James Hird rushed to hospital after 'overdose'
Former AFL champion and Essendon coach James Hird is believed to be in hospital after suffering a health scare.
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James Hird 'health scare' the culmination of four years of turmoil
Unrelenting pressure on a sporting field or a coaching box is one thing. But that ceases, at least temporarily, when the game is over.
Rough and ready: Tough players in the AFL who rarely get injured
The formula for premiership success in football is something the game's greatest minds have battled over for years. But there's one ingredient they all agree on.
Xavier Richards to play for Sydney, just not for the Swans
Xavier Richards will be playing for Sydney in 2017 after all. Sydney University, that is.
Football coaches under the pump in 2017
The new year is just days old but the weight of expectation is already heavier on some coaches than others.
Veteran Kelly says Bombers are raring to go in 2017
One of Essendon's most successful pick ups in 2016, former Cat James Kelly says he's enjoying a full pre-season with a keen list of younger players
The weirdest pre-season injuries in the AFL
In light of Brisbane youngster Archie Smith's unfortunate run-in with a stingray on Monday, we thought it was an opportune time to reflect on some of the AFL's most bizarre pre-season injuries.
Graphic image: Lions player steps on stingray
Graphic image warning
Carlton skipper, fashion blogger marry in lavish nuptials
It may have been one of Melbourne's biggest storms of the year outside but on a South Melbourne rooftop on Thursday afternoon, things seemed picture perfect.
New year's revolution: Dockers under strict orders
After a disappointing 2016 marred by injury and poor form Freo coach Ross Lyon has lay down the law expecting his players to step up in their preparation for 2017.
The mystery of Shane Yarran and the Fremantle spray
Mystery surrounds an expletive-laden social media rant, aimed at Fremantle and attributed to their former player Shane Yarran.
Fox to be new chief of Melbourne Cricket Club
An off-season of change has continued at Hawthorn with chief executive Stuart Fox leaving to become the Melbourne Cricket Club's new chief.
Hawks re-sign triple-premiership winger Smith
Triple-premiership winger Isaac Smith has signed a contract extension that ties him to Hawthorn until the end of the 2020 AFL season.
Injury behind him, Bomber Baguley raring to go
Essendon defender Mark Baguley has hit the training track hard after fully recovering from the knee injury which sidelined him for the second half of the 2016 season.
Giants fined $100,000 for Whitfield affair
Greater Western Sydney has been handed a $100,000 fine and a penalty of 1000 draft points after it was found guilty by the AFL Commission subcommittee over the Lachie Whitfield case.
Ruck and rule changes help restore the game we knew
For all the hand-wringing over its abolition, the third man up at ruck contests has hardly been a cornerstone of AFL football.
At least nine AFL coaches disapprove of penalising third man up
Half of the AFL's coaches were against the outlawing of the third man up at ruck contests, according to league football operations manager Mark Evans.
Tall forward Peter Wright to stay at Gold Coast Suns
The Gold Coast Suns got some happy Christmas news on Thursday, when tall forward Peter Wright signed a new contract to stay at the struggling expansion club.
New stats behind the death of 'third man up' tactic
Statistics that proved the "third man up" does not help ease congestion gave the AFL the green light to ban the tactic from next season.
Footy's top 10 people of 2016
Fairfax Media's top 10 people of the football year aren't necessarily the most popular, or the most successful, but each left a sizeable imprint on the game's landscape in the past 12 months.
Heritier Lumumba retires from AFL football
Melbourne defender Heritier Lumumba has retired from the AFL after struggling with repeated concussions.
Roos Thompson and Wright suffer injury setbacks
North Melbourne is confident that gun defender Scott Thompson will be fit for round one despite suffering an injury relapse that required surgery.
Collingwood skipper Scott Pendlebury and wife Alex expecting first baby
Collingwood skipper Scott Pendlebury is expecting his first baby with wife Alex in May next year.
Essendon confident their forward thinking will reap dividends
Essendon coach John Worsfold is desperate to rectify his club's disastrous recent inability to score before the start of next season — and believes he now has the right pieces to solve the puzzle.
Best of the best: The top 10 games of 2016
The 2016 AFL season saw great comebacks, neck and neck tussles, and several kicks to win games, one in a final no less. These, in our view, were the 10 best games of 2016.
Docker Shane Yarran retires from AFL footy following off-field dramas
The Dockers released a statement on Monday evening announcing the double WAFL premiership player was to retire in a mutual decision just one year after joining the club.
Bryce Gibbs proud to be Blue, but hits out at suggestions his partner pushed for move
His desire to move back to his native Adelaide was thwarted, but Carlton's Bryce Gibbs has reassured the Blues that with three years left on his contract, he's more than content to see out his AFL career at the one club.
Geelong Football Club likely to be debt-free at end of next season
Geelong Football Club should be debt free for the first time in over half a century at the end of next season.
Gibbs clears up 'misinformation' about his request for a trade home
The Carlton on-baller has plenty he wants to get off his chest. And in an exclusive interview with Fairfax Media, the first since the drama blew up, he does.
Martin to spend more time in attack
Richmond's new-found midfield depth is set to allow superstar Dustin Martin to spend more time forward in season 2017.
The Age unveils footy columnists for 2017
Three of the greatest players of their generations will be part of The Age's footy coverage in 2017.
The Age partners with Outer Sanctum podcast for AFL Women's season
The Outer Sanctum, the unconventional footy podcast that broke one of the biggest stories in the game this year, has struck a partnership with The Age for the historic first AFL Women's season.
Carlton star Cripps right for round one
Sam Docherty confident Blues midfield powerhouse Patrick Cripps will be fit and firing in 2017.
Rohan Connolly's 2016 in review: Bulldogs best in show
Highs, lows, quotes, controversies, stories and stars - but the year's biggest news-makers were the premiership drought-breaking Western Bulldogs.
SEN reveals its men-only footy line-up
Women's football has never been so popular, but for a least one sport radio station talking about the game remains a male-only domain.
Who got Lade? Port did
Brendon Lade is returning to Port Adelaide after seven years as an assistant coach at AFL rivals Richmond.
Dogs won't be hoodoo gurus
The Western Bulldogs won't look back at their painful history of preliminary final losses in the lead up to their Saturday night clash with GWS Giants.
Hogan departure won't be 'catastrophic': Schwarz
Melbourne great David Schwarz says the potential defection of Jesse Hogan would not be "as catastrophic" now as it would have been last year.
Football romance, or the road to the future?
There’s two very contrasting narratives developing heading into the penultimate weekend of the AFL season. And sentimentally, they’re at opposite ends of the spectrum.
Chris Judd: It's time to deny the top four clubs access to free agents
The thing that AFL fans love about the game is risk and the unknown outcome accompanying it: the risk players take when they commit to a physical contest, when they launch three deep in a pack to stand on someone's shoulders in a marking contest, when they have a shot from the boundary. All are weekly features on highlights reels.