Melbourne president Kate Roffey says she hasn’t spoken directly to Christian Petracca, but insists there’s no stand-off between the AFL club and the disgruntled superstar.

While Petracca is yet to formally request a trade, he has reportedly told the Demons of his desire to play for another Victorian outfit in 2025.

Roffey says she has no knowledge the 28-year-old wants out, believing the situation had been blown out of proportion by the media.

She admitted she didn’t have a clear grasp of Petracca’s issues with the club but, without providing assurances, believed the relationship between the parties was “salvageable”.

“I don’t think it is a stand-off and that’s a media portrayal of it,” Roffey told SEN radio on Thursday.

“I’m not commenting on anything about what his wishes are or are not because I haven’t had that direct conversation – these conversations have been had, as is appropriate, with the football department, not me, that’s not my area of expertise.

“He’s raised some issues at the club and we have taken them on board and we’ve spoken with him about what’s going on. 

“He’s a player at our club that, to a large degree, is pivotal in our program and we’re going to have him here and we’re going to keep working with him to make sure we get the best Trak out on the field that we can.

“He’s a contracted player and we’re working through it with him, with the player leadership group, with the coaches and we will find a resolution to this.

“We’ve got some issues, absolutely. I’m heartbroken for our supporters because they don’t get to see our day-to-day operations at the club.”

Roffey said she had also spent time as a patient in intensive care and understood the trauma Petracca was experiencing after he suffered life-threatening injuries in the King’s Birthday match, which ended his season.

Christian Petracca. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

“I have been in intensive care, it’s horrific,” Roffey said.

“So what he’s been through is significantly traumatic and now what’s playing out in the media is very difficult for him as well so we’ve got our arms around him.

“We’re sitting there working with him to find a way through this… so it’s not a stand-off, certainly not from our point of view.”

But in welcome news for the Demons, Roffey said while Kysaiah Pickett was homesick the gun forward wasn’t considering a trade.

“He’s got a new, beautiful little baby and his family’s, some in South Australia, some in WA and yes, he gets homesick, but we work through that with Kozzy, that’s not a new thing,” she said.

Asked if she was concerned it could escalate into a trade request, Roffey said no.

“I’ve been told that’s not even a consideration from his management.”

While admitting the Demons had issues, Roffey rejected calls for an independent review of the club which plummeted down the ladder from fourth to 14th this season.

“No, I don’t think so. We’re always looking at reviewing … we continue to look, we continue to look to grow and make the changes that we need to change.

“We’ve got some issues, absolutely … we’ll get through it.”

(AAP)

Bulldogs’ AFLW game shifted amid club discontent

The Western Bulldogs’ Round 2 AFLW match against Port Adelaide has been moved from the Whitten Oval to the MCG, to avoid the match clashing with the men’s team’s elimination final against Hawthorn.

The Bulldogs were reportedly unhappy with their clash with the Hawks in week one of the AFL finals being scheduled for Friday night, with the women’s team slated to play their first match at the newly redeveloped Whitten Oval complex at 5:05pm (AEST) the same day.

That would have left Bulldogs fans with a choice of only attending one of the matches, and likely left the AFLW game with a sparse crowd.

According to The Age, the Bulldogs lobbied the AFL to move the start time of their women’s match, with alternate suggested times 4pm on the Friday or 11am Saturday morning.

However, the league is set to confirm that instead, the match will now become a curtain-raiser for the men’s final.

The move is unlikely to satisfy the club nor its fans, with AFLW supporters now needing to purchase an expensive finals ticket to see their team play, while the club hoped to promote the women’s team’s match as a marquee standalone event at Whitten Oval.

However, the move allows staff members who work with both the men’s and women’s teams to attend both matches.

Gabby Newton of the Western Bulldogs celebrates a goal. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

‘Wanted Port to be last’: Koch slams ‘rigged’ SANFL

Port Adelaide chairman David Koch has teed off at the SANFL in an explosive rant on Adelaide radio, accusing the league of ‘wanting Port to be last’ by ‘rigging’ its AFL club concession rules.

For the first time in 124-years, the Power, long South Australian football’s biggest powerhouse, finished dead last on the ladder in 2024, with tensions mounting between the SANFL and its two AFL clubs, Port and Adelaide.

The Power and Crows created headlines earlier this year after making their desire to leave the competition and join a nationwide reserves competition public.

Win a Ziggy BBQ for Grand Final day, thanks to Barbeques Galore! Enter Here.

The two clubs are currently negotiating with the league, the AFL and rival clubs about concessions they will be granted to stay in the competition for the next two seasons, after which a national reserves league is expected to be launched.

A chief concern for other standalone SANFL teams is the risk of the Power and Crows raiding emerging talent from around the league, resulting in limited access to the SANFL Rookie Program.

The downside has been that a lack of access to quality supplementary talent has, in the eyes of the two AFL clubs, hindered the development of their younger players and drastically lowered the quality of their teams, a view backed up by the Power’s last-placed finish with just four wins in 18 games, while the Crows missed the finals with just eight wins to finish sixth in the ten-team competition.

Speaking on FiveAA, Koch was scathing of the current set-up, saying the SANFL have ‘got what they wanted’ by hamstringing the Power.

“They wanted Port to be last – they rigged the rules and we can’t wait to be out of there,” Koch said.

Koch dismissed the SANFL’s review into concessions to be offered to the Power and Crows as ‘lip service’, refusing to believe any recommendations will actually be adhered to by the league.

“They have said to the AFL ‘we’re not going to change the rules until you agree to give us our funding from the AFL’,” he said.

“That’s like going to the bank and saying ‘you know, we’re not going to discuss the terms until you give us the money’, because the AFL is the SANFL’s bank.

“And I just want to know where the West Lakes future fund went because SANFL clubs should be rolling in money really.”

David Koch. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Media/Getty Images)

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the VFL has expanded to add all four NSW and Queensland-based AFL clubs to the Victorian competition, meaning 14 of 18 AFL clubs now effectively have their own reserves competition – leaving the Power and Crows, as well as West Coast and Fremantle, out of the loop.

The first three of those clubs are particularly keen on signing up to a national reserves league, with the one holdout the Dockers, who expressed in April a desire to maintain their strong relationship with WAFL affiliate Peel Thunder.

Tigers exodus looms as trio request trades

Liam Baker has joined Daniel Rioli and Shai Bolton in requesting trades away from Richmond, with the Tigers set to play hard ball on the latter two players.

Rioli wants to join Gold Coast while Bolton is keen to return home to Western Australia, with Fremantle expected to be his landing spot.

Baker, who also wants to return home to WA, is yet to nominate whether West Coast or Fremantle is his club of choice.

The Eagles are believed to be the frontrunners for the out-of-contract 26-year-old.

Given Baker isn’t a free agent, Richmond’s bargaining position is weak.

But the situation is different for Rioli (contracted until 2027) and Bolton (contracted until 2028), with Richmond not obliged to trade the star duo.

“We will listen to what the clubs have to offer and determine whether or not we believe it is a viable trade and in the best interests of the Richmond Football Club,” Richmond’s general manager of football performance Blair Hartley said in a statement that has drawn up the early battle lines.

Baker’s request to also return home to WA could open up a bidding war between West Coast and Fremantle.

Liam Baker has requested a trade home to Western Australia. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Although the Dockers are armed with three first-round picks, it’s expected they will be putting their focus into snaring an X-factor talent like Bolton or Sydney’s Chad Warner.

West Coast have plenty of salary cap space following the departures of Andrew Gaff, Shannon Hurn, Nic Naitanui and Luke Shuey over the past two years and could use the draft capital they receive as part of the expected Tom Barrass trade to Hawthorn to secure a deal for Baker.

Baker, with 128 games and two flags under his belt, looms as a perfect fit for the rebuilding Eagles, who are also keen to lure Richmond tackling machine Jack Graham.

The out-of-contract Graham and Baker are close friends, which could play in West Coast’s favour in their attempt to lure both of them.

It’s not just players who are leaving wooden spooners Richmond, with assistant coach Kane Lambert informing the club of his desire to pursue a career away from football in 2025.

Whispers are also emerging former Tigers ruckman Ivan Soldo, who is in his first year at Port Adelaide, wants a move away from the Power after being overtaken in the ruck pecking order by Jordon Sweet.

Meanwhile, Hawthorn captain James Sicily is excited by the prospect of being joined in a beefed-up defensive unit by West Coast intercept specialist Barrass next season.

Eagles vice-captain Barrass made his desire to be traded official on Tuesday, nominating the Hawks as his preferred destination.

It came despite the 28-year-old having three years to run on his contract.

Hawthorn have also been strongly linked to St Kilda defender Josh Battle after missing out last year on free agent Ben McKay, who left North Melbourne for Essendon.

Barrass has played 150 games for the Eagles and starred in their 2018 premiership.

“I’m pretty excited by that prospect,” Sicily said on Wednesday.

“There’s a lot of water to go under the bridge still, but that’s exciting that players are seeing Hawthorn as somewhere they want to be.”

Sicily has an existing relationship with Battle and could be used by the Hawks to sell the dream to the prospective recruit.

Elsewhere, speculation continues to swirl around Melbourne star Christian Petracca, who reportedly wants out of the club despite being contracted until the end of 2029.

(AAP)

Pies legends Pendlebury, Sidebottom to play on

Collingwood stalwarts Steele Sidebottom, Jeremy Howe and Will Hoskin-Elliott have all signed fresh one-year contracts with the AFL club.

The trio join club great Scott Pendlebury in extending their careers at the Magpies next season.

Pendlebury announced in June that he was playing on, with Sidebottom, Howe and Hoskin-Elliott’s new contracts announced on Thursday.

“All four are highly valued and play integral roles for our program both on and off the field,” Collingwood’s list manager Justin Leppitsch said.

“Their leadership and experience are invaluable to our environment and each of them play a key role in educating and guiding our next generation of young talent.”

Sidebottom, a dual premiership player who turns 34 in January, will continue for a 17th AFL season alongside his great mate Pendlebury, who is embarking on a 20th AFL season.

The 34-year-old Howe has been vice-captain for the past seven years after joining Collingwood from Melbourne for the 2016 season.

Hoskin-Elliott, who turns 31 on Monday, transferred to the Magpies from GWS at the end of 2016.

Meanwhile, Adelaide midfielder Sam Berry has inked a two-year contract extension to remain with the Crows.

The Victorian-born on-baller has played 57 AFL games since being drafted by Adelaide in 2020. 

(AAP)