Toyota Premiership

The AFL competition consists of sixteen teams from the states of Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and West Australia, with teams playing 22 home and away rounds before a four week final series that commences in September.

The 2009 Toyota Premiership AFL season is full of debatable talking points. Can Hawthorn repeat the glories from last season, or will they get dragged back to the pack by a number of hungry aspirants, including Collingwood, Geelong, and the Sydney Swans.

For the first time in three seasons, no AFL player earnt more than $1 million last year. The $1 million barrier was first cracked in 2007, with two players earning seven-digit sums in 2008, but AFL figures show no player’s income reached those heights in 2009.
But the salary divide between an elite few and the [...] Read article

The AFL wants television networks to show matches live when the next broadcast rights deal is brokered for the 2012 season and beyond.
The next five-year agreement is expected to be worth more than $1 billion and AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said the league would also seek a commitment to screen games live.
Currently, the four [...] Read article

With a number of second-year players, including Nick Naitanui, retaining their eligibility, the race for this year’s Rising Star award is already looking like it will be the one of the most hotly-contested since the award began.
Contesting the award alongside the second-year players will be a number of 2009 draftees that look set to make [...] Read article

A Malaysian billionaire is apparently in the mix to bid as a partner for the next round of the AFL TV rights for 2012-2016.
As reported in this article in The Age:
“T. Ananda Krishnan, who has extensive satellite television interests in Asia through his Astro network Fetch, has put the idea of a joint bid for [...] Read article

AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou has warned that the league will not take a back step to soccer if Australia hosts the World Cup.
In a speech at Thursday night’s official season launch, Demetriou has made it clear that the AFL will not let soccer dictate terms if the bid to host the cup is successful.
Earlier [...] Read article

Geelong’s aura is fading, with rival captains rating St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs as more likely AFL grand finalists than the reigning premiers.
The Cats have won two of the past three flags, with a grand final loss in between.
But in the league’s annual pre-season poll, they received only three of a possible 15 votes [...] Read article

The Western Bulldogs will head into their 2010 campaign expected to be in contention for their first premiership in 56 years.
Rightly or wrongly, there has been much hype surrounding the Western Bulldogs. For the first time, the club will find themselves in an unfamiliar position.
Unlike previous years, they aren’t the underdog.
A lot of the [...] Read article

Michael Tuck medallist Barry Hall couldn’t have started life at the Western Bulldogs any better, prompting many pundits to believe the Dogs have solved their ‘power forward’ problem and are now 2010 Premiership favourites. But some maintain it’s a matter of time before ‘Big Bad Barry’ has another brain-snap.
The 33-year-old, who controversially ended his time [...] Read article

Well there has been plenty of debate over what chance a World Cup bid has if the NRL and AFL will be left out of pocket. Is this the case though?
An ideal situation for the rugby league and AFL during a World Cup would be as follows.
Host 4 NRL rounds over 5 or 6 weeks [...] Read article

AFL administrators face a crucial few months as they work to a tight deadline on their ambitious Greater Western Sydney expansion project.
The league want the Kevin Sheedy-coached “GWS” team to join the competition in 2012, a year after Gold Coast make their AFL debut, but first the 18th team needs a home stadium.
The AFL Commission [...] Read article

Former AFL player Chris Bryan has joined one of the United States’ most famous sporting clubs, NFL’s Green Bay Packers, as a punter. Bryan had auditions lined up with scouts from several NFL clubs.
But after working out with the Packers, the first of those clubs, he has been snapped up on a three-year, non-guaranteed contract.
He [...] Read article

AFL chairman Mike Fitzpatrick says chief executive Andrew Demetriou deserves the $1.8 million he earned last year after delivering some major gains for the sport.
Demetriou’s salary – including superannuation and performance bonuses – was made public as part of a report into the league’s key achievements over the past year, released on Wednesday.
The other 10 [...] Read article

Sydney star Adam Goodes is tipping the Swans new look forward line to stretch opposing defences and isn’t concerned about a lack of playing time for new spearhead Daniel Bradshaw in the lead up to their opening AFL clash with St Kilda.
Goodes, who has won Brownlow Medals as both a ruckman and midfielder, is part [...] Read article

Like bourbon and milk, alcohol and the sporting elite just don’t mix. This is the latest bandwagon the media have swarmed onto.
Senior Lecturer in Health Sciences at the University of South Australia, Dr. Graham Dodd concurs: “role models for society, such as elite sports stars, are expected to reinforce the messages, and when they do [...] Read article

In part two of my series, I look at who will make the top eight and declare who I think will win the 2010 AFL Premiership.
1. Geelong
Despite the loss of Harley and the drama of Stokes, Geelong remains formidable and still is the best side. Ablett, Bartel and Selwood will again dominate. While [...] Read article