AFL

Gather Round was a wake-up call for Essendon.

Analysis

Essendon the big losers, Blues’ Houdini strikes again: Key takeouts from round four

The round of football started slowly and built to a crescendo with controversy, comebacks, scandal and a celebration of a round now embedded in the football calendar.

by Peter Ryan

Jack Ginnivan and Brayden Maynard have a disagreement.

Analysis

Ginnivan and the small attack: How the Pies survived a monumental Hawks comeback

by Jake Niall

Jack Crisp celebrates one of his two booming goals in the decider.

The circuit-breaker that helped Crisp; How Docker explained dissent free kick

by Jake Niall and Peter Ryan

The new AFL broadcast rights deal will lead to changes for some viewers from 2025.

Opinion

Priced out: In ‘footy country’, you’ll struggle to watch a game on TV at the pub

by Michael Gleeson

Jack Steele in the clinches for the Saints and being sandwiched between two Tigers.

How a man of Steele and alien invasion helped Saints turn on Tigers

by Steve Barrett

Insight & Analysis

A top Cat departs without a new home to go to. What’s behind the call?

On Wednesday, as the who’s who of Melbourne’s footy industry touched down in Adelaide for the AFL’s second Gather Round, some surprising news broke about a very familiar name.

No serious AFL player would take drugs: Why I can’t fathom blase attitude

Despite attempts to downplay the issues, the reports of illicit drug use and disharmony caused by footy trips should be ringing alarm bells for the AFL and its players’ association.

How Tarryn Thomas can go to any club, at no draft cost

Suspended midfielder Tarryn Thomas can be signed as a free agent by any club, bar North Melbourne, at the end of the 2024 season.

Latest in AFL

Jeremy Finlayson has apologised after making a slur against an opponent.

Finlayson apologises for homophobic slur, Koch compares case to Clarkson fine

Finlayson apologised on Sunday for the slur he made in Friday night’s game, and is now waiting for the AFL to finalise its investigation of the matter. But his chairman knows where he thinks it stands in comparison to the matter that saw Alastair Clarkson fined.

by Greg Dundas

Tyson Stengle lines up his shot for goal after the ball was brought back when the video review awarded him a mark on the goal line.

AFL 2024

‘They deserve the goal’: Beveridge backs goal-line mark to Cat Stengle

At first, it looked like a behind to Geelong. But on video review, a mark was awarded to Tyson Stengle, who turned it into a goal as the Cats got home by four points.