Jude Bolton

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

One day before the Eagles played their match against the Indigenous All-Stars, Beau Waters announced his immediate retirement due to his inability to overcome the shoulder problems which have kept him sidelined for the past 18 months. An innocuous bump to his bad shoulder convinced him it was time to give it up. Waters suffered the knock the week before and said "I just went to grab a ball and got hit in a certain direction that jeopardized the integrity of the shoulder ... From them on, it got progressively worse ... I was struggling to get through skills sessions. After being so bullish during the preseason, I was probably a little bit deluded by the fact I hadn't received any contact over that period. I was wrapped in cotton wool. The rest of my body feels great."

Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

Since losing the 2008 Grand Final to the Hawks, the Cats have won their last 11 matches against Hawthorn. This is the longest winning streak after a Grand Final loss to the same opponent in League history. Since the 2008 Grand Final, the Cats have defeated Hawthorn in 2009 (Rounds One and 17), 2010 (Rounds Two and 15), 2011 (Rounds Five, 12 and the Qualifying Final), 2012 (Rounds 2 and 19) and 2013 (Rounds One and 15).

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

200 games: Kade Simpson (CARL)
150 games: Nick Malceski (SYD)
100 games: Daniel Hannebery (SYD)
50 games: Steven Motlop (GEEL)

Club Record Finals: Jude Bolton (SYD) will play his 25th Finals match in the Semi Final, giving him the club record for most Finals games in the history of South Melbourne/Sydney.

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

Chris Newman and Brett Deledio (RICH) will play their first finals match in the first week of Finals. Newman has played 232 games without a Finals appearance while Deledio has had to wait 194 games. This puts them fifth and eighth respectively as the longest wait for a Finals appearance.

The following is the time line for the the Grand Final day events including key times for match and TV related activities. All times are listed first in Australian AEST and then in US EDT. This is based on information from the AFL, AFANA, press reports and past history. This story will be periodically updated with late information. (Revised 9/26/13 We have had major reductions in US coverage.Awaiting word on Canada. See our note here.)

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

Champion St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt will play his 250th game this weekend. Also celebrating his 250 game milestone will be his teammate Nick Dal Santo.

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

In Round 11, GWS Coach Kevin Sheedy will coach against Carlton Mick Malthouse for the 47th time, a VFL/AFL record. They last coached against each other in Round 16, 2007 and Sheedy has 27 wins to Malthouse’s 19. The two have coached a combined total of 1339 games with Malthouse recording 391 wins and Sheedy 388. The Round 11 game will be the first time they have coached against each other at Etihad Stadium.

In the same sound, Nick Riewoldt (StK) will captain the Saints for the 150th time since 2005, becoming the second man in club history after Danny Frawley (177 games as captain 1987-95) to reach this mark.

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

500 games, brothers: the Selwood brothers will become the 11th set of brothers in League history to reach a combined total of 500 games in Round Eight. The breakdown is 182 games for Adam (WCE), 75 games for Troy (delisted by Brisbane), 142 games for Joel (GEEL) and 99 games for Scott (WCE).

The leading families in history are Daniher 752 games (Terry 313, Neale 82, Tony 233 and Chris 124); Madden 710 (Simon 378, Justin 332); Morwood 611 (Paul 170, Tony 229, Shane 212); Nankervis 578 (Ian 325, Bruce 253); Coventry 533 (Syd 227, Gordon 306); Richardson 518 (Wayne 277, Max 241); Ablett 515 (Geoff 229, Kevin 38, Gary Sr 248; Wakelin 513 (Shane 252, Darryl 261); Cornes 506 (Chad 255, Kane 251) and Shaw 502 (Ray 146, Tony 313, Neville 43).

Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

Most club games: Lenny Hayes (StK) played his 265th game in Round Two, putting him equal with Gary Colling in fifth place on the all-time club games list. Ahead of them are Robert Harvey (383 games, 1988-2008), Nathan Burke (323 games, 1987-2003), Stewart Loewe (321 games, 1986-2002), Barry Breen (300 games, 1965-82). Following them are Stephen Milne (260 games, 2001-through Round Two, 2013), Kevin Neale (256 games, 1965-77), Justin Peckett (252

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

Most Games: Essendon's Dustin Fletcher is tied with Bernie Quinlan (Footscray and Fitzroy) in sixth place on the all-time games list. Ahead of them are Michael Tuck (426 games, HAW), Kevin Bartlett (403 games, RICH), Robert Harvey (383, STK), Simon Madden (378, ESS), and Craig Bradley (375, CARL). Just behind them are Brad