http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/eblah/ http://www.eblah.com en http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/eblah/m-1281165916/ http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/eblah/m-1281165916/#num1 ]]> Sat, 7 Aug 2010 17:25:16 Paula http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/eblah/m-1278726085/ http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/eblah/m-1278726085/#num1 After a disastrous season so far, the coach has "stepped aside".  I am sure he was "pushed".

Collingwood spoils Choco's farewell

Port Adelaide went down fighting in a gutsy farewell to departing coach Mark Williams, falling by 26 points to Collingwood at Football Park on Friday night.

Just hours after Williams tearfully announced that he was leaving the club, the Power went goal-for-goal in the third term before eventually succumbing 16.9 (105) to 12.7 (79), extending their losing skid to eight matches.

Collingwood ball magnet Dane Swan was instrumental in the comeback victory, gathering a game-high 39 disposals, and Chris Dawes kicked three goals.

Port forward Brett Ebert kicked four majors, David Rodan and Steven Salopek were prolific ball winners, but Power players were unable to farewell Williams in style.

Williams blew a kiss to his home crowd when leaving the arena at three-quarter time, but was ultimately helpless as Port fell to its eighth consecutive loss - an extension of an unwanted club record.

Williams, who had coached Port since 1999, was afforded a pre-game standing ovation from the 24,260 spectators before his side, kicking with a gale, blitzed Collingwood in the opening stanza.

Alan Didak said despite the opposition's poor record, Collingwood had to be wary of an emotionally charged Power side.

"I think every team tries to lift for the coach's last game," he told Grandstand.

"We found out pretty early and we knew they were going to come out hard and give everything for Choco, so we just had to stick to our guns and we did that."

He said that Magpies coach Mick Malthouse lit a fire under he and his team-mates after the ordinary first term.

"Mick was pretty keen on us to get the footy and stick to our structures and we did that in the second quarter, I think we kicked seven goals," he told Grandstand.

"He does [get frustrated] at times any coach would, but we started off terrible and I think he was a bit annoyed so I think he showed his frustration."

The ugly scoreline at the first break was compounded for the Magpies when Travis Cloke was booked for striking Power onballer Travis Boak in the back of the head away from the play.

Magpies midfielder Swan was the catalyst for the comeback, which also featured influential gems by the mercurial Didak.

Didak set up Swan for the first of six unanswered goals with a blink fast handball before posting two majors himself - the first an up and under snap from 40 metres which sailed on the breeze, the second a classy curled shot from a tight angle.

The Magpies then bunkered down in a game defining third term, mustering three goals into the wind which nullified Port's three, as the visitors took a one-point lead into the last quarter.

While the advantage was slender, the result appeared inevitable given the impact of the wind - only six goals were kicked against the solid southerly, and the Magpies duly sailed home to post their 11th win of the season.

Port has the task of appointing a caretaker coach for its trip to Darwin to face the Western Bulldogs next round, while the Magpies return home to prepare for a blockbuster against fellow flag aspirant St Kilda.

Collingwood: 16.9 (105) - C Dawes 3, A Didak 2, D Thomas 2, J Blair 2, L Brown 2, D Beams, D Jolly, D Swan, T Cloke, T Lockyer.

Port Adelaide: 12.7 (79) - B Ebert 4, D Rodan 3, D Motlop 2, D Stewart, J Carr, M Banner.

- AAP/ABC

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/09/2949948.htm?site=sport&section=afl]]> Sat, 10 Jul 2010 11:41:25 Paula http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/eblah/m-1278299013/ http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/eblah/m-1278299013/#num1 If it is true, I hope he recovers.  

Cousins rushed to hospital

AFL star Ben Cousins was rushed to hospital this morning with what the Richmond Football Club says was "an adverse reaction to a sleeping tablet".

The 32-year-old was taken to Melbourne's Epworth Hospital by ambulance at around 11.45am (AEST).

The Richmond Football Club says it will provide more details once Cousins' condition becomes clearer.

In March 2007 Cousins was suspended indefinitely by his then-club the West Coast Eagles and ordered to enter rehabilitation after admitting to a drug problem.

In October 2007 he was arrested in Perth's nightclub district, Northbridge and charged with possessing drugs.

Those charges were later dropped, but Cousins was sacked by West Coast for serious breach of contract.

After being suspended for a year by the AFL, Cousins was picked up by Richmond in the 2009 draft.

He was admitted to hospital with stmach pains in March, just before the Tigers' season opener against Carlton.

He has been ordered by the AFL to undergo regular drug tests...

First posted July 5, 2010 12:39:00

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/05/2944916.htm

]]> Mon, 5 Jul 2010 13:03:33 Paula http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/eblah/m-1265973552/ http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/eblah/m-1265973552/#num1

Tonight:   West Coast vs Essendon

Saturday: Adelaide vs Port Adelaide       
              
              Hawthorn vs Richmond

Sunday:   Bulldogs vs Brisbane]]> Fri, 12 Feb 2010 22:19:12 122 http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/eblah/m-1239451352/ http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/eblah/m-1239451352/#num1
Ex-AFL player and sporting filmmaker Robert Dickson dies in South Africa

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,25320290-23211,00.html
    April 11, 2009

Former Hawthorn and Brisbane player and sporting filmmaker Robert Dickson and his young son Byron have died in a car accident in South Africa.
Dickson, 45, and Byron, 5, were killed after their car crashed on the road between Sun City and Pretoria.

His wife Dusty and son Gabriel were being treated in hospital for injuries although details of their condition were unclear.

Dickson worked on a number of film projects for the AFL and recently completed The Essence of the Game, a program tracing Hawthorn's rise to the premiership last year.

AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou described Dickson as a talented and humble man.

"Rob was a personal friend and a great and positive force in life,'' Demetriou said.

"He was a wonderful filmmaker but above all he was a wonderful person who brought enormous empathy to what he was doing, whether it was filming an Auskick clinic or Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn captain) standing in the middle of the MCG savouring a premiership medal.

"He was one of those rare people who could capture on film the passion and beauty of the game and to articulate in images exactly what we all love about the game but struggle to be able to put into words."

Dickson was on a family holiday when the accident happened. He was due to join the AIS AFL Academy tour of South Africa next week.

Dickson's brother Don said the family was shattered by the news of the accident and family members were flying to South Africa.

Dickson played 17 games for Hawthorn from 1988-90 and two games for Brisbane in 1991.

AAP
]]> Sat, 11 Apr 2009 22:02:32 122 http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/eblah/m-1232147343/ http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/eblah/m-1232147343/#num1 South African cricket team gets AFL lesson
Posted 11 hours 43 minutes ago
Updated 11 hours 40 minutes ago

In the past two years AFL teams have been visiting South Africa to introduce the game to young people. Now as many as 17,000 converts regularly play the sport there.

This week, the South African cricket team visited the Collingwood Football Club's gym in Melbourne to learn more about the game.

The ball is red, but besides that, it looks nothing like a bowler's tool of trade. South African pace bowler Makhaya Ntini kicked a footy around during his team's visit to the Collingwood gym.

"We come to Australia, it's only one thing that people are actually talking about. It's Aussie-rules, it's the kind of thing that we are so happy as well that they are doing it in South Africa," Ntini said.

It may seem incongruous. Why would South African cricketers visit an AFL football team on their last visit to Melbourne before the one day series begins? But it's all part of the AFL's push into South Africa.

AFL ambassador Kevin Sheedy explains:

"If I was a kid in South Africa and I saw an advertisement for 300,000 rand to make an AFL club's list, I'd be looking to find out how I could help my parents get a lifestyle that they may not have. That's 50,000 Australian dollars approximately, and I reckon there's great opportunity there," he said.

Bearded batsman Hashim Amla stood back and watched his team-mates have a kick. He says given time, Australian Rules Football could take off in South Africa.

"Soccer's the number one sport, then you have cricket and rugby, if any new sport came into the country it's going to take a while for it to break into the market. But I think at some stage because of the similarity it has with rugby, people will probably take naturally to the ball," Amla said.

For the past two years Collingwood has been working with the AFL establishing the 'Footy Wild' program in Cape Town.

It's seeking partners to develop a range of community development programs and activities, including education, health, sports participation and employment programs in South Africa.

It's also wanting to develop international scholarships and annual exhibition AFL matches in the Western Cape zone of South Africa.

"I think that probably in the end the cricket grounds help. Because the ground size is beneficial for AFL and of course that's how football started - on a cricket ground - and I think South Africa's a good choice because it's a lot closer than Ireland, which is 34 hours away, instead of 10 hours away," Kevin Sheedy said.

"I think that step by step, sport can help kids get a life, get off the streets, put your energy into areas that are good more than evil."

Makhaya Ntini was the first black South African cricketer and is now one of the most popular players in his country. He says AFL would be good for South Africa.

"We cannot all be cricketers, we cannot all be footballers. We cannot all be rugby players, so we've got different talents," Ntini said.

Based on a report by Alison Caldwell for PM on January 16, 2009.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/16/2468167.htm]]> Sat, 17 Jan 2009 10:09:03 Paula http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/eblah/m-1229408065/ http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/eblah/m-1229408065/#num1 Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:14:25 Paula http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/eblah/m-1216461141/ http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/eblah/m-1216461141/#num1
It seems the incidents of common assults such as with Barry Hall and Solomon's attack on Cameron are becoming more frequent, or am I just imagining it.

Are these people idiots, there's a camera for every person on the field and they think no one is watching, maybe they've had one too many knocks to the head themselves.

I think that sports men/women who revert to violence should be put out of the game for 12 months.  Let's see then who throws the first punch?]]> Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:52:21 InkyPinky http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/eblah/m-1209164589/ http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/eblah/m-1209164589/#num1
Say, 15 - 16 cm in height when viewed full size from a free site.

ABC Sports (http://www.abc.net.au/news/photos ) has a weekly NRL Gallery with some good shots, but nothing for  AFL.

The pics which go with the written stories are "File Footage" (doesn't the AFL allow press photography anymore?)

Thanks!

]]> Sat, 26 Apr 2008 09:03:09 Dalton http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/eblah/m-1206939181/ http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/eblah/m-1206939181/#num1 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:53:01 mike_11