Contrite Neale keen to atone
The West Australian
Fremantle midfielder Lachie Neale admits he struggled against West Coast last Sunday and is desperate to atone for the effort against North Melbourne this weekend.
Neale started the derby poorly. He fumbled, twice kicked the ball out of bounds when attempting regulation kicks in the defensive 50, then dropped an uncontested mark in the centre square which resulted in an Eagles shot for goal.
The South Australian finished the game with a disposal efficiency of 66.7 per cent, which was down on his season average of 75.6 per cent.
Nick Suban shifts focus to Fremantle Dockers' clash with Kangaroos after Chris Masten
PerthNow
Fremantle's Nick Suban has “moved on” from the controversial biting grapple with Chris Masten, according to Dockers teammate Lachie Neale.
Tensions rose between West Coast and Fremantle in the aftermath of Sunday’s derby at the AFL tribunal on Tuesday night, where Masten was banned for two weeks after being found guilty of misconduct through biting Suban’s arm.
Suban was grilled by West Coast’s legal team about his actions in the tackle, while Eagles defender Will Schofield tweeted – and later deleted – his thoughts about how Suban had broken the “players’ code” in giving evidence.
peaking on Wednesday, Neale said Suban was keen to put the incident behind him as Fremantle prepares for an important road clash with in-form North Melbourne on Sunday.
HBF Injury Update: McPharlin in the mix
AFL planning for all-WA grand final fan invasion
The West Australian
The AFL is already looking at ways to ensure West Australians can get to the MCG for a potential West Coast-Fremantle grand final as it steps up efforts to ensure football remains the nation’s pre-eminent sport.
In a wide-ranging address to the National Press Club yesterday, AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan also said the game’s laws could be changed to enable women to play and suggested a bigger push into New Zealand from 2018.
He also signalled that a twilight grand final could be played this decade.
