Fremantle Dockers CEO Simon Garlick calls for AFL to introduce Wild Card tournament to add spice to season
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Fremantle Dockers CEO Simon Garlick calls for AFL to introduce Wild Card tournament to add spice to season
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Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Young the ‘point of difference' to Freo's flag tilt
Hayden Young has been labelled Fremantle's 'point of difference' in the Dockers' flag tilt following a blistering return from injury over the past fortnight. Young secured his first Glendinning-Allan Medal despite being subbed off early in the fourth quarter against West Coast after a commanding display with 23 touches, seven clearances and three goals in a derby domination. Channel Seven commentator Kate McCarthy said it was imperative the Dockers keep the left-footer fit, if they are to go deep into September and their hopes of winning a maiden premiership. 'Purely for what they have through the midfield, they have Andrew Brayshaw and (Caleb) Serong with Luke Jackson running through, but he (Young) is a genuine point of difference for them,' she said on 'He had a really important fourth quarter last week as the sub with 11 disposals and just continued on with that momentum, he's been their most important player. 'Keeping him on the park is an absolute must if you're Fremantle because he is key to your team going deep into September and maybe onto their first flag.' Young has managed just six games this year after undergoing surgery on a hamstring injury he picked up in their round eight loss to St Kilda, having missed the start of the year with a similar injury. Hayden Young & Justin Longmuir pose for a photo after the match. Credit: Janelle St Pierre/AFL Photos / Getty Images Given his history, the Dockers have been managing his return to the AFL level, including acting as the sub against Collingwood, with coach Justin Longmuir warning there is still more to come as he works his way back to full fitness. 'It was a good build from last week and should set him up well for next week. I thought he was clean, I thought he found space, and I thought he finished well. He was sharp,' Longmuir said post-game. 'We've missed his ball use at times this year. He's a welcome addition. He gives us another big body around there as well, which helps Andy and Caleb and the other mids. We've missed that as well. 'I thought our stoppage work went to a level it hasn't seen for a while today. I'm sure Youngy had an impact on that. Of course, that excites me.'
Courier-Mail
2 hours ago
- Courier-Mail
AFL 2025: Melbourne Demons cop huge whack after St Kilda melt down in record-breaking loss
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News. Melbourne's leaders have been called out for their dying seconds 'panic' in the historic six-point loss to the Saints on Sunday. When Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera kicked a goal to level scores with just eight seconds to play, the Demons coughed up a 6-6-6 infringement free kick in the middle of the ground. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. And what followed was pure chaos as Melbourne's players took off, only to be called back, before that man Wanganeen-Milera bobbed up again to kick the winning goal in a stunning 15.6 (96) to 13.12 (90) victory. 'There was a rush of blood to defend long and deep,' AFL great Dermott Brereton said. 'It was panic stations.' In all the confusion, Max Gawn, Jack Viney and Kysaiah Pickett all returned to the middle of the ground in a move that ultimately proved costly as Wanganeen-Milera streaked forward, marked inside 50 and nailed the matchwinner. It created history for the Saints, with the biggest three-quarter time comeback ever, from 46 points down. The Demons' confusion was clear in the dying seconds of St Kilda's historic win. Umpire Nick Brown asked for the field to be reset before paying a free kick to Rowan Marshall. Picture: Michael Klein Two-time premiership Roo David King labelled the Dees' dying seconds brain fade as a 'cardinal sin'. 'Name me the leaders at Melbourne. They're all there. They've got (Christian) Petracca, Gawn, you've got (Christian) Salem behind the footy, (Tom) McDonald. They're everywhere there. They should have understood this situation,' King said on Fox Footy's First Crack. 'They should have understood the 6-6-6. Instead of getting confused here … why is Max back in the middle? 'I just spoke with (ex-AFL umpire) Ray Chamberlain, he said there is no rule that says Max has to go back in and reset. He should be the loose man. 'What the hell is Viney doing in the middle of the wing when his opponent has gone to the left edge to charge forward? 'So, as the fourth midfielder comes in no one is communicating. No one knows who's got who. 'Viney is thinking, 'I've got to get back to Wanganeen-Milera'. I'm assuming that's what he's thinking because he's not going with (Saint Anthony) Caminiti, who charges to the left. 'He clearly doesn't get there, he doesn't surge, now he doesn't know what he's doing and the rest of the Melbourne backs are all here. 'Why is Bowey out there? If he's all the way out there that's fine. Stay there. Coach Simon Goodwin on the sidelines. Arms were out all over the centre square ahead of the final play of St Kilda's historic win. 'He turns to correct and he's not organising Viney. He should be saying to Viney, 'Come back' … Bowey turns and he's not even facing the play. 'I don't understand how they've capitulated so poorly in the space of 30 seconds. 'They haven't assessed the situation. 'They haven't assessed the likely danger zones and they've allowed Wanganeen-Milera to charge unopposed into that dangerous area through a lack of understanding of what's going to happen and a lack of communication. 'This is on them and the details matter. This comes back to coaching, I don't care what anyone says. 'It comes back to learnt habits, learnt skills at training … They should have known these things. This is their profession. 'I'm disappointed with Melbourne because this is a game they played really well for three quarters and have just lost their minds. 'It's the dumbest thing I've seen this year. 'Viney standing, wrong side of his opponent 30 metres (away), giving a tall – a targeted player – he can contested mark this guy Caminiti, allowing him to go inside 50 unopposed is just a cardinal sin.' Goodwin was seen looking bemused on the bench while their footy head of development Mark Williams was still counting players when the ball was handed back to Saints big man Rowan Marshall – who nailed the kick to Wanganeen-Milera. 'Pickett and Petracca didn't have to be at the circle,' Fox Footy's Leigh Montagna said. 'They could have been all the way back just inside the square because they knew it was St Kilda's free kick. 'Simon Goodwin was coaching from the bench … he wasn't giving instructions to his players at all. He was standing there watching. Demons head of development Mark Williams was spotted counting players. 'If you're on the bench, that's one of the advantages you have as a coach is to be able to yell out to your players in that situation. 'Jack Viney, his vice-captain, would have been 40 metres away from him.' Speaking after the one-goal loss, Goodwin described the defeat as 'unacceptable'. 'We won't shy away from it at all. We won't sugar-coat it,' he said. 'We'll just own it and do something about it and make sure it never happens again. 'Today is unacceptable. For all the good that was in the day, that last quarter was so far off.' Originally published as 'Dumbest thing seen': Dees' huge whack after St Kilda melt down
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Melbourne captain Max Gawn says he didn't get organised fast enough in the frantic loss to St Kilda
Melbourne captain Max Gawn concedes he failed to 'nail' the dramatic final few moments of Sunday's stunning loss to St Kilda that has put coach Simon Goodwin's future in the spotlight. But the Demons skipper was adamant Goodwin was his 'favourite coach' and said the blame should lay with the players as he broke down exactly what went wrong. Gawn tried to organise his troops after some centre-circle confusion when St Kilda was given a 6-6-6 free kick, with scores level and just eight seconds on the clock. But that organisation didn't secure an opponent for Saints star Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, who kicked his second goal in the final minute of the game to deliver his team the greatest comeback in VFL/AFL history and a six-point win with a goal after the siren. 'I'm probably the only one on the field who knows that we got a warning in the second quarter; they tell the ruckman,' Gawn said. 'We were about to step in the circle, and I realised we had about two seconds to find a winger; there wasn't a winger on the other side. From there, I didn't nail it. 'In the end, it's three seconds, so I don't have much time, but I sent (Jack Viney) to the wing and tried to get a forward in – but it was a back that we had too many of. After that free kick happened, we didn't nail it as well.' Melbourne gave up a 46-point three-quarter-time lead as the Saints charged home with nine final quarter goals, including the last two to Wanganeen-Milera that has been labelled the best 60 seconds of football ever. Gawn, who said he didn't play 'my best quarter' in the final stanza, said while it looked like the Demons 'shut up shop', it was just too hard to halt St Kilda's momentum. 'We played pretty well for the first three quarters, but they kicked two or three early in the fourth (quarter) and it's pretty hard to stop momentum, especially the way the Saints were playing,' he told Triple M's Mick in the Morning. 'We started to lose the centre bounce, and then when it's three goals to play with that comeback, it's extremely hard to stop. Leaders, most importantly, were responsible for a bit of that. I didn't play my best last quarter.' The Demons tried to break down the final few minutes in the aftermath, which Gawn said had happened too many times, including against Collingwood when the captain's kick across goals in the dying seconds resulted in a major to the Magpies. Gawn said it seemed his team 'don't know how to win' close games. 'We spent 10 minutes in the rooms before Goody called us in. We talked among ourselves for a little bit, and the mechanism of the last play and try to find out what happened,' he said. 'There's been five times this year where we haven't known how to win; Giants in the first game we lost by a kick-out, Collingwood we lost by a ruckman trying to kick a torp across goal, and then last week against Carlton we stuffed up. Right now, we don't know how to win in those close games which comes down to resilience and ruthlessness. 'We are trying our backsides off, and we all really want to win. We have to learn how to win. We will talk the talk again in training; all our talk is there and then we get to the point, and we don't do it.'
