Malcolm Blight

Just after their win over the Hawks in Round 20, the AFL's North Melbourne club celebrated their 150th anniversary (established 1869 in the old Victorian Football Association or VFA) with a gala dinner at which the club named their top 10 players of all time. The top 10 were selected by a panel of experts, along with players and administrators past and present.

Only on-field achievements were considered with off-field work, contributions, awards or accolades deemed irrelevant. Similarly, incidents, behavioral issues and legal matters did not factor into a player's selection. The selection criteria included:

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

To paraphrase the introduction to old TV show The Naked City, there are many stories in finals history, these are a few. Every player and team strive for the ultimate prize of a premiership. Over the years, there have been many players whose teams get to the Finals or a Grand Final, but they are absent either through injury, poor form, suspension or simply being excluded from selection. These are some of those stories. [Ed. note: A "tragic" is someone for whom luck does not fall on their side and in this case, a perhaps once in a career opportunity is missed.]

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

To coincide with the 25th anniversary of the club's entry into the AFL, the Adelaide Crows held their first Hall Of Fame induction on April 29. The inductees were two-time premiership coach Malcolm Blight, former chairmen Bob Hammond and Bill Sanders, former captain and current board member Mark Ricciuto and fellow club champions Andrew McLeod, Ben Hart, Tony Modra and Simon Goodwin.

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

Sacked Port coach Matthew Primus has landed a new job as an assistant with the Gold Coast. Primus, who played 157 games with Fitzroy and Port before coaching Port for two seasons, will work with the ruck men and midfield as well as working to help develop the tall key position players. General Manager Marcus Ashcroft