AFL insists plans on track for Power-Suns clash at Shanghai Stadium

The AFL maintains preparations for the Shanghai clash between Port Adelaide and the Gold Coast Suns are on track despite photographs showing there is much work to do.

Laidler suffers six-week setback

Sydney Swan Jeremy Laidler has undergone elbow surgery which will rule him out for about six weeks.

'The right decision two years too late': Roo's trial stopped

The robbery trial of a North Melbourne AFL midfielder has been abandoned with a judge questioning how the case ever got to court.

Tall Kangaroos Daw, Brown to bounce back from surgery

North Melbourne skipper Jack Ziebell is hopeful that injured tall forwards Majak Daw and Ben Brown will be ready to play in the AFL pre-season competition.

Barlow ready to use experience at Suns

By Scott Bailey

Eagle Liam Duggan out for a month as ruck spot battle intensifies at West Coast

Promising young midfielder Liam Duggan has suffered a summer hit in his hopes to win a spot in a star-studded West Coast Eagles midfield.

Michael Barlow, Sam Mitchell step right up at new AFL clubs

Two of the more interesting signings of the AFL trade period are set to step right up in the responsibility stakes at their new AFL clubs ... without having yet played a game for them.

Second female life member named

Former club captains Gary Ablett, Luke Hodge, Jarrad McVeigh and Matthew Boyd are among the 11 new AFL life members set to be inducted by the league at its annual general meeting in March.

Ablett missing from Suns leadership group

Gold Coast co-captain Steven May insists Gary Ablett will remain an unofficial member of the Suns' AFL leadership group, despite the former skipper's name missing from the formal list.

Murphy flags more time as deep forward

The cure for Carlton's goalkicking woes could lie partly with their captain, with Marc Murphy indicating he wants to spend more time as a deep forward in 2017.

Docker Pearce fractures leg again

Fremantle defender Alex Pearce will miss the start of the AFL season after suffering a fracture in the leg he broke last year.

Dangerfield lifts the bar on baby announcements with this video

Patrick Dangerfield is very good at football, but he may be even better at social media.

Markov 'gifted' games in 2016

Second-year Richmond defender Oleg Markov concedes he was "gifted" games in 2016 and says he is no lock to make the Tigers' side for round one.

Women's venue shift won't change men's policy

The AFL's decision to shift next week's women's league opener to a bigger venue is unlikely to mean men's games will also be moved to deal with capacity issues.

Harley Bennell is fit and hungrier than ever

Injury-plagued Fremantle midfielder Harley Bennell says he's hungrier than ever to return to AFL ranks following a frustrating run of calf issues.

Mitchell set for leadership role with West Coast

Former Hawthorn skipper Sam Mitchell is set to be parachuted into West Coast's leadership group, while Shannon Hurn is expected to retain his role as captain.

Kangaroos play down Goldstein absence

Todd Goldstein was all but an onlooker at North Melbourne training on Monday, but the Kangaroos say there is no major concern surrounding the fitness of their star ruckman.

AFL considering venue shift for AFLW season opener

The AFL are seriously considering moving the women's season opener between Carlton and Collingwood from Olympic Park to the Blues' famed home Princes Park.

Lambert's replacement deals with 'elephant in the room'

Andrew Crowell knew it, and so did Melissa Lambert. There was a "big elephant in the room to confront," and there was no point trying to sneak around it.

Bulldogs prepared to be the hunted

Western Bulldogs veteran Matthew Boyd says that he and his teammates are vitally aware that to achieve back-to-back flags his side will have to become accustomed to the unusual position of being the most hunted of teams this season.

Hodge one of footy's great captains

• ANALYSIS

Sam Mitchell best summed up Luke Hodge's leadership when recalling their captaincy handover after the 2010 campaign, a move which would soon spark a run of three-straight premierships.

Docker Harley Bennell fined for driving without licence

Fremantle Dockers player Harley Bennell has been fined $400 and disqualified from driving for nine months after being caught driving while suspended in December.

I want to live to be a dad, says new Hawthorn captain Roughead

While Hawthorn's major announcement on Friday was that Jarryd Roughead had been appointed as their new captain, the man himself deftly put the elevation into perspective.

Ex-Eagle Ben Cousins will stand trial in June over drug charges

Troubled former West Coast champion Ben Cousins is back in court again on Friday for an outstanding drug charge.

Why other clubs should beware of the Bulldogs

I am grateful to have been asked to write a book about the Bulldogs' grand final win of last year. I am grateful because it takes my mind off the fear and uncertainty surrounding the historical clock that has started ticking with the inauguration of Donald Trump.

Stanton: The initial shock will never go away

Essendon veteran Brent Stanton says the initial shock at receiving a one-year suspension for doping violations in January last year will never leave him.

Melbourne Stars WBBL side prepares for two pivotal matches in 24 hours

Emma Kearney isn't sure she'll get much sleep on Friday night but says that won't matter if her Melbourne Stars can clinch a place in the Women's Big Bash League finals.

Eddie Betts types vital for clubs to be competitive: Mooney

Adelaide player Eddie Betts has taken the position of a small forward to a new level, says Geelong premiership forward Cameron Mooney.

Dockers stew as Michael Johnson's kebab shop assault charge adjourned

Johnson, 32, was given $500 bail as the case was adjourned to a later date - with his lawyer requesting a copy of CCTV footage of the alleged incident.

Rising Adelaide star Mitch McGovern looms large on Dockers, Eagles radar

Emerging Adelaide utility Mitch McGovern is looming large in West Coast and Fremantle recruiting sights before a football has even been kicked in anger in a new AFL premiership race.

Betts a Crow until close to his 34th birthday

Three-year deals aren't commonplace for AFL players once they enter their fourth decade, but such is the quality of Eddie Betts that Adelaide envisage him playing until close to his 34th birthday - at least.

Which AFLW team should you support?

With only eight teams taking part in the upcoming AFLW season, many footy fans are going to have to pick a new team to support. But don't panic - we're here to help. By answering a few brief questions, you can find out just who to back in the 2017 season.

Bellchambers' pre-season slowed by surgery

A lack of match fitness is set to hamper Tom Bellchambers' AFL return from a year-long doping ban, with the Essendon ruckman's pre-season slowed by knee surgery.

Wallis back running after broken leg

Western Bulldogs midfielder Mitch Wallis has taken a big step in his long road to recovery from a broken leg, running for the first time on an Anti-Gravity treadmill.

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.