‘I’m cheeky’: McRae rebuked by his wife over GWS jibe; SA Premier lashes out at footy compo claim​on March 12, 2025 at 7:11 am

“My little girl plays at Williamstown under 10s, and if her coach was doing that to the other under 10s, I’d be going, ‘Oh, come on mate, what are you doing?’” McRae said.

“So for that reason, I could be cheeky doing during the week, but yeah, I’ve got a responsibility for the game.”

Pressed on whether he had erred by interacting with a player, which earned $20,000 fines for Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley and Giants football boss Jason McCartney during last year’s finals series, McRae said: “I think I’ve made enough comments about that. I think we’re all good with that. I take responsibility for all my actions and I want to be a good role model.”

Howe is likely to play after exceeding expectations at training on Wednesday but there are more doubt over Josh Daicos, the club’s best and fairest winner in 2023, due to an ankle issue.

“He’s probably a test Friday, more than Howie, both will be a race to the line,” McRae said.

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McRae defended Nick Daicos’ preparation after he was severely impeded by cramp in the warm and humid conditions.

“We’ve never seen him cramp before, but when you look at his GPS [numbers] in the first half, it was off the charts,” McRae said. “I’ve never seen anyone run as hard for as long as he did in that first half. So we’ve got to protect him from himself sometimes.”

McRae said he had “zero fear” over the fitness of his team.

“We need to work on our game in terms of getting our systems right, to be able to look like we’ve got more energy,” McRae said. “And that’s something we’ve worked we’ve gone to work on this week.”

‘A little bit galling’: Shield final deal imminent after SA Premier lashes out at footy compensation claim

Daniel Brettig

Adelaide Oval is expected to be locked in as the venue for this year’s Sheffield Shield final within 24 hours after South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas shut down any talk of government compensation for the AFL and its clubs to allow the switch.

AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon declared that the league would not compromise on player safety in terms of playing the rounds two and three fixtures either side of the Shield final, but also confirmed that football would not be seeking anything more than “risk mitigation” from cricket.

While confidential talks are continuing, two sports industry sources with knowledge of discussions indicated that the South Australian Cricket Association and Cricket Australia were comfortable with offering cover to football to address any potential for injuries or shifting the games, should anything go wrong with the work to reconfigure the oval for football, cricket and then football again within the space of a week.

Port Adelaide are scheduled to host Richmond on the Saturday before the Shield final is set to start on Monday, March 24, with the Crows to host North Melbourne on Sunday the following weekend.

That undertaking should be enough to allow the Shield final to go ahead at Adelaide’s premier venue, as SA attempt to win the Shield for the first time since 1996 – an event that Malinauskas witnessed as a teenager after rushing to the ground from school.

He went on the front foot early on Wednesday to reveal there had been a request for financial compensation to the state government, a notion that Malinauskas rejected out of hand.

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“We are asking people to act rationally and pragmatically in the interest of fans,” Malinauskas said on FIVEaa radio in Adelaide. “The South Australian government has already shown an awful lot of support to both footy clubs locally, particularly the Adelaide Football Club, which has done very well from the support we have provided them to get through the issues at Thebarton [Oval] – we have backed them all the way.

“I think it is a little bit galling that people are trying to use an opportunity to look after fans to slug the taxpayer, and I won’t be having it. There are mitigating risks… but just handing over cash is something that I will not be doing. My government is not giving out cash just so they can get out of the way of something everyone thinks should happen.”

Speaking later on Wednesday, Dillon clarified that there were no longer any requests for compensation on the table.

“There’s been a number of discussions, but the key focus is all around the risk mitigation,” Dillon said at the SportNXT conference at Melbourne Park.

“That’s the thing we’re talking about with the government – there’s no discussion now about compensation or anything like that.”

Cricket figures acknowledge that Adelaide Oval won’t be in exactly the same condition that it might usually be in the early rounds of the football season, but also argue that the difference should not be sufficient to rule out the Shield final.

“We’ve been working very closely with the Adelaide Oval Stadium management authority and the SA government,” Dillon said. “Our key priority from an AFL point of view is to make sure Adelaide Oval is safe for our players.

“That’s the absolute priority for us. We play in multipurpose stadia all around the country and I think we’ve got a track record of accommodating and working with other sports, however one thing we won’t compromise on is the safety of the ground.”

Former Adelaide Oval curator Les Burdett said that there were no safety concerns for players as far as he was concerned.

“The cricket pitches will be finished on the Friday, and on the Friday night he’ll remove them,” Burdett told Nine News. “Once the trays go, in come three frames in the same medium as the grass grows on the outfield for the football season, so the transition is one in, one out in three hours, so nine hours to move the three of them.

“To me the height of cut is negligible. It’s about the hardness of the soil, the thatch of the grass. Player safety, be that cricket or football or anything, is paramount. There’s no question about that. I wouldn’t be saying what I’m saying now if I was concerned.”

Saints give Ross the boss an extra year

Jon Pierik
St Kilda president Andrew Bassat says Ross Lyon has boundless energy in his pursuit of an elusive premiership, as the master coach was awarded a one-year contract extension on Wednesday, tying him to the club until the end of 2027.

Lyon, 58, is about to begin the third season of his current four-year deal with the Saints, having returned to the club for a second stint as coach when Brett Ratten departed.

The Saints have since rebuilt their list, now boasting one of the league’s youngest, as they work assiduously to emerge as a premiership threat over the next two to three years.

Bassat told this masthead that Lyon was the right man for the job, as the club seeks only its second flag.

“I love Ross. Ross has done a terrific job with this football club. He doesn’t leave anything unturned. He does not walk past anything without trying to make it better,” Bassat said.

“He has really strong relationships with the players. He has a really strong coaching group. He wants success, he wants to bring a flag to St Kilda. And he has got no end of energy for that.”

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The Saints made finals in Lyon’s first year in 2023, but finished 12th last year, despite winning eight of their final 12 games.

Lyon, who led the Saints in three grand finals in his previous tenure, and also a lost a grand final with Fremantle, said he remained as committed as ever to his craft, heading into Sunday’s season-opener in Adelaide against the Crows.

“I’m as passionate about coaching and bringing this club success as I was on the first day I walked through the doors over 15 years ago,” Lyon said.

“Holding the position of senior coach is a privilege I don’t take lightly. It is my responsibility to make those around me not only better but great, so that we as a collective can realise our club’s potential.

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“We will leave no stone unturned over the next three years to ensure we take purposeful, powerful steps towards achieving the ultimate success.”

In a statement later released by the club, Bassat said the time was right to offer Lyon an extension.

“By extending Ross’ contract, we are ensuring stability in leadership and reinforcing our commitment to long-term success. In the past, we have wavered from our plans, but this decision reflects our resolve to stay the course this time,” Bassat said.

“We have made strong progress on our planned build towards contention since Ross rejoined us.

“We have transformed from one of the oldest lists in the competition to one of the youngest through considered list management, bolstered our development and analytic capabilities, gotten more games into players under 21 than almost any other team, assembled an enviable coaching panel, and streamlined many day-to-day processes.

“We are striving across all areas to not only meet best practice but to be best in class.”

Lyon’s extension comes in the same week Essendon opted to give coach Brad Scott a one-year extension, tying him to the club until the end of 2027, prompting criticism from club greats James Hird and Matthew Lloyd on Footy Classified.

Scott has not led the Bombers into the finals in his two years in charge.

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