Ken Judge 1958 - 2016

Former AFL player and coach Ken Judge has died after a long battle with cancer. Judge had battled myeloma, a rare cancer of the blood plasma cells, and had suffered a relapse in 2012.

The Hawks and Eagles have led the tributes to Judge. “The club sends its condolences to family and friends of premiership Hawk and former coach Ken Judge, who has passed away today,” Hawthorn posted on Twitter.

After a distinguished career in Western Australia for WAFL side East Fremantle, Judge made the move to Melbourne and played 72 games for Hawthorn between 1983 and 86, winning the club’s ‘best first year player’ award on the way to becoming a member of their ‘83 premiership team.

He also played in Hawthorn’s losing 1984 and 1985 grand final sides but missed selection in their 1986 Premiership team. The half-forward then played 17 games for the fledgling Brisbane between 1987 and 1988.

Judge went on to coach Hawthorn from 1996 until 1999 and West Coast in the 2000 and 2001 seasons, leading those sides in a combined 133 games. After coaching Judge moved into radio commentary and was part of the ABC team calling last season’s Grand Final, in which Hawthorn won their third consecutive Premiership.

Hawks team-mates Robert DiPierdomenico and Terry Wallace remembered Judge as a skilled team-mate and someone who thought deeply about the game. “He had a wicked sense of humour but, when he delivered the ball, you knew exactly where to go and he would hit you on the chest,” DiPierdomenico told SEN radio.

Wallace also noted that Judge was one of the keys to Hawthorn becoming a premiership team. “He was the finishing touches to us,” Wallace said. “We made a preliminary final in 1982, we were ready to take the next step and he had a terrific year in ‘83 and was able to be part of that premiership team.”

Former Hawks teammate Peter Schwab paid tribute on Twitter. “Ken (Judgey) it was a pleasure to play with you and coach with you but the greatest pleasure was our friendship - you will be so missed,” Schwab said.

Parkin and Blues great Stephen Kernahan, who captained the ‘95 premiership team, said Judge made a big impact in his season at Carlton. “Ken was a ferocious competitor ... he was the agent provocateur through 1995,” Parkin told the club website. “We had a fair few ‘yes men’ around the place but Ken was never a yes man. He always had an edge.”

Kernahan said an ill Judge was a popular figure at last year’s 20-year premiership reunion. “The bottom line was that Ken was a really good bloke. His loss is just shattering,” Kernahan said.

Judge died on Friday, which was his 58th birthday.

#RIP

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Essendon Players Guilty of Doping - AFL

Thirty-four past and present players of Essendon football club have been found guilty of doping charges after an appeal from the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (Wada).

Most of the 34 players – 12 of whom remain on Essendon’s books – will be unavailable for the entire 2016 season due to suspension.

The players were initially cleared of the charges but Wada appealed in the court of arbitration in Sydney. The appeal has been upheld.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) issued a statement announcing its decision early on Tuesday morning. It later released the full judgment.

“The panel found to its comfortable satisfaction that ... the AFL Doping Code (use of a prohibited substance) has been violated and found by a majority that all players were significantly at fault.

“The appeal filed by Wada against the Australian Football League (AFL) Anti-Doping Tribunal’s decision of 31 March 2015 is upheld and the appealed decision is set aside.

“The 34 players concerned are sanctioned with a period of ineligibility of two years, commencing on 31 March 2015, with credit given for any individual period of ineligibility already served. Thus, most of the suspensions will come to an end in November 2016.”

Bombers captain Jobe Watson, whose could now stand to lose the Brownlow medal he won in 2012, and Dustin Fletcher have received bans eight days longer due to their participation in the international rules series. Leroy Jetta and Alwyn Davey will also be ineligible for a longer period than the other players.

The CAS ruling was made by majority of an international arbitration panel of Michael Beloff in London, Romano Subiotto in Brussels, and former chief justice of the NSW Supreme Court James Spigelman.

The AFL anti-doping tribunal found in March last year that there was insufficient evidence to find the players guilty of doping offences arising from the club’s controversial 2012 supplements program.

The players were accused of using banned peptide Thymosin beta-4.

“Regrettably we can confirm the Court of Arbitration for Sport has found 34 past and present players guilty of committing an anti-doping rule violation,” Essendon chairman Lindsay Tanner said.

“As a result, the players – including 12 currently listed with Essendon – have been suspended for the 2016 season. The club is currently digesting the decision and we will provide a further update later today [Tuesday].”

The chief executive of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (Asada) Ben McDevitt was scathing of the Essendon players, described the three-year drugs saga as “the most devastating self-inflicted injury by a sporting club in Australian history”.

He said the players were clearly at fault and had hidden their Thymosin beta-4 regimen from testers.

“There were very little grounds the players to claim they were at no significant fault. The players had received anti-doping education through the AFL and Asada, and were well aware they they are personally responsible for all substances that entered their body.

“Unfortunately, despite their education, they agreed to be injected with a number of substances they had little knowledge of, made no enquiries about the substance and kept the injections from their team doctor and Asada.”

McDevitt said no Essendon player declared the injections during Asada testing missions to the club, “despite being asked each time whether they had taken any supplements”.

“At best, the players did not ask the questions, or the people, they should have. At worst, they were complicit in a culture of secrecy and concealment.”

The CAS ruling brings to an end three years of turmoil for Essendon Football Club and the league.

In sanctions handed down in 2013, the AFL banned then-coach James Hird for 12 months, kicked Essendon out of the finals, fined the club $2m and stripped it of draft picks.

Following the CAS verdict, the club may now be forced to use top-up players from other leagues as it did during the 2015 NAB Cup when the players in question served provisional bans.

Asada’s statement finally confirmed the identities of the 34 players. The 12 still at Essendon are captain Watson, Tom Bellchambers, Travis Colyer, Dyson Heppell, Michael Hibberd, Heath Hocking, Cale Hooker, Ben Howlett, Michael Hurley, David Myers, Tayte Pears and Brent Stanton.

The rest have either been delisted, retired or traded, with Jake Carlisle (St Kilda), Stewart Crameri (Western Bulldogs), Jake Melksham (Melbourne) and Port Adelaide pair Angus Monfries and Paddy Ryder all at Essendon in 2012 but now at other clubs.

John Worsfold replaced Hird as senior coach in October after he resigned in a bid to allow the club to move on from the saga.

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Franklin Makes Swans Return

The Sydney Swans are hopeful of having Lance Franklin back on deck for their AFL season opener against Collingwood after the superstar forward made a very public return to training on Tuesday.

Franklin had to cut a path through a posse of camera crews and reporters to join team-mates for day one of Sydney’s pre-season at the club’s SCG practice ground after sensationally sitting out this year’s finals series while battling a mental health issue.

Coach John Longmire said it was a significant step forward for the 28-year-old after three months dealing with his inner demons. “It’s just a good sign that he’s back here and where he wants to be,” Longmire said. “Ultimately he feels really comfortable training and playing. And like any player, that’s what they do. Football’s critical and we understand the importance of it.”

While Franklin will continue receiving professional treatment, Longmire says it’s otherwise business as usual for the dual premiership winner. Barring any further setbacks, the Swans expect their $10-million man to line up against the Magpies at ANZ Stadium on 24 March.

“As we sit here at the moment we haven’t got any player ruled out for round one,” Longmire said. “But it is only the first of December so there is a long way to go but we expect all of our players to be ready for round one. We know that over the course of the pre-season that various challenges happen, injuries or whatever, but we expect Lance to be available at this point.”

Longmire commended Franklin for speaking out about his troubles and acknowledged the ordeal would have taken a toll on the 28-year-old. “It’s not something that just goes away because you turn up to training. It’s something he’ll keep working on as well,” he said.

“I think most people would recognise it’s been a challenge for him. It’s not an easy thing to do, to come out publicly first and foremost. I hope it really helps his career but, almost more importantly than that, helps him as a person. I think that’s the most important thing to come out of it.

“Football’s critical and we understand the importance of it in supporters’ eyes and coaches’ eyes. We understand the win-loss record more than anyone but you need to make sure you’re right as a person first and foremost and that’s a critical component, to make sure you’re feeling good about it.

“There’s no point a coach standing out the front talking about game plans and team rules if you’re not quite right or you don’t feel right.”

Longmire said Franklin was returning to training on the advice of specialists who believe playing again is vital to his long-term recovery. “That’s what they play footy for,” the coach said. “They thrive in that camaraderie of the playing group, they thrive on the spirit of battle on the football ground, they thrive on trying to get better as players.

“Lance is no different, even though he’s got a higher profile than any other player on our list in regards to that. Today’s the first step in that and he’s ready to go in what we hope is a really strong pre-season.”

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Carlton Thrash Collingwood

Carlton have announced their arrival as an AFL powerhouse with an ominous 60-point pounding of a Collingwood side with some significant new injuries.

Captain Chris Judd was outstanding and Eddie Betts kicked five goals as the Blues downed last year's losing grand finalists 18.14 (122) to 9.8 (62) in front of 84,259 fans at the MCG on Friday night.

It is the first time the Blues have started a season with three wins since 1995, their most recent premiership year.

It was also their first win over the Magpies in six meetings.

Collingwood first-year coach Nathan Buckley has taken just three rounds to preside over as many defeats as his predecessor Mick Malthouse did in last year's entire home and away season.

He also has to deal with injuries to All Australian defender Ben Reid and hard-nosed midfielder Luke Ball.

While the Magpies, who slumped to a 1-2 record, were not helped by their injuries, the unbeaten Blues dominated from the outset, kicking seven of the first nine goals to be 30 points clear by the 28-minute mark.

It was in the much-anticipated midfield battle that Carlton stamped their class most emphatically.

It started with the total ruck dominance of Matthew Kreuzer and Shaun Hampson, in what is becoming a major Carlton strength.

Dual Brownlow Medallist Judd (35 disposals, 11 clearances) constantly sent his team forward.

Reigning best and fairest Marc Murphy (39 disposals, two goals) was also superb.

Andrew Carrazzo was similarly important, laying the platform for Carlton's midfield control by keeping Magpies star Scott Pendlebury to just two touches in the first quarter on his way to picking up 29 himself for the night.

With Heath Scotland (35 disposals) also prolific, Carlton's drive gave the likes of forwards Betts, fellow speedster Jeff Garlett and Jarrad Waite the chance to add some exciting finishing touches.

The Magpies already looked shaky before Reid was subbed off with a thigh injury early in the second quarter.

Ball injured his right knee late in the first and while he returned in the second term, with strapping applied, he looked proppy and it was not long before he aggravated the injury and had to be helped back to the bench.

Given the Magpies lost Chris Tarrant (calf) last round and entered the season already dogged by injuries, the latest blows will hit hard.

They showed some fight in the second term, at one stage working back to within nine points, before the Blues buried them with eight of the next nine goals.

Collingwood's reigning Brownlow Medallist Dane Swan (31 disposals) played well, but with nowhere near enough midfield support, not helped by Pendlebury's quiet night and Ball's injury.

Rugby League Going Global

Rugby league bosses hope to expand the sport by making games between the leading English and Australian clubs a regular part of the fixture list.

Currently the Australian champions meet their Super League counterparts annually in the World Club Challenge.

"There's room for more of our leading clubs to take the field against their leading clubs," said Rugby Football League chief executive Nigel Wood.

"We've got four, five, six clubs that are the match of the sides in the NRL."

“We have to go 12,000 miles, which complicates the options, but fundamentally there is room for growth in the international club matches”Nigel Wood

Leeds beat Manly 26-12 at Headingley on Friday to become the first Super League team since 2008 to win the World Club Challenge.

The match has taken place in England once a year for the last 13 seasons, but Wood revealed that could change in the not too distant future.

"There has been lots of talk and lots of suggestion about the Middle East or the Far East or playing alternate years in Sydney or the rest of Australia," he told BBC Radio 5 live sports extra.

"The fundamental issue for us is that we believe that international club football has got growth in it. There is room for more evenings such as this.

"The players and the supporters deserve an opportunity to see those clubs take the field of combat against each other.

"I'm pretty sure over the next couple of years something will evolve to the satisfaction of both our clubs and the NRL's."

Wood admitted the distance between England and Australia could make the the logistics problematic.

But he believes it is inevitable that the idea will come to fruition.

"It's obviously more difficult in rugby league than it would be in soccer or rugby union where you can play international club football in Europe," Wood continued.

"We have to go 12,000 miles, which complicates the options, but fundamentally there is room for growth in the international club matches.

"You just have to sit down with the Australians and work out what the right formula is.

"We're pretty sure that they will look at this as an opportunity to expand what is a great part of the rugby league calendar."