemite lid’ argument.

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“The lid is the top of the paint can, but it’s also part of the paint can,” the lawyer said, later adding that the Vegemite jar opened in the morning has a lid which counts as the ‘top’ of the body.

The Power’s legal team went on to claim a five-match ban was ‘manifestly excessive’ when compared to similar incidents this year, especially given Houston did not make head-high contact.

They likewise called for Houston’s previously clean record to be factored into the suspension, just as it was for Charlie Cameron in his controversial escape from a dangerous tackle ban earlier this year.

In response, the AFL claimed the Power’s argument contradicted them having already pleaded guilty to the act at the beginning of the Tribunal hearing on Tuesday.

In a statement explaining their upholding of the five-match ban, the Appeals Board stated evidence could be found to suggest ‘forceful high contact to the neck and… upper shoulder’, dismissing the Power’s argument that the ban was excessive by referring to St Kilda’s Jimmy Webster’s seven-match ban for a high bump on Kangaroo Jy Simpkin in pre-season.

“It [the Tribunal] made those findings about serious or significant harm and the potential for more serious injury on the basis of the video and photographic evidence,” the statement reads.

“There was material before the Tribunal which it could be found that there was forceful high contact to the neck and that there was forceful contact to the opponent’s upper shoulder. It was open to the Tribunal to find that the offence charge was serious and significant.

“In argument for Houston, it was put to him that the sentence of five matches was perhaps within that [fair] range, keeping in mind the sentence of seven matches accorded to Webster earlier in the season, and keeping in mind the other cases that were relied heavily upon by counsel for Houston, which related to penalties of four matches.

“Accordingly, we concluded that the penalty imposed is not mainly outside the range of sentences available, and we dismiss that ground of appeal.

Izak Rankine is knocked out by a late hit from Dan Houston. (Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)

“Finally, Houston also submitted that the Tribunal failed to give weight or adequate weight to his exemplary record. Again, this was the subject of submissions below, and reasons were given by the Tribunal.

“In our view it could not be said the Tribunal did not give that matter by consideration. Accordingly, the appeal will be dismissed.”

Houston has been linked to a trade to a Victorian-based club at season’s end, meaning the Power’s Showdown win over Adelaide in which he concussed Rankine could be his final appearance as a Port Adelaide player.

Should the Power fail to reach the grand final, or do so without losing a qualifying final, then Houston will need to finish his suspension at another club should he be traded.