Jai Newcombe is now a Hawks co-captain alongside James Sicily.Credit: AFL Photos
“When we take into account the nature of the tackle, the way in which Newcombe rotated Richards’ body and the fact that the arm… which probably would have been useful for bracing for impact was pinned, we find that this was a dangerous tackle,” said tribunal chairman Jeff Gleeson, KC.
“The more difficult issue is that of impact.
“While Richards’ head clearly hits the ground and bounces slightly, there was no injury and absolutely no expression of pain, stress or discomfort.
“He simply stood up, took his kick and played on.
“This, together with the fact that, on close viewing, the majority of the force goes through Richards’ hip and then shoulder before his head hits the ground, leads us to conclude that the potential for injury was not such as to warrant a medium-impact grading.”
The AFL’s legal counsel Amara Hughes argued that the Hawk could have tackled in a safer way.
“It is not reasonable to expect a player [in this case Richards] to give away a free kick with an incorrect disposal in order to protect themselves in circumstances where we say the tackling player could have taken further steps to execute a safer tackle,” she said.
In a concise 30-minute case, Hawthorn’s advocate Myles Tehan argued that Richards could have taken steps to avoid the incident.
“He [Newcombe] was reasonably entitled to expect that the player would drop the ball,” he said.
From the outset, the Hawks pushed for a low-impact grading, a level that ultimately cleared Newcombe of punishment.
Under the AFL’s tribunal guidelines, a tackle can be deemed dangerous if an arm is pinned and leaves the tackled player in a “vulnerable position with little opportunity to protect himself”.
The result in a massive shot in the arm for Hawthorn, who are already without the injured Will Day for most of the season, and lost fellow onballer James Worpel in a trade to Geelong.
Bruhn to return following ‘egregious injustice’
Jon Pierik
Geelong playmaker Tanner Bruhn will line up in his first AFL game in 17 months on Friday, having endured what his coach Chris Scott described as an “egregious” injustice.
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Bruhn missed the entire 2025 season as he fought sexual assault charges that were ultimately dropped in November after a key witness admitted to lying about evidence.
He was stood down by the AFL when charged with rape and intentional sexual touching, the AFL Players’ Association later slamming the league’s powers for the “premature and disproportionate” standing down of the player.
Scott said on Tuesday that Bruhn, 23, had been welcomed back into the Cats’ fold.
“It’s just fantastic for him to get out there and be able to concentrate on footy after what is one of the most egregious injustices I can think of in the game,” Scott said.
“So to put that behind him, I think, is positive for everyone.”
Bruhn, a former Giant, joined the Cats after the 2022 season. He has been used at half-back, rather than his customary midfield position, through the pre-season.
“We were confident going into the ’25 season that he was going to be an important midfield player for us, and we still think that’s the case, but he was always going to be a flexible player as well,” Scott said.
Tanner Bruhn has been used at half-back in the Cats’ pre-season.Credit: Getty Images
Bruhn has so far played 66 senior games and shapes as an important addition in the Cats’ premiership push.
“I’ve said more than I wanted to, anyway – it’s largely a private matter and I don’t want to draw any more attention to it than he would like,” Scott said of Bruhn’s issues last year.
“I’d support him in all the ways that you would imagine, but I don’t want to walk you through it.”
Ready to return: Chris Scott says Jeremy Cameron will play on Friday night.Credit: Getty Images
Scott confirmed key forward Jeremy Cameron (quad) and midfielder Bailey Smith (calf) would take on the Suns, but Gryan Miers (thumb) had to still prove his fitness. Ruckman Rhys Stanley has been ruled out.
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“Jeremy and Bailey will clearly be ready from a physical perspective, and they will play,” Scott said.
“[When it comes to] Gryan, it is one of those situations where I think 15 years ago he would be a certainty, [and] maybe 25 years ago because it was a badge of honour playing with these things. We are much less tolerant of that stuff now – we don’t ask players to play through things that might mean that is going to hinder them later in the season, and later in life, to be honest.
“He had surgery on a thumb, he has got the all-clear to play, but just because he can play doesn’t mean he should.”
Scott said ruckmen Toby Conway and Mitch Edwards provided a point of difference.
“It feels like, especially for the people that watch us a little closer, it has been a long time coming for Mitch and Toby Conway – I am really confident [Conway] will get there as well. He is a little bit slower, but those two guys give us room for optimism.
“If we could have them up and going at some point, we are going to have a ruck set-up that is different to the one we have gone with for the last decade and a half, since Brad Ottens retired – really big guys who offer a point of difference to our incumbent ruckman.”
Blues to unleash Smith, Dean in season opener
Jon Pierik
Carlton will unleash star draftees Jagga Smith and Harry Dean against Sydney on Thursday on a night coach Michael Voss says friendships will be cast aside as the Blues face Charlie Curnow for the first time.
Jagga Smith is ready to make his long-awaited debut for the Blues.Credit: Eddie Jim
Voss confirmed on Tuesday that midfielder Smith, a standout through the summer and in the two practice matches after missing 2025 because of a knee injury, and Dean, the No.3 selection in last year’s national draft, will line up at the SCG in the season opener.
“He [Dean] has really impressed so far in the exposure that we have had from him, and he’s going to draw a very long partnership with Weiters [Jacob Weitering] down there [in defence], I’m sure, over a long period of time,” Voss said.
Despite cracking some ribs playing in the State of Origin game, Jacob Weitering is expected to take up his position as the pillar of Carton’s defence.Credit: Eddie Jim
“Obviously, Jagga, most people have seen him over the last couple of weeks, and the impact that he can have on games and probably how valuable he is going to be to us in the short-term and long-term.”
Key defender Weitering is available to play, despite cracking ribs in the last month’s State of Origin clash in Perth.
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Voss said Weitering had completed managed contact work in recent days, but needed to complete “uncontrolled” contact work at training on Tuesday – and recover well – to prove his fitness. The Blues allowed the media to film only their warm-ups, but this masthead later watched Weitering play at full-back and move well in match simulation.
Weitering will have a major assignment at the SCG – the task of quelling Curnow, his former teammate who won two Coleman Medals at the Blues and man he has lined up on many a time at training.
“We are fully aware of the capacity the guy has … he’s certainly got X-factor, there is no doubt about that,” Voss said.
While Curnow still has many friends at Ikon Park, Voss said the Blues needed to take care of business.
“They [Curnow and Weitering] know each other very, very well. But we sort of put friendships aside, and we go into combat against each other,” Voss said.
Carlton coach Michael Voss is entering the final year of his contract in 2026.Credit: Eddie Jim
The Blues could have more than 10 new faces take to the field, including former Swans Ollie Florent and Will Hayward, and former Gold Coast Sun Ben Ainsworth. Campbell Chesser (West Coast), Liam Reidy (Fremantle) and Wade Derkson (GWS) are also in the running for selection.
The worst field-kicking side in the league last year, the Blues impressed with better and more creative ball movement in their two practice matches. But, as Voss noted, he remains reserved on improvement until it’s shown under “real heat”.
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The Blues began the 2025 campaign with top-four expectations, but the season quickly fizzled after a shock season-opening loss to Richmond.
Voss survived off-season upheaval, and flat-batted questions about finals expectations for his team this season.
“We could have upwards of, you know, 10, 11 new players from how we finished up last year to how we turn up this year.
“So, how can you compare what happened 12 months ago, when you’ve got almost half of your team that’s going to change from that team to this one?” Voss said.
“So, we’ll just lean into what we’ve got as opposed to what wasn’t there, and we hope that’s enough to get the job done.”
Bombers are fit for purpose, young guns declare
Danny Russell
Essendon players are already singing the praises of the club’s new fitness regime following a disastrous injury run last year that derailed the club’s season.
The Bombers were forced to unearth a record 15 debutants in 2025 as the playing list was decimated by soft tissue complaints.
Nate Caddy has backed Essendon’s new health and fitness department.Credit: AFL Photos
But the club has undergone a major overhaul of its fitness department, appointing head of high-performance Dr Mathew Inness and strength and conditioning coach David Regan during the off-season.
Young forward Nate Caddy said he was already reaping the benefits.
“Personally, my fitness and strengths have gone to another level,” he said on Tuesday.
“It’s really personalised training… the gym program is more tailored to the person instead of the team – not everyone’s doing the same thing.
“So, yeah, it’s obviously paying dividends, and hopefully we can build our young boys into AFL players pretty quickly.”
Caddy said it was difficult to gauge last season because of the high turnover of players.
“Hopefully, we’ve used up all the bad luck,” he said.
Teammate Isaac Kako said the Bombers were training at a higher intensity this year.
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“That’s what the GPS numbers say,” Kako said.
“I think we’re going to be a lot more ready to take on the demands of an AFL season.”
As the Bombers prepare for their round-one opener against Hawthorn on Friday week, they will be without Nic Martin (knee, season) and Jordan Ridley (calf).
Andrew McGrath, the only Bomber to play every game last year, will lead Essendon out for the blockbuster Hawks clash after taking over the captaincy from Zach Merrett.
“It’s just a bit of a title change for them both,” Kako said. “They’re both leading the exact same way as they were before.
“Andy is still the same person. So is Zach. Not much has changed around the club.”
Caddy said Merrett was “still going to lead in his own way”.
“He’s going to be playing and giving his all every week, and that’s exactly what he was doing last year,” Caddy said.
The Essendon players gathered at Fitzroy cafe Industry Beans on Tuesday morning to announce new major partner Airwallex, a global financial platform that also sponsors the McLaren F1 team, Arsenal and the San Francisco Giants.
