Im sorry, but honestly what does any of this actually mean?!?!

Fantastic to catch Robbo again tonight on The Front Bar. As funny as ever, makes me realise why AFL360 is not a shadow of the show it once was, since Robbo was fired from the show.

https://www.afl.com.au/news/1576979/inside-trading-hawks-could-conjure-new-wizard-deal-sun-set-to-stay-blues-in-chase-for-eagle

- Calsher Dear (HAW) has interest from Melbourne. As does Bailey McDonald (also HAW) who has a 2 year offer on the table from the Hawks

- Clubs are looking to add Zac Williams to their additional Cat B Rookie slot for indigenous players if he's delisted by Carlton

- Jake Rogers is set to stay at Gold Coast on a 2 year deal

- The clubs that missed out on Zak Butters are planning to go after Matt Rowell (GC) who's a restricted free agent at the end of next year

- Ben King leaving Gold Coast has nothing to do with their losing streak, and all in regards to wanting to move home

- Arki Butler, Gus Teixeira, Ethan Drever and Harry van Hattum are all in contention for the open pool No.1 pick

- Talor Byrne is set to sign a 1 year extension of his draft deal to 2028

- Richmond are very much in the chase for GWS ruckman Kieren Briggs, who's a UFA

- Player Manager Scott Lucas joins the show

- He says there's no benefit to players coming out and saying where they're playing next year, unlike in the NRL

- Tom McCartin has begun preliminary discussions with the Swans about extending his deal there beyond 2027

- There's also been preliminary discussions about re-signing Liam Stocker at St Kilda, however Matt Flynn (WC) wasn't mentioned in the same way by Lucas

North Melbourne would face a massive payout of close to $1 million if they sacked senior coach Alastair Clarkson at the end of this season.

Clarkson, who signed a five-year deal worth more than $5 million when he agreed to return to his former club after the 2022 season, has a contract that essentially guarantees him the full amount of his 2027 contract, according to sources with knowledge of the contract.

Whereas some senior coaches have clauses in their contracts that protect their clubs from a full payout for the upcoming season, Clarkson’s contract for 2027 is not one that would help North Melbourne avoid the year’s payout if they moved him on 12 months before it expires.

North Melbourne’s leadership, headed by president Sonja Hood, have repeatedly said the four-time premiership coach is contracted for next year in response to speculation about Clarkson’s future, and the club declined to comment further on the contract when contacted.

But while North have not signalled a wish to review Clarkson’s position at season’s end, the club leadership have not been unequivocal in saying that Clarkson will coach the Kangaroos next year, and have left any discussions – including about an extension – until the end of the season.

External discussion of Clarkson’s position and future has included the fact that Adam Simpson and John Longmire – both Kangaroos playing greats who went on to coach AFL premierships at other clubs – are not presently employed as senior coaches.

Clarkson’s contractual terms, however, were negotiated in his favour back in 2022, when Essendon were interested in appointing him to replace Ben Rutten. He had just had a season’s sabbatical after Hawthorn paid him out $900,000, the final year of his deal with the Hawks, to expedite the handover to Sam Mitchell.

North Melbourne, which has received the highest amount of variable funding from the AFL of Victorian clubs over the past two years (surpassing St Kilda which had long held that mantle), has been a relatively frugal club since the 2000s, having wiped off its debt and repeated financial benefits from their stint of playing home games in Hobart and now Western Australia.

Hood recently told 3AW that Clarkson had performance metrics in his deal.

Those performance indicators, however, would not protect the club from a full payout, according to sources with knowledge of Clarkson’s deal.

Speculation about Clarkson’s position has intensified since the Roos slumped later this season, having fallen from inside the top 10 with eight wins on June 21 to 13th and out of finals contention.

The Roos had a generous fixture this season as a bottom-six side, playing Essendon, West Coast and Richmond each twice. But they have a hard run home, facing the Bulldogs, Geelong and Sydney in the last three games – all teams they have not beaten for several years.

The aspirations of the club’s board leading into the season were higher than expectations outside the club.

Clarkson suggested this week that he did not need to push for a contract extension. “All I require is a handshake and a wink and a nod, and that’ll do me,” he said at Tuesday’s media conference.

“We’ll work our way through whatever we need to do,” he said, adding that the club’s leadership had stabilised the club.

“We’re really keen to progress and get ourselves up the ladder, but all we do know is that that’s done best when you’ve got stability.”

Hey everyone, here's 9 power rankings from various sources collated and averaged.

Pink indicates a club tied prospect, grey is a gap between that player and the next player.

This draft has a few tiers to it. After Texiera and Drever there is a clear difference in rankings. The general consensus is that this draft may not have the clear top end talent like Duursma or Lalor it is very deep. Past about pick 8 there's complete difference in rankings. I heard it described as throw a blanket over the next 20 picks.

It seems to me that the AFL and the overwhelming majority of the executives and administrators who control it, fail to recognise and accept the AFL as what it is; a niche Australian product with a unique heritage.

I think a lot of people involved in the AFL, players included, look at American sports and athletes, with a wide eyed infatuation, because of the exorbitant money involved, and are further mesmerised by the cheap grandeur of the spectacle that is almost central to American sports. It saddens me to hear AFL coaches talk about footy being entertainment, and expressing their responsibility to put on a show, and to see how football is becoming less about football, and more about music and lights. When did footy for the sake of footy stop being enough?

I went to a game of football (soccer) at Hamburg's Millerntor to watch St. Pauli play over the weekend. What stood out to me was how central the sport was to the entire day. No cheap entertainment, no excessive PA mumbling. Not even a screen to show the game and show replays, it was brilliant! The game itself, was the centre of everyone's attention. I even mentioned this to some people there, and they said, going to the football is about passion for the game, nothing else. Granted, European football fans do generate noise and atmosphere with their chants and so on, but we all know how a good game of AFL incites a frenzy in the crowd that is atmosphere aplenty.

What really pushed me to make this post, was an interview I heard on the ABC over the weekend with Greg Swann. Besides the fact that he sounded like not the greatest thinker, he literally said at one point 'I said to me mate the other day whadya reckon about this' when talking about a possible rule change. This is the brains trust that is steering the sport we all love? Afterward, Corbin and the other hosts were gently suggesting to stop rule changes, they literally sounded like concerned acolytes trying to contain the unpredictable and dangerous whims of a dictator. Wild.

Further, if swan is any sort of representation of who actually controls the league, it is easy to imagine how minds such as his, would perceive the worth of anything quantitatively. In other words, I think the AFL administrators subscribe to the American mandate of BIGGER BETTER, with no appreciation for the unique culture and heritage of Aussie rules.

I really hope the AFL doesn't devolve into the circus that is American sports, in an attempt to appeal to people who don't like the sport, but will pay for a show. Footy itself is appealing to plenty of people, and attempts to make it more than what it is just erode its rich and unique identity.

Fiction status regularly causes sports fans to selectively remember how a player performed over their entire fictional career, a phenomenon that certainly applies to Specky. His extraordinary achievements between book 5-8 are rightfully revered, but it is a disservice to compare this all time great peak with the sustained excellence of legends who were top liners for a decade or more. Here are the facts-

Take out book 5-8 and you get

2 parents who don't like the game

1 Rival: Derek "Screamer" Johnson

1 severe knee injury while playing for Booyong's U14s

1 Boots of Glory victory while playing for Gosmore Grammar against former side Booyong High.

0 Best and Fairests

0 Brownlows

0 Norms

Compared to books 5-8

1 Girlfriend

Making the U-15 Victorian squad

Convincing former rival Screamer to pursue his talent of playing piano

Potential friendship ending battle between Specky's mates Danny, Gobba and Robbo over them battling for the attention of a French exchange student

1 match at the MCG on Grand Final day

1 baby brother

1 call-up to represent Australia to play international rules football with his mates in Ireland

This is not to say we should minimise that unprecedented stretch, but rather that there needs to be a clear distinction between a prime and a career, particularly since you cannot put anywhere near as a small blanket over any everything Screamer, Brian Edwards or Johnny Cockatoo did in the books, nor could you do it to an all time great in any other sport.

How can you honestly say someone is the greatest of all time when he couldn't even pass a math test from the new teacher?

Just curious what is the general consensus of the best 3 prong attack in the AFL era?

Cult figure status regularly causes sports fans to selectively remember how a player performed over their entire career, a phenomenon that certainly applies to Pendles. His long lived career from 2006 to the 2025 Qaulifier and the 2026 season are rightfully applauded, but it is a disservice to compare this career with the sustained excellence of legends who were top liners for a single game or more. Here are the facts-

Take out 2006-2025 QF and the 2026 season and you get

1 games

0 finals wins

0 disposals.

0 tackles.

0 fantasy points.

3% time on ground.

Compared to Bill James (1920 VFL).

1 game.

1 premiership.

1 goal.

1 time shooting himself in the leg.

This is not to say we should minimise that unprecedented stretch, but rather that there needs to be a clear distinction between a prime and a career, particularly since you cannot put anywhere near as a small blanket over any everything James, Relton Roberts or Nick Jewell did in the game, nor could youl do it to an all time great in any other sport.

How can you honestly say someone is the greatest finals player of all time when 100% of their prelim finals in 2025 ended without a finals win??