Bombers look ready for real thing

Essendon's Brent Stanton shakes off his GWS opponent at Manuka Oval. Picture: Kym Smith Source: The Daily Telegraph

Essendon's Patrick Ryder was a significant contributor with three goals. Picture: Kym Smith Source: The Daily Telegraph

IN their last hit out before the season opener, the Bombers last night showed they were ready for real footy.

But Essendon might be without midfielder Heath Hocking for the Adelaide game, however, after he was charged for front-on contact against Tomas Bugg.

It was the only slight on an impressive road trip to Canberra.

Against a undermanned and lethargic Greater Western Sydney, the Bombers' big guns dismantled their opposition in the first half, trod water in the third quarter, and swamped the Giants in the final quarter to easily win their final NAB Cup match.

They kicked six goals in the first quarter and four in the second to lead by 50 points at halftime.

At that stage, they had had 100 more possessions than the Giants and led clearances 25-9.

The Giants were beaten badly in the centre square and for a period during the first quarter and overlapping into the second quarter, the Bombers won 15 straight clearances, much to the angst of the GWS coaches.

Click here for Live HQ coverage to recap last night's NAB Cup matches

The midifeld quartet of skipper Jobe Watson, Brent Stanton, Hocking and Dyson Heppell was rampant, and while David Myers still has an issue with his long-bomb kicking, he had no trouble finding the ball in the contested situation.

Patrick Ryder played his best game of the pre-season as ruck/forward, booting three goals and winning 15 of his 21 touches in a contested situation.

AFL NAB CUP - GWS vs Essendon at Manuka Oval in Canberra. Essendon's Tim Golds tackles GWS's Tom Scully. Picture: Kym Smith Source: The Daily Telegraph

And ditto for Michael Hibberd off a back flank, who seemingly has a stronger fitness base.

Pleasing for the Bombers were the contributions of youngsters Elliott Kavanagh and Jackson Merrett, playing wing/half-forward, while Brendon Goddard played mid/back.

The Bombers, who kick off the season against the Crows on March 22, won by 91 points - 1.16.14 (119) to 04.4 (28).

Bombers coach James Hird said last night the side was far better defensively than last week and highlighted the eight scoring shots from 26 entries for the Giants.

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 08: Curtly Hampton of the Giants is tackled by Elliott Kavanagh of the Bombers during the round three of the NAB Cup AFL match between the Greater Western Sydney Giants and the Essendon Bombers at Manuka Oval on March 8, 2013 in Canberra, Australia. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

"We needed some quality football, we weren't happy last week. Richmond really dominated us throughout the game, and our focus tonight was to to be good defensively," Hird said.

"We weren't happy with the way we played around the contest. We have a game in two weeks' time against one of the best contested clearance teams in the Adelaide Crows, we know what that game is going to look like and we need to prepare for them."

The Giants improved their attitude after halftime, with emphasis on the contested ball and stopping Essendon's midfield dominance.

AFL NAB CUP - GWS vs Essendon at Manuka Oval in Canberra. Essendon Jobe Watson. Picture: Kym Smith Source: The Daily Telegraph

Tom Scully was poor in the first half with just two touches, Callan Ward was subbed out in the first quarter after being crunched, leaving the midfield bereft of size and leadership.

The Giants squared the contested ball in the third quarter, and lost clearances by four.

Their good work, however, was lost on the scoreboard when they gave away two 50m-penalty goals.

One winner was was full-back Tim Mohr, who played on Michael Hurley, who did not kick a goal, although he was praised by Hird for his defensive work.

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 08: James Hird, coach of the Bombers, addresses his players during the round three of the NAB Cup AFL match between the Greater Western Sydney Giants and the Essendon Bombers at Manuka Oval on March 8, 2013 in Canberra, Australia. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

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Eddie calls for fines hike

Collingwood president Eddie McGuire wants to increase fines for players who break club rules. Picture: Ian Currie. Source: Fox Sports

COLLINGWOOD president Eddie McGuire says fines will increase for players who break club rules.

As the fallout from Magpie Dayne Swan's controversial paid television appearance continues, McGuire said the $5000 ceiling clubs could currently impose was inadequate. Swan earned a reported $25,000 for his interview, where he discussed stories surrounding his off-field behaviour.

"The fines will go up. This five grand fine for players - the AFL are on to this, it's going to go through the roof because people are snubbing it," McGuire told Triple M.

"If I could make it 25 grand (for Swan), I'd make it 25 grand to make the point.

"I'll give you the tip now, it (unauthorised interviews) won't ever happen at Collingwood again.

"Because every player who does not follow protocol at Collingwood, and I would speak for every club now, is going to get blistered and blistered hard.

"Philosophically, I didn't have an issue about him on The Footy Show. I was quite happy with what Swanny said.

"Swanny's pretty much done the right thing, if you like, and all the rest of it, but the protocol has been absolutely jumped over the top of.

"Protocols are going to be big. It's protocol that got Essendon in trouble."

Liam Pickering, Swan's manager, yesterday conceded he should have alerted Collingwood about the interview.

"I feel a bit for Walshy because he only found out about it a week ago - but (president) Eddie McGuire did know before it was filmed.

"And he (Swan) wasn't doing it to spite the club. He just wanted to clear up a few things that were going around about himself, which he had every right to do."

AFL Players' Association chief Matt Finnis said last night: "We are not interested in having a discussion about increasing fines.

"We think fines are, in fact, an improper manner of regulating player behaviour."Last year, McGuire upset Melbourne officials when he interviewed Liam Jurrah without seeking the club's consent.

At the time, the Pies president said: "If James Brayshaw was good enough to get an interview with a player who invited him into his house and was going to run it on Thursday night on The Footy Show, good luck to him."

Jurrah was not paid for the interview.

Swan has been rested for tonight's NAB Cup game against the Brisbane Lions, along with teammates Scott Pendlebury and Travis Cloke.

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Crows hold off rallying Blues

Crows midfielder Patrick Dangerfield is tackled by Carlton's Dennis Armfield during their Round 3 NAB Cup match at AAMI Stadium. Source: Getty Images

Carlton's Andrew Walker takes a huge mark over Adelaide's Sam Shaw. Source: Getty Images

ADELAIDE forward Taylor Walker kicked five goals as the Crows burst Carlton's pre-season bubble with a three-point victory last night.

Walker's haul included two super-goals as Adelaide triumphed 4.11.7 (109) to 2.13.10 (106) at AAMI Stadium to inflict Carlton's first defeat this pre-season and under new coach Mick Malthouse.

The Crows were sparked by Walker and dual club champion Scott Thompson, who collected 26 disposals, while Bernie Vince and David Mackay were also prominent.

Carlton's Kane Lucas booted three goals, teammate Dennis Armfield capped a fine game with two majors, while Brock McLean was a standout with 24 touches and two goals, including a super-goal.

Adelaide laid the platform for its victory with a dominant third term which returned six goals to Carlton's two.

The scoring spree came after smooth passages of play in a free-flowing opening, with the scores locked at 2.7.4 (64) apiece at halftime.

Click here for Live HQ to recap last night's NAB Cup matches

And both teams booted two super goals in the second quarter as Carlton's McLean and Marc Murphy and Adelaide's Walker and Sam Jacobs all scored nine-pointers.

Crows forward Walker also potted two regulation goals in the opening half for the home side, who were largely propelled by onballer Thompson's 17 disposals by the main break.

The Blues, who trailed by two goals at quarter-time, also had plenty of the ball with McLean prominent and Lucas scoring three goals for the half.

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 08: Sam Jacobs and Patrick Dangerfield of the Crows celebrate a goal during the round three NAB Cup AFL match between the Adelaide Crows and the Carlton Blues at AAMI Stadium on March 8, 2013 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Morne de Klerk/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

The third quarter proved decisive with Walker adding another super-goal to help Adelaide craft a five-goal advantage at the last change.

But Adelaide stopped to a near walk in the final quarter and didn't score as Carlton kicked four unanswered goals to creep within three points.

Challenged by coach Brenton Sanderson to change their bad attitudes, the Adelaide players finally proved they are primed for the AFL premiership season by holding off the previously unbeaten Blues.

Telling in Adelaide's response to a tough week of self-assessment after an underwhelming NAB Cup series that included a 63-point loss to Geelong on Saturday was a return to the Crows' trademarks established in Sanderson's start-up season last year.

There was the critical intensity for the contest; there was speed in Adelaide's ball-moving patterns; there was superiority at clearances even when Carlton dominated the ruck.

And, as a contrast, there was the Crows' increasing habit to over-use handball again in the first half and staggering black-out in the last term.

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 08: Ed Curnow of Carlton kicks the ball during the round three NAB Cup AFL match between the Adelaide Crows and the Carlton Blues at AAMI Stadium on March 8, 2013 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Morne de Klerk/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

Overall, the game was enough to suggest Adelaide is ready for the AFL premiership opener against Essendon at AAMI Stadium on Friday week when the Crows will start minus just one first-choice player: defender-midfielder Brodie Smith (collarbone).

Adelaide specialist forward Ian Callinan, who was on the edge as a first-choice selection, suffered a left-knee injury in the first term forcing him to be subbed for the experienced Graham Johncock at quarter-time.

The veteran defender continues to be effective as a forward with Johncock last night scoring 1.2.

More successful was the other small, specialist forward Jared Petrenko who made an impressive return from the shoulder surgery forced by injury in last year's final series.

He was subbed at the last change when he iced both knees in reaction to a hot return.

Adelaide last night made its declaration in the audition to replace Kurt Tippett in the goalsquare and as lead ruckman Sam Jacobs' partner - it is Josh Jenkins ahead of Shaun McKernan.

Brenton Sanderson of the Crows looks on during the round three NAB Cup AFL match between the Adelaide Crows and the Carlton Blues at AAMI Stadium on March 8, 2013 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Morne de Klerk/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

Crows assistant coach Matthew Clarke explained the Adelaide match committee had focussed on first covering Tippett as a forward rather than as a back-up ruckman. Here, Jenkins was ahead of McKernan.

Jenkins repaid the vote of confidence. The new Jenkins-Taylor Walker tandem in attack produced seven of Adelaide's 15 goals.

Walker is clearly primed for the premiership season in which he faces his biggest challenges against the league's best defenders.

Adelaide's other big personnel decision - the need to cover for the retirement of experienced defender Michael Doughty - has Sanderson believing in the one-game Luke Brown.

Adelaide's off-field preparations for the premiership season also were re-tuned last night.

Crows strategy coach Dean Bailey last night appeared on Adelaide's match sheet for the last time before starting his 16-game ban from Melbourne's 2009 tanking saga.

To prepare for Bailey's absence, the Crows put its Melbourne-based strategist Rob Harding into Bailey's match-day roles in Sanderson's coaches' box.
 

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Local hero Jack to co-captain Swans

Adam Goodes has stepped down as a co-captain of the Sydney Swans, as he and the club look to usher in a new, younger generation of leaders.

Sydney Swans co-captains Jarrad McVeigh, left, and Kieren Jack at the SCG. Picture: Mark Evans. Source: The Daily Telegraph

THE Swans can lay claim to truly being Sydney's team after the premiers appointed local hero Kieren Jack as co-captain alongside Jarrad McVeigh.

With Adam Goodes stepping down from his leadership role, all three key leaders at the club are now NSW born and bred.

Swans coach John Longmire grew up in the Riverina town of Corowa.

Both McVeigh and Jack played their local junior football for the Pennant Hills Demons.

"It's great for me personally coming from Sydney," Jack said.

"Not many people get to play at the club they grew up barracking for, and to be made captain is even more special. It's a club that has meant a lot to me.

"It's the reason why I decided to play AFL footy, looking at blokes like Paul Kelly running around.

"To then get picked up by (the Swans) was very special."

The son of rugby league great Garry Jack, Kieren's rise to a leadership role at the premiers has been remarkable. He only became serious about Aussie rules football at 15 and had to fight hard for a spot on the Swans' rookie list.

Following his elevation to the senior list in 2007, his breakthrough year came in 2010 when he won the club's best and fairest award.

"He's got there through his desire," his dad told The Daily Telegraph.

"I'm very proud of him."

Longmire has seen Jack's development as a player since he arrived at the club in 2006.

"What stood out when he came to the club was his absolute determination to be the best player he could be," Longmire said. "I've been able to see both Jarrad and Kieren play their whole careers.

"They were very similar in the way they learned their footy; they were both run-with players. They played on the best in the competition and are still able to do that if needed."

The Swans have again shown their great ability to manage key personnel, providing a smooth hand over of responsibility. At the end of the 2010 season, Longmire took over as coach and the club didn't miss a beat.

They are again ahead of the game, with Goodes there to help Jack's transition into a senior leadership role.

"I've been under some fantastic leaders at this football club," Jack said.

"I've seen what they can do, the way they've driven the group to succeed and continually get better.

"We never look back, we continue to look forward."

Goodes made his decision to step down after the Coffs Harbour training camp last month."It was nice to hear the voices of the leaders in the room really stepping up," Goodes said of the training camp.

"I could tell it was the right time to step down and give someone the opportunity which I had four years ago.

"I had the likes of Craig Bolton and Brett Kirk mentoring me in that role. Macca is ready to mentor someone. I don't see it as a backward step, I see it as a great step moving forward for our footy club.

"We've had fantastic leaders and the succession in leaders is something we can hang our hat on."

Jack has committed for another three years. Goodes is signed until the end of 2014.

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Beams at home in Magpies midfield

Collingwood star Dayne Beams is a vital cog in the Magpies midfield. Picture: George Salpigtidis Source: Herald Sun

DAYNE Beams spent the 2011 Grand Final alone, dressed in club-issue suit and tie, in his own little corner of the dressing rooms beneath the MCG.

He could hear the roar of the crowd above and, intermittently, a scream or whoop or a few choice words from down the corridor where Anne Martin, a Collingwood staffer, was camped in front of another television watching the Magpies slug it out with Geelong.

"I didn't want to watch the game out in the stands so I watched it downstairs in the rooms, on the TV," Beams recalled this week.

"I wanted some time to myself and some peace and quiet without all of the people barracking around me. So I watched it down there.

"The only other person who was there was Anne, the lady who makes our lunches during the week. She usually watches the games down there because she goes a bit bananas. There are a few TVs down there. She was watching in another room and I could hear her yelling and screaming and then she'd come into me and vent a little bit, then she'd go back and watch it a little bit. It was a different atmosphere down there.

Dayne Beams at Collingwood training. Coach Nathan Buckley says he's expecting even better results from the midfielder next year. Picture: Wayne Ludbey. Source: Herald Sun

"I stayed down there until the end of the match, when all the boys came back into the room. You certainly felt for them. It was pretty tough to deal with in those initial few hours, while the reality of it all sank in."

That period was a rare trough in what until then had been a fairly blessed 59-game AFL career. Eight days earlier Beams had laboured through the Pies' thrilling three-point preliminary final win over Hawthorn, being subbed out at three-quarter time after managing just two handballs (which coach Mick Malthouse would describe after the match as "not flattering stats").

"I'd had a niggling groin injury that I'd been playing through, and playing OK," Beams said. "Well, we got to the prelim - and when you get to the finals the intensity cranks up another notch again - so my body just couldn't handle it. I couldn't get any power in my running."

As Grand Final week progressed it became clear that the groin complaint was not going to improve dramatically.

"I went to Mick after the main training session on the Wednesday and I just said, 'Look, I don't think I'm going to be right to play'. He thanked me for putting my hand up and being honest.

"It would have been easy for me to just try to bluff my way through. You don't want to do that on a big stage.

"It wasn't easy, but it was a decision purely based on the team, and in the end that made it an easy decision. The team and what you're trying to achieve as a group is what comes first."

Nevertheless, Beams ended the 2011 season at an early football crossroads. The Magpies knew he could really play, but were concerned about his commitment to being the best footballer he could be.

"I didn't apply myself as well as I could have in the first few years," Beams said. "Probably got caught up in the hype of being an AFL footballer.

Adam Oxley will join Collingwood best-and-fairest winner Dayne Beams (above) as another Queenslander at the club. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

"It's a trap that a lot of young footballers get caught up in and I was no different."

The transition to the Nathan Buckley coaching era was an ideal time to reassess his career and Beams pledged to use Collingwood's two-week altitude camp as a launching pad to becoming fitter and more consistent, with an eye to spending more time in the midfield in 2012.

A key moment in realising that ambition came when Luke Ball went down with a season-ending knee injury in Round 3.

Midfield coach Robert Harvey said the Pies knew Beams had "always got a lot of the ball as a high forward and when he had spurts in the midfield", so they decided to push him into the centre square more regularly.

"It was just pure hard work and the time being right for him to step up and grab it," Harvey said.

 "He was really hungry and the opportunity presented itself. Then it was just more a matter of working on a few areas based around the stoppages."

Beams, who believes the small-forward role is arguably the hardest position to play, relished the chance to fill an on-ball slot.

"When you get drafted as a midfielder you don't necessarily expect to come to an AFL club and play in there straight away," he said.

"You expect to have to do your time, to learn from the blokes that are already in there.

"The first three years I was able to do that - and from three of the best in the business in Pendles (Scott Pendlebury), Bally (Luke Ball) and Swanny (Dane Swan) - and when the opportunity came it was up to me whether I grabbed it or not.

"I had to ask myself whether I could take the opportunity, play well and play well consistently, which has always been my problem. When you play well you get a bit of confidence, you start to roll with it and feel comfortable about your standing in the team.

"You feel like the team relies on you to produce consistently - they're not just hoping you play well.

"So in your own head you go out expecting to play well, not hoping to play well.

"But if Bally hadn't gone down I don't know whether I would have got anywhere near as much time in the middle. I certainly would have had more chances to pinch hit in there, but now I feel like I've become more of a mainstay in there."

In the remaining 22 matches of last season, Beams averaged 32 disposals a game, kicked 27 goals and polled 19 Brownlow Medal votes. It prompted Buckley to suggest at season's end that "the penny dropped", and that Beams had taken "massive strides in his attention to detail, his professionalism and his training standards".

Beams agreed: "Yeah, I guess it was all about taking my footy more seriously. I've matured as a person and been able to hang around with some good people in my life and learn a lot from them - learn what it takes to perform at a high level on a consistent basis."

That maturity made an impression on the playing group, and prompted captain Nick Maxwell to suggest Beams and Jarryd Blair should consider becoming involved in the leadership group.

"We went to all of the meetings over the last six or seven weeks of the season and it was something that I enjoyed," Beams said. "I'd never really seen myself as a leader around the club. I'd just hoped that what I did on the field led a bit by example. But I started to realise that my voice was something I needed to work on."

Over the summer Beams, 23, put his hand up for a formal role and was elevated to the four-man leadership group. He and Ball will be the team's deputy vice-captains behind Maxwell and Pendlebury.

"I wanted to build on where I got to last year, not become complacent," he said. "I've always thrived on a challenge.

"I wanted to become more of a leader around the club, because we've got a lot of good young players coming through and I could probably relate to those guys more than, say, a Maxy or Bally. I guess the young guys might not feel as comfortable approaching those really senior players, they might feel a bit intimidated."

Harvey believes both club and player will benefit. "Dayne wants success and he wants to be part of driving it. And he can, because the players respect him, the coaches respect him and we believe he can just keep delivering and keep getting better," he said.

"It's not easy, though; it's a relentless game and he'll have to overcome a quality midfielder each week. But the good part is that nothing really fazes him.

"Even when he was starting to get tagged last year his mindset never changed too much. I was really impressed with his mental strength, on how he could just concentrate on playing his game. That's a really good strength to have, to just keep chipping away.

"Now he's at the right age to take that step forward with his game, and I just think that in himself he is ready to do it."

Beams agrees: "I don't want to become complacent, I want to try to have an even better year."

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Swan: I don't have drug problem

Collingwood's Dane Swan shakes off Scott Pendlebury. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

Dane Swan tackles Health Shaw during a training drill. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

DANE Swan has revealed he doesn't have a strike under the AFL's illicit drugs policy.

The Brownlow medallist also denied he had a drug problem and was perplexed why he was regularly the focus of rumour and innuendo regarding his social life.

"No I do not have a strike under that policy," Swan said. "There are so many rumours about me, that I have had three strikes and the AFL are hiding it, not to suspend me and stuff like that.

"It's ridiculous. I have never had a strike, never."

Swan denied on The Footy Show last night that he was one of four Pies who self-reported last year to avoid being tested.

"No I wasn't (one of them) and I have no idea who the four were," he said. "The only time I ever read about it was when it was in the paper, that was the only time I heard of it."

Asked directly if he had a drug problem, Swan said: "Absolutely not, it baffles me where it comes from so I can categorically tell you that I don't have a drug problem.

"I don't know where it comes from. No matter what I say people aren't going to believe me but I certainly don't have a drug problem."

The Pies star did admit he was no angel but was nowhere near as bad as it was regularly reported.

"I'm clearly not an angel," he said. "I'm not the perfect model footballer. I probably go out a little bit more socially than the common footballer.

"I'm not naive enough to think that everything that is said about me is a lie because where there is smoke there's fire, but I'm nowhere near as bad as what I'm portrayed in the media."

Swan said he'd improved his attitude and turned his career around since he was suspended last season for drinking.

Collingwood were outraged that Swan had done the interview without the club's approval and he was summoned to a meeting with Pies chief executive Gary Pert yesterday where he is believed to have been fined $5000.

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United front at Bomberland

Michael Hurley at Bright for the Essendon Community Camp. Picture: George Salpigtidis Source: Herald Sun

FORWARD Michael Hurley says the month-long drugs drama has united Essendon, which last night distanced itself from Cronulla's Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority probe.

The club maintained there were clear differences between the AFL-ASADA inquiry and the Cronulla NRL investigation which could see 14 players banned for two years.

The common link is biochemist Stephen Dank, who worked at Cronulla until the end of 2011 and then moved to Essendon under fitness boss Dean Robinson.

Essendon is declaring its innocence - believing there is no proof of illegal substance use. Cronulla's ASADA probe features a whistleblower believed to be head-conditioner Trent Elkin.

Sharks players have been offered the "substantial assistance" clause offering 75 per cent discounts on two-year bans for guilty pleas, while Essendon has been told by ASADA its players could dodge any ban.

Essendon hopes the investigation will back its belief everything taken by players was permitted, with the No Fault or Negligence clause helping players if that belief is incorrect.

Essendon coach James Hird yesterday said there was little connection in the investigations.

"We have an investigation of our own going on. Cronulla is something that they've got to deal with and they'll deal with it," Hird said.

The investigation will run its course. The facts will come out, the truth will come out. That's what the club and supporters want and then we'll move on.

While Essendon believes its players will be exonerated, it seems certain heads will roll over the club's medical practices.

Parents of current players and those at the club in 2012 were given another briefing by Essendon at Windy Hill on Tuesday night. Hurley, one of a number of Essendon players who were injured during a season in which the supplements regime backfired, said the players had banded together in recent weeks.

"We are all in it together and we are such good mates and it's made us even closer.

"So that's been good for the boys and even the coaches and staff as well. Everyone has been really positive and Hirdy has been fantastic.

"He has brought the boys together - just the way he's opened his home and really supported everyone has been amazing."
 

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Hammy problems set back Ball

Magpies coach Nathan Buckley speaks to Luke Ball about he ongoing issues with hamstring soreness. Source: Getty Images

COLLINGWOOD'S Round 1 preparations have taken a major hit with midfielder Luke Ball unlikely to be ready.

Ball is struggling to overcome complications from major knee surgery last season.

While his reconstructed right knee is understood to be stable, the clearance specialist is experiencing nagging soreness in the hamstring tendon graft.

The Magpies yesterday admitted they had been forced to lighten Ball's training loads after he complained of tenderness where a piece of the hamstring tendon was removed to replace his torn knee ligament.

Ball's setback came as coach Nathan Buckley confirmed injury-riddled forward Alan Didak would miss at least the opening fortnight of the home-and-away season.

Star midfielder Dale Thomas is also struggling to be fit for Round 1 as he recovers from ankle surgery.

Collingwood football manager Geoff Walsh said Ball remained in contention to face North Melbourne on March 31, despite the 28-year-old not having had any match practice.

"We'd expect, well, we're still hoping he'll play Round 1, but he may not," Walsh said.

"Where he had the insertion of the graft it's just a bit tender still, so we backed his training off a week or two ago just to try to give him some time to get over that soreness.

"There's soreness there and that's the symptom of the graft itself rather than any injury, but it's something that our medico guys wanted to back off and he's now just starting to build back up," Walsh said.

"He's lost a bit of time, but not a lot. Round 1 is still three or four weeks away."

Ball has repeatedly stated his aim to return in the NAB Cup, but he told the Herald Sun in December that there were problems.

"The hamstring, where they took the graft, is just taking a little longer," Ball said from the Magpies' Utah altitude camp. "It means I have to be patient, which I don't normally enjoy, but we will get there."

Buckley last night told Fox Sports News that Didak had simply struggled to get his body right since being named All-Australian in Collingwood's 2010 premiership year.

"We may not see him in the first couple of rounds ... but he wants to be there when the whips are cracking," Buckley said.

He said he had reminded Thomas, whose pre-season has been ruined by an ankle operation, that Dayne Beams had taken a similar path last year before going on to win the Copeland Trophy in a breakout season.

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Hurley burly days are left behind

Essendon forward Michael Hurley relaxes at Bright while on the club's community camp. Picture: George Salpigtidis Source: Herald Sun

NEVER before has the changing of the guard been completed with such neat symmetry.

As Matthew Lloyd was foreshadowing his retirement by caving in Brad Sewell's cheekbone, Essendon's heir apparent was announcing himself on the biggest stage.

It was Round 22, 2009, and Michael Hurley was becoming a match winner in just his ninth AFL game.

Twice in the last term, Hurley peeled on to his left foot with authority to plunge a dagger into Hawthorn, guiding Essendon into the finals with a four-goal, 14-possession effort.

He seemed so raw. And he made it look so simple.

Three years, 54 more games and only 65 more goals later, it would be unfair to say Hurley is in a holding pattern.

But after a season in which his form mirrored Essendon's injury-cursed decline, it is fair to say questions are mounting.

Where is Hurley best suited after constantly being pushed forward and back?

Where does he want to play? Why does he keep getting injured?

And perhaps most important of all, will he actually become the player he seemed destined to become that late August afternoon?

Three weeks before a season in which everyone at Essendon will be on notice, Hurley sits outside a Bright nursing home on the club's community camp quietly reflecting on his progress.

He isn't angry, outraged, or confused at the questions. He has asked them himself.

And after a pre-season where puppy fat has been replaced by muscle, he is ready to find the answers.

Starting with taking control of the forward half.

"I want to play centre half-forward," Hurley states emphatically about his place in the team.

"We are lucky enough to have five or six really good backs at the moment, and I think I am best suited for the club in the forward line and I am really enjoying the challenge of learning the craft there.

"I have been training with the forward group. 'Hirdy' (coach James Hird) has said to me, 'We will play you where we need you', so I may end up back and I am easy with that, but I am really enjoying my footy forward."

Michael Hurley takes a shot at goal. Picture: Stephen Harman Source: Herald Sun

Hurley's heroes as a youngster growing up in Melbourne's northern suburbs are enlightening.

"I was a St Kilda supporter and Nick Riewoldt was the one I always watched, and down the other end it was Matty Maguire. I loved watching him play - the way he attacked the ball in the air and the way he kicked it."

Like Maguire before his badly broken leg, Hurley has the capacity to be the league's dominant centre half-back, but the forwards end up paying the bills.

His own goal output is reflective of a player torn between two ends - just 75 goals from 63 games, and just 26 in 16 games last year, including 11 in a fortnight against Fremantle and the struggling Western Bulldogs.

"I suppose it can be frustrating at times not knowing where you are playing but as long as the side is going well and I am going well, I can't complain," Hurley said.

"I suppose it's been about half and half. I don't mind going back having started forward, but going forward having started back is a bit different. It's probably in my head more than anything."

The days of regular 100-goal seasons are gone, and Hurley will never be judged on his goalpower alone.

But does he feel he needs that big season to stamp himself on the competition?

"Yeah, I think so. I think that it has been fairly up and down for myself and the footy club for the past couple of years. As we mature and as time goes on, and we play more games, I think that year is not far away."

The reasons for Hurley's confidence are tangible, and cause for extreme optimism.

One of a number of Essendon players who looked. if not overweight, then at least bulky last year, Hurley is transformed.

The new model looks light on his feet and decidedly cut.

The look is borne out of a Colorado training camp, a fitness regime with hundreds of kilometres of endurance running, and a wrist reconstruction after he was unable to take part in a heavy weights program.

"Initially I dropped 6-7kg," he said.

It really helps with my running, being a lot lighter, and I think it's helped my footy. I played last year at about 97kg and in the pre-season I got down to 90kg and I am back up to about 93 or 94kg, so that's about right for me.

"I have had both wrists operated on now and both thumbs, so hopefully, touch wood, they are all good. So there was less upper-body weights, and the running program changed."

 He is also injury-free after the best, in fact only, complete pre-season of his career.

It is a stark difference - filling up your fitness reservoirs rather than waiting for that pesky hamstring to let you down yet again.

Michael Hurley takes a shot at goal. Picture: Stephen Harman Source: Herald Sun

"(Last season) I did the first hammy in early January, and came back and played the first few games and then in Round 4 I did the other side, and then I did the other side again later on.

"I suppose you try not to think about it too much, but after it happens the first couple of times you can't help but be scared that it's going to happen again, especially with the pace of the game.

"The way it's played, you have minimal rest and you are at top-end speed for large parts of the game.

"It can be scary. I did worry about it a bit, but now that's behind me. I feel great.

"It's nice to have confidence in your body and play games and not have to worry about it."

Essendon Hall of Fame inductee Scott Lucas says he still believes the sky is the limit for Hurley.

But the 471-goal veteran says Hurley can play smarter to maximise his potential given every one of his possessions seems hard-won.

"Structurally, the team needs to play him forward. It's not to say at some stage he won't spend time in the backline because he has a natural talent for that," Lucas says.

"But I think he is a victim of the standards he set very early on in his career. He still has control of his football destiny. I think his best is in front of him.

He is so good at the contested ball, but to complement his game he needs to find a way to find a few cheap ones. It is against his better judgment, but it's OK to kick some easy goals, too.

Ask any AFL footballer how many kilometres he runs a game and he is likely to fix you with a blank stare.

"It is hard to explain," Hurley says of his game-day exertions.

"There is different terminology - B3 and B4 running - and personally I don't cover the largest amount of distance, but the running I do is faster - B4 running - it's the top-end one, over 24km/h. I am in the top five or six players in the side for that. I need to improve a bit on being on the move a bit. I am either going flat stick, or not at all."

The same could be said of Essendon last year, and Hurley says those disappointments drive him. As does that final only a week after his Hawthorn heroics.

Essendon was brutalised by Adelaide at AAMI Stadium, as it was in the only other finals game Hurley has experienced - Carlton in 2011.

Hurley signed a five-year deal with Essendon last year, and is into his second season in the leadership group. He says he simply tries to be himself, but thrives on the experience of wiser heads.

"It's been great to see how it all works. Last year I learnt a lot from guys like Mark McVeigh and Jobe Watson. I am getting older, so guys like me and Zaka (David Zaharakis) and Mysey (David Myers) have to take charge of the club."

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Magpies fine Swan for TV interview

Dane Swan, left, at Collingwood pre-season training with coach Nathan Buckley. Picture: Wayne Ludbey. Source: Herald Sun

COLLINGWOOD yesterday slapped Brownlow medallist Dane Swan with a fine in a fresh sign of tension between the Magpies and their most decorated current player.

Swan was summoned to a meeting with officials yesterday afternoon where he was told he would be sanctioned for taking part in a pre-recorded interview on Channel Nine that had not been authorised by the club's administration.

Under AFL rules, clubs cannot fine players more than $5000. It is believed Swan's fine is less than the maximum amount.

Collingwood chief executive Gary Pert refused to comment when contacted yesterday afternoon.

But the Magpies confirmed in yesterday's Herald Sun that they only learned of Swan's paid interview with The Footy Show after the deal had been negotiated and the interview had been filmed.

While Pert would not comment yesterday, a day earlier he told this newspaper that the club was "surprised" Swan had taken part in the interview without club permission.

"Dane's management negotiated and conducted the interview before the club's administration was advised," Pert said on Wednesday.

"While we encourage our players to do media work because our supporters enjoy it, we were surprised with the timing of this interview."

Paid interviews with former coach Mick Malthouse in 2011 and Travis Cloke last year caused serious tensions within the club.

It is understood a number of Swan's teammates expressed frustration at his decision to agree to the interview.

Some believed it was poor timing given the likely subject matter and the fact that the club is only 24 days away from its Round 1 clash with North Melbourne.

The 29-year-old, who has long railed against authority, was suspended by the club for two games last year turning up to training in an unfit state.

Swan, who has won three Copeland Trophies as well as the 2011 Brownlow Medal, has been the subject of much scrutiny in recent years in terms of his off-field behaviour.

In interview aired on Fox Sports last night, Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley conceded Swan has had to change part of his carefree nature to fit in with the club's program.

"Our football program has changed a little bit and our players have to move along with that," Buckley told Fox Sports.

"'Swanny' has come along for the journey, his attitude has been fantastic in what he has given to his teammates, but ultimately the true test is out on the field.

"There has been a lot of focus on 'Swanny' and rightly so when you have that many tatts you are going to get a little bit of attention."

Swan has been rested from tomorrow night's NAB Cup game against Brisbane, along with other stars Scott Pendlebury and Travis Cloke.

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