New worry for Melbourne

Melbourne president Don McLardy today. Picture: Rob Leeson Source: Herald Sun

MELBOURNE faces a new investigation into tanking claims after the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation announced last night it was conducting its own probe into the scandal.

The VCGLR can withdraw licences to operate gaming machines and force the removal of key officials if it finds an organisation has acted inappropriately.

Melbourne makes about $5 million annual profit from gaming machines at its two venues - the Leighoak Hotel at Oakleigh and the Bentleigh Club.

And the VCGLR has the power to make the AFL provide it with evidence gathered during its seven-month inquiry that ended yesterday.

A VCGLR statement read: "The Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation is currently undertaking its own inquiries into the tanking allegations raised against Melbourne Football Club and will be taking into account the findings handed down today by the AFL. The VCGLR will release a statement at the conclusion of its investigation."

Licensing expert Dennis Galimberti, of Hall and Thompson lawyers, said last night the commission could reach a different conclusion to the AFL.

"The VCGLR can subpoena records from the AFL and the whole brief of evidence," Galimberti said.

"They have the power under their act to call for all of the evidence that the AFL has gathered as part of their investigation. All of the evidence will be reviewed by the commission."

Galimberti said the commission would take the allegations against Melbourne "very seriously".

Former Melbourne coach Dean Bailey was suspended for 16 matches in his new role as an assistant coach with Adelaide, but may carry out a non-coaching role with the Crows.

And Chris Connolly, Melbourne's former football manager, was banned for 12 months from carrying out any role with the Demons.

Despite the finding that Melbourne did not tank, the AFL found Bailey and Connolly's behaviour was prejudicial to the league's interests.

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Penalty harsh on pair: Parkin

Acting AFL general manager Gillon McLachlan explains why they concluded no tanking occurred at Melbourne Demons.

AFLCA president David Parkin says the penalties handed out to Dean Bailey and Chris Connolly are harsh. Picture: Julie Kiriacoudis. Source: Herald Sun

THE AFL Coaches' Association has expressed its disappointment in the 16-match ban on former Melbourne coach Dean Bailey for his involvement in the Demons' tanking scandal.

Now an assistant coach at Adelaide, Bailey can continue working for the Crows during his ban, but is not permitted to have any matchday role or work with the players.

AFLCA president David Parkin said last night he felt sorry for Bailey and former Melbourne football manager Chris Connolly, who has been banned for working with the Demons until next February.

"I personally thought the penalty was pretty harsh and really tough on Dean," Parkin said.

"They (AFL) set up a competition where it encourages people to do exactly what they are criticising them for doing. I have been tempted and gone down that road, too.

"I am sad for the blokes. I don't know Dean well, but they tell me he is a terrific bloke and he has been on the end of a sacking and now he is on the end of a 16-match ban."

Parkin, who coached at Hawthorn, Carlton and Fitzroy, said he had mentored Connolly when he went into coaching at Fremantle.

"He is a really good man and a really good football person and a real footy head who loves the game,"

Parkin said. "I have rung him and texted him and I've had no response, so I guess he'd be a pretty shattered man."

The coaches' association said it was happy the Crows were backing Bailey.

"The AFLCA is disappointed with the sanction handed down to Dean Bailey today, for the impact it will have on Dean and the Adelaide Crows Football Club," operations manager Paul Armstrong said last night.

"Dean is a highly regarded coach and a respected member of the AFLCA and this will continue."

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All clear...with a $500k fine

Melbourne FC president Don McLardy speaks to the press after his club was cleared of any wrongdoing in relation to alleged tanking in 2009. Picture: Rob Leeson Source: Herald Sun

DON McLardy spent 14 minutes yesterday celebrating the fact the Melbourne Football Club had been "cleared".

Yep. Let's repeat that. Cleared.

So a $500,000 fine and two employees found guilty of being dodgy is being cleared?

Apparently so.

The Melbourne president was clearly pumped that his board and senior management hadn't been nailed for that word which starts with "t" but seemingly no one knows its exact meaning.

"We're pleased with the result that has come out today that has effectively cleared our football club," he said.

A minute later he repeated it again.

"We have been going through this for seven months. It has been an enormously high price our club has paid to get the result we did today which basically clears our football club."

For a man who'd just had half a million dollars walk out the door, McLardy was remarkably relaxed.

Remember this is a club that made a statutory profit of just $19,000 last year.

So going on that ratio it will take the Demons another 26 years to recoup the fine.

Plus they're going to be paying marketing employee Chris Connolly - he was the footy boss back in 2009 - a couple of hundred thousand to take a year off.

But we're cleared so all good, according to McLardy.

During this drawn-out process the Demons had intimated they would go to hell and back to defend their employees and the honour of this great institution.

This was when the "t" word was being levelled at them with both guns after former player Brock McLean was remarkably frank on a television interview.

Now, with their conscience cleared in regards to the "t" word, there was a feeling at the MCG yesterday that everything was good again in the world of the red and the blue.

"A legal avenue is the last resort, not the first resort," McLardy said about the new no-fight policy.

"We sought to discuss openly with the AFL the situation and we feel this is a resolution that we can accept."

The Melbourne boss went on to repeatedly describe the process as complex and that they had to abide by the umpire's ruling.

This was the same umpire who in the past few months they'd bitched and moaned about because of the heavy-handedness of the interview process.

McLardy even suggested by accepting the lesser charges the football club had done the right thing given the problems in Australian sport right now.

"With what has been going around in Australian sport in the last few weeks I don't think there is any doubt that all of us realise that integrity is the most critical part of our game.

"If we are caught up slightly in that, well, I think that's for the good of Australian sport ... that's a small price we have to pay."

Small price?

Let's repeat that sum again - $500,000 - which happens to be the third-biggest fine in AFL history.

Maybe the prez has got his marketing hat on and is thinking of getting a bit of the cash back by selling a new T-shirt line out of the Demons shop with the slogan: "CLEARED - WE DIDN'T TANK."

That's the front. On the back in much smaller text it will say: "But we did get fined 500k."
 

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Pie gives finger to glove rule

Quinten Lynch at Collingwood's community camp yesterday. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

Lynch's broken little finger. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

COLLINGWOOD forward Quinten Lynch is seeking AFL exemption to wear a glove, fearing the alternative would be further damage to the little finger on his right hand, possibly leading to amputation.

In recent seasons Lynch has worn one of the six types of gloves that will be banned by the AFL this year, but has applied for special consideration.

"I have to wear a glove of some description," the 30-year-old Pies recruit said. "I either wear a glove or get my finger chopped off."

Lynch played in West Coast's 2006 premiership alongside Daniel Chick, who had the ring finger on his left hand partially amputated a decade ago after it was badly injured playing football.

"I've put in a medical exemption at the moment, I'm trying to get that passed," Lynch said during a junior football clinic in Healesville on Tuesday as part of Collingwood's community camp in the region.

"I've got a pretty dodgy finger on my right hand, so that's a work in progress."

Lynch explained that he had fractured the finger "a few years ago", which was the reason he had abandoned the habit of removing the glove and flinging it to a trainer before kicking for goal.

He said playing without a glove would endanger the finger, and gloves acceptable to the AFL were actually more slippery than bare hands and therefore a disadvantage.

Lynch wore the glove in Friday night's opening NAB Cup round against Essendon and the Bulldogs, while fellow forward Travis Cloke conspicuously played without a glove.

Lynch said it had been "good to get out there and play my first game for Collingwood and get it under my belt".

"My wife reckons I looked all right in the stripes," he joked.

Lynch said he hoped he would jell with Cloke and the other Pie forwards over the coming weeks, starting with an outing against his former club when the Magpies travel to Perth for their next NAB Cup match on March 3.

"It will be good to get (a match against West Coast) out of the way, but I'm not too fussed about it to tell you the truth."

He expects the change back to the conventional format, with four on the bench, to mean he is given exposure to a part-time rucking role over the next month.

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Clarkson confident Buddy will stay

Lance Franklin has put contract talks with Hawthorn on hold until the end of the season. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

HAWTHORN superstar Lance Franklin should suit up for the first time on Saturday since postponing contract talks, with coach Alastair Clarkson still confident he wants to stay at the club.

Franklin is expected to be joined by fellow star Cyril Rioli as well as recycled recruits Brian Lake, Jonathan Simpkin and Matt Spangher.

They will be among a blend of old and new Hawks chosen for the 34-man squad to take on Brisbane and the Gold Coast in the club's first hit-out since last year's Grand Final defeat.

Franklin (knee cyst) and Rioli (corked quad) both sidestepped the Indigenous All-Stars game against Richmond, but are expected to play if they get through training this week.

Hawthorn expects Luke Hodge (knee) and Shaun Burgoyne (knee) to be ready to play late in the NAB Cup.
But like many clubs it has issues with how it can ease injured players back into a contest with three interchange players, a substitute, and an 80-cap interchange.

Hawthorn fans have expressed concern about the ramifications of Franklin's contract postponement, but according to Clarkson on SEN Radio the AFL industry will have to get used to that ploy.

"At some point in time he'll sit down with all the information that's available to him, and I think he just genuinely wants to see how this footy season unfolds before he makes a decision on where he wants to play his footy in 2014," Clarkson said.

"(There's) a very, very high chance that that's at the Hawthorn footy club. Staying in one place for nine years is a long time now and that's another thing we've got to get used to.

"He's got a contract at our football club for season 2013 and we're going to do everything we can to ensure that that's good for both of us and we'll see what happens at the end of the year. But we're hopeful he'll obviously stay and continue to contribute for the Hawks."

Hawthorn expects to showcase a host of youngsters in the first week of the NAB Cup given the limit of only 22 players later in the tournament limits its options.

It means youngsters like Jed Anderson, Will Langford, Luke Lowden, Mitch Hallahan and Jordan Kelly are likely to see game time on Saturday.

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Phone call from cell

Richmond recruit Aaron Edwards. Picture: Stuart Walmsley Source: Herald Sun

IT WAS supposed to be a celebration. But for Aaron Edwards it ended in humiliation.

Edwards had been a Richmond player for little more than 12 hours in October when he was locked up in a police cell in the city for being drunk in a public place.

The former North Melbourne forward, having lost his driver's licence for refusing a breath test in January 2009, had been celebrating his move to Punt Rd with his Roos mates at Moonee Valley.

But a long and boozy Cox Plate day ended when he was detained on Collins St in the early hours of a Sunday morning.

Speaking for the first time since the incident, Edwards repeatedly admitted it was a "poor start" to life at his third AFL club.

When it came to notifying Richmond, the 28-year-old had the contact details of only one club official - list analyst Blair Hartley - and was yet to meet his teammates.

"I didn't know the protocols, I didn't know what to do. I'd only just got there and didn't have anyone's phone number," Edwards said.

"It wasn't an ideal start. I had walked through the doors at Richmond and had a meeting with 'Dimma' (coach Damien Hardwick) and that was the only time I'd been in the footy club.

"I had to walk in and meet all the hierarchy. I hadn't even talked to any of the players.

"But it got out in the open pretty quickly and that gave me a chance to cop my right whack and move on."

Edwards isn't the type to wallow in self pity or make grandiose vows about turning over a new leaf.

Nor will the man who has had his fair share of alcohol-related indiscretions swear off the grog completely.

But he is quick to acknowledge his wrongs and has worked tirelessly over summer.

"I haven't said a lot. It's a bit of a cliche, but I've tried to get the respect back on the footy field," Edwards said.

"Obviously I got whacked over the head at the start and I've since put my head down and a--- up and got to this stage of the pre-season unscathed.

"It's one of those things. Obviously you look back on it and in hindsight I should have gone home after the races, but it was a mistake.

"They (police) obviously thought I was drunk and drunk enough to put away. There was no altercation, I was just drunk."

Edwards will regain his licence in three months, ending four years of using public transport and taking early morning trains from Flemington.

"I'm an avid supporter of Myki. It has been my car keys for a while," he said.

"I catch the train in. It's not too bad. I travel pretty early, chuck the headphones in and cruise through."

Edwards admitted it still felt a little odd running around in yellow and black - the latest colour scheme in a career that started at West Coast, went backwards to VFL club Frankston before a resurgence at North Melbourne.

"I guess I've had a mixed bag, haven't I? I really enjoyed my time at North Melbourne and for no reason other than seeking more opportunities I left there," he said.

"I had a great exit meeting with North so there were no issues there. I didn't think I had that opportunity there.

"They had such a good second half of the year with the three-pronged attack (Drew Petrie, Robbie Tarrant and Lachie Hansen). That's football, I was pushed out of the way.

"Richmond offered me a spot and I was more than happy to take it.

"I'm not going to talk about finals or anything, but obviously we'd like to improve on last year and hopefully we can improve dramatically."
 

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No tanks, says defiant Demetriou

AFL boss Andrew Demetriou is sticking to his guns . Source: Herald Sun

'You're right! It says Range Rover, not tank' - David McArthur cartoon Source: Herald Sun

A DEFIANT Andrew Demetriou last night declared tanking had never taken place in the AFL.

The AFL boss told the Herald Sun teams had never set out to deliberately lose games and secure draft picks.

"I have no evidence to support the view that tanking exists," Demetriou said.

"If you are asking me the question that has been asked before: 'Do I think players purposely go out to lose games?'

"I've said in my heart of hearts I don't believe that ever to be the case."

Asked if coaches could orchestrate tanking, Demetriou said: "Well, we've got no evidence to support otherwise...and we have got very, very good investigators."

Melbourne was yesterday fined $500,000 - the third largest financial sanction in AFL history - but found not guilty of tanking after a seven-month investigation.

Instead, former football boss Chris Connolly and former coach Dean Bailey were slapped with lengthy suspensions for "acting in a manner prejudicial to the interests of the AFL".

The resolution to the tanking saga was seen as a major victory for Melbourne, who had threatened Supreme Court action if heavily punished.

Demetriou was a surprise no show at yesterday's announcement, leaving his deputy Gillon McLachlan to explain the penalties.

"The Melbourne Football Club did not set out to deliberately lose matches in any game in 2009," McLachlan said.

"All I can say is on the evidence that I was presented...there is no allegation that is able to be sustained that Dean Bailey didn't coach on his merits or the players didn't play to their up most ability."

Connolly was suspended for 12 months, while Bailey, now an assistant at Adelaide, was banned from coaching for the first 16 rounds of the season.

McLachlan said there was no evidence to suggest the Melbourne board, led in 2009 by the late Jim Stynes, or chief executive Cameron Schwab had given directives for the team to lose.

He said the club was fined for being the employers of Connolly and Bailey.

At the centre of the investigation were comments made by Connolly at a football department meeting in mid 2009, where he warned officials about the importance of losing matches to improve the club's draft position.

"Connolly has accepted he went into a football department meeting and he made a terrible and stupid decision in the context of an AFL rule that has now changed (priority draft picks) and in the context of pressure and expectation of success," McLachlan said.

"He made a comment regarding the performance of the team, a desire to secure a priority pick, and I know he now regrets that comment.

"I think he has accepted - and the evidence accepts it - that the people in that room took him seriously and acted in a way that they thought he meant.

"The AFL concluded Bailey acted upon Connolly's warning by making decisions about selection, player management and match-day positioning because of the pressure applied by Connolly."

But McLachlan said Bailey had always set out to win on match day.

"What I am saying is that he (Bailey) made decisions in response to the pressure of that meeting - that he had to appease Chris Connolly - and may have had an impact that goes to success, but he made no conscious decision on match day to lose games," McLachlan said.

"He made decisions in response to that which meant that he was resting players and playing players out of position in the context of pressure not to win."

Connolly, who no longer works in the Melbourne football department, has been guaranteed future employment at the club once his suspension is served.

Melbourne president Don McLardy said yesterday: "The findings...state clearly there was no directive from the club board or executive management to deliberately lose matches, and the Melbourne Football Club never set out to deliberately lose matches in any game during the 2009 season."

An Adelaide spokesman said last night: "We are extremely disappointed at the significant suspension which Dean has incurred following the AFL's investigation.

"The Adelaide Football Club will continue to provide its full support to Dean during this time and is totally committed to retaining him as a valued employee of the Football Club."

McLachlan said the tanking investigation involved interviews with 58 players, former players, coaches and club officials.

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Mick shows faith in Duigan

Nick Duigan has emerged as a possible candidate for the Carlton captaincy. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

NICK Duigan has emerged as a shock contender in the race for the vacant Carlton captaincy role.

The rugged defender has been chosen by coach Mick Malthouse to lead the Blues in their NAB Cup meeting with premiers Sydney on Sunday.

Malthouse said Duigan, 28, had the "real hallmarks of being a terrific captain".

Marc Murphy will captain Carlton in its opening game against Greater Western Sydney, while fellow candidates Andrew Carrazzo and Kade Simpson will get their turns in later matches.

Duigan, who has played 38 games since being plucked from the SANFL two years ago, was elevated to the leadership group on the club's recent pre-season trip to Arizona.

"Nick has earned that right by being on the leadership group; we've got great faith in him," Malthouse said.

"I think that the playing group will really rally around him and give the respect he deserves because of his on and off-field leadership."

Malthouse told the Carlton website he was "very excited" about coaching the Blues for the first time, ending a 12-month hiatus from the game.

"I haven't had a chance to be nervous," he said. "It's just great ... (the pre-seasons) are a bit of a grind," he said.

"Then all of a sudden it looms in front you and you start to get a little bit apprehensive and you think 'Are we ready?' and of course we're ready - we've been training for such a long time and the boys are desperate to get out and play a game of football."

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Payout may come later for Connolly

Chris Connolly, pictured here with Melbourne recruiting manager Todd Viney and CEO Cameron Schwab. Source: Getty Images

MELBOURNE cannot pay official Chris Connolly in his year out of football but he could eventually be financially rewarded for being the Demons' tanking scapegoat.

The AFL last night confirmed Connolly could not be paid by the Demons until February 1 next year, after he was suspended for acting in a manner prejudicial to the league's interests.

But the AFL cannot prevent Connolly being paid by coterie members or affiliates of the club, and says he can be paid any figure the Demons want when he returns.

Connolly's official title is general manager of club development, but he runs the Foundation Heroes fundraising arm that has raised millions to clear Melbourne's debt.

That fund has consistently dragged Melbourne out of financial dire straits, with the charismatic Connolly considered the perfect man to drag money from reluctant members.

As recently as last week, Connolly was determined to fight the charges, but a marathon session at AFL headquarters on Thursday clearly changed his mind.

He believes four people confirmed his throwaway line about maximising losses late in the 2009 season - two recruiters, a welfare manager and coach Dean Bailey.

AFL deputy chief executive Gillon McLachlan said yesterday:

"Chris has accepted he went into a football department meeting and he made a terrible and stupid decision in the context of AFL rules."

Melbourne president Don McLardy confirmed Connolly could be paid.

"I will be seeking clarification from the AFL on what Chris can and can't do, but I understand we can pay him," he said.

"They are decisions we can make. It's not my decision, it's a board decision, but Chris has been an outstanding contributor to our football club and we value him very highly."

McLardy admitted it would be a challenge for Melbourne to break even this year, given the $500,000 fine, but the lack of a tanking finding will be a relief.

Any club found guilty of tanking would have sponsors fleeing through escape clauses and would find it difficult to find new ones on market rates.

McLardy admitted he was no closer to knowing what tanking was - deliberately losing games or just experimenting with player positions.

"My answer would be no, I don't think we are," he said.

"I think it is a cloudy area, obviously. No one has got clear-cut ideas about tanking and what it actually means."

He said the decision cleared late president Jim Stynes of any wrongdoing.

"There was no co-ordinated approach people were taking to this tanking saga. It was never something Jim would be answerable to, but his legacy is untarnished," McLardy said.
 

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