AFL News: Shuey, Cunnington make call on retirement, Swans move on from Buddy era, Port want answers over umpiring

Captain Luke Shuey is the next West Coast great to confirm his AFL retirement, saying his ongoing hamstring problems have made the decision for him.

His announcement comes a week after fellow Eagles premiership player Shannon Hurn announced he would also not go on beyond this season.

Shuey, 33, has not returned since suffering his most recent hamstring injury in the round-19 loss to Carlton.

Captain for the last four seasons, he has managed only nine AFL games this year.

The 247-game midfielder is an all-time West Coast great, winning the Norm Smith Medal as best afield in their epic 2018 grand final win over Collingwood.

“As much as my mind wants to go on, my body won’t allow it and I have made the decision to retire at the end of this season,” Shuey said in a club statement.

“We have tried everything to get my body right so I can contribute as I would like, but unfortunately a series of hamstring injuries have led me to this this decision.”

The retirement announcements from Shuey and Hurn come with the Eagles equal-bottom and likely to win the second wooden spoon in club history.

“I have great confidence in the senior players who will take the club forward to guide an exciting group of youngsters,” he said.

“We are at an important phase of the rebuild, we’ll bring in more talented youngsters in this year’s draft and I know I will enjoy seeing them all make their mark on the competition in the coming years.”

The two-time club best and fairest winner said he is “incredibly grateful” to the Eagles for his AFL career, as well as thanking his wife Dani and their two children.

“Being a part of a premiership means I will have a lifelong connection with 21 other blokes, but it doesn’t end there,” he said.

(Photo by Will Russell/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

“The friendships I have made with players, coaches and staff over the last 15 years will remain with me forever. I would like to thank my senior coaches – John Worsfold and Adam Simpson – and all my teammates over the journey.”

Simpson said Shuey had been a great role model, as well as as remarkable player.

“We have seen that impact even this year when he has been able to play but unfortunately, he has not been able to get out there as often as he would have liked,” Simpson said.

“He has driven high standards throughout his career and has certainly provided a great example right from the get-go for the young players who will be the future.”

Ben bids farewell to Kangaroos

Ben Cunnington will retire from the AFL this Saturday, almost a year to the day since he returned to the senior side after beating cancer for the second time.

The two-time North Melbourne best and fairest winner will retire after playing Essendon on Saturday at Marvel Stadium.

Cunnington is a revered figure at Arden St and, along with Alastair Clarkson’s return to coaching the team last weekend, North now have ample motivation for upsetting their fierce rivals.

The Kangaroos are on an 18-game losing streak.

Cunnington, 32, has played 237 games for North, but he has been out of the senior side since playing the first eight matches this season.

He made an emotional comeback in round 22 last season after recovering from a second bout of testicular cancer.

Cunnington was sidelined for more than a year because of his illness and needed surgery and chemotherapy.

“I couldn’t be more proud of what I’ve achieved on and off the field in the 14 years at this level,” Cunnington told teammates on Tuesday morning.

“From the moment the club drafted me, it was a dream come true as we were surrounded by interstate clubs on draft night.

“Then to walk into a club that suited my personality, and allowed me to be myself, I couldn’t have asked for a better recipe to get the best out of myself.”

Cunnington said in the wake of his comeback, he had lost the desire to keep playing in the AFL.

“I’m proud and grateful of what I’ve overcome in the past few years and for the club to give me the best chance and opportunity to play AFL footy again,” he said. “But I felt I lost my hunger once I returned, my perspective in life was too great. Then when I fell out of the senior team, I struggled to have the motivation or drive to get back in.

“That’s when I knew it wasn’t fair on myself or you blokes that I continued on next year without being able to give my 100 per cent effort, especially when there are hungry young kids out there that would do anything for the opportunity and to help this team get better.”

At his peak, Cunnington was one of the AFL’s most reliable midfielders and he racked up an incredible 32 contested possessions in a 2018 match against Richmond.

Also on Tuesday, Essendon ruckman Andrew Phillips announced he would retire at the end of the season.

Phillips has played 79 games at GWS, Carlton and Essendon, a with a career-high 17 this season at the Bombers.

No Buddy, no problem for Longmire

There’s a massive Lance Franklin-sized gap at Sydney but coach John Longmire is not stressed about filling it.

The Swans’ young guns are already stepping up to the challenge following last Monday’s retirement of the legendary forward.

“We don’t expect any of them to be Lance Franklin,” Longmire told reporters on Tuesday. “That wouldn’t be right. No one replaces Lance in a playing sense, in a leadership sense.

“Lance was terrific but the footy club moves on, the footy team moves on.”

The team has indeed moved on from Franklin, winning their first outing since his announcement when they beat Greater Western Sydney on Saturday. Errol Gulden, a 21-year-old in his third season with the Swans, was explosive in the midfield with 32 disposals and two majors, while key forwards Hayden McClean (four) and Joel Amartey (two) were also among the goals.

A long-range snap from 22-year-old Chad Warner in the dying minutes sealed the win and snatched harbour city bragging rights from the Giants. For Longmire, Franklin’s value wasn’t just in his ability to win games – it was also the value of his presence in the forward line in helping to nurture younger players.

“Young key forwards take a little bit of time to grow into their bodies and so we were keen for (Franklin) to keep playing as long as he could,” Longmire said.

“I’m very grateful for that. It’s allowed that next generation of players coming through to be able to mature and have a bit of confidence.”

Sydney will play Gold Coast on Saturday at the SCG on the back of a four-win streak. Another win would help the push towards a finals appearance for the 10th-placed Swans. Longmire is confident his side will be able to stand up to the Suns’ shining stars including Touk Miller and Matt Rowell.

“There’s no doubt that will be a big battle,” he said. “We know what the scenario is – no matter who comes into the team or who goes out, we just have to play our best footy every week.”

Port furious over umpiring

Port Adelaide are furious with the officiating in Saturday night’s loss to Geelong with coach Ken Hinkley contacting the AFL demanding answers. 

The visitors conceded 31 free kicks, with one umpire dishing out 15 of them, in the narrow defeat.

Port assistant coach Chad Cornes said Hinkley had contacted AFL umpires boss Dan Richardson “to get some clarity on some of the aerial contests”

His brother Kane said on SEN Radio that the lopsided free kick count against them had been the “trigger” for Hinkley to ask for an explanation. 

“When you’re a coach of a team, at what point do you pull the trigger on ringing the umpire’s department? I can tell you that Port Adelaide were on the phone on Sunday morning to the umpire’s department asking the question as to why one umpire can pay 15 free kicks to the opposition,” the former Port premiership winner said.

Dejected Port Adelaide players walk from the ground after the round 21 loss to Geelong. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

“That’s one umpire alone paid 15 (free kicks), (Brendan) Hosking to Geelong. To put that in context, Carlton only received 14 free kicks for the game (against St Kilda).

“Now, one umpire paid 15 to Geelong (on Saturday night).”

Key defender Trent McKenzie is out for an extended period with a knee injury but Port could welcome back up to half a dozen players for the crunch clash with GWS on Sunday.

Port were struck by illness ahead of the Geelong clash, with Jeremy Finlayson and Miles Bergman late withdrawals before the first bounce after Kane Farrell was ruled out on Friday.

Those blows came with Aliir Aliir and Lachie Jones already unavailable under concussion protocols, and key forward Charlie Dixon (foot) pulled out of the selected side.

Powell out for rest of season

Gold Coast utility Wil Powell will miss the rest of the AFL season after scans revealed ligament damage in his left ankle.

Powell was stretchered off during the Suns’ 28-point away loss to Adelaide on Saturday after his left ankle buckled in a marking contest.

Last year, Powell suffered a broken and dislocated right ankle in a game against the Crows. The unlucky 23-year-old will likely require surgery this week to repair the latest damage.

“Wil landed awkwardly from a marking contest and he’s injured the medial ligaments of his ankle,” Gold Coast head physiotherapist Lindsay Bull said. “That will require us to see a specialist tomorrow (Tuesday) and he’ll likely have surgery this week.

“Usually it is a 12-week recovery period, so we expect Wil to have quite a good off-season and be ready to go for day one of pre-season.”

Powell’s injury compounded a loss that all but ended Gold Coast’s finals push.

The Suns sit in 14th place, eight points and percentage outside the top eight with just three rounds left to play. Fellow finals hopefuls the Western Bulldogs will be unable to call on forward Mitch Hannan for the rest of the season after he ruptured an Achilles tendon while playing in the VFL on the weekend.

Hannan, who played six AFL games this season, has had surgery and faces up to a year on the sidelines.

It continues a frustrating run of injuries for the 29-year-old since the 2021 grand final.

“With a 9-12 month recovery period common for these types of injuries, we will put our arms around Mitch to support him over the next few weeks before we start to map out his rehabilitation plan,” Bulldogs head of sports medicine Chris Bell said.

Alex Keath is set to return from concussion for the Bulldogs against Hawthorn this week, while fellow key defender Ryan Gardner (ankle/toe) and Hayden Crozier (hamstring) face fitness tests.

with AAP