AFL

SURPRISEThe bold plan to allow fans to attend Round 2

How good would this be! One club is putting plans in place for fans to attend their Round 2 clash, currently in talks with the venue. And they are hopeful of it becoming a reality.

Greg Davis, Glenn McFarlane and Gilbert Gardiner

Ruck ‘n’ rollHall of Fame ruck urges Eagles to go small

West Coast great Dean Cox has warned teams against picking two specialist ruckmen this season saying they could become a ‘detriment’.

Jordan McArdle and Mitchell Woodcock

FORMGUIDERound 2 preview: Why Gawn is licking his lips

Footy is finally back and there is one man who will be looking forward to getting out there more than most. Who will get the season reboot off to a flying start? Here is a preview of every match in Round 2.

Chris Cavanagh and Gilbert Gardiner

AFL seasonParty’s over: Inside the long road back to footy for our clubs

Keith Thomas and Andrew Fagan take us inside the AFL’s fight for survival at Alberton and West Lakes since the coronavirus put the season on hold. Sleepless nights, empty boardrooms and tough conversations but footy is about to return.

Reece Homfray

Survival scareInsolvency, job cuts and PVL: Sydney AFL’s fight for life

How close did the coronavirus send Sydney’s AFL club to the brink? It was frightening. Ben Horne details the Swans and Giants’ fight for survival and how near they went to going under.

Ben Horne

Gossip QueenHow ex-AFL player Gorringe ‘faked it’ to make it in footy

Former Carlton and Gold Coast Suns player Daniel Gorringe has revealed the social side of footy is what kept him in the game and tells why he had to “fake it” and take sickies to get out of training.

Fiona Byrne

CORONAVIRUSCrowds may be allowed for Showdown blockbuster

Next week’s clash between the Crows and Port Adelaide could still happen in front of thousands of fans but there’ll be tougher competition for tickets. VOTE AND COMMENT

Chris Russell , Andrew Hough

FIERCE RIVALRYRoo doubles down on Bombers backhander

Rhyce Shaw said his players’ have been “flogged” in preparation for the return to footy against GWS, but he doubled down on his recent comments about the Kangaroos’ Round 2 travel companions, Essendon.

Glenn McFarlane

Game on‘Impressive again’: Dees recruit lights up trial

Injury-riddled star Harley Bennell continues to impress as he edges closer to a Melbourne debut, standing out in their closed match simulation. But there was a couple of notable absenteees.

Gilbert Gardiner

BREAKS SILENCEKalgoorlie star's journey from All Australian to meth addict

Jon Hay’s life was turned upside down by a crazed stalker who sent gay men to his doorstep, exacerbating his drug addiction. He explains his near-death experience and how he has come out the other side following a 20-year drug battle.

Jon Ralph

Karl LangdonKarl Langdon: WA’s footy Hall of Fame dominance

It was great to see three West Aussies inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame this week.

Karl Langdon

Stealing accusationAFL star ‘fires up’ at racist Perth shop attendant

AFL star Chad Wingard has revealed his anger at being racially profiled while trying to buy chocolate from a Perth store.

Hall of FameCox: Forget the Cousins off-field drama

Dean Cox says his West Coast premiership teammate Ben Cousins should have been an “automatic walk-up” addition to the AFL Hall of Fame when eligible four years ago.

Jordan McArdle

Gil’s dreamMcLachlan still hopes for 100,000 at grand final

McLachlan said the AFL had plans to bring crowds back at some point this year and said a full house on grand final day was an “ambition”.

Anna Harrington

Battle linesDavies backs Koch’s prison bar stance

With the countdown to the resumption of football entering its final week, Port Adelaide to a physical and tough approach to training: which is exactly how it plans to tackle the Crows.

Liz Walsh

Ground dramaSANFL grand final venue mystery

The SANFL could be forced to move its grand final from Adelaide Oval in October because of India’s cricket tour to Australia.

Warren Partland

Creative ideaSaints’ drive-in solution for fans

Some lucky St Kilda fans will be able to cheer their team during the Round 2 clash against the Western Bulldogs after the club came up with an ingenious plan.

Chris Cavanagh

Favourite sonRoo reduced to tears from McLeod comments

Adelaide Crows football director Mark Ricciuto admits he was reduced to tears as a result of Andrew McLeod’s comments, while the club’s CEO has backed its treatment of the dual Norm Smith medallist.

Reece Homfray, Richard Earle

Furious footballKing: The crucial stat that will win games

Expect the footy to be fast and furious when the season makes a comeback next week. David King explains why clubs cannot afford to play catch up in a 17-game fixture of shorter games.

David King

WA footy 101WA footy 101: Footy’s comeback kings

As the AFL is set to return on Thursday, John Townsend examines several other WA football comebacks

John Townsend

Isolation captainWhen Gill found out season was in doubt

Footy will return next week 81 days after the season was shut down. AFL chief Gillon McLachlan details how quickly the landscape changed heading into Round 1 and when he finally decided they would play.

Mark Robinson

big freezeNeale Daniher reflects ahead of Big Freeze 6

Footballer, father, Victorian of the Year – Neale Daniher wears a lot of hats. But the most important one is the blue FightMND beanie, which has turned into a beacon of hope and united the entire AFL community. Daniher, along with FightMND co-founder Pat Cunningham, chats with Hamish McLachlan.

Hamish McLachlan

Paul StarickMcLeod should stand to lead Crows fix from the top

If the Crows’ greatest-ever player thinks the club has a culture problem, he needs to fill the leadership vacuum by standing for the top job himself, argues Paul Starick.

Comment – Paul Starick