Archive for April, 2012

The biggest football story of last year will reach its next chapter and possibly its conclusion on Friday night when St Kilda takes on the Ross Lyon-coached Fremantle.

In an industry known for poorly kept secrets and innuendo, Lyon’s move to Western Australia came almost completely out of the blue.

It took the media, fans and Fremantle coach Mark Harvey by complete surprise as both Harvey and Lyon had a year remaining on their contracts.

There had been some late-season rumours that Lyon was unhappy with the Saints’ lack of enthusiasm in drawing up a new contract with his management group ESP.

As it turned out, Lyon negotiated his own contract with Fremantle without the knowledge of ESP, which also had Harvey on its books.

Lyon had been strongly linked to the senior coaching position at Melbourne that was eventually given to Mark Neeld. The Demons and Lyon rejected any suggestion they had ever spoken but Melbourne still managed to score one valuable asset from the Saints – strength and conditioning coach Dave Misson.

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Etihad Stadium is confident its security staff will be prepared for the barrage of abuse that is expected to come from angry Saints fans when new Fremantle coach Ross Lyon makes an appearance on the field.

Lyon will coach against his former club for the first time on Friday night and many St Kilda supporters remain furious at the way he walked out on the club.

“We don’t go into detail about our level of security or police numbers at events,” Etihad Stadium spokesman Bill Lane told AFL.com.au on Thursday.

“However, in this instance we are confident that the patrons who attend the game will behave in an appropriate manner.”

Bill Cobb is one of the most senior members of the St Kilda cheer squad; he’s been a part of it for 44 years.

“He’ll cop absolute heaps,” Cobb said on Thursday.

“(As) you would expect, there’s a lot of angry St Kilda supporters out there.

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Three future AFL hopefuls visited Freo HQ this week as part of the AIS AFL Academy Level 1 Program.

The 17-year-old budding stars watched the team train, toured the facilities and spoke with Freo sports science staff and development coaches to get a feel for life at an AFL club.

Freo’s Western Australian state recruiting manager Adam Jones said it was a great opportunity for Swan Districts’ colts Laurence Grescos of Henley Brook and Herman Humphries of Bunbury, and Claremont colt Jesse Hogan of Scarborough.

“It gives the boys a great insight into what’s required if they get to an AFL club so they can start preparing for the professionalism required and the step up,” he said.

Grescos said the day had been an eye opener for the trio.

“We watched training and saw how Freo prepared for their upcoming game,” he said.

“The professionalism and intensity is at a different level in terms of rehab, training and gym. Basically everything they do.”

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It is a dilemma facing more than 100,000 Dream Team coaches this week.

What to do with Fremantle star Nathan Fyfe?

Fyfe was subbed out of last week’s win over the Brisbane Lions with a dislocated shoulder and only 22 points to his name.

In the news we’ve heard so far, Fyfe could play this week against St Kilda or he could undergo surgery and miss the rest of the year.

The only thing clear about this situation is that Dream Teamers have suffered.

In our favour, the Freo game is on Friday night, meaning final teams will be known at 6.20pm AEDT, giving us 90 minutes to decide what to do with Fyfe if he isn’t playing.

Wait until you know whether he’s going to play before you make your moves, but it’s important to start your thinking now.

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