This won't wreck our mateship

This is not a Showdown - Crows coach Brenton Sanderson chats with new Power coach Ken Hinkley. Picture: Wayne Ludbey. Source: Herald Sun

THEY orchestrated premierships together, became close mates through their roles in Geelong's dynasty, and it is a bond that won't break easily.

With Brenton Sanderson coaching the Crows and Ken Hinkley in charge of the Power, the chemistry of the rivalry will be different. More grown-up, more realising that for the good of football in South Australia, both of the clubs need to travel well.

We were all up in Queensland this week, looking for shade in the heat, and sat down when there was a quiet minute in proceedings at Metricon Stadium.

Here's how the conversation went:

FJELDSTAD: Brenton, are you happy with how the club has weathered the storm (of alleged salary cap breaches and draft tampering), so to speak?

SANDERSON: It's been difficult for the club, I guess because they haven't been able to comment. And I know that everybody's really eager to get out and say exactly what's going on but obviously with the AFL investigation to take place, we can't really comment.

All we can do . . . from my point of view, all I can do is to play my role which is just to coach the team. The players have been outstanding.

We got back to training this week and the spirit was really good and the energy really great amongst the group again. We'll just sort of wait and see and I'm sure you will hear a lot more from the club once the investigation is complete.

FJELDSTAD: Now that you've been there for a year, how do you see the club and the list now?

SANDERSON: I guess it's been a big 12 months and I was just saying that to Kenny before.

The amount of work that you put in behind the scenes - nobody is really prepared for how much work you have to do. But last year was a great stepping stone to what is hopefully another good season. Now we've got to manage expectation. There wasn't much expectation for us the past season but to the boys' credit, from the first day of the season until the final minute of the prelim final, you know, they were outstanding.

I think they understand now the work that has to be done. We've got 11 weeks now to prepare for our first NAB Cup game and obviously the season proper.

I'm still quite confident that we're going to have another good season.

FJELDSTAD: Kenny, what's it been like? It's only been a month or so but I'm sure it's taken over your life.

HINKLEY: It has. It's been incredibly busy. I mean I've gone from living here on the Gold Coast to all of a sudden being in Milan and London and back in Adelaide and now back on the Gold Coast and amongst all of that trying to get to know a whole new football club, a group of players, preparing for a draft.

All the things that have been going on there hasn't been a spare moment. The family has had to deal with a fair bit of stuff going on as well. But for me it's been really exciting, really challenging and something I've always wanted to do.

Now I've got a chance to deliver on that and I've really enjoyed the start.

FJELDSTAD: How do you two see your relationship - do you need to have a good relationship in order to push football in South Australia? Either one of you blokes can answer this one.

SANDERSON: We do (need to have a good relationship). And Kenny would be the same.

There would be nothing better than at Adelaide Oval in two years . . . can you imagine the excitement of a prelim of an Adelaide versus Port Adelaide at an Adelaide Oval on a Friday night?

The state would just be pumping, you know, going crazy for that. I guess from a selfish point of view I'd love for both teams to be up in the eight but like I said to Kenny, whenever Port Adelaide plays the Crows there's certainly a bit of rivalry.

That's always going to be the case. But most weeks, we'll probably stay in contact and support each other behind the scenes. But it will be game on when we the Crows play Port.

FJELDSTAD: Do you call each other?

HINKLEY: I should answer that. Sando, very quickly after I managed to get the job, was quite quick to get on the phone and leave a message and wish me all the best and all of those things.

And then give me an opportunity to talk when everything had settled down. We've both actually been away in the last four weeks so it hasn't happened but this is a great opportunity for us to catch up. We've obviously worked together for a long period of time (at Geelong) and had success together and now we both probably want to have some success, no doubt.

We'll have some individual focus on our own clubs and we need to make sure that both of those clubs are preparing to do their best but I don't think that means that we can't use each other, I would've thought. Certainly for me, in my first 12 months, I'm lucky.

I've got a bloke (in Sanderson) who's just gone through what I'm about to go through who can give me all of those experiences in a small way.

It might just be that he tells me: "you've got to be ready for this, you've got to be ready for that".

We've had those conversations already but it's still up to me to live it.

But it's good to have someone really close by that I know has been exactly through what I'm going to go thorough.

FJELDSTAD: Same question for both of you, different circumstances. You've both been through some difficult times: you (to Sanderson) with the investigation and you (to Hinkley) with financial concerns. How do you deal with it?

SANDERSON: I guess from my point of view, and Kenny would be the same, externally things get built up, through the media and people sometimes reading a lot into it.

But when you're at training and amongst the group - the players and their energy and enthusiasm is fantastic, so it doesn't affect any of that.

Port would be exactly the same as us: they'll go and train and train their backsides off to improve and all we can do is coach them. The other stuff will look after itself.

HINKLEY: That's exactly right. All we can concern ourselves with is the training session we turn up to and getting something from.

That's something we've spoken about already: to improve every session we get out there. We're doing the best to improve our club and improve our list and make sure that we improve the whole environment for us as a football club in Adelaide.

That's really important to us but we can't control too much of the other stuff.

We'll do everything we can to make sure the footy side of our club is done really well.

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Crows in fight for Trigg to keep job

Adelaide Crows are keen for chief executive Steven Trigg to keep his job. Picture: Sarah Reed. Source: adelaidenow

ADELAIDE will fight for chief executive Steven Trigg to keep his job as it prepares to face the AFL Commission over alleged salary draft breaches and draft tampering involving Kurt Tippett's contract from 2009-2012.

There is widespread speculation in the football fraternity that both Trigg and football operations manager Phil Harper's positions will be in jeopardy once the commission hands down its findings from its hearing this Friday.

At the heart of the matter is Trigg's alleged involvement in setting up and maintaining third-party deals with Tippett - which goes against AFL player regulations.

There is also believed to have been an understanding between the club and the Tippett camp that he would be released to the club of his choice at the end of his contract, which contravenes draft rules.

The Sunday Mail understands Tippett's various commercial arrangements were signed off by the AFL and did not break the salary cap.

Crows chairman Rob Chapman, one of the country's leading bankers, yesterday told the Sunday Mail the club would fight for its chief executive rather than lop his head as another gesture of goodwill.

"The players, the sponsors and the chairman all want him to stay," Chapman said yesterday. "My task, or my focus over the next week, is to make sure the punishment fits the crime.

"The fact is that he (Trigg) is an excellent chief executive with a good track record."

In last week's national draft, the club voluntarily forfeited its first two selections as a gesture of goodwill - which can also be read as an admission of guilt, even though nobody is prepared to say it - and the move was praised by AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson.

But the club will not offer up Trigg as a sacrificial lamb, despite the obvious message that would be sent if the chief executive had to resign because of the Tippett crisis.

Deliberations between the Crows' accused - who have amassed 11 charges by the AFL Commission - and the league are continuing on a daily basis, with most of those involved working 12-hour days.

The Sunday Mail understands it has now become a negotiation between the Crows and their lawyers and Anderson's and the AFL's lawyers - trying to find a reasonable punishment for the Crows' transgressions of the AFL player rules.

It is believed the punishment will be a fine of about $500,000 and restricted access to the next two or three national drafts. It could be as bad as four years of restrictions, but the Crows are pushing to have their limitations on draft access reduced to two years.

From here, there will be continued negotiation between the Crows and their lawyers and Anderson's office and his lawyers.

Adelaide found support yesterday in Malcolm Blight, its dual premiership coach, who said the Crows had broken a rule rather than the law.

"They've almost got a perfect record," Blight said. "I mean no one's perfect, we all know that, but it's a blip. It's a mistake, no doubt about that."

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Crows face a decade of pain

Carlton football administrator Shane O'Sullivan, right, with former coach Brett Ratten. Picture: Michael Klein. Source: Herald Sun

ADELAIDE'S punishment from the AFL Commission for salary cap breaches and draft tampering could sting for as long as a decade.

The club is in good shape right now, ready to challenge for the finals in the next few seasons.

But if it is sanctioned as heavily as Carlton was in 2002 for salary cap breaches - under-the-table payments to Craig Bradley, Stephen Silvagni, Stephen O'Reilly and Fraser Brown - it may take 10 years to recover, Carlton football administrator Shane O'Sullivan says.

The warning comes as Crows chairman Rob Chapman, who was praised by the AFL for conceding the club's first two selections in the national draft last week, said he would strongly go in to bat for chief executive Steven Trigg.

Chapman said he hoped Trigg would not lose his position over the mistakes and rule breaches the Crows committed in its contract with key forward Kurt Tippett in 2009.

O'Sullivan, speaking to the Sunday Mail from the US, said he felt for the Crows and estimated it had taken the Blues, traditionally a strong Victorian club, 10 years to recover from their loss of draft picks in 2002 and 2003 and a fine of close to $1 million.

"It's probably taken us about 10 years to sort of recover, really," O'Sullivan said.

"When you lose your draft picks and you're fined and all those sort of things.

"I guess it all depends on what they (the Crows) get, really.

"When you can't participate in the draft it really does (hurt). These days, at least everybody in the first round is going to get a good player.

"So it really does hurt you in the long run. I feel for them but that's the way things are going these days."

O'Sullivan said it took a few years for Carlton to realise the magnitude of the sentence the club had received for its indiscretions.

It also made former North Melbourne coach Denis Pagan's tenure at Princes Park a living nightmare.

"I suppose about two or three years in ... it really didn't take long," O'Sullivan said.

"We were sort of in that stage where we needed to rebuild anyway.

"All poor Denis Pagan had to do was get some players from other clubs and we were just picking in the 100s, which made selections really tough.

"I suppose the good thing (for Adelaide) is that they've been up and about for a while now so it's not too bad."

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Tim's time to shine at the Suns

Tim Sumner, right, is congratulated by brothers Daniel and Byron after being drafted by the Gold Coast Suns. Picture: Campbell Brodie. Source: Sunday Mail (SA)

THE three Sumner brothers - Byron, Daniel and Tim - sit nervously on their stools in the front bar of the Midway Tavern in Elizabeth Downs.

It's AFL Draft night and the boys have gathered at the pub where Byron's girlfriend pours beers to watch the broadcast from the Gold Coast.

Byron, the eldest at 21, looks the most calm. He's been through this process before, having been drafted by Sydney in 2009.

He was delisted after two years but after a brilliant season for Woodville-West Torrens in the SANFL is a chance of being picked up again, although probably not tonight.

"My manager has said that the rookie draft is my best bet," Byron says. "He said maybe to the Crows."

Byron, who last week moved into a rental property in Para Hills, signing a three-month lease, likes the idea of staying local.

To his left sits the youngest of the three, Tim.

He's just turned 18 and is looking to cap a remarkable rise in the game by finding his way on to an AFL list. Just 12 months ago he was playing division five amateur football at Woodville South.

But he joined Byron at the Eagles this season and played well enough to earn a spot in the state under-18 team and later made his league debut. It's on his shoulders the weight of expectation rests tonight.

THE NERVOUS WAIT

"Timmy's 100 per cent going," Byron says. "It's just a matter of finding out where."

Daniel, 19, was also a talented footballer but broke his ankle in an under-18s trial with the Eagles last year.

There were problems with his surgery and he ended up being off his feet for nine months.

He says he's lost interest in the game and now has other things to worry about, such as his first-born son Cruz, named after recently delisted North Melbourne player Cruize Garlett.

But he's just as nervous as Tim, knowing how much it would mean to his younger brother to play in the AFL.

While they're waiting for the start of the broadcast the boys play pool and try to keep their mind off things.

The conversation flows from Anthony Mundine: "He's too cocky," Byron says. To Liam Jurrah: "He's in Adelaide," Daniel says. "I've seen people uploading photos with him on Facebook. He's carrying a bit of a gut on him."

Daniel and Byron - who the boys call BD ("His middle name is Dean, so it's BD for Byron Dean, but he likes to tell girls it stands for something else," Tim says) - start planning how they're going to celebrate when Tim's name is called out.

"I'm throwing this drink straight on you, I don't care," Daniel says.

"We'll all just pile on to him," Byron suggests.

Tim, who is coming off a sleepless night, ignores the banter. Soon it's time for the draft. Tim, who has a different biological father to his brothers and is much taller, isn't expecting to go until late in the draft but he still watches intently.

Two of his teammates at the Eagles - Jimmy Toumpas and Matt McDononough - go in the first two rounds.

A commercial break nearly sends Byron over the edge.

"I hate how they have these ad breaks, I just want to know where my bro's going," he says.

Byron and Daniel try to guess where Tim will go but they keep changing their mind. Daniel thinks Sydney at pick 46 or Essendon at 51.

Byron has had a strange feeling Tim will go at the same number he was drafted to Sydney two years ago - 54. That would mean Carlton.

THE BIG MOMENT

He's out by one.

The boys erupt as Tim's name flashes on the screen underneath the colours of the Gold Coast Suns.

Daniel grabs for Tim's head. Byron plants a kiss on his cheek. Tim is stunned.

And then the phone calls start. First it's his uncle. Then his manager. Then a cousin. A welfare manager from the Gold Coast is the next to get through. In the chaos, Tim doesn't even catch his name.

The overwhelmed youngster takes all the calls outside because the pub is noisy. Byron and Daniel sit on their stools, not really knowing what to do.

"I feel like crying but at the same time I want to smash his phone," Daniel says. "I'm not going to the airport. I don't like crying in front of people."

Byron: "Our brother plays for the Gold Coast Suns. Can you believe it?"

Tim returns. The text messages are flying in thick. An aunty. Teammate Luke Dunstan. Eagles talent manager Shane Grimm. Another cousin. Gold Coast defender Nathan Bock. All offering their congratulations.

REALITY SETS IN

After a couple of minutes the boys settle and let the news soak in.

"You're playing with Gary Ablett," Daniel cries.

"You wait for the Facebook statuses next week. Just walking down the beach  ... with Gary Ablett. Just up on the Gold Coast  ... with Gary Ablett."

Byron is so excited for his brother that he barely notices when Essendon takes Sean Gregory with the last live pick in the draft.

He'll have to wait until the rookie draft on December 11 now, but that's the last thing on his mind as the boys pile into a car and head for their uncle's.

In the car, Tim's phone keeps ringing. Derek Kickett, who is connected to Tim's management, calls. The boys are in good spirits now.

When Tim's manager rings again Byron picks up, pretending to be Tim. After a while he hands the phone to Daniel, who continues the act.

They go back and forward a couple of times until the joke wears thin and Tim grabs the phone. As he begins to talk, the line drops out.

There's family and friends gathered on the front lawn and a cheer goes up as Tim walks in. The boys' grandfather, Dean, who raised them and in Daniel's opinion is the reason for his brothers' success, tells Tim he's going to be a star.

"You'll be playing NAB Cup straight away," he says. Dean begins telling stories about how he raised the boys with discipline. How he'd meet them at the front door if they were looking to go out the night before training.

"I'm waking you up at 6am and if you talk back I'll wake you up at 5am," he would say.

The screen of Tim's phone continues to light up with Facebook notifications. Within 24 hours he'll have 171 wall posts, 34 friend requests and 62 messages.

A girl who had failed to accept a friend request he'd sent six months ago suddenly obliges.

It's a strange reinforcement of how much his life has changed tonight.

Daniel jokes about wanting Gold Coast training gear sent back within a week. Then he decides he's going to "ring the Gold Coast council" and ask for a job so he can move up with his brother.

Hard work ahead

Tim is working overtime to stay level-headed. He knows how much hard work is ahead of him and after seeing what happened to Byron, knows it could all be over before he knows it.

But tonight is a celebration and, as a replay of a game between Gold Coast and Fremantle begins on the television, Tim can't help but smile.

jai-bednall@news.com.au

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Dons to draft delisted Prismall

Brent Prismall trains with the Bombers at Windy Hill. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

ESSENDON has confirmed it will take delisted midfielder Brent Prismall if he remains available in next month's pre-season draft.

The injury-hit Prismall has been told by the club that he will be granted a reprieve on December 11.

It came after the Bombers passed on their final selection in Thursday night's national draft, leaving one slot available for the pre-season draft.

Coach James Hird has assured Prismall that the pick will be used on him if he is available.

Exclusive Pick Me video of Dons draftee Joe Daniher

"We passed on one of our picks and we have a pre-season pick," Hird told the club's website.

"We are under no illusion that if Brent is there then we will definitely be picking him. That is something we are still looking at."

Prismall has been training with Essendon in the hope of securing another chance.

The 26-year-old has had little luck with injury, managing only 61 AFL matches with Geelong and Essendon.

Meanwhile, the Bombers have announced a trading profit of $401,429.

As a result of funds received for the development of the high performance centre at Melbourne Airport of $11.9 million, the club has recorded an overall operating profit of $12.3 million.

"The Flight Plan fundraising for the new High Performance Centre has made steady progress this year securing nearly $19 million of the $25.7 million project cost," Essendon chief executive Ian Robson said.

"We are confident our strong financial position will allow the club to pay down the shortfall as quickly as possible, aiming to be debt-free by 2015."

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O'Meara leads rising pack

Jaeger O'Meara is favourite for the rising star. Picture: Gosling Richard Source: Gold Coast Bulletin

JAEGER O'Meara's year in the AFL system is a key reason he is the early favourite to win next year's Rising Star award.

Gold Coast's O'Meara is at $7 with Eskander's Betstar, from Thursday night's No.1 draft pick Lachie Whitfield ($12) and Adelaide's Brad Couch and Melbourne's Jack Viney (both $13).

"We can't help but think that the likes of O'Meara, Couch, Viney and Daniher will benefit from the additional time spent working with their new AFL clubs," Betstar's Alan Eskander said.

BELOW: See the full market

O'Meara and Couch were taken in last year's mini-draft and have had 12 months at their clubs, while Viney and Daniher have also been under AFL tutelage through their clubs' father-son academies.

Last year's No.1 draft pick Jonathan Patton is at $21 after playing four games in his debut season.

"Last year there was good specking for Tom Mitchell, son of former champion Barry," Eskander said.

"He is eligible for next year's award and expect him to again be supported at $21."

Greater Western Sydney had five of the top seven players in Rising Star betting markets this time last year, with eventual winner Daniel Talia opening at $81.

2013 AFL RISING STAR

$7 Jaeger O'Meara (GC)
$12 Lachie Whitfield (GWS) Exclusive video of Whitfield in action
$13 Brad Crouch (Ade)
$17 Jimmy Toumpas (Mel)
$17 Ollie Wines (Port) Exclusive video of Wines in action
$21 Jake Stringer (Dogs)
$21 Joe Daniher (Dons) Exclusive video of Daniher in action
$21 Jon Patton (GWS)
$21 Lachie Plowman (GWS) Exclusive video of Plowman in action
$21 Tom Mitchell (Syd)
$26 Ben Kennedy (Coll)
$26 Dom Tyson (GWS)
$31 Jackson Macrae (Dogs) Exclusive video of Macrae in action
$31 Jono O'Rourke (GWS) Exclusive video of O'Rourke in action
$31 Jesse Lonergan (GC)
$31 Troy Menzel (Carl)
$31 Will Hoskin-Elliot (GWS)

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Buddy not going anywhere

Buddy will stay a Hawk, his manager says. Source: Herald Sun

LANCE Franklin will resist the lucrative offers of rival AFL suitors by committing long-term to Hawthorn, according to his manager Liam Pickering.

Pickering insisted that Franklin, who comes out of contract at the end of next season, wanted to stay with the Hawks well beyond 2013.

"We'll get it done with Hawthorn, don't even worry about that," Pickering said on SEN yesterday.

"There is no need to test the free agency market with Lance Franklin.

The Brian Lake trade has handed the Dogs the next Sam Mitchell

"Let's be honest, every club would want Buddy. But he will stay with Hawthorn. It will all be sorted."

When asked if he believed Franklin wanted to remain a one-club player - as the champion forward has long suggested - Pickering said: "I would assume so, yes."

Fremantle ruled itself out of chasing Franklin this week, baulking at a massive offer that would be needed to tempt the one-time West Australian.

Franklin, 25, becomes a restricted free agent at the end of next season.

But Hawthorn has stated one of its priorities before the start of next season is to secure Franklin on a new long-term deal to ensure it is not a distraction.

Hawks chief executive Stuart Fox confirmed this after the Grand Final loss to Sydney.

"Once everyone has a break, we will get back into it and we will have a good look at it (Franklin's contract)," Fox said in late September.

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Asked whether he wanted to have it done before Hawthorn's first game next year, he said: "Absolutely."

Fox said the club would follow the same policy as this year in trying to limit distractions by getting as many player contracts completed before the season begins.

"(President) Andrew (Newbold) and I will use that same philosophy," he said. "We will try to just focus on our footy."

Franklin, who turns 26 in January, has played 161 games since being drafted in late 2004.

He has kicked 520 career goals, with his best season being in 2008 when he booted 113 goals.

Franklin managed 69 goals this season from his 19 games, including 3.4 in Hawthorn's Grand Final loss to Sydney.

One of Hawthorn's greatest full-forwards, Peter Hudson, forecast during the year that Franklin could reach 1000 goals before the end of his career.

Hudson said Franklin, who averages 3.2 goals per game, has the potential to become the sixth player to reach 1000 goals if he stays sound.

"People are always saying that it is not possible to kick 100 goals in a season, or even 18 in a game," Hudson told the Herald Sun in June.

"That's just rubbish. I never say never.

"If you have a natural goalkicker come along like Buddy Franklin, anything is possible."

Pickering insisted yesterday that Franklin, who comes out of contract at the end of next season, wanted to stay with the Hawks well beyond 2013.

"We'll get it done with Hawthorn, don't even worry about that,'' Pickering said on SEN yesterday.

"There is no need to be test the free agency market with Lance Franklin. Let's be honest, every club would want Buddy Franklin.

"But he will stay with Hawthorn. It will all be sorted.''

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Injury floors Grimes again

Dylan Grimes has suffered another hamstring setback. Picture: Ben Swinnerton Source: Herald Sun

INJURY-plagued Richmond defender Dylan Grimes has suffered yet another setback with his dodgy hamstrings.

And Melbourne's new recruit Chris Dawes reported a minor calf strain last week.

Grimes strained his troubled left hamstring at training on Friday and will have scans tomorrow to assess its severity.

"Dylan left the training track early during Friday's session, with soreness in his hamstring," club elite performance manager Peter Burge said.

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"We will seek medical opinion in the coming days to determine the extent of the injury."

Grimes, 21, had been tearing up the pre-season before Friday's setback.

He suffered two hamstring injuries on the left leg this year before travelling to Germany to receive cutting-edge treatment with one of the world's foremost experts in soft-tissue injuries, Dr Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt.

Geelong's Max Rooke made a similar trip in 2007, as did Richmond's Mark Coughlan in 2008.

In 2011, Grimes tore the tendon from his right hamstring in the Dreamtime at the 'G clash against Essendon.

Grimes has played just 17 games in three seasons but is considered one of the rising stars of the competition.

The Tigers hope he will form part of a strong defensive unit including Port Adelaide free agent Troy Chaplin, Alex Rance, Chris Newman, Bachar Houli, Jake Batchelor, Steve Morris and Ben Griffiths.

Melbourne football manager Josh Mahoney said Dawes' injury was only a minor one and the former Collingwood forward would be right to resume training this week.

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"Chris Dawes reported calf soreness following a running session last week," Mahoney said.

"Scans revealed a very minor calf strain.

"He has completed a week of rehab and will resume running on Monday."

Dawes requested a trade to Melbourne from Collingwood - where he played in the 2010 premiership side - after the Magpies acquired Eagle Quinten Lynch.

The 24-year-old was on a modified program for the start of the pre-season after the knee injury he suffered during Collingwood's finals series.

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September axe to spur Griffin

DRIVEN: Fremantle ruckman Jonathon Griffin will use last year's September omission as a motivating factor this pre-season. Picture: Daniel Wilkins Source: PerthNow

PLENTY of Fremantle players are beginning this pre-season spurred by the pain of last season's finals exit.

One big Docker has been dealing with the pain of not even being out there in September.

Ever since he arrived at Fremantle two years ago, Jonathon Griffin has been asked whether he and Aaron Sandilands can play together.

Quietly but with an inner-determination, the wholehearted ruckman has continually reasoned that the pair can.

It is a belief Griffin continues to hold despite enduring the most frustrating period of his career.

The 26-year-old played 13 matches last season, the most he had managed since 16 for Adelaide in his debut year in 2007.

But after coach Ross Lyon experimented with using both he and Sandilands together for just the third time in the easy Round 23 victory over Melbourne, Griffin was axed for the finals and missed the Dockers' finals triumph over Geelong.

"It was hard to take, but you move on. It was really difficult to watch the finals," he said.

"That's what you play for all year and pre-season, so it's going to be something that I'll use to drive me through this pre-season and hopefully I'll have a good pre-season campaign and push forward for a good 2013."

Griffin will return to training on Wednesday with Fremantle's oldest players, but will be on light duties until after Christmas following surgery on his troublesome left hip.

He carried the problem throughout last season, including when called on to shoulder the ruck load for nine consecutive games through the middle of the season when Sandilands was out with a serious toe injury.

"I played through it pretty much all year. It stirred up a lot of things like my hamstrings, adductors - just stuff that I had to manage which made it frustrating," he said.

"I just tried to play the best footy that I could and I thought I was playing some pretty solid football.

"But the coaching staff and the match committee made the decision (to drop me), and I back their decision. I'm just going to use that as drive for this season."

Griffin has rarely been tested in attack during his two years in the west, with most of his games coming as a ruck replacement for Sandilands. He's adamant he's capable of forming a dangerous combination with skipper Matthew Pavlich up forward.

"It's been difficult because of that. Because Aaron's been out, it hasn't really given us the chance to experiment much with me up forward and Aaron in the ruck, or Aaron up forward and myself in the ruck," he said.

"Hopefully both of us can be fully fit and we can show them that we can make it work. I'd love to work alongside Pav in the forward line and also work alongside Aaron in the ruck.

"Hopefully I can spend some more time up in the forward line in the pre-season and develop that part of my game. I love playing up forward; I think most people do."

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Colledge ready to graduate

TOP TALENT: West Coast coach John Worsfold says recruit Brandt Colledge is ready to play next season. Picture: Daniel Wilkins Source: Herald Sun

WEST Coast Eagles coach John Worsfold believes teenage forward Brant Colledge is capable of making his debut next season.

The Eagles tracked the 192cm utility throughout the year before pouncing with their first selection at pick No.45 in Thursday's national draft.

Fellow Perth product Fraser McInnes, picked up in last year's national draft, appears set to be the prime beneficiary of more opportunity in the wake of Quinten Lynch's departure to Collingwood.

But Worsfold predicted 18-year-old Colledge, whose colts career with the Demons has been limited by a serious ankle injury, would be ready to play next season if the chance presented.

McInnes - who is yet to debut - and Colledge are friends and are likely to jostle for several years for a role in the West Coast forward line supporting key weapons Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling.

"The (recruiting) boys say Colledge is a really powerful boy, he could play next year physically. They're confident with that," Worsfold said.

"I always say you really don't know that until you get to about March and you have a look at how they've handled the pre-season workload and where they sit."

Colledge, who is studying a law degree, said he was excited by the challenge of trying to break into the Eagles' formidable forward line.

"I think I'm just a committed, competitive guy and if I can bring some good intangibles and attributes to the club like that I think it would be really good," he said.

"There's a lot of good young talent at the Eagles that will hopefully push for a premiership in the near future. Hopefully I can learn from them and be a part of some success in the future."

Worsfold said the selection of Mark Hutchings, the club's final pick at No.60, was a reward for the 21-year-old's professionalism and determination.

Hutchings, a former captain of the WA under-18 team, spent one season on St Kilda's rookie list in 2010 before returning to Perth and enjoying two superb seasons with West Perth.

"There's no doubt his professionalism, his hard work and his attitude to want to get the best out of himself is a real strength of his, and that's contributed to him having such a good year," Worsfold said.

"Some kids get disappointed and don't put as much into their footy if they're overlooked in a couple of drafts, but he's been motivated to keep doing the work and that's a great sign."

Hutchings finished second to Claremont's Kane Mitchell in last season's Sandover Medal despite earning a whopping 51 votes.

"He got tagged pretty much all year but still had a very good season," Worsfold said.

"He's just a real hard-working, accumulator of the footy and he can play at half-forward. We're really excited for what he adds to the group."

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