Brendan Fevola

It was announced on July 20 that former Richmond player Shane Tuck passed away at the age of 38. The cause of death was not announced, but it has been reported that he struggled with depression for many years, including his playing career. A former Hawthorn great, who wished to remain anonymous, said those close to Shane as well as both Hawthorn and Richmond knew of his struggle with mental illness.

Tuck, son of former Hawthorn great Michael Tuck, and nephew of Gary Ablett Sr., was originally drafted by Hawthorn as a rookie in 2000,

Shortly before the NAB Cup began, promising small forward Albert Proud had his contract with Brisbane terminated. The club stated he had failed to meet the behavioral standards of an AFL player. Proud, who was arrested for striking a police officer last month, was suspended by the club at the start of 2010 for another off field incident. After the latest incident, he was suspended indefinitely and then told that his contract was terminated.

ST KILDA
David Armitage, knee
Raphael Clarke, hamstring, season
Zac Dawson, hand
Clint Jones, ankle
Steven King, minor hamstring strain
Jesse Smith, ankle, long term injury list

Hawthorn took Cyril Rioli's case to the Tribunal in an effort to have one of the charges dismissed. They were contesting the charge of attempting to strike as the incident occurred during a brawl which saw nine players, including Rioli, fined. Rioli accepted the fine as well as the charge of striking and later admitted that frustration led to his brain fade. He said he would take responsibility for his actions but did not testify.

At the third term break in the game between St Kilda and Brisbane, an all-in brawl broke out. Seven players from each club were charged by the Match Review Panel for first time offenses and fined $1600.

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

Charges Laid:

Lenny Hayes (STK), striking Richmond's Jeromey Webberley: assessed as negligent conduct (one point), low impact (one point), and high contact (two points), equalling four activation points, a Level One offense, 80 demerits and a reprimand. He has

ADELAIDE
Injury Report:
Scott Thompson, calf, ongoing assessment
Brett Burton, knee, 6 weeks

Brendan Fevola (BRIS) kicked 3 goals in the Round Seven match against Fremantle. He needs one more goal to bring up his 600th career goal which will make him the 27th player in league history to reach that mark. If he manages 83 goals for the season, he will be 20th on the AFL's all-time goal list, just ahead of South Melbourne's (now Sydney Swans) Bob Pratt (681 career goals 1930-39 and 1946) and just behind Collingwood great Dick Lee (1906-1922, 707 goals).

March 18 marked the AFL's official 2010 season launch. Among the activities was the annual survey presented to all AFL club captains who gathered at the MCG for photographs. The majority believed that Geelong would be seriously challenged by Saint Kilda and the Western Bulldogs. Ten of the captains predicted the 2010 Rising Star Award would be won either by West Coast's Nic Naitanui or by Kangaroo Jack Ziebell whose 2009 season was cut short due a broken leg. Geelong's Gary Ablett and Joel Selwood (the 2007 Rising Star) were widely fancied to take out the Brownlow Medal while Barry Hall, Brendan Fevola and Lance Franklin were favorites to win the Coleman Medal for the leading goalscorer.

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 and past history.  (Updated with honored legends, etc.):

Time AEST/US EDT  Event             
9:00 AM / 7:00 PM NAB AFL U/16 Division 2 Grand Final - Queensland v New South Wales (live on AFL.com.au)  Coverage on the AFL web site will commence from 8.50 AM AEST / 6:50 PM EDT.  (Moved to Visy Park because of weather.)
10:38 AM / 8:38 PM NAB AFL U/16 Division 2 Grand Final concludes
10:50 AM / 8:50 PM NAB AFL U/16 Division 1 Grand Final - Victoria Country v South Australia (live on AFL.com.au)  (Moved to Visy Park because of weather.)
11:34 AM / 9:34 PM Division 1 half time TAC Presentation /  Gillette AFL Grand Final Sprint heats
12:40 PM / 10:40 PM NAB AFL U/16 Division 1 Grand Final concludes
12:42 PM / 10:42 PM On-field presentation of Div. 1 and 2 Grand Final awards       
12:55 PM / 10:55 PM Delivery of match footballs to Umpires
1.00 PM / 11:00 PM On-field pre-match set up
1.10 PM – 1.25 PM / 11:10 PM – 11:25 PM Preliminary on-field warm-up opportunity for competing clubs
1:25 PM / 11:25 PM Stage and sound set in centre square
1:30 PM / 11:30 PM Pre-match entertainment begins
featuring Jimmy Barnes and Mark Seymour
1:30 PM / 11:30 PM International TV feed begins including coverage on ESPN Classic and ESPN360