Gale force heads to Tasmania; Newman fined over bump; Howe forward with Elliott out

Gale force heads to Tasmania

Danny Russell, Peter Ryan

Tasmania’s AFL team has named experienced administrator Brendon Gale as its new CEO barely an hour after he announced he was walking away from Richmond.

In a significant coup for the Tasmania Devils, Gale will finish up at Punt Road at the end of this season and start his new role at the beginning of next year.

The Devils are slotted to play their first game in 2028.

“Not only have we got a highly successful and proven AFL club CEO, we have also tempted home a proud son of Tasmania,” Tasmania Football Club chair Grant O’Brien said. “This is an enormous vote of confidence in our club.”

Brendon Gale (left) and Dustin Martin embrace after the 2017 grand final.

Gale, who played 244 games with Richmond after crossing from Burnie Hawks, has been the Tigers CEO for 15 years, starting there at the end of 2009 after a stint as CEO of the AFL Players’ Association.

During his stint, the Tigers won three flags in 2017, 2019 and 2020 and reached 100,000 members.

Along with coach Damien Hardwick, star players Dustin Martin, Trent Cotchin, Jack Riewoldt and Alex Rance, and president Peggy O’Neal, he was instrumental in dragging the club off the bottom of the ladder to once again become a powerhouse.

His departure marks the end of that era, with Hardwick resigning midway through last season following O’Neal’s departure at the end of 2022. The trio famously stuck together after a disastrous 2016 and the Tigers delivered their first premiership in 37 years when they won the drought-breaking 2017 flag over Adelaide.

“I have spent half my life at this club as an administrator and player. It is time for me to embark on a new challenge, and for the club to write the next chapter,” Gale said on Friday. “I’ll remain absolutely focused on the job at hand for the coming months. It is an exciting and challenging period for us on and off the field.

“The breadth and depth of our leadership is a real feature of our club, and we are all getting on with the job at hand and that is where my energies will be focused.”

Richmond president John O’Rourke said Gale had made an outstanding contribution, and they would contract a search firm to find his successor.

AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said Gale’s proven experience made him a perfect fit as the first CEO for the Tasmania Devils and will see the club set up for success.

Newman fined over Neal-Bullen bump

AAP

Carlton defender Nic Newman is free to take on Sydney in next Friday night’s clash at the SCG after his high bump on Alex Neal-Bullen was ruled low impact by the Match Review Officer.

Newman leapt off the ground and collected the Melbourne small forward with a glancing blow across the face during Thursday night’s tense one-point victory.

But MRO Michael Christian opted to fine Newman $3750 for the action. He also fined Carlton’s Lachlan Cowan $3125 for striking Neal-Bullen.

It comes as a relief for the Carlton coaching panel as they prepare for at least one week without Adam Cerra, who suffered a hamstring strain against the Demons.

In a worrying trend, it was Cerra’s first game back after a two-week break with a similar complaint.

Zac Williams, who was rested against Melbourne because of glute soreness, will face a test before being passed fit to take on the Swans, while small forward Jesse Motlop is expected to be available for selection in coming weeks.

Elliott out, Howe to go forward

AAP

Injury-hit Collingwood will be without Jamie Elliott against West Coast after the forward failed to overcome a back issue.

Athletic defender Jeremy Howe will swing forward in Sunday’s match at Marvel Stadium to cover for the loss of Elliott, who failed to train with his teammates on Friday.

“We tried to give Jamie every chance to play. It’s why we named him in the squad,” coach Craig McRae said.

Magpies forward Jamie Elliott has been ruled out of the match against West Coast.

“He woke up this morning, he’s got a bit of a sore back. It didn’t settle enough to get him out there.

“We’ll just see how that goes from here.”

The Magpies were already without key forwards Dan McStay (knee) and Brody Mihocek (hamstring) plus speedster Beau McCreery and goal-kicking midfielder Jordan De Goey (groin).

Howe broke through as a forward at Melbourne and, despite establishing himself as one of the AFL’s top intercept defenders, has remained a handy option in attack.

“Jeremy will play forward. We don’t have a cast of thousands lined up to play as key forwards for us,” McRae said.

“His experience will be something we really want to lean into and he’s got a lot of class as a forward, he’s got a history there, he’s a good mover, and we’re hoping he can play a really good role for us.

“[We’ll] let Howie do his thing, play to his strengths, as we want all our forwards to express themselves in different ways.

“It’ll be a different forward-line mix – you take out three or four of your starting forward line from last week, it’s a different mix, but we’ll move the ball the same. It’s just a matter of playing a role within that.”

De Goey remains sidelined as the Magpies attempt to get to the bottom of his groin issue, with concerns over a potential case of the debilitating condition osteitis pubis.

Asked if Collingwood had learned more about De Goey’s situation, McRae said: “Yeah, somewhat. That’s a scary word, OP, but it’s leading towards something if we don’t manage it, it could get as bad as that.

“It’s not that now, but [we] grab things certainly here and deload a little bit and then see where we go, and early signs are that’s progressed towards that.”

McRae also confirmed fringe midfielder Finlay Macrae would return and start the game.

‘Pretty embarrassed’: Gawn says AFL players must learn lesson

AAP

Melbourne captain Max Gawn is embarrassed to be an AFL player amid three reported incidents of offensive comments in the league this year.

Gold Coast defender Wil Powell was suspended for five games on Thursday for directing a homophobic slur towards a Brisbane Lions opponent.

Powell’s ban comes less than a month after Port Adelaide’s Jeremy Finlayson was suspended for three games for his homophobic verbal abuse of an Essendon player.

North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson was fined $20,000 and received a suspended two-game ban for his pre-season tirade towards St Kilda duo Jimmy Webster and Dougal Howard.

“I’m not too fussed about the punishment and who’s got what. I’m just pretty embarrassed about the AFL cohort just slipping up time and time again,” Gawn told Triple M on Friday.

“This is three [incidents] in a year. It’s embarrassing to call yourself an AFL player at the moment. You’re sort of getting slapped with this brand.

“I know our group, we talk about this. So hopefully, we’ve learnt the lesson and we can go forward.”

Gawn wouldn’t buy the excuse that players let such slurs slip out in the heat of games.

“That’s what we’ve got to get away from,” he said. “I think all three of these people and anyone who’s done it in the past would have run with that excuse straight up – that it was the heat of battle – but that’s just not an excuse.”

Powell’s ban was longer than Finlayson’s due to the proximity of the two incidents and the AFL wanting to deter such conduct. Gawn indicated it made sense for punishments to escalate.

The AFL said Powell’s slur “demeans and denigrates any person regardless of their sexuality”. Powell said he “instantly regretted” his comment and vowed to better educate himself.

Lions coach Chris Fagan wouldn’t be drawn on whether the club was happy with Powell’s punishment. “I think that’s for the AFL to talk about,” he told reporters on Friday.

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