Old face leads in Power troops

Kane Cornes led in the Power when pre-season training kicked off this morning. Picture: Mark Brake Source: The Advertiser

PORT Adelaide veteran Kane Cornes shows no signs of slowing down.

The 29-year-old - who this year won a club record-equalling fourth club champion award - ran his younger teammates off their legs as the Power returned to pre-season training this morning.

Cornes - looking as fit as ever - won the club's first 3km time trial of the pre-season by a convincing 15 seconds.

He recorded a time of 9 min, 46 secs to outpace second-year defender Cam O'Shea (10:01) and captaincy candidate Brad Ebert (10:19) around the Uni loop track in Adelaide's north parklands.

It was the club's first training session on home soil under new coach Ken Hinkley.

Small forward Cam Hitchcock (10:25), ruckman Matthew Lobbe (10:26), key forward Justin Westhoff (10:27), utility Andrew Moore (10:28) and midfielder Matthew Broadbent (10:32) rounded out Port's top-eight runners.

New recruit Angus Monfries (from Essendon) ran a solid 10:41.

Full back Alipate Carlile - who has battled fitness problems thoughout his career - showed he has some more work to do, finishing near the back of the pack with a time of 11:12.

Second-year defender Nathan Blee brought up the tail, finishing in 11:39 as most of the players looked in good condition.

Midfielder Hamish Hartlett has beefed up noticeably, while in an encouraging sign promising ruckman Lobbe ran like a midfielder.

About 10 senior players, including Robbie Gray, Brent Renouf and Matt Thomas, did not take part in the run as they begin their pre-season campaigns on modfield programs.

Hinkley said he was pleased with the condition of his men and that new fitness coach Darren Burgess would be working on a combination of strength and endurance drills over summer.

"It will be a whole-rounded thing to get them into the best shape we possibly can, push them as hard as we can and hopefully come the start of the season they are in the best shape they can be," he said.

"That's the whole thing, it's not just one, it's not just strength, it's not just running capacity, it's the whole thing to make sure we've got them in the very best shape in all areas."

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Vardy takes Scarlett's jumper

Nathan Vardy will take Matthew Scarlett's No. 30. Picture: George Salpigtidis Source: Herald Sun

GEELONG has shown their faith in young big man Nathan Vardy by handing the 11-game player the No.30 jumper worn by triple-premiership defender Matthew Scarlett.

The 21-year-old Vardy, who stands 198cm, battled a hip problem in 2012 and played only two senior games.

Scarlett retired after the 2012 season following a 284-game career that included six All-Australian selections and one best and fairest trophy.

Former North Melbourne ruckman Hamish McIntosh will wear the No.17 jumper following Shannon Byrnes' move to Melbourne, while ex-Demon Jared Rivers will take No.25 after Tom Gillies was delisted.

The Cats have given delisted former ruckman Orren Stephenson's No.23 jumper to ex-Gold Coast midfielder Josh Caddy, according to the geelongcats.com.au website.

Rookie-listed big man Josh Walker will take No.34, as worn by his grandfather Peter Walker in the Cats' 1963 premiership side.

The Cats will give numbers 36 and 40 to their two recruits in the November 22 national draft.

Vardy wore No.36 and retired premiership defender David Wojcinski wore No.40.

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Sheedy: Irishman to replace Izzy

Code-hopper Israel Folau left the Giants. Setanta could replace him as a forward. Source: The Daily Telegraph

COACH Kevin Sheedy has earmarked Setanta O'hAilpin to take the place of departed fellow code-hopper Israel Folau in the GWS Giants team.

Irishman O'hAilpin, 29, suffered a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament knee injury in his first senior game with the Giants in 2012 but recently signed a new one-year contract.

With struggling marquee player Folau returning to rugby league, a role has opened for O'hAilpin who played Gaelic Football and hurling before starting his 81-game AFL career at Carlton.

He can play as a forward and ruckman, but also has the capacity to play down back.

"His (O'hAilpin's) passion is brilliant, you can't beat it," said Sheedy on Monday.

He's one of the most passionate people I've met in AFL. He'll be our replacement for Folau."

O'hAilpin was grateful for the chance but admitted some apprehension.

"I've been fortunate to get another opportunity from the Giants, so hopefully I can repay their faith and have a good season," O'hAilpin told AAP.

"It's a big test for me. They say when people come back from an ACL (injury), it's one of their hardest years."

Sheedy felt he could potentially play both O'hAilpin and Adelaide forward-ruckman Kurt Tippett, who remains a Giants' target.

And he said his many youngsters were about to experience real pressure for the first time in the club's second season of AFL.

"We'll come out of this draft in two weeks with seven players and five of them are going to be in the first 14 picks, so the pressure will be on for selection for the first time," Sheedy said.

He didn't expect GWS to suffer another run of hidings like they did in the middle of the 2012 campaign, but wanted them to significantly reduce their losing margins.

"We'll be extremely competitive and if you did win four games or more, that would be fantastic," Sheedy said.

Meanwhile, Sheedy is looking to extend his time at the fledgling AFL club with a possible director of football role after handing the head coaching reins to Leon Cameron following his second season in charge of the Giants in 2013.

"After I stop coaching, probably I'll be a director of football, in charge of footy basically in certain roles," Sheedy said on Monday.

GWS chief executive David Matthews confirmed the club was planning to discuss a role of that type with Sheedy.

"I'd like to see him linked with the Giants and involved with the Giants for forever and a day, because he's been one of the architects and one of the builders," Matthews said.

"He's just such a positive force, not just around our club, but around Greater Western Sydney generally.

"He's got so much to contribute in football and other areas too so we'll work out something that hopefully satisfies his desire to keep building things beyond 2013."

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Goddard talks up Bombers

New Don Brendon Goddard likes his Windy Hill home. George Salpigtidis Source: Herald Sun

BOOM Essendon recruit Brendon Goddard has highlighted their talent as a major reason why he switched AFL clubs.

The 27-year-old was the biggest name in the league's trade period last month, using the new free agency provision to leave St Kilda after 205 games.

Saints coach Scott Watters said at the time that the two-time All-Australian made a decision outside their team-first structure and added it was about money.

But the utility told the Essendon website he saw a lot of upside in the Essendon list.

The Bombers plummeted out of the top eight in the second half of this season to finish 11th.

Pick Me: The next Bombers superstar
 

"I see the talent within the group and where they could go - that's obviously something that did appeal," he said.

"Obviously staying in Melbourne was one thing as well.

"Just the club ... what I can offer the footy club as a footballer and what the footy club can offer me as a person, summing up all that up, I thought Essendon was a really good choice."

It is the first time Goddard has spoken publicly since his high-profile move.

He is in Boulder, Colorado with several of his new team-mates for high-altitude training.

Another factor that enticed Goddard to Essendon is the certainty that he will spend more time in the midfield.

Goddard had more of a utility role at the Saints.

The Bombers badly need more midfield support for captain and Brownlow Medallist Jobe Watson.

"That was something obviously that stood out and was appealing," Goddard said.

"I'd like to play more in the midfield permanently, as an inside 'mid'."

But Goddard stressed that he alone will not be responsible for the Bombers returning to the top eight - it will take the whole team's development.

"By no means am I here to be the saviour," he said.

Goddard said he is also prepared to have a greater leadership role at Essendon.

"I always look forward to that with open arms," he said.

"I don't have trouble with giving feedback and stuff like that.

"I can be quite narky at times, as a lot of people might know.

"At the end of the day, it's all about trying to get better."

He added defence was one area where the Bombers had room for improvement.

Ross Lyon, Watters' predecessor at St Kilda, made defence the focus for Goddard and his old team-mates when they nearly won the premiership in 2009-10.

"All guys get drafted because of their potential with the footy," Goddard said.

"The defensive side of the game is all about your attitude and about training ... and then obviously implementing it in a game.

"With this group, the biggest upside is the defensive side of the game.

"A lot of games are decided by two or three kicks and if you can kick two-five more goals just through turnovers in defence, it's going to go a long way to winning more games and playing in finals."

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Brown can be a force, says Priddis

BRIGHT FUTURE: West Coast defender Mitch Brown is an important part of the club's defensive depth, says Matt Priddis. Source: Getty Images

WEST Coast midfielder Matt Priddis has thrown a challenge to teammate Mitch Brown, refusing to believe the defender is fourth-fiddle in a strong Eagles backline.

Brown has a year to run on his contract, but went through a tumultuous trade period after declaring his desire to join St Kilda due to a lack of playing opportunity in the west.

The 23-year-old, who recently got engaged to partner and West Coast Fever netballer Shae Bolton, sits behind skipper Darren Glass, the club's Player of the Finals Eric Mackenzie and Will Schofield in the key position stakes.

But Priddis said Brown was more than capable of leapfrogging his way into the best 22.

"Obviously, he's got his family and friends in Melbourne, but he's been at West Coast since he was 17," Priddis said.

"The opportunity for him is there and I'm a big believer that, if he gets a full pre-season into him with no injuries, then he's as good an athlete as we've got.

"He could force his way into the side on form and that should be his absolute focus; to make sure he has the best pre-season possible and puts his hat in the ring to be in the starting 18.

"He's definitely capable of doing that and it's great we've been able to keep him, he's a good guy to have around the club and he'll be a good guy to fill Darren's shoes once he does decide to retire."

Brown's request to head east came amidst an active trade period for West Coast as the club moved away from its recent development mindset of utilising higher picks, instead bringing in the WA trio of Collingwood's Sharrod Wellingham, Melbourne midfielder Cale Morton and small Saints utility Jamie Cripps.

Premiership on-baller Daniel Kerr said the personnel focus reminded him of the build-up to the Eagles' 2006 flag, when the club brought in the hard bodies of Hawthorn's Daniel Chick and Adelaide's Tyson Stenglein.

"We seem to have a squad capable of making the four, we just need a couple of additions, a couple of tweaks and a little bit of a better run of good luck with injuries and I think we'll be a force," Kerr said.

"Morton has a lot of talent, he was an extremely high draft pick and you don't lose that talent overnight, so hopefully he can come home to WA and break into the side. Wellingham's a proven performer and he can only bring strength to our side."

Priddis and Kerr are supporting the Sunshine Beach Run, dedicated to anyone touched by the death of a child, with aims to raise funds for research into SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) and SUDC (Sudden Unexpected Death of a Child), while providing grief counselling for those affected by the loss.

The second instalment of the run will be held on Sunday, February 10, with distances ranging from a 1km run/walk to a 5km run/walk.

Go to www.sunshinebeachrun.com.au

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Power may re-draft Jacobs

Ben Jacobs will for the draft, where the Power will have the option to re-draft him. Picture: Simon Cross. Source: adelaidenow

PORT Adelaide will consider re-drafting Ben Jacobs, despite the defender quitting the AFL club and nominating for this month's national draft.

Victoria-born Jacobs on Friday told Port he will nominate for the November 22 draft, hoping to be picked up by a Melbourne club.

But Port say they could re-draft the 20-year-old.

Port and North Melbourne failed to strike a deal for Jacobs during last month's AFL trade period.

The Kangaroos offered draft pick 38, which the Power refused.

"We were not prepared to let Ben go for a pick that was below his value," Port's football general manager Peter Rohde said on Friday.

"Had North Melbourne been willing to negotiate over their first round No.15 pick, we would have been able to come to an arrangement, but they were adamant that wasn't on the table.

"Port Adelaide wanted to do the right thing by Ben but we make no apology for protecting the club's interest and not allowing it to be cornered."

Port used pick 16 at the 2010 draft to recruit Jacobs.

Rohde said he tried to convince Jacobs to stay at Port, where he played 26 AFL games.

"Everyone can see by the opportunities Ben was given here that we rate him highly," Rohde said.

"It certainly wasn't a case of Ben being unhappy at Port Adelaide but in the end it was more about a calling to be back in Victoria with his family and friends, and where he sees his future."

Rohde said Port would consider selecting Jacobs again at the draft later this month.

"We might lose Ben and if we do we hope it works out very well for him, but it won't always work that way for a player and we have stood firm as a club to make our position clear to everyone," he said.

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Crows missed a shot at Clark

Melbourne ruckman Mitch Clark talks with coach Mark Neeld. Picture: Quinn Rooney. Source: Getty Images

ADELAIDE could have had Mitch Clark in a straight swap deal for Kurt Tippett last year if the Crows had put the right offer to him.

The former Brisbane forward, below, shocked the AFL by signing with Melbourne, after strongly indicating he would only consider offers from his home state of WA.

Clark's manager Colin Young yesterday revealed the 198cm spearhead would have been open to a move to the Crows, which in hindsight may have been Adelaide's best replacement option for wantaway forward Tippett.

"Adelaide never came up, never ever came up," Young said.

"Mitch would have gone. There's no problems with Adelaide, they're a great club. You wouldn't mind any player going there ...

"In the end Melbourne's presentation was too good to refuse (but) the Crows could have matched the offer." At the time Brisbane was strongly pursuing Tippett, but only offering the Crows pick No. 8 in the draft and a later pick.

The Lions didn't offer Clark and the Crows didn't inquire about him because of the perception he was determined to move to Fremantle.

"Mitch Clark was going to Freo," Crows list manager David Noble said.

"All the discussion through that initial period of time with (Brisbane national talent manager Rob Kerr) was that was absolutely where he was going to go."

Whether the Crows would have been better off with Clark, particularly given what they stand to get for Tippett now, is a question all Adelaide supporters will be asking themselves.

Clark kicked 29 goals in 11 games before suffering a season-ending foot injury against GWS in Round 13. Tippett kicked 39 goals in 21 games but was hampered by a string of concussions.

Noble said it was "an interesting debate".

"I think if you went back and had a look at Tippett's year versus Clark's year, who is front?" he said.

"If you go back and have a look at the way Kurt pulled himself together in that last final, it was outstanding."

Noble said Clark wasn't on the club's radar at the time because they were banking on keeping Tippett at the club.

He said it would have been difficult to pull a last-minute trade for Clark because the club hadn't gone down the path of monitoring his form, investigating his character and all the other processes it goes through before pursuing a player.

"At no point did we have Kurt Tippett on the table last year to be traded. He was a required and a contracted player," Noble said.

"Our clear directive from a club perspective - with a new coach coming in - was that we wanted to back ourselves in to keep him."

At the time, Noble was also confident that the continued development of Josh Jenkins, Shaun McKernan and Lewis Johnston would leave the club in a good position to cover Tippett, if he left a year later.

"We still felt we had enough in the group we were going to develop underneath to step into that breach," he said.

In retrospect, Noble appears comfortable with the club's decision to take it's chances with Tippett, despite having lost him without compensation.

"I'm not a big one for looking in the rear vision mirror - we've made the call," he said.

"We played in finals and we were five points short of playing in a Grand Final... quite often it's easier in hindsight.

"Having also coached in the forward line, I know that quite often Kurt would take the number one (defender) so Taylor Walker than has a slight change in his defensive player who might play on him.

"Kurt's reliability in his competitiveness has been something that has helped out our small blokes on the deck as well."

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Suns to continue US adventure

Guy McKenna says the Suns derive great benefit from an annual pre-season trip to Flagstaff. Picture: David Clark

SUNS coach Guy McKenna says training in Arizona is almost certain to become a regular fixture in the Suns' pre-season plans each year.

A big advocate of training at high altitude, McKenna said he could find little reason why the club would deviate from their current pre-season trip to Flagstaff in the near future.

"There is plenty of evidence out there that suggests (Flagstaff) is clearly one of the best venues to go to for a sporting camp," McKenna said.

"It ticks a lot of the boxes and as far as the town itself is concerned there isn't a lot of distractions for the blokes.

"That's what you want and you want the blokes to be focussing on training hard for two weeks."

McKenna said the only reason to change destination would be if the players became stale.

"In five or six years of us coming here, David Swallow or Dion Prestia and those boys who have been here for a while may need a change," he said.

"I'm sure we will accommodate them but I reckon we will always come back to Flagstaff."

Apart from the physical gains of training at high altitude, McKenna said the benefits from travelling overseas were endless.

"I was speaking to a few of the corporates who had been on the camp the previous year as well and they commented on how close the group was this year," McKenna said.

"It's amazing the transformation in 12 months and its really encouraging going into next season.

"The more times we can be isolated and learn to get on with each other and understand each others' mental and physical capabilities, then the better we will be.

"Clearly that is what we have seen."

The Suns return home on Wednesday.

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My five-year plan for a Giants leap

GWS assistant coach Leon Cameron succeeds Kevin Sheedy as senior coach in 2014. Picture: Michael Klein. Source: Herald Sun

LEON Cameron may be a year away from succeeding Kevin Sheedy as head coach, but he has already outlined his plan to propel the Greater Western Sydney Giants into the AFL's top four within five years.

The Giants finished their inaugural season in top-flight footy in last place with just two wins.

But with a collection of the country's best young talent at their disposal after successive drafts weighted heavily in their favour, Cameron is bullish about his club's future.

"We've got an outstanding list of what could be 17 or 18 A-graders in two years," Cameron told The Daily Telegraph.

"I'm confident in four or five years' time we will be competing at the pointy end, which in my mind is the top four.

"There's pressure at any club in the AFL whether you are 18th, fifth or first. There is expectation everywhere. They're an exciting group."

Cameron will inherit one of the plum jobs in the AFL at the end of next season when he replaces Sheedy at the helm of the Giants.

It is a measure of how highly Cameron is is rated that he was awarded the post ahead of Mark Williams, who led Port Adelaide to a premiership and boasted an impressive 55 per cent win-loss ratio over his 12 seasons at the Power.

Cameron turned down the Port job to be part of the Giants' succession plan and to nurture some of the best young talent in the land.

The 40-year-old has an impressive football resume, but Giants chairman Tony Shepherd told The Daily Telegraph it was his character that won him the job at the Giants.

"When Leon made his presentation to us he didn't start talking about football - he told us what sort of a person he was and what he valued," Shepherd said.

"He spoke about teamwork and how everyone at the club was all in it together."

We've got a lot of talent but they're also a bunch of competitors

After 256 games as a player for the Western Bulldogs and Richmond, Cameron spent seven years working with Rodney Eade at the Western Bulldogs and the last two under Alastair Clarkson at Hawthorn.

Cameron will serve as an assistant for another season under Kevin Sheedy before ascending to the top job.

That's when the pressure will come, given the expectation that after two full seasons and a couple of favourable drafts the Giants should be ready to climb off the bottom of the ladder.

"I don't shy away from the fact we've got an exciting group," Cameron said. "We've got a lot of talent but they're also a bunch of competitors.

"You wrap talent, excitement and competitiveness all in one then it allows the team to do well.

"The challenge is to mix that all into a strong culture - like the Sydney Swans."

The Swans are officially the competition benchmark after a stunning 2012 campaign, and Cameron is unapologetic about his intention to replicate Sydney's strong footy culture at his fledgling club.

"The talent they have is fantastic but the culture they have created is absolutely outstanding," Cameron said. "Everyone knows what their role is at that footy club.

"If we can take a bit of what Sydney have done then we're heading in the right direction."

A year under Sheedy will complete an impressive coaching apprenticeship for Cameron.

"He's been in the game for 40 years as a coach and player," Cameron said of Sheedy. "The next 12 months are a great opportunity to run my ideas past Kevin. That's the attractiveness of coming to the Giants.

"I'm influenced by everyone I've been coached by.

"Terry Wheeler was my first coach at the Western Bulldogs.

"He was very honest and had great empathy for his players.

"As a 17 year-old, that had a big influence.

"Terry Wallace had a lot of new ideas. He was the one who started warm ups on the ground before we played. He was also a great teacher.

"Allan Joyce showed me the Hawthorn way and Danny Frawley had genuine passion and cared for his group of players."

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Laws to combat AFL's hard knocks

Kurt Tippett in the hands of Crows medical staff after being concussed. Picture: Tait Schmaal. Source: adelaidenow

THE AFL's concussion management guidelines are set for another overhaul following an international conference on the issue.

Soon after fining North Melbourne $20,000 for a lack of co-operation with an investigation into the way it handled Lachlan Hansen's heavy head knock in round 20, the league said it would revise its concussion rules for the 2013 season.

This comes after the AFL had three representatives, including AFL Medical Commissioner Dr Peter Harcourt, attend the Fourth International Consensus Conference on Concussion in Sport in Zurich last week.

"This global conference has again provided us with invaluable information that can be applied to our own concussion management policies," Dr Harcourt said.

"The AFL had strong representation at the conference and the management of concussion in the AFL was discussed.

"It confirmed that the AFL concussion strategy is robust and reflects current best practice."

But changes are in the wind.

The AFL is proposing to include a requirement for club doctors to make greater use of video footage of the injury incident in their assessment of player fitness.

There will also be a necessity for medical supervision of any follow-up self-assessment tests conducted by players.

The AFL will also adopt a "completely new approach" to the management of concussion in children, including those involved in the Auskick program.

The conference reinforced the AFL's approach that there is no scientific evidence that helmets prevent concussion or other brain injuries.

On the advice of the AFL and medical staff, wantaway Crow Kurt Tippett did not wear a helmet this year despite being concussed three times in five weeks.

"The evidence presented reinforced the AFL's current approach to the use of helmets, that is, there is no definitive scientific evidence that helmets specifically prevent concussion or other brain injuries in Australian football," Dr Harcourt said.

The new consensus guidelines will be released in March.

The Kangaroos, meanwhile, have been hit hard in the hip pocket after the AFL found them guilty of breaching a rule that requires clubs to fully co-operate and provide all relevant information and evidence to AFL investigators. Half of the club's $20,000 fine will be suspended for three years.

Football operations manager Adrian Anderson said the AFL found insufficient evidence to substantiate a breach of its concussion rules over the treatment of Hansen but that it was extremely concerned by North's lack of co-operation during an investigation into his welfare.

"Whilst there was no finding that there was any attempt to deliberately mislead investigators, North Melbourne now accepts that its conduct at times was not at a standard acceptable to an AFL investigation," Anderson said.

Key forward Hansen was assisted from the ground in a groggy state and later returned to the field during North's 24-point win against Essendon in round 20.

The AFL investigation was sparked when Roos' co-vice-captain Drew Petrie said on radio that he had seen Hansen vomiting at half-time.

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