The Northern Territory news Fri 10 Oct 2014
NT news
The Northern Territory news; NewspaperNT
2014-10-10
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English
Community newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin; Australian newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin
News Corp Australia
Darwin
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News Corp Australia
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/253510
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/537623
FRIDAY OCTOBER 10 2014 SPORT 61 V1 - NTNE01Z01MA Griffen done with Dogs RYAN Griffen is so determined to leave the Western Bulldogs he will take a considerable pay cut to join Greater Western Sydney Griffen rocked the football world yesterday, saying he wanted out of the Dogs given his untenable relationship with coach Brendan McCartney. After a day of crisis meetings at Whitten Oval Dogs president Peter Gordon lashed Griffen by saying the club had no intention of indulging his wish. But the NT News understands he would consider leaving the game rather than returning to the Dogs. In a day of high drama yesterday, Griffens decision to take up a four-year deal at GWS exposed a fractured playing group and put immense pressure on the future of coach McCartney. Only last week the Dogs declared him safe in the wake of revelations about player discontent, but now the spotlight again lies on McCartney. GWS could cap their sensational raid on Griffen by luring one of the Victorianbased pair Dayne Beams or Patrick Ryder. They have the money and picks to secure Griffen and then monitor the stalemate around Beams and Ryder and swoop in by offering pick 4. Reluctant captain Griffen had considered stepping down from that role after leading a delegation of players angry with McCartney after the clubs best-and-fairest. McCartney, now under immense pressure given the decision, gave assurances that he would change his methods of communication. But after Griffen returned from holidays in Europe he told the club yesterday he needed a trade. Gordon made known his anger at the sudden move by Griffen, believing the club had addressed his concerns. We arranged for Ryan to meet with Brendan and our football director, Chris Grant, and they discussed his concerns, he said. Brendan acknowledged some faults and agreed to work on them. At the conclusion of the meeting, Chris asked Ryan if he was happy with the meeting and agreeable to working with Macca on an ongoing basis. Ryan answered yes to both questions. Having returned to Australia on Tuesday night and without any further discussion with us after giving that agreement, Ryan informed us that he had changed his mind. We are extremely disappointed at his approach. GWS was in the perfect position to swoop given coach Leon Cameron and Callan Ward are confidantes. GEELONG young gun Allen Christensen has declared he wants to join Brisbane. The Lions will assess today how to manage delicate double-barrelled negotiations so they can land both Dayne Beams and Christensen at the Gabba in 2015. Brisbane agreed in principle yesterday to trade defender Joel Patfull to GWS for pick No.21 at next months national draft. That draft pick could be used in a possible trade with the Cats to get Christensen. The pick might also be used as part of the package to break the deadlock with Collingwood for Beams who remains Brisbanes top priority. If Brisbane decided to package picks 5 and 21 to Collingwood, it could then offer pick No.25 to the Cats for Christensen who told Geelong he wanted to be traded to a Queensland club. That club is Brisbane after Lions senior coach Justin Leppitsch met face to face with the talented midfielder on Wednesday night. Allen has told his manager that Brisbane is his club of choice, Lions chief executive Greg Swann said. Geelongs Allen Christensen battles against Carltons Levi Casboult during the Cats Round 21 win this season Picture: WAYNE LUDBEY Garlett ready to bolster Demons MELBOURNE have landed their first AFL trade target with Jeff Garlett signing with the club from Carlton. The small forward kicked 183 goals in 107 games for the Blues, and will help reinforce the Demons attack. Melbourne football operations boss Josh Mahoney said Garlett would be a valued member of the forward line. His record prior to last year stacks up with the best small forwards in the competition; he averages nearly two goals and 3 tackles per game, Mahoney said. We think he can be a dangerous option for us in the forward line, working in tandem with Jay Kennedy-Harris and Dean Kent. Garletts fortunes at the Blues soured throughout the 2014 season when he was overlooked by coach Mick Malthouse. Carlton football department chief Andrew McKay said Garlett departed with the clubs best wishes. It was time for him to have a fresh start and we are pleased to have been able to facilitate that by reaching agreement on a trade with Melbourne, McKay said. By JON RALPH and GLENN MacFARLANE Swans irate as COLA loses fizz SYDNEY is baffled by an AFL ban on recruiting any players through trade or free agency if it wants to keep its cost-of-living allowance. The AFL Commission has warned the Swans their COLA will be stripped if they bring in any player from another club in the next two trade periods. Players can only be added to the list via the draft or rookie upgrades, or picking up players delisted by rival clubs. It means an immediate end to the blockbuster deals of recent seasons that landed Kurt Tippett and Lance Franklin at the club. The Swans are believed to have been interested in Brisbane fullback Joel Patfull but was warned off making a play for him. The explosive league ruling means any player who leaves the Swans can only be compensated with draft picks. Swans chief executive Andrew Ireland said the ban was unfair and made no sense. As youd expect, the club is very disappointed and we dont understand why the AFL has made this rule specifically for us considering weve complied with their rules, Ireland said. While we wholeheartedly believe players should receive the cost-of-living allowance due to the higher cost of living in Sydney, it was ultimately the AFLs rule, it wasnt optional and therefore we included it in every players contract. It doesnt make any sense that were being punished for something that weve been told to do. It also doesnt seem fair that we can lose players yet were unable to replace them. The only reason weve been able to recruit players in previous years is by creating salary cap room as a result of players departing the club, which is exactly the same as every other club. Well continue to discuss the restrictions in place with the AFL administration and commission. The AFL released a statement late yesterday saying since the decision to phase-out COLA in June it has been in discussions about how the phase-out would work. The commission stated that the key principle was that the Sydney Swans should use the COLA transition amount to honour existing contracts and not to attract players from other clubs or use that transitional amount to compete with other clubs for the services of players not on their list, the statement said. Lions out to snare Cat and Magpie Saturday Oct. 11 2:00PM Canterbury v Channel 9 2:20PM Laing ORourke v The Rugby Shop 2:40PM Bundaberg Rum v Cazalys 3:00PM Darwin Corporate Park v Onesteel Metalcentre 3:20PM Defence Bank v NT Bitumen & Asphalt 3:40PM Marsh v Mix 1049 4:00PM Canterbury v Laing ORourke 4:20PM Channel 9 v The Rugby Shop 4:40PM Bundaberg Rum v Marsh 5:00PM Cazalys v Defence Bank 5:20PM Darwin Corporate Park v Mix 1049 5:40PM NT Bitumen & Asphalt v Onesteel Metalcentre 6:00PM Bundaberg Rum v Darwin Corporate Park 6:20PM Social Rugby Stray Cats v Old Dogs Enquiries to The Rugby Shop 8981 1433