Latest news with #FirstCrack
Courier-Mail
28-07-2025
- Sport
- 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
22-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Is a Florent-McKay trade win-win?
AFL: Jay Clark has raised the idea to the First Crack panel of a potential Ollie Florent-Harry McKay swap between Sydney and Carlton and whether it the perfect win-win for both clubs.
News.com.au
16-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘As timid a performance as I've seen'
AFL: First Crack turned the microscope onto the Eagles poor first term against the Blues, with David King labelling it not up to AFL standard.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
AFL great wants major Opening Round change amid telling call on divisive topic
Brisbane Lions legend Jonathan Brown says he likes the theory behind the AFL's Opening Round initiative but has suggested a major change to make it less controversial. The topic continues to divide footy fans and commentators, with many in Victoria opposed to the idea of the state missing out on hosting games to kick off the new season. It comes amid reports from veteran AFL journalist Jon Ralph that Opening Round is "absolutely certain" to go ahead next year despite the backlash. The AFL introduced the concept last year to try and grow the game in the 'northern states' of NSW and Queensland but it's led to strong opposition from footy fans in other states that miss out on the action to start the new season. Ex-tropical Cyclone Alfred wreaked havoc with last week's Opening Round fixtures, with Brisbane's clash against Geelong at the Gabba and Gold Coast's match at home to Essendon both postponed as a result. It meant only two matches went ahead, with Sydney stunned at home by Hawthorn and the GWS Giants belting Collingwood to lay down an early marker. And dual All-Australian Leigh Montagna insisted on Monday night that the AFL's Opening Round idea had "missed the mark" and called for it to be scrapped as anger continues to mount in the traditional AFL states. 'The minuscule advantage the AFL think they are getting having exclusive games up in the northern states is being compromised by what it is doing with the inequities in regards to player safety, the fixturing and all these factors," he said on Fox Footy's First Crack. Essendon legend Matthew Lloyd is another strong critic of Opening Round and slammed the AFL for not including all 18 teams to launch their new season. "What other competition in the world has a soft launch of their season? What other comp would do that and launch as softly as the AFL does?" "What other competition in the world has a soft launch of their season? What other comp would do that?"Llordo says the AFL needs to return to starting the season with a full round.#9FootyClassified | Watch on Nine & 9Now — Footy on Nine (@FootyonNine) March 10, 2025 Lloyd agrees it's important to promote and expand the game in the northern states but argued that could be done in the first few games - particularly the primetime Thursday and Friday night slots to open the season. But the Essendon legend says the AFL is missing a trick by staggering teams involved in the start of the season when interest around the sport is at fever pitch. AFL journalist Sam McClure argued that the AFL is a "national game" and that the league should be doing more to try and expand it on non-traditional markets outside Victoria. But Lloyd says the fact the AFL is a national sport played all around the country, is the very reason why the league shouldn't exclude other states from Opening Round. RELATED: AFL makes call on Craig McRae punishment amid Nick Daicos detail Jamarra Ugle-Hagan in shock link to Collingwood amid troubles Eddie McGuire's son Xander wins over AFL world after debut on Ch7 Three-time Brisbane premiership legend Brown says while he's a strong supporter of growing the AFL in non-traditional states, he argued it would be a better and less divisive idea to hold a 'Northern Round' later in the year. 'You see what the NRL has done with Vegas, it seems to be a unifying thing – not that all the teams go there but for the whole league – and it (Opening Round) seems to be creating a bit of a divide for us between the Southern states and the Northern states,' Brown told Fox Footy's On The Couch. 'And the time to celebrate the northern clubs is in the wintertime when everyone wants to get out of the southern states, get up to a bit of warmth. There could be that opportunity around that split round weekend where you have the four games on a particular weekend up there in the school holidays – 'The Northern Round' – and then the other clubs play on the alternate weekend. That could be a better way to celebrate it, I think, but anytime they get to promote northern states football is a good thing." But veteran AFL journalist Ralph said despite the backlash against Opening Round, AFL bosses are determined to push ahead with it next year and the numbers back them up. 'I think it's absolutely certain to go on next year in its third incarnation – and I think it's quite likely to be a very similar shape to this year,' Ralph said. 'I know the AFL feels like they know that it's on the nose in Victoria the heartland – certainly they're not opposed to considering a Victorian game on the Sunday afternoon – but their view is that it creates an extra week of content... 'Last year the heartland clubs protested so much, in Round 1 they set an AFL attendance record. So the AFL says they don't really vote with their feet. Every one of those four northern state clubs had a massive year-on-year attendance figure and all setting those attendance records very early."
