The Western Derby exploded on Saturday night when the Dockers and Eagles broke out in a giant scuffle.
Players from all over the ground converged as tensions boiled over halfway through the opening quarter.
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Hugh Dixon slotted a goal as the brawls broke out and then quickly joined in on the action as wrestles flared all over the ground.
Fremantle’s Caleb Serong and West Coasts’ Jack Redden were in the thick of the action as multiple players were left with ripped Guernseys.
“You saw it coming Pav and they’re all racing in to join into the scuffle. No love lost. West Coast, the underdogs, have come with a fighting mentality and it is right on here,” commentator Adam Papalia said.
“The umpires are trying to control this so they can restart the game but they can’t,” Dermott Brereton added.
“Both teams still wrestling each other, there is a fair bit happening,” Papalia said.
Fremantle great Matthew Pavlich said Serong was simply “flying the flag” in the scuffle.
“Andy Brayshaw was getting harassed by Jackson Nelson when he was coming off and he didn’t like it so he went back at him and it just exploded. Caleb Serong came in flying the flag,” he said.
“A bit of spice in Derby 55,” Papalia added.
The Eagles upstaged their cross-town rivals in the opening term to hold the two point lead after the first quarter.
A result matters not for the Eagles, for the Dockers however the result would have a serious bearing on where they finish on the ladder.
Lose and there best chance is a fifth placed finish. Win and they keep their hopes alive of securing a double chance.
The Dockers responded in the second quarter and head into the halftime break holding a slender four point lead.
Josh Kennedy doesn’t look like he should be giving the game away.
The towering West Coast Eagles forward announced his retirement during the week and his final game played out like something we’re used to seeing on the big screen.
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The Crows spoiled the party as they recorded the 16.6 (102) to 13.8 (86) win, but it was still Kennedy’s day as he slotted a stunning eight goals in his final AFL outing.
Kennedy got it started in the first quarter when he slotted the Eagles’ first three goals before slotting another in the second to head into the break with four to his name.
Fans watching on were calling for the Eagles to keep targeting him and he responded with two more in the third quarter.
The Eagles entered the final quarter down by 17 points and a valiant effort saw them soar back into the contest with Kennedy slotting his seventh and eighth goals.
Kennedy had a chance to kick his ninth and level the scores, but he pulled the shot left and watched it sail through for a behind.
“Missed the easiest one of the day, but look it was a great fight. Adelaide brought the contest but it was a good game to be a part of for me last game,” Kennedy said on Fox Footy after the final siren.
“I’m a bit emotional but it has been good.
“I’ll have a few beers tonight and then I’ll probably reflect on it over the next couple of weeks. It’s been an amazing journey. I’d like to thank the club, the fans… it’s been a crazy journey.
“The boys were looking for me a fair bit, they were feeding me all day so I was lucky enough to get around a few so it was good to finish off like that.”
The Optus Stadium crowd rose as one as Kennedy made his way off the ground as both the Eagles and Crows players got together and formed a guard of honor.
Kennedy’s career began back in 2005 when he was taken with the fourth pick in the National Draft by Carlton. I have played 293 games throughout his career and tallied 723 goals.
After two seasons with the Blues, Kennedy was involved in a blockbuster trade that sent him to the Eagles and brought Chris Judd to Carlton.
His final outing had the footy world in utter disbelief as his eight goal outing was the most in a single game throughout the 2022 season.
Two Fox Footy pundits have urged North Melbourne to make a “Luke Hodge-style play” for outgoing Docker David Mundy to boost the bottom-placed club’s leadership prospects.
Mundy, Fremantle’s games record-holder, on Monday called time on his celebrated AFL career, three days after making his 371st appearance.
It places Mundy in the 10th spot on the all-time VFL/AFL games played table, with Scott Pendlebury (352), Joel Selwood (350) and Lance Franklin (335) the closest to him among active players.
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Speaking on Fox Footy’s On The Couch on Monday night, Mundy, 37, said he was pretty happy and content” with his decision after a pre-season ankle injury kickstarted retirement thoughts, but said there was “nothing set in concrete” for post-footy life.
Asked if he would’ve played on at Freo had his body allowed him to, Mundy told On The Couch: “No I don’t think so. I’m really proud to still be able to strongly contribute on gameday in the 22nd.
“I’ve been thinking for a long time that I’d feel really guilty if I hung on and battled my way through a year and ended as a broken, crippled old man. To go out on top I feel a great deal of pleasure in.”
But Herald Sun Journalist Jon Ralph reported Mundy “just wasn’t offered a new deal and he would’ve played on”.
“I asked his management … Two weeks ago, he said ‘I’ll keep playing at this club until they kick me out’ … He was hopeful with contract negotiations as recently as two weeks ago and it didn’t happen,” Ralph told On The Couch.
“That’s not a pot on Fremantle, they just decided to go another way and that’s fine.”
St Kilda champion Nick Riewoldt said it was a “surprising” call by Mundy, who was awarded AFL Coaches’ Association MVP votes for his 35-disposal, 15-contested possession and 10-clearance display against Melbourne last Friday night.
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It’s why Riewoldt encouraged the 18th-placed Kangaroos to target Mundy this off-season
“I understand his reasons because you want to go out maintaining that really strong level of performance, but he wasn’t showing any signs of slowing down,” Riewoldt told On The Couch.
“He sounded definitive then, but if you’re North Melbourne, would you say to him: ‘Dave, come play for two years, stick around and be an assistant because we need some leadership’ – would you make the phone call?”
Fellow Fox Footy panelist Garry Lyon added: “It’s not the silliest idea you’ve ever had.”
David Mundy of the Fremantle Dockers addressing the media after announcing he will be retiring. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Herald Sun chief football writer Mark Robinson echoed Riewoldt’s thoughts minutes later, saying the Kangaroos should look at what Brisbane did in late 2017 when it traded in four-time premiership Hawk Luke Hodge as its young group moved into finals contention.
“I think North Melbourne should go after him and offer him a one-year deal to come over to Victoria and help the young kids at North Melbourne,” Robinson told Fox Footy’s AFL 360. “Like (Luke) Hodge, like the first-year Giants in James McDonald and a few others (in 2012).
“I think if he wants to continue playing, North Melbourne should look at a Luke Hodge-style play for David Mundy.
“He’s playing good enough. He’s not ‘at the end’, so if he’s a really good footy club person, give him a deal that (includes a) coaching role as well.”
Melbourne and Brisbane have been quizzed on the futures of two their respective out-of-contract stars as rumors swirl.
Plus the latest on a suitor’s Jordan De Goey bid as well as Dan Hannebery’s future.
Get the latest player movement news and updates in AFL Trade Whispers!
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DEES, LIONS CONFIRM HONEST CHATS WITH OFF-CONTRACT STARS
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin has admitted he’s had “honest chats” with out-out-contract star Luke Jackson about his future, saying the youngster faces a massive call ahead.
Jackson has put off contract talks until the end of the season and been heavily linked with a move to Fremantle as he weighs up returning to his home state of Western Australia.
Speaking on Fox Footy’s AFL 360, Goodwin implored the 20-year old to not be distracted by his future plans and keep his focus on helping the Demons’ bid for back-to-back premierships.
“I’ve had some great chats with Luke and some were honest chats about we just want him to perform for the Melbourne footy club, however long that may be,” Goodwin told Fox Footy.
“That’s what our focus has been, whether that’s 10 weeks, whether that’s the next 10 years, and he’s been really open … he’s fully committed to Melbourne.”
Jackson rucking against Freo (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS
“Our responsibility as a club is to be mature in our approach towards that end, and get the best out of the Luke for however long he’s at our footy club… those conversations have been held with Luke and he’s embraced it.
“He needs time to make his decision… we’ve said to Luke all along, ‘you take as much time as you need’.
“He’s got the chance to go home at some stage throughout his career and he’s got a footy club that he loves at the moment, so it’s a big decision for him to make.”
Brisbane faces a similar situation with key forward Dan McStay, who’s been heavily linked to Collingwood on a five-year, $3 million deal.
And like Goodwin, Lions coach Chris Fagan just wanted to see McStay put his best foot forward while wearing the Brisbane jumper.
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“I’d have a couple of chats with Daniel during the season. These are challenging times for players when they’ve got to make decisions about their futures,” Fagan told AFL 360.
“I just wanted to make sure Daniel felt supported and also to encourage him to play the best football he can for the rest of the year.
“Whatever decision he makes he makes, hopefully he decides to stay with the Lions, but if he doesn’t he’s given us great service and we’re grateful for what he’s contributed to the club.”
Asked if players and clubs should announce moves ahead of time, like in the NRL, Fagan said: “That probably seems the mature way to do it, I just don’t know whether we’re ready for that and whether all clubs will be comfortable.
“Some players might feel like if they say they’re going, that would endanger their chances perhaps for selection for the rest of the year or the club might turn in a different direction.
“I don’t know whether we’ve arrived at that level of maturity with football yet, I’d like to think so.”
SAINTS WANT MORE BY GOEY CLARITY
St Kilda’s board has requested its football department for more information on Jordan De Goey before it ticks off making a formal push for the free agent Magpies star, reports TheAge.
The Saints have been linked to De Goey, who was discussed at the club’s board meeting on Thursday night as it weighs up an aggressive pursuit of the 26-year old.
It’s believed the board wants to be satisfied he’s the “right fit” for the club both on and off the field including its leadership and values and whether he could help the club win a premiership.
De Goey’s future at Collingwood is in doubt after the Pies pulled their most recent contract offer to him following his Bali exploits — a two-year deal with a trigger for another two years, totaling $3.2 million.
De Goey returned from a quad injury on the weekend (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS
Geelong is also interested in the midfielder/forward, while St Kilda coach Brett Ratten confirmed in June his club would want to look at “all the evidence” around De Goey’s off-field indiscretions before ruling out a play for the out-of-contract Collingwood star.
“We’d have to do our homework and have a look at exactly what has happened and taking all the evidence as you do when you bring in any player, especially opponents from another club,” Ratten said.
“You’re looking at the on-field performance, and you’re looking at what you’re trying to build as a football club and culture and that as well. So we take in both sides of the equation, and then we make decisions around there and all those free agents will be singled out and sort of maybe targeting one or two, if it’s possible.
“We do assess everything they do on and off the field.”
HANNEBERY ‘PRETTY KEEN’ TO PLAY ON
Herald Sun journalist Jon Ralph reports Dan Hannebery is “pretty keen” to play on in 2023, but believes the out-of-contract Saint may have to settle for a rookie list spot.
Hannebery enjoyed a strong return to the field against Hawthorn — an inclusion that raised the eyebrows of some pundits — racking up 27 disposals and booting one goal in the St Kilda’s 12-point win in his first game since Round 23 last year.
However the injury-plagued 31-year old, who’s coming towards the end of a four-season deal worth around $800,000 per season — a contract renegotiated to a reduced figure this year — has struggled to stay on the park in recent years, playing just 16 senior games in four campaigns due to several setbacks.
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Speaking on Fox Footy’s on the couch, Ralph provided the latest on Hannebery’s future.
“Officially out of contract, pretty keen to go again — probably needs to make the next three weeks a winner.
“He funded his own trip over to ‘Healing Hans’ the German soft tissue expert… he’s taken multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars pay cut.
“I think one possibility is if he gets through the year, you go onto the rookie list or you spend a summer trying to train yourself up — and if you can get through it, it gives you another year as a summer rookie.”
