Key posts
Collingwood kicks the first goal
Scott Pendlebury has booted the first goal of the day after a tidy little handball from De Goey sent him towards goal.
It’s been fierce around the contest but Collingwood has been better with the footy so far.
Magpies 6, Crows 0 with 17 mins to go in Q1.
McRae makes playful pitch to Riewoldt
By Roy Ward
Collingwood coach Craig McRae has jokingly asked recently retired Richmond great Jack Riewoldt if he was keen for a game with the Magpies.
Among the jokes, McRae said Jordan De Goey could have a slightly different role today, perhaps he could spend more time as a forward target.
The pair were chatting on air for Fox Footy ahead of today’s clash with the Crows as Collingwood’s key forwards have been hit by injury.
McRae jokingly asked Riewoldt and long-time retired Melbourne forward Garry Lyon if either of them wanted a game.
He then, playfully, zeroed in on Riewoldt.
“Are you in the midseason draft?” McRae joked on Fox Footy.
“Get fit son and you are in.”
Subs named for Pies, Crows
Neither side has made a late change. Harvey Harrison (Magpies) and Ned McHenry (Crows) will be the subs.
Collingwood have a recruiting zone the size of Italy. It’s yet to produce a single player
By Michael Gleeson and Peter Ryan
As the AFL confronts a crisis in the recruitment and retention of Indigenous footballers, it is set to tear up the map that allocates recruiting zones to clubs, which at present gives Collingwood a region the size of Italy that has never produced a player for the Magpies.
The league will also review the impact of football scholarships to prestigious private schools, as recruiters worry that young Indigenous players who leave their communities to attend boarding school are “falling through the cracks”.
The AFL is celebrating Sir Doug Nicholls Round, and grappling with a decline in Indigenous numbersCredit: Darrian Traynor
These are just two elements of an immediate overhaul of the way First Nations Australians are recruited to AFL clubs, following an 18 per cent decline in the number of Indigenous players on club lists over the past five years. As the league celebrates Sir Doug Nicholls Round, The Age has interviewed recruiters, players and administrators, including AFL football boss Laura Kane, to investigate the reasons for the alarming decline in the number of Indigenous players being drafted, and what can be done to reverse the trend.
Already on the table is a revamp of the draft bidding system on Indigenous and multicultural players from Next Generation academies in this year’s national draft.
Good afternoon
G’day everyone and welcome to today’s AFL live blog.
I’m Roy Ward and I’ll be tapping the keys as we cover the whole day of action starting with Collingwood and Adelaide which starts at 1.45pm AEST at the MCG.
Please enjoy the hours to come.
