Dockers axe troubled Simpson

Fremantle's Josh Simpson was delisted after just two games at the club. Picture: Daniel Wilkins Source: News Corp Australia

FREMANTLE has run out of patience with Josh Simpson, delisting the former first-round pick after two years at the club.

Simpson, who was selected with pick 16 in the 2012 national draft, played just two games for the Dockers amid off-field disciplinary problems.

Fremantle fined Simpson in January and April this year after failing to meet club requirements, before banishing him from the club and affiliate Peel Thunder and ordering him to undertake a personal development program in June.

Dockers football operations manager Chris Bond said Simpson, 20, had fallen short of expectations in the development program.

Josh Simpson in his home town of Yalgoo before being drafted. Picture: Daniel Wilkins Source: News Limited

"As we do with all players on our list, we have provided Josh with significant support and resources, including a personal development program which was carefully put together to assist him in dealing with personal and professional matters he faced away from football," Bond said.

"The personal development program included guidelines and protocols that Josh was required to strictly adhere to.

"Unfortunately, Josh was not able to consistently fulfil those requirements since undertaking the program in June.

"Josh's inability to consistently fulfil those requirements and, over a period of time, achieve the personal and professional levels required by the club to succeed as a player at the elite level, has resulted in the very difficult decision to delist him."

The club said it would continue to work with Simpson and his management to provide support.

Simpson caused a stir in April when he failed to appear at the airport to take a flight to Sydney after being named as one of the team's travelling emergencies.

Simpson had played his only game of the season the week prior, gathering 13 possessions in a win over Essendon.

Follow Chris Robinson on Twitter: @CJKRobinson

Originally published as Dockers axe troubled Simpson

22.09 | 0 komentar | Read More

Dangerfield, Sloane in elite AFL ranks

Rory Sloane handballs to Patrick Dangerfield against Greater Western Sydney at Adelaide Oval. Picture: Sarah Reed. Source: News Corp Australia

ADELAIDE'S midfield has had its value confirmed by official AFL statistician Champion Data, with Patrick Dangerfield and Rory Sloane rated among the top 10 players in the league.

Sydney was the only other club with two players (Lance Franklin at 8 and Josh Kennedy at 10) in the top 10.

Dangerfield came in at fourth, while Sloane landed at seventh in a ranking system based on a player's impact on each passage of play from their past 40 games.

The duo, who were Adelaide's acting co-captains while skipper Nathan Van Berlo was out injured, started the season ranked No. 2 (Dangerfield) and No.21 (Sloane).

Fittingly, the captains of both South Australian AFL teams were their sides' top achievers.

Captain Travis Boak was Port Adelaide's highest-ranked player at 11.

The Crows also had Brodie Smith (34), Sam Jacobs (43) and Richard Douglas (460) in the top 50.

Port Adelaide skipper Travis Boak is the highest-ranked Power player. Photo: Sarah Reed.

Port's top-50 players were made up of Boak, best and fairest Robbie Gray (36), Chad Wingard (41), Justin Westhoff (46) and Brad Ebert (50).

The two elite rankings of Dangerfield and Sloane also highlights their attractiveness as they come out of contract at the end of next season and continue to draw interest from opposition clubs.

Both of them are in a position where they can negotiate aggressively with the club for long and lucrative contracts as Victorian clubs will bid to lure them back to their home state.

The Gold Coast's Gary Ablett, generally acknowledged as the best player in the game, ranked No. 1 ahead of Collingwood's Scott Pendlebury and Geelong's Joel Selwood.

Surprisingly, Brownlow Medallist Matt Priddis could only manage 23rd place.

Official AFL Player Ratings Top 50

1. Gary Ablett (Gold Coast) — 723 points

2. Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood) — 692

3. Joel Selwood (Geelong) — 650

4. Patrick Dangerfield (Adelaide) — 602

5. Ryan Griffen (Western Bulldogs) — 592

6. Brent Harvey (North Melbourne) — 591

7. Rory Sloane (Adelaide) — 575

8. Lance Franklin (Sydney) — 570

9. Nat Fyfe (Fremantle) — 552

10. Josh Kennedy (Sydney) — 549

11. Travis Boak (Port Adelaide) — 548

12. Kieren Jack (Sydney) — 544

13. Tom Liberatore (Western Bulldogs) — 537

14. Jobe Watson (Essendon) — 525

15. Jarryd Roughead (Hawthorn) — 522

16. Todd Goldstein (North Melbourne) — 522

17. Steele Sidebottom (Collingwood) — 519

18. Tom Rockliff (Brisbane) — 518

19. Nick Dal Santo (North Melbourne) — 516

20. Steve Johnson (Geelong) — 509

21. Stephen Hill (Fremantle) — 498

22. Callan Ward (GWS Giants) — 498

23. Matt Priddis (West Coast) — 493

24. Luke Breust (Hawthorn) — 493

25. Jimmy Bartel (Geelong) — 489

26. Brendon Goddard (Essendon) — 486

27. Jordan Lewis (Hawthorn) — 483

28. Dayne Zorko (Brisbane) — 482

29. Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn) — 481

30. Marc Murphy (Carlton) — 479

31. Nick Malceski (Sydney) — 479

32. Jarrad McVeigh (Sydney) — 478

33. Shaun Burgoyne (Hawthorn) — 478

34. Brodie Smith (Adelaide) — 476

35. Dion Prestia (Gold Coast) — 476

36. Robbie Gray (Port Adelaide) — 474

37. Dane Swan (Collingwood) — 473

38. Hamish Hartlett (Port Adelaide) — 473

39. Jack Steven (St Kilda) — 470

40. Luke Hodge (Hawthorn) — 470

41. Chad Wingard (Port Adelaide) — 466

42. Josh Gibson (Hawthorn) — 466

43. Sam Jacobs (Adelaide) — 464

44. Pearce Hanley (Brisbane) — 463

45. Luke Shuey (West Coast) — 462

46. Justin Westhoff (Port Adelaide) — 461

47. Richard Douglas (Adelaide) — 460

48. Luke Parker (Sydney) — 460

49. Harry Taylor (Geelong) — 460

50. Brad Ebert (Port Adelaide) — 458

22.09 | 0 komentar | Read More

Gorringe: I’m disgusted, Port lied to me

AFL club Essendon has brokered a deal to send Paddy Ryder to Port Adelaide.

Daniel Gorringe remains on the Gold Coast after failing to secure a trade to Port Adelaide. Picture: Zak Simmonds. Source: News Corp Australia

SA-BORN Gold Coast ruckman-forward Daniel Gorringe is unlikely to deal with Port Adelaide again declaring the Power failed him — "lied to me" — during the AFL trade talks.

Gorringe, 22, was left compelled to return to the Suns to fulfil the last year on his contract on Thursday when the 11-day trade period closed without a homecoming trade to SA, in particular the Power.

"They let me down," Gorringe told The Advertiser yesterday.

"Port Adelaide did promise things to me — and I don't like being lied to.

"I'm disgusted — and embarrassed — particularly when I fulfilled my end of the bargain, 100 per cent."

Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas told The Advertiser his club never misled Gorringe during a complicated trade period.

"We understand that Dan is disappointed but let's get one thing straight, we do not lie; that is not the way our club does business," Thomas said.

"We did make it clear to his manager during the trade period that we were keen to get him here to Port Adelaide and we don't shy away from that.

"We tried to do everything we could to get the deal done. Right up until the absolute deadline we were fighting tooth and nail to try to make it happen.

"Unfortunately the nature of trade period is unpredictable and erratic and we were simply unable to get the deal done in the end.

"Despite the uncertainty we kept Dan's management team well informed through the entire process and share Dan's disappointment that he won't be at Port Adelaide next season."

The Power focused on one trade — the best in the club's 17-year AFL history — securing contracted Essendon ruckman-forward Paddy Ryder. But the price of dealing with the Bombers — both in time and in Port Adelaide's top-two draft picks 17 and 37 — left the Power without time nor bargaining chips to secure Gorringe.

Gold Coast needed a draft pick inside the first 29 calls of next month's AFL national draft to release Gorringe, a first-round draftee in 2010, to the Power.

Port Adelaide list manager Jason Cripps emphasised the Power was handcuffed by the Ryder deal.

He also highlighted how Gorringe had backed out of a deal with the Power at the end of last season.

Gold Coast ruckman Daniel Gorringe was unable to change clubs during trade talks. Picture: Jerad Williams Source: News Corp Australia

"We did everything we could to bring Dan (Gorringe) in, but it made it very difficult that he was contracted," he said.

"We spoke to Dan this time last year when he was out of contract and we progressed a fair way, but he changed his mind.

"We were looking at other clubs to get the deal done, but it just didn't work out in the end."

Gorringe told The Advertiser he had spoken to Power officials on Wednesday and was left to believe Port Adelaide could work a trade for him, regardless of the Ryder talks with Essendon.

The former Norwood SANFL league player wanted a homecoming trade for family reasons. His other AFL option in Adelaide — the Crows — did not open up despite Phil Walsh's need to replace delisted ruckmen Shaun McKernan and Angus Graham.

"I had a brief chat to them (the Crows), but they were going in a different direction," Gorringe said.

The Power has declared an interest in chasing 20-game Gorringe as an uncontracted player in next year's trade period. But that task is difficult now.

"It is hard for me to see myself in Port Adelaide colours now," Gorringe said.

"The trust with the club is broken. It is going to be very hard to rebuild that. I'm disgusted — so is my manager."

Gorringe's disgust also is with Gold Coast fans who have targeted him on social media.

"They have described me as a brat and say I don't like the Gold Coast," Gorringe said.

"That is wrong. I wanted to come home for family reasons - not because I'm a brat or I don't work hard or I have problems with the Gold Coast.

"I love the Gold Coast. I enjoy being with the Suns — and am in Melbourne with my Suns teammates for the Caulfield Cup. I also work hard, so I wanted to clear my side."

In a tweet posted on Thursday, Gorringe says: "Let's get this very clear. I am more than happy to be a member of the Suns in 2015 and I look forward to continued success and growth.

"For family reasons I requested to go home ... People tweeting, don't you dare question my work rate, personality or anything else. You don't know me or anything regarding my personal life."

22.09 | 0 komentar | Read More

Monfries, Ryder to receive show cause advice

Mick Warner from the Herald Sun updates us on the latest news that 34 current and former Essendon players have been issued with notices by ASADA.

Port Adelaide's Angus Monfries will receive legal advice on ASADA show-cause notices. Picture: George Salpigtidis Source: News Corp Australia

PORT Adelaide pair Angus Monfries and Paddy Ryder this weekend will get independent legal advice on how to deal with the new ASADA show cause notices that have followed them from Essendon.

The Power duo next week are expected to join Western Bulldogs forward Stewart Crameri and Footscray VFL midfielder Brent Prismall, who are breaking from the Essendon legal team representing the Bombers.

Port Adelaide's legal support for Monfries and Ryder — who is to be married to his fiance Jess at Port Douglas on Saturday — will include leading Melbourne-based lawyer Paul Ehrlich. He also represented the Power during its complicated negotiations with Essendon to secure Ryder during the AFL trade period.

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The Power on Friday night repeated it was not in a position to comment on the ASADA saga while the 34 players are protected by confidentiality agreements.

Neither Monfries nor Ryder have been publicly named as being among the 34 past and present Essendon players who on Saturday — for the second time — were issued "show cause" notices from the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority.

This time, each notice is specifically written for each player and alleges the Bombers used the banned peptide, Thymosin beta-4.

Each show cause notice has as many as 350 pages. ASADA says it has supplemented the documents with 12,000 pages of evidence. It is the first time the players have been handed by ASADA a view of the evidence collected in the investigation of the Essendon supplements program.

Chip Le Grand from The Australian explains the latest implications in the ongoing ASADA scandal.

"By providing the detailed 'show-cause' notices, it is ASADA's intention to offer players every opportunity to respond to the allegations against them," the government agency said in a statement.

Each player has 10 days to respond to ASADA. He can offer no response and ask for an AFL anti-doping tribunal hearing.

Only the AFL and not ASADA can issue infraction notices forcing players before a tribunal that can issue penalties reaching two-year bans.

Monfries and Ryder have two options:

WAIT for an AFL tribunal hearing — and make a "no fault, no negligence" defence. As there is no positive test against an AFL player, they could succeed in avoiding any penalty.

DEAL with ASADA. They could ask for their penalty — of between three to six months — to be back dated. There is the risk the ban could include AFL premiership games. The worst-case scenario is the players would miss the first month of the AFL premiership season that starts on April 2.

The AFL Player's Association has responded to the the show cause notices re-issued to 34 former and current Essendon players by ASADA.

ASADA's decision to issue show cause notices was made despite Essendon coach James Hird still appealing a Federal Court ruling that declared the joint AFL-ASADA investigation into the supplements was legal.

A three-judge panel will hear Hird's appeal on November 10. At that stage, the AFL could have issued infraction notices against the 34.

The AFL would only say: "ASADA's formal process has now been re-triggered and so it is not appropriate for the AFL to comment."

The AFL Players' Association, which has co-ordinated the legal advice to the players no longer at Essendon, yesterday also was reluctant to comment.

Chief executive Paul Marsh said: "The players' legal team will review the material in the coming days and discuss the contents with players, to determine what response, if any, they will provide in respect to these amended show cause notices."

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