Management company run by premiership hero fined

Phoenix Management, the player agency run by Essendon premiership hero Scott Lucas, has been fined $3000 for breaching rules relating to the approach of young players in the AFL’s pathway system.

The AFL Players Association’s Agents Accreditation Board found the company had followed a pathways player, whose status on the agent portal was set to “no approaches at this time”, breaching three clauses of regulations agents must follow when approaching a player.

Phoenix, also headed up by player agent Winston Rous, manages stars including Carlton’s Sam Walsh, Hawthorn captain James Sicily and Sydney forward Tom Papley.

“The AFLPA and the AAB remind all current and future Accredited Agents, as well as parents and legal guardians of prospective AFL and AFLW players, that these matters are taken seriously,” the AFLPA said in a statement.

“The regulations quite deliberately regulate how and when accredited agents may approach young players in the talent pathway for the purposes of discussing their representation.

“The regulations exist to protect the rights and wellbeing of those players as children, allow them to focus on other key priorities including their schooling and education, and help them freely decide their representation when they are ready to do so.”

Phoenix will donate the fine to the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation.
– Andrew Wu

Bobby Hill back at Collingwood to reconnect with players, coaches

Peter Ryan

Norm Smith medallist Bobby Hill has made an appearance at Collingwood’s KGM Centre as part of his journey back towards playing with the Magpies.

The 26-year-old did not train but was greeted warmly by coaches, teammates and club officials as he reconnected with them in a first step towards training and playing again.

Hill, who has four years remaining on his contract, has been working with a personal trainer recently and is expected to train further on Saturday.

There are no expectations or timelines being set on when he might be considered ready to return to play.

He was not considered for selection in last year’s finals series and played just one match as a sub after June last season. Collingwood officially granted Hill a leave of absence in early January to deal with personal issues.

Collingwood coach Craig McRae said on SEN last month the Pies would wait for the right time before re-introducing Hill to the structure of a club-based training program.

“Bobby is working on himself at the moment. We’re hoping that he’ll be in the program in the short or medium term. We’ll see how that progresses,” McRae said.

“We’ll continue to love and support him, and at the right time, get him in the environment to push forward for high performance.”

The small forward has been a critical player at Collingwood since joining the club in 2023 after four years at the Giants.

He kicked 33 goals in his first season and kicked four in the grand final as the Magpies won a premiership in McRae’s second season as coach.

Collingwood have a bye this week.

‘Football is abnormal’: Lyon shuts down the ‘algorithm’ about Saints

“Well that’s not our job,” Lyon replied. “That’s why AFL football is abnormal. It’s not like what you do. You’re not under scrutiny, like you choose AFL football, you choose stress, you choose anxiety, you choose to be in the arena. I’m happy to be in the arena.

“I know what’s coming, but you’ve got to write your own story, and traditionally, both those players [De Koning and Wanganeen-Milera] have written really strong AFL stories.

“That’s why it’s AFL, it’s high performance and it’s abnormal. If you want normal, you step the other side of this microphone, the other side of the fence, on the ground, and you pursue mediocrity in your life. These guys are pursuing excellence, and with that comes a lot of critique in terms of the on field.”

Lyon said the team was focused on improving the ability to contain the ball on turnovers, adding “that’s what really hurt us” and admitted the Saints “were inconsistent in some areas”.

The coach said St Kilda’s foundation was strong, and batted away questions around if it would take some time for the Saints to develop energy and chemistry as a group.

“There’s been a lot of noise, apparently, but [it] doesn’t come up on my algorithm,” he said.

“I’m not really across everything, except I hear the media department tell me there’s a lot of noise, so I can finetune my algorithm so it feeds me that stuff.”

When asked if the 2-0 start added more pressure to his role, Lyon said, “No less than when you sign up to be an AFL coach.

“Just because there’s noise and rhetoric doesn’t increase the pressure. The greatest pressure is internal for performance.”

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