Kevin Sheedy

On September 30^th former North Melbourne coach and current AFL head of football Brad Scott was appointed Essendon's new senior coach. Apparently, Scott had been in talks with the club for a week before formally applying for the job the same day. 

In an email, president, David Barham said, “We believe Brad has all the attributes to be the long-term coach ... He’s a strong leader who will drive standards and establish a winning culture. We look forward to Brad getting started with us and working closely with the broader club and the football department for what will be an important preseason ... ". We are under no illusions about the hard work ahead of us. By the same token, we are excited about the challenge of building a club that our members are proud of and one that delivers sustained on-field success.” Scott coached North Melbourne in 211 games. After departing the Kangaroos, he replaced Steve Hocking at the AFL as head of football operations. 

In mid-June, the AFL held their annual Hall of Fame function with eight new inductees and one previous inductee elevated to Legend status. The Legend elevation was the late Port Adelaide Magpie (SANFL) centerman Russell Ebert, who was also recently named as Port Adelaide's greatest ever player. Ebert is the 32nd player to be named a Legend. He passed away in 2021, and the award was accepted by his widow Dian.

The eight new inductees represented not only the AFL, but the state leagues and Tasmania. They are Terry Cashion, Bill Dempsey, Mike Fitzpatrick, Brent Harvey, Matthew Pavlich, Michael Taylor, Ted Tyson and Nicky Winmar.

The Inductees:

RUSSELL EBERT - elevated to Legend status

There are many adjectives one could use to describe Kevin Sheedy - pioneer, ambassador, quirky, madcap, innovator, eccentric, master coach, a legend in his own time. Now the latter is official as Sheedy, already in the Hall of Fame, was elevated to Legend Status. He becomes the 28th Legend.

The 2018 AFL Hall of Fame ceremonies were held on the Tuesday evening after Round 10. Along with Sheedy's elevation, six players were inducted - Terry Wallace, David Neitz, Wayne Johnston, Matthew Scarlett, Mel Whinnen (WA) and Bernie Naylor (WA).

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

The 66-year coaching record of perhaps Collingwood's greatest ever coach Jock McHale will be equaled in Round Four and surpassed in Round Five. Carlton Coach Mick Malthouse will coach his 714th match, putting him equal with McHale. While McHale played and coached only at Collingwood, Mick's record includes 135 games coaching Footscray (now Western Bulldogs), 243 games coaching West Coast, 286 games with Collingwood and 50 games (through Round Four) at Carlton.

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

THE VERDICT IS IN - NOT GUILTY
The saga that has lasted over two years is finally over with the Anti-Doping Tribunal clearing all 34 players involved in the supplements program.The verdict was unanimous and in a statement Tribunal Chairman David Jones spelled out the reasons:

• The Tribunal was comfortably satisfied that the substance Thymosin Beta-4 was at the relevant time a prohibited substance under the Code.
• The Tribunal was not comfortably satisfied that any player was administered Thymosin Beta-4.
• The Tribunal was not comfortably satisfied that any player violated clause 11.2 of the Anti-Doping Code.

The statement also said that a decision regarding "a former Essendon support person" (read: Stephen Dank) would be made at a later date. Whether or not the full 133-page decision document or part of it will be made public is left up to the players, the club and their lawyers. Leaked copies have apparently reached some in the media. In summary, the panel conceded there was insufficient evidence against the players to establish that they had taken TB-4 and it could not be established that the substance they were injected with was in fact, TB-4. The credibility of the key individuals involved was so low and the chain of custody and record keeping so suspect, exactly what was injected could not be proven.

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA

GWS has won an Australian Multicultural Marketing Award. The awards, recently held at the Sydney Opera House, annually recognize multicultural marketing, in particular organizations that "demonstrate vision, awareness, innovation and leadership in communications".

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

Sydney may have lost the Grand Final to Hawthorn, but Coach John Longmire enjoyed an individual victory over opposition Coach Alistair Clarkson when he was named Coach of the Year, winning the Allan Jeans award by one vote over Clarkson just a few days before the Grand Final. It is the second win for Longmire, the previous award coming in 2012. Port Coach Ken Hinkley won in 2013.

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

Lance Franklin's move from Hawthorn to Sydney after the Hawks won the 2013 Grand Final is well-documented. Although he was a member of the 2012 side which lost to the Swans, he has the chance to be added to an elite list of players should the Swans again be victorious. While there have been over 70 players who switched clubs and played in Grand Finals for two different clubs, less than half tasted the ultimate triumph with their new teams.

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

Shane Mumford has won the 2014 Kevin Sheedy Medal in his first season with the Giants. The former Sydney premiership ruckman was presented with the medal by its namesake, inaugural coach Kevin Sheedy who has remained at the club as a coaching director. Mumford, 28, crossed from the Swans at the end of 2013 and took out the club champion award despite missing five games through injury. He polled in 13 of the 17 games he played to finish with 81 votes. Co-captain Callan Ward and small forward Devon Smith were equal runners-up on 72 votes. Midfielder Adam Treloar finished fourth on 62 votes and vice-captain Heath Shaw fifth with 56 votes.

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

Round Nine was tinged with sadness as the football community mourned the passing of four-time Premiership coach Tom Hafey, aged 82, after a brief battle with cancer. While Hafey was a serviceable player in 67 games for Richmond1953-58, it was his coaching career which elevated him to legendary status. Hafey was appointed senior coach of the Tigers in 1966 after a successful stint in the VFL with Shepperton. He set up a rigorous and grueling training regimen which helped the Tigers become a force and went on to coach them to numerous Finals series and four Grand Final victories. Hafey also had coaching stints with Collingwood, Geelong and Sydney.