Geelong coach Mark Thompson says his club remains capable of dominating the AFL next season, despite this year’s grand final failure against Hawthorn.

Sure it might not hurt as much as it used to do, but do you get over it? You can get over ex-girlfriends, you can get over bad business deals, and you can even get over having to sit through another horrible movie from M. Night Shyamalan. But a Grand Final?

When Irish horse trainer Dermot Weld won the 1993 Melbourne Cup with Vintage Crop, first race up, previously sight unseen, he set a template for overseas connections that they all thought they could follow.

International Rules officials are at odds with coaches and players over plans to take one year off out of every three in the series schedule.

Strange, unheralded and normally improbable events are happening around the world. And for once it’s not linked to the global credit crisis, global warming or terrorism. It’s simply the unpredictable nature of sport.

Geelong have officially given up on enticing Nathan Ablett to play on, delisting the reluctant Cat from their senior list. Ablett, who starred in the club’s historic premiership in 2007, did not play a game this year and a lack of motivation cut short his AFL career.

Australian coach Mick Malthouse will not ask his players to rein in their natural aggression despite the future of International Rules depending on their behaviour.
More AFL
Irish to meet with AFL over player poaching
Hawks close in on O’Keefe

AFL premiers Hawthorn are closing in on Sydney star forward Ryan O’Keefe after a positive reaction from the Swan to a meeting with Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson.

There is an urgent need for the AFL and the Tasmanian Government to work together and upgrade York Park in Launceston to hold at least 30,000 spectators, regardless of whether it continues to be Hawthorn’s part-time home or Tassie gets its own team.

For those of us who watched the respective Grand Finals of the AFL and NRL, the more you analyse the respective victorious sides, the more you reveal some striking similarities.

Chris Judd’s not available, but recruiting conservatism is. They’re the two compelling factors which should make clubs tread carefully in AFL trade week, which starts tomorrow.

With serious doubts about luring a ready-made quality power forward, the Western Bulldogs are planning a long-term solution to cure their problems in attack.

The Hawks won a sensational Grand Final in an impressive manner. The significance of the win and the manner in which it was achieved should not be underestimated when predictions are made of the Hawks short to medium future. Their role will be a dominant one.

Shane Crawford had gone AWOL but his catchcry went on without him. Hawthorn’s AFL premiership team returned to the club’s old stomping ground today, where it was presented with the keys to the city at Hawthorn Town Hall by the City of Boroondara council.

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson expects the AFL premier’s focus to shift on to 2009 quickly, and has tipped his players to be hungry for more success, not a hangover.

I woke early on the last Saturday in September with a familiar feeling floating through my mind: an epic battle loomed. Finally this highly anticipated contest was on our door step, or in my case, just a bus ride away.

In Melbourne the other day, there was an article about a man who, so convinced that Geelong were headed for back-to-back Premiership glory, had an ‘08′ added to his Premier’s ‘07 tattoo, several days before the Grand Final.

With Channel 7 now in control, there is sadly no Robert Walls to enjoy. The sight of an aging Ian Moss tells you what to expect from the pre-game entertainment: loosely defined ‘rockers’ past their prime. Are you hyped yet? Me neither.

The really memorable grand finals, and this was one of them, all have their defining moments that end up in either triumph or heartbreak. Ray Gabelich’s 50-metre mad, bouncing run for the goal that nearly gave Collingwood a flag against Melbourne in 1964, only to have it snatched away at the death.

Ah yes, the magic of hindsight. After every loss particularly in the case of the grand final, the team and commentators assess what went wrong for the losing side. In this case I think a mistake Geelong made was not to play David Wojinski.