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Stirling Coates started out as an AFL crowd contributor, before serving as one of The Roar's editors until late 2021.
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After six years involved with The Roar - three as a member of the editorial team after three as a writer and intern -…
The Wallabies have fought off a dogged challenge from a gallant Japan outfit, with debutant Connal McInerney coming off the bench to score the…
He's the unanimous presumptive number one pick in the upcoming AFL draft. Jason Horne-Francis has been tearing it up for the South Adelaide Panthers…
The 2021 AFL trade period comes to a close today, with the deadline closing at 7:30pm (AEDT) tonight. Join The Roar for a live…
There are just two days to go in the 2021 AFL trade period and there are still plenty of deals yet to be completed.…
The 2021 AFL trade period enters its final stretch, with a series of deals still to be confirmed. Join The Roar for a live…
Action is starting to pick up in the 2021 AFL trade period, with the dominoes starting to fall. Join The Roar for a live…
It's been slow going in the 2021 AFL trade period so far, but it resumes once more this morning. Join The Roar for a…
The 2021 AFL trade period resumes this morning, after the first day proved somewhat slow. Join The Roar for a live blog and rolling…
The AFL season is over, but it's not the end of the road for footy fans, with the 2021 trade period beginning today. Join…
South Africa have inflicted New Zealand's first loss of the Rugby Championship, with an Elton Jantjies penalty goal after time had expired sealing a…
The Wallabies have closed out their Rugby Championship campaign in style, blitzing the Pumas either side of half time to set up an unassailable…
The 2021 AFL free agency period finally kicks off today. Barely a week after we crowned Melbourne premiers, the silly season is already upon…
The football season may be behind us, but that just means it's time to whip ourselves up into a frenzy over the upcoming player…
The long night is over. Melbourne are finally AFL premiers once again - 57 years after they last tasted the ultimate glory. It looked…
It's been another long, disrupted and entertaining season - but we've finally reached the end. Just Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs remain in contention…
It's set to be one of the most hotly-contested Brownlow medal nights in many years. Three favourites emerged over the course of the home-and-away…
Port Adelaide may have had home ground advantage, but it counted for nothing in an extremely one-sided preliminary final. After Melbourne lay down the…
Not even the most one-eyed of Melbourne supporters could have predicted how their preliminary final against Geelong would go. A truly unfathomable 83-point demolition…
Just four teams remain in the hunt for this year's premiership. Preliminary finals are tough to tip at the best of times, but these…
Nope. The only time a restricted free agent has been traded was Dangerfield in 2015 after the Crows declared they’d match whatever Geelong offered.
Daniher nominates Brisbane as new club for 2021
He’s a restricted free agent so, likely, nothing.
Daniher nominates Brisbane as new club for 2021
Could’ve had two first-rounders last year for Daniher but turned it down. Dodoro’s arrogance has to be his undoing and soon.
AFL Trades: Adam Saad's decision spells disaster for Essendon
It’s Port Adelaide over Gold Coast now, at 11 matches. Port haven’t lost to the Suns since famously becoming the first team to do so in 2011.
What hoodoo? Lions crack Richmond spell, progress to the prelims
I reckon Geelong’s bad finals record is a bit overblown. Every preliminary finalist they’ve lost to since 2011 either won the minor premiership or the premiership itself. Collingwood was the first team to beat them in a qualifying final but not reach the decider since North Melbourne in 1997.
I reckon they’ve been a very, very, very good – but not great – team for most of the decade and they’ve simply come up against better opposition. This year and last they’ve been good enough to win it so, unless they go out in straight sets, he should get another crack next season.
One question mark for each finalist ahead of Week 1
Love the decisiveness. I’ll check back in on Monday.
One question mark for each finalist ahead of Week 1
1. Start of a legitimate window, but there will be teething problems given the number of crucial players over 30.
2. OzLotto commercial huge.
3. No.
4. No, they’ll win in 2021 and then fall away.
5. Need to develop the killer instinct in some way.
6. I’m more worried about them opening up the chequebook again and doing a Brisbane 2010.
7. An older head in the midfield.
8. Yes.
One question mark for each finalist ahead of Week 1
Absolutely right about them butchering it by publicly revealing he’s finished at the club. In a year where Jeremy Cameron and Joe Daniher are on the market, they’ve moved their potential returns back one round in the draft.
Trading Ben Brown could make or break Rhyce Shaw's coaching career
I don’t drool all over Martin at all – I’ve got him as a forward rather than a midfielder anyway so it’s not like he’s taken Boak’s spot in the 18.
Probably a fair point to be made about Boak being centre over Dangerfield though.
The Roar's AFL expert tips and predictions: All Australian team
Only the AFL could make a home team choosing where to play their home final controversial.
AFL reveals first week of finals fixture; who plays who, where and when
Jane Seymour! The very best.
Which of this year's quirks and oddities should the AFL keep?
Lazenby’s film is one of the very best and Connery couldn’t have pulled off the emotional weight needed to make it work, but I’m still on the fence as to whether he could have made it work more than once.
Which of this year's quirks and oddities should the AFL keep?
Worst Bond girl for mine is Mary Goodnight from The Man with the Golden Gun. They’ve got everything wrapped up by lunchtime if not for her incompetence.
Which of this year's quirks and oddities should the AFL keep?
Going through them all lately so I’ll get there eventually.
Saw Timothy Dalton’s two films over the last couple of nights and really liked them. Shame he didn’t get a proper run.
Which of this year's quirks and oddities should the AFL keep?
Haven’t seen Quantum of Solace since it came out in cinemas so I can’t remember much. Keen to see it again soon.
Which of this year's quirks and oddities should the AFL keep?
Pretty much my exact view on Thursday night footy too.
Which of this year's quirks and oddities should the AFL keep?
I don’t think I explained myself with the floating fixture well enough.
I don’t want clubs’ opponents to be undecided, I just want the timeslot within each round to be flexible for the last five weeks.
Your opponents will be locked in before the season starts as normal, but (for example) Round 18-23’s matches can get moved from Saturday twilight to Friday night etc.
Which of this year's quirks and oddities should the AFL keep?
He took over a team that finished in the bottom four in 2015 after badly overestimating their list and the ‘4 S strategy’ has successfully plugged gaping holes left by crucial retirements (Watson, Kelly) and extended injury issues (Daniher).
Like I said in the article, the 4 S strategy was not designed to get them over the line, it was to ensure they stayed competitive after losing such crucial pieces.
I see no reason why, with a full year of Smith, Shiel and Heppell and another preseason under the belts of some of their youngsters, they can’t finish 5th-8th next season.
With the end in sight, what will Worsfold's Essendon legacy be?
Bit unfair to look at the whole decade given he only took over in the second half of it.
As I said in the article, they did overestimate their list at the end of 2014, but he wasn’t involved then.
It’s also a bit arbitrary to criticise them for not having a pick inside 30 for three years; they had picks 5, 6 and 29 in 2015 as well as 1 and 22 in 2016 (the first two drafts of Worsfold’s reign) and got all five selections right.
Since then, they’ve spent 9 (2018), 11 and 30 (2017) on Dylan Shiel, Devon Smith and Jake Stringer – would they be more competitive today if they’d taken Jye Caldwell, Aiden Bonar and Tom de Koning instead? No chance.
With the end in sight, what will Worsfold's Essendon legacy be?
The only extended handover I’ve seen work has been Paul Roos to John Longmire.
With the end in sight, what will Worsfold's Essendon legacy be?
31,717.
Their two highest years are 2004 (33,619) and 2005 (33,267) – the support is there, it just tends to wane a bit after a 15-year period with one finals appearance.
Six talking points from AFL Rounds 15 and 16
Brisbane Bears 1988 – 12,782 per game
Brisbane Bears 1990 – 8887 per game
Brisbane Lions 1998 – 16,675 per game
Brisbane Lions 2019 – 24,741 per game
So, yes.
Six talking points from AFL Rounds 15 and 16
Hawthorn Hawks, Adelaide Crows and the Carrara Curators all desperate for the year to finish.
The Roar's AFL expert tips and predictions: Rounds 15 and 16
I think they said at the start of the season it’d be 16 minutes all the way.
The Roar's AFL expert tips and predictions: Rounds 15 and 16
Can’t agree with you there Don. Yes, St Kilda missed their chances when they had the ascendancy, but they absolutely did not outplay Richmond at all.
St Kilda are on the right track, but how do they take the next step?