Carlton Blues News

Luke Hodge successfully challenges a rough conduct charge at the Tribunal after being reported for making contact with Carlton's Lachie Henderson.

Marc Murphy is set to miss a month with a fractured cheekbone after a collision with Hawk Luke Hodge.

Murphy came off second-best after the collision in the second quarter, and was subsequently taken to hospital for scans in the third quarter.

Carlton president Stephen Kernahan defends coach Mick Malthouse's decision to drop Chris Yarran from the side due to poor body language.

"The club demands a level of excellence. He didn't meet that last Friday night, and he's paid the price. I think it's fair to say the coach has made a pretty strong statement," Kernahan said.

"We'd love to have 'Yaz' out there today, because it suits him beautifully the fast track, but we're trying to get this club up and going and it wasn't acceptable what happened last week. Disappointing."

Chris Yarran is dropped for Carlton's clash against Hawthorn after this week apologising to teammates and coaches for poor body language during Carlton's loss to Essendon last week.

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson downplays Brett Ratten's first meeting with his former club Carlton as assistant coach of the Hawks.

"He's a great footy person, both as a player and a coach, and we're fortunate to have him on our side at the moment, but its more about us as a club against their whole club and hopefully, we get the job done tomorrow night," Clarkson said.

Rhys O'Keeffe is recovering from a serious bout of white staph infection, believed to have developed after he underwent an operation on his left heel in late 2011.

O'Keeffe has only managed just three AFL games in four-and-a-half injury plagued seasons with the Blues.

"I've played at AFL level and I've never felt out of place. I know I can do it. It's just a matter of finally getting that little bit of luck and continuity," O'Keeffe said.

Carlton says they are confident of securing Eddie Betts, who will otherwise become a restricted free agent by the end of the season, soon.

"We've only just started again and we'll really get stuck into it in the bye weekend. Eddie's keen to wrap it all up by the end of the bye fortnight," Carlton football operations manager Andrew McKay said.

"I think we'll be fine. We don't see any problems. It sounds like Eddie wants to stay, which is good."

Chris Yarran apologises for poor body language after being named as a substitute against Essendon.

"He clearly didn't have the right body language. We all know that; it's no use hiding that. He is the first to admit it," Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse said.

"He is very remorseful about being in a position where he hasn't taken on board the team theme. And he fully acknowledges it.

"He will be far better for this. The club will be far better for this. It's a learning curve for all."

Carlton CEO Greg Swann says Chris Judd's pay cut means Carlton can target rival stars like Dale Thomas.

"I think we could get someone of that dollar value," Swann said when asked about Thomas.

"One of the advantages with Chris re-signing - which we didn't make a big deal out of - but he took a substantial a really, really substantial pay cut, which has obviously freed up a lot of salary cap space,"

Dennis Armfield signs a new two-year deal with Carlton that will keep him at the club until the end of 2015.

"We're very pleased that Dennis has agreed to terms for another two years; he certainly adds some speed to our forward line," Carlton football manager Andrew McKay said.

"Dennis is also a great person to have around the club. He displays terrific leadership qualities with his active involvement in school and community programs."

Free of form and injury woes, Kane Lucas says he is enjoying having some continuity in his football having played every game this season so far.

"I've got a few pre-seasons under my belt now and I'm more aware of what works for me and what I have to do get myself right," Lucas said.

"As long as I maintain those things, I'm confident my body will keep holding up pretty well."

Carlton decide to fine Jarrad Waite over his latest suspension.

"It was just a stupid thing to do. 'Waitey''s got to be better than that, and he knows that," Blues skipper Marc Murphy said.

"It's been a work in progress for him. Obviously he's had a few suspensions over the years for doing silly little things that there's just no need to do. As a leader of the club he's got to set the right example for all the other players."

Eddie Betts accepts a 3-match ban for rough conduct against St Kilda midfielder Nathan Wright.

Wright had to be substituted out of the game following Betts' high bump in the third quarter, and scans on Tuesday revealed he had a fractured jaw.

Mick Malthouse takes a thinly veiled swipe at Jarrad Waite for missing Carlton's game against St Kilda through suspension after the Blues lost to the Saints by 9 points.

"When you lose players through suspension it's almost a waste," Malthouse said post-match.

"It's like getting a parking fine. All you do is you pay your money out and you think, 'What am I getting back for it?'

"So, no, I don't particularly like losing players through suspension."

Ed Curnow hopes teammate Jarrad Waites latest suspension will be a wake up call.

"He's a legend, we all love him (and) he's part of the leadership group, but he'd be the first to tell you he's let himself down, he's let the team down, he's let his teammates down," Curnow said.

"It's a shame, and it's (left) a big hole in the side now. We'd just got him back and he was playing great footy.

"Hopefully this is the line in the sand for him and he realises how important he is to the side. Hopefully he'll be ready to make amends for the rest of the year."

Carlton superstar Chris Judd signs a one-year contract extension but is uncertain how much longer he'll stay in the AFL.

"There's just so many variables you can't control,'' Judd said.

"Whether or not you have any success, how your body's feeling, how your mind's feeling, a myriad of options, how your form is.

"It's really not something you can predict and you're probably better off not even trying to.

"You're better off enjoying what's happening now and enjoying that and assessing things at the end of the season or whenever's appropriate.''

Jarrad Waite is kept goalless in his return to football via the VFL.

"It's a tough one coming back and he'd been out for a while," Northern Blues coach Luke Webster said.

"I thought he presented pretty well and we probably didn't kick it to him a couple of times when we should have used him.

"It's a good one for him to tick off and he steps forward for next week. I think he should take some confidence out of that; the first one back is sometimes pretty hard."

Matthew Kreuzer is expected to be back sooner than expected from a broken thumb after successful surgery.

"He will be probably missing for three to four weeks, not seven or eight, because they were able to stabilise that bone really well," Carlton football operations manager Andrew McKay said.

Matthew Kreuzer will miss the next six to eight weeks of football after breaking his thumb against the Cats during the Blues' 16-point loss in round 3.

Carlton coach Mick Malthouse dismisses suggestions he had a falling out with Heath Scotland when he was coach at Collingwood.

"Contrary to popular belief, I didn't get rid of Heath. Heath wanted to go because he wanted to play in the midfield and I didn't think he was going to be replacing the midfield we had. So I gave him an opportunity, like I've given many young blokes, to change clubs because I've changed clubs," Malthouse said.

"We've always stayed in contact because he had a very good friendship with several Collingwood players. We always had respect for one another and that singularly is one of the most important things in life."

Two Collingwood members face an indefinite ban over allegations they racially abused Carlton player Chris Yarran during the Magpies' clash with the Blues.

"We have been advised of the seat numbers of the two club members who allegedly racially vilified the Carlton player," Collingwood chief executive Gary Pert said.

"Several members of the crowd have claimed the language was highly offensive and we are now making contact with other members who may have been within earshot.

"Our position on vilification is absolute. If the allegations are proven, memberships of the offenders will be cancelled indefinitely."

Nathan Buckley finishes as the victor against former coach and mentor Mick Malthouse in their first against each other as head coach of Collingwood and Carlton respectively.

"The win itself was excellent. I said to the players, 'I enjoyed that win'," Buckley said after the 17-point win.

"After losing both games to Carlton last year, we've identified the first three weeks as opportunities for us against sides we weren't able to beat in 2012.

"To the players' credit, they've been able to execute the plan."

Sam Rowe will make his return to football after surviving cancer against Collingwood in round 2 of 2013.

"I'm a better person for everything I've been through so I'm not ever going to complain about anything that's happened to me," Rowe said.

"I hope this is only a stepping stone for things to come. I don't want to just be the guy who had cancer and played a game. I'd rather be known as a good footy player who played a lot of footy to come."

As Collingwood prepares to face a new-look Carlton under Mick Malthouse, Magpies coach Nathan Buckley says he has great respect for his former coach and mentor.

"There's plenty of people keen to drum that up and make it an adversarial relationship," Buckley said.

"I have nothing but respect for Mick, I played under him a number of years as his captain and worked under him as an assistant coach in the plan to eventually become senior coach."

Michael Jamison says he left the Blues' leadership group to focus on footy.

"I just thought the best thing I could do for the footy club was to stay healthy, stay fit and play well," Jamison said.

"The best way to do that was to step down from the leadership group and focus on staying fit and get my body right, and I thought we had young and impressive leaders ready to step in to it."

Eddie Betts will be sidelined for an indefinite period after suffering a broken jaw during an accidential collision with a Richmond opponent in round one.

"Eddie sustained the injury early in the game, so it was a great effort in his behalf to keep playing, but he won't be playing this week and we'll be guided by the doctor," Carlton football manager Andrew McKay said.

Chris Judd says he is relishing the opportunity to focus solely on playing footy after relinquishing the captaincy in 2013.

"It's just a nice thing to do later on in your career, where you can really just focus on playing footy and not be distracted by some of the administrative duties that go with being in a leadership position," Judd said.

"It's not that I won't have a say at the club or won't be fully engaged, but I certainly feel like I'm enjoying the purity of just worrying about playing footy."

Andrew Carrazzo admits to being disappointed at missing out on the Blues' captaincy.

"For sure. And I know Kade was as well. But now we look forward to becoming a tight unit," Carrazzo said.

"You look at all the good teams in the past, especially the really successful ones, they've had a group of five or six leaders who really feed off of each other, who really support each other."

Despite being contracted until the end of 2014, Marc Murphy says he'd be happy to sign a new deal now.

"I've got another year after this AFL season. But if the club is happy to sign me on again, I'm happy to stay there for as long as they want me to," Murphy said.

"I love it here. I'd be happy to stay until I'm 35," Murphy said. "There are no issues of me wanting to go anywhere."

Chris Judd will play his first game in 2013 after being named in the Blues' side for the NAB Cup Grand Final against Brisbane.

Andrew Carrazzo signs a two-year contract extention with Carlton, keeping him at the Blues until 2015.

"Andrew's form last season was some of the best we have seen from him, so this is obviously a major win for the club,'' Blues football manager Andrew McKay said in a statement.

"The fact he finished sixth in last year's best and fairest, even though he missed a large chunk of the season through injury, indicates how significant he is to our team.'

Andrew Walker takes a screamer against Adelaide in the NAB Cup which goes global on social media, particularly twitter.

"It's like an outfielder climbing a wall to rob a home run, but the wall is a person who is also trying to catch the baseball and the wall is trying to tackle you and dump you on your head," was how Walker's efforts were described.

Carlton expect Chris Judd to be a certain starter for their Round 1 clash against Richmond despite his absence from the NAB Cup.

"Juddy's going really well and training wonderfully well," Blues assistant coach Robert Wiley said.

"It's more about management and getting him right and we expect him to be right next week."

Irishman Zach Tuohy says he intends to take up an Australian citizenship as he makes himself more at home in his adopted country.

"In the early days I always planned on going home (to Ireland after football), but the longer I stayed here the more and more I liked it," Tuohy said.

"I still may go home, but instead of being in the position where it's predetermined by having a visa, I'd rather look for citizenship and give myself the option that if I wanted to stay here at the end of it, I could."

Nick Graham's AFL debut will be put on hold after the young midfielder suffered a knee injury that will keep him out for eight weeks.

Simon White says he is confident of breaking into the Blues' back six.

"I had a few knee troubles last year but I've done a full pre-season which has been really good and I'm just looking forward to getting a few games and a bit of consistency into my body," White said.

"At the moment, we've got all our backs up and running so there's a lot of competition for spots but hopefully I can cement one."

Chris Judd remains uncontracted for next year but says he plans to continue playing for the Blues.

"I'm keen to play on next year - the club's keen to have me," Judd said.

"At some stage throughout the year, we'll sit down and nut out the finer details.

"I've been excited by what (new coach Mick Malthouse) and his team are doing and I want to hang around for a little while longer yet."

After battling cancer, Sam Rowe impresses in the NAB Cup and has put his hand up for selection in round one.

"It's just a great story. He's out of those guys who is so hard-working. He's had a few fights on his hands in the last 18 months, and he's found a way to get into our side," Blues forward coach Jon Barker said.

"We are hopeful he can keep playing good footy and can put his hand up to be a part of the Round 1 side. We are going to have some challenging decisions to make as we get closer to Round 1.''

Greg Williams says players suffering from concussion to take a couple of months off to recover from knocks to the head.

"There are different levels of concussion and if you're a certain level and you get knocked out there's got to be a one-month, two-month lay-off," Williams said.

"They've got to get treatment and they've got to make sure that they're right before they come back. And they've got to do something about it and they've got to make sure that it's not affecting the player."

Carlton rookie Tom Bell is upgraded to the Blues' senior list after Andrew McInnes is placed on the long-term injury list following a knee reconstruction.

Heath Scotland is convicted of assault after a successful appeal by the New South Wales Director of Public Prosecutions.



Scotland's original two-year good behavior bond without conviction has been retracted, and the Carlton midfielder is now placed on a 12-month bond with conviction.



"Heath accepts the decision that was made in court today," Carlton football operations manager Andrew McKay said.

"The club has already imposed its own sanctions which will not change and we all look forward to putting this matter behind us."

Blues forward Andrew Walker says he may be used in defence this season under new coach Mick Malthouse.

"I have had a little bit of a talk to him (Malthouse) about possibly playing some games in defence," Walker said.

"He threw up a few names of guys to keep in the back of my head as possible match-ups.

"It's something I like to have up my sleeve just in case you're having a bad run up forward, you can push down back and lock down on someone."

As one of five contenders from the Blues' captaincy this season, Nick Duigan will lead Carlton in their NAB Cup match against reigning premiers Sydney.

Carlton will decide between Andrew Carrazzo, Marc Murphy and Kade Simpson for the captaincy with each player being rotated for the leadership role in the opening three rounds of the NAB Cup.

Carrazzo says former skipper Chris Judd will be invaluable resource to all three players.

"He's got a wealth of knowledge, having played under John Worsfold (at West Coast), and his experience, and being in a successful team he knows what it takes to get to the top level," Carrazzo said about Judd.

"Juddy's a fantastic example. He's someone who's always willing to offer his experience and his know-how. In a way, we're lucky that Juddy's still here and playing such a big part still, so he's able to help us along."

After a frustrating year dealing with injuries in 2012, Matthew Kreuzer says he has learnt how to manager his body better.

"You don't want to miss a game if you can, so you've just got to cope with it and find ways around it," Kreuzer said.

"Some weeks you do this and other weeks you do that, and you work out what works best for you. I learnt a lot about how I've got to manage my body, so I'll take a lot of things from last year and put them in place this year.

"It was a tough year but I took a lot out of it. And it was like that for the whole club because we had a lot of injuries and had to play a few players out of position."

Jarrad Waite says he is confident there is no drug use at Carlton.

" I wouldn't mind if I get tested every day of the week because I don't do it. In a sense, if they want to do more tests then that's good because I have got full confidence that, especially at Carlton, we don't have a drug culture," Waite said.

"And I would be very surprised if blokes who are professional athletes (were) putting their careers at risk by doing drugs and doing stupid things like that."

Carlton's Mitch Robinson says his Big Day Out altercation was 'a hiccup'.

"I just want to focus on my footy and get back to training and get the respect back from the club and the boys," Robinson said.

"Obviously you've got to think your way out of them a lot better than I did on the weekend. I learnt from that."

Carlton will force Mitch Robinson to perform community work after video footage showed him being involved in an ugly scuffle at Melbourne's Big Day Out concert.

"This type of behaviour, no matter what the circumstance, is not acceptable or in line with club policy," Carlton football operations manager Andrew McKay said.

"Mitch is extremely remorseful and has accepted the club's sanction."

Brock McLean, whose sister is gay, calls for more support for gay and lesbian people and says he will participate in the Melbourne's coming annual gay and lesbian Pride March.

"If there's anyone yelling homophobic taunts, those people should be banned from footy for life," McLean said.

"You hear, 'you weak poof, you ******' from supporters who use it as a term for someone who might go in soft … which is just mind-blowing because it's totally irrelevant and totally far from the truth.

''AFL players who do it should be made an example of, fined and suspended. We need to say this isn't acceptable and set an example not just for the football community but for the rest of the community.''

Western Bulldogs youngster Clay Smith says he has been working hard on his kicking.

"It's been a focus of mine for the past three or four years, and I'm really making some good improvements now," Smith said.

"I don't think it's a major weakness, but it's an area that I need to improve on to get to the next level.

"I'm feeling more comfortable with my kicking. It's about making sure I concentrate and get the ball-drop right and have confidence to hit my kicks."

Heath Scotland is suspended for the opening two matches of 2013 for his part in a pub brawl in Mulwala in southern NSW last January.

Scotland will also be required by the club to make a $3,000 donation to the Les Twentyman's 20th Man organisation which provides educational, sporting and counselling services to the homeless and disadvantaged.

"The club is very disappointed in Heath's actions as they did not uphold Carlton's core values and behaviours,'' the Blues' general manager of football Andrew McKay said.

"Heath understands this is a serious matter and accepts the club's reasoning for the two-game suspension and donation.''

Chris Judd's management is hoping to negotiate and reach a compromise with the AFL on Judd's Visy deal.

Bryce Gibbs steps down as a Carlton leader to focus on his game but hopes to return to the leadership group in the future.

"As a leader, you strive to play consistent footy every week and probably at times I didn't feel I was doing that last year and maybe found it hard to give some guys some feedback on different things that maybe I wasn't doing myself," Gibbs said.

"I'd like to think I'm well respected within the playing group and what I say around the place is valued (and) the players have certainly given their feedback to me around those issues. Hopefully in the future I could step back in there."

Robbie Warnock hopes to be in for a big season in 2013 after participating in every pre-season session so far.

"To be out there and training, it's great because I've only done that probably one other pre-season, so hopefully it's a step in the right direction," Warnock said.

"Just being out there and getting the k's in the legs is really good. There's no substitute for the fitness (you get) out there, so the fact that I'm out there hopefully means that I'm a step ahead of where I have been last year and years before."

With Jarrad Waite, Matthew Kreuzer, Levi Casboult, Luke Mitchell, Shaun Hampson and Sam Rowe all expected to be ready for the start of the season, Carlton is expected to be spoilt for choice when it comes to big men, something it rarely had the luxury of in 2012.

"We could not get consistently healthy talls last year, so having these guys fit and available is going to be critical for us," forwards coach John Barker said.

"The good thing is all of them who had some small and big issues last year, they are all ready to go."

Carlton, in conjunction with the AFL Players' Association, will challenge the AFL's ruling that Judd's $200,000 annual payment must be included in the Blues' salary cap at a grievance tribunal to be held next month.

Matthew Kreuzer has backed Blues skipper Chris Judd's decision to step down as captain for next season.

"It was his call in the end,'' Kreuzer said.

"He's a terrific player so I don't think it will matter too much whether he's captain or not, he's still going to do the exact same thing and lead on the field.''

Carlton ruckman Matthew Kreuzer, Shaun Hampson and Robbie Warnock are capable of playing successfully together in the same side under new coach Mick Malthouse, new Blues midfield coach Rob Wiley says.

"I think the one good thing about those three players is that they're all athletic, they're mobile, and you only have to look at the way Mick selects sides (to know) that those three players can certainly play in the one side," Wiley said.

Eddie Betts is awarded life membership at Carlton after 263 goals in his 166 game career since joining the club in 2005.

"The club has been really good to me over the years and I feel really proud to be awarded life membership," Betts said in a club statement.

"Everyone has been so supportive of me throughout my career and I am really excited about next season and what we can achieve."

Carlton has named five players to its leadership group including Nick Duigan who joins Andrew Carrazzo, Kade Simpson, Jarrad Waite and Marc Murphy.

Bryce Gibbs and Michael Jamison, leaders in 2012, have been left out of the group, along with former skipper Chris Judd who has decided to focus solely on football in 2013.

Carlton discard Bret Thornton joins GWS after the Giants selected him with their first pick in the pre-season draft.

Brock McLean says Chris Judd should relinquish the captain and allow players such as Andrew Carazzo or Marc Murphy to assume the leadership mantle at Carlton.

"He's probably the best player at the club. Personally I think he's best off focussing on his footy, but that's only my opinion," McLean said of Judd.

"The two standouts for me are Andrew Carrazzo and Marc Murphy. 'Carrotts' is probably a little bit more experienced and bit older than Murph, he's got a really good hold on things and the way he talks to the group both in a positive manner and a demanding manner is something that we need.

"Marc Murphy, his best way of leading is leading by example and his performance the last two years when he has been out on the park have been pretty outstanding."

New Blue Troy Menzel says he and his family heavily researched synthetic grafts before he chose LARS surgery as a 16-year-old.

"I was a suitable candidate and came to the conclusion that I would go for it," Menzel said.

"I knew I wasn't going to play at the end of that year, but it gave me seven or eight months [to get ready for the next season].

"If I'd had a normal knee 'reco' I wouldn't have been playing round one the next year. And [I] pulled up for round one and haven't had any problems with it [since]."

Chris Judd has criticised the AFL's decision to include his Visy payments into the club's salary cap.

"It's certainly very disappointing from our point of view and makes it very difficult to cultivate a career post-footy and explore work opportunities while you are playing," Judd told Channel Seven.

Player manager Liam Pickering has expressed his dismay at the AFL's decision to force Carlton to count Chris Judd's Visy payments in its salary cap.

Unless something in the deal has changed that we don't know about … I find it staggering with a year to go on a deal that's been going five years that all of a sudden they've (Carlton) got to drop $200-250,000 into their cap," Pickering told SEN radio.

"That's a lot of money."

The manager of Chris Judd will fight the AFL's decision to crack down on his client's contentious third party deal with Visy.

"There's rules and regulations. The AFL is obviously an extremely powerful organisation and they can have their say, but there's also due process and you're allowed to argue the case," Judd's manager Paul Connors told SEN.

"There's always room to wriggle and we disagree with their initial findings."

Carlton defender Heath Scotland will return to court next year as NSW authorities appeal the leniency of his assault penalty.

Defender Michael Jamison says his body has healed after a tough 2012 and he is ready to attack Carlton's pre-season.

"Having no surgery (during the off-season) was certainly a huge benefit," Jamison said.

"You don't start behind the eight-ball, so I'm feeling pretty fit and looking to work on that in the next few weeks.

"You're can't compare pre-seasons when you have surgery in the off-season and then you don't."

On his first day at Carlton training, Mick Malthouse says Bryce Gibbs has been targeted for a greater role in the midfield in 2013.

"He has got to be able to do eight to 10 minutes (in the midfield), and that's quite significant," Malthouse said.

"That takes half a quarter away from others to give them a little bit of relief and also to be able to play in other positions, which I'm pretty keen to do."

Brendan Fevola says he is certain Carlton did not try to win games late in 2007, as the AFL considers widening its tanking probe.

"It is pretty obvious to people. The club didn't want to win and I wouldn't have wanted to win if I was a supporter. The long-term gain was not to win that game (in Round 22)," Fevola said.

"But no one ever said the word tanking. No one ever said we are going to deliberately lose. The AFL can't do anything until they find that evidence."

Delisted Carlton defender Jordan Russell becomes a Collingwood player in an exchange between the fierce rivals.

Delisted former Blue Paul Bower is back training in a bid to be ready should a club offer him a career lifeline.

"I just want to get a pre-season somewhere, hopefully a club gives me that opportunity," Bower said.

"You know, I'm just going to bust my arse and train really hard and hopefully impress the club and get a second chance.

"It's obviously devastating getting the news from Carlton, I want to prove them wrong, I think I've got a lot to offer."

Carlton unrestricted free agent Bret Thornton looks set to be thrown a lifeline by Greater Western Sydney after informing the Blues earlier in the year that he wanted out of the club.

AFL chief Andrew Demetriou says the league has a right to intervene if they believe Carlton's penalty imposed on Heath Scotland for an assault charge is too lenient.

"Brett Clothier and (AFL football operations manager) Adrian Anderson always reserve the right to come in and deal with players, sometimes with the clubs and sometimes they do it without the clubs," Demetriou said.

"When things like this happen which are violent ... of course it's serious.

"At least by his guilty plea, he knows he did wrong, and that's one thing he's got going for him, but I don't think for a minute he would be under any illusions that it's not tolerable and the AFL would have a very dim view of it."

Port Adelaide says it won't try to sign Carlton free agent Jordan Russell, an unrestricted agent set to be delisted by the Blues.

"I think we've said all the way along that we'll consider at the end of trade week - he's going to be delisted by Carlton - so we're not going to be trading or doing anything active for him," Power football operations manager Peter Rohde said.

"We'll consider our position at the end of the trade period."

Carlton midfielder Brock McLean signs a new one-year deal with the club.

"Not so long ago Brock was playing good footy in the VFL and would get the call up, only to go back when we didn't play well," Blues football manager Andrew McKay said.

"But his attitude never changed, he just kept on keeping on and in the end the coaches just had to pick him.

"He worked very hard, made the most of it, and to hear the cheer ring out from the crowd every time his name was called out at the [best and fairest] was fantastic."

Carlton defender Heath Scotland has escaped conviction and been given a two-year good behaviour bond after pleading guilty to an assault charge.

Former Carlton coach Brett Ratten has joined Hawthorn as an assistant coach.

"I really respect how they play the game and I see this as a great opportunity for me and one I'm really looking forward to," Ratten said.

"[Ratten] has impressive credentials as a coach and is a quality person, and I'm sure he will complement our team of coaches well," Hawks head coach Alastair Clarkson said about Ratten's appointment.

Carlton ruckman Levi Casboult has inked a new two-year deal with the Blues.

"The contract offers security, but it doesn't really change anything," Casboult said.

"I've still got to work hard to keep my spot in the 22 and I know there's a lot of hard work ahead."

Heath Scotland wins his first John Nicholls Medal as Carlton's best and fairest with 362 votes ahead of Eddie Betts with 353 votes and skipper Chris Judd with 334.

After being sacked by Carlton, Paul Williams says what he wanted most from the Blues was the truth.

"All we wanted from the get-go was just tell us the truth, tell us exactly what's going on.
," Williams said.

"Don't try to sell us something that we know isn't happening - and they weren't quite able to do that.

 That was the disappointing thing ... they will definitely learn from some things."



Carlton CEO Greg Swan defended the club's actions in their dealings with Williams' departure.

"He questioned his contract, and then the lawyers got involved, and it sort of went from there… I'm not sure what else we could have done," Swan said.

"Once the legal people got involved it probably took a little bit longer than it should have, but the contract was very clear.

"There was a three month termination clause, which has been exercised."

Heath Scotland signs a new one-year deal with Carlton to play for a 15th season in 2013.

"Even in his thirties, Heath is one of the hardest working and most consistent players on Carlton's list," Blues football manager Andrew McKay said.

"His on-field performance and leadership throughout the past two seasons has been significant and we would expect him to be one of the leading contenders for this year's best-and-fairest."

Despite an impressive 2012 season, Tom Bell is fourth in line behind 3 other Carlton rookies for elevation to the senior list.

Bell may field offers from other clubs for a senior list position if he is not elevated by the Blues.

Stephen Kernahan announces that his reign as Carlton president will come to an end after the 2013 season.

"I believe it is in the best interests of the club to set a date now as it gives everyone time to plan for the future," Kernahan said.

"I am certainly appreciative of the board in supporting this decision and giving me their full support for another 13 months."

The fallout of Carlton's Mick Malthouse appointment begins with contracted assistant coaches Paul Williams and Mark Riley taking legal action against the club for refusing to guarantee their futures beyond this season.

"Yes we have (legally asked about their future)," Chris Pollard, who is legally representing the AFL Coaches Association in the case, said.

"At the beginning of the week, we contacted the Carlton Football Club, there have been letters of demand, but as we speak - at the moment - we have had no contact whatsoever."

Bret Thornton joins Jordan Russell by parting company with Carlton to become an unrestricted free agent.

Carlton defender Jordan Russell informs the Blues that he will be testing the market as an unrestricted free agent during the off-season.

"It's just the time where Jordan needs to look for an opportunity where he can play senior footy consistently and Carlton aren't going to stand in his way," Russell's manager Marty Pask said.

"He wants to play that role as a rebounding defender, which he has obviously been pretty good at doing in the past finishing high up in the club's best and fairest count.

"We just want to make sure that he gets that opportunity and he's not going to get that at Carlton."

Former footballer, turned umpire, Jordan Bannister will officiate his first final on Saturday.

"It was very surprising to get the news the other night. I was rapt," Bannister told SEN's Morning Glory program.

"It's pretty rare that an umpire gets a final in his first year. I've just had a lot of support from the coaches and the other umpires that has fast-tracked me to get to this stage."

Brett Ratten finishes his coaching career at Carlton with a loss to St Kilda and says he deliberately avoided greeting the fans at the end of the game to thank them for their support.

"I'm just a passing piece of history at the football club," he said during his press conference.

"I really appreciated the applause before the game, at quarter-time, at three-quarter time, but at the end of the game the curtain was drawn on my coaching at Carlton."

Heath Scotland says Carlton players feel responsible for Brett Ratten losing his job as coach after the shock loss to the Suns.

"It's disappointing for everybody. I believe we're a good side that had a chance to be playing finals, but we've thrown away [that] opportunity and a man's lost his job because of it," Scotland said.

"We haven't sat down and had a formal chat about it, but you speak amongst each other and everyone's feeling like crap. It's a horrible situation."

Brett Ratten steps down as senior coach of the Blues, accepting his fate with dignity.

"This is not about me, it is about the club and finishing the year strongly," he said.

"I've lost my job, I love the club and it saddens me. It is nothing compared to others, such as Sam Rowe is going through cancer.

"We're going OK ... we are very fortunate in life. My journey will continue and I will be just as passionate and driven (elsewhere). I'll be fine."

The Herald Sun reports that Brett Ratten has already been told that he will no longer be coaching the Blues beyond Carlton's final 2012 round 23 game against St Kilda.

Brett Ratten will not face the media on Wednesday after Carlton cancelled a scheduled media conference due to intense speculation on Ratten's coaching future at the club.

"I spoke to Brett tonight (Tuesday) and I said if you do the press conference, it's going to be all about you," Carlton's communications general manager Ian Coutts said.

"We were disgusted with the media's behaviour, with how they treated Brett at Melbourne Airport on Sunday - he's not a criminal."

Blue Sam Rowe has taken significant steps on his way back from battling cancer.

"I'm going really well, I've been training for about a month, everything else [to with my health] has been perfect," Rowe said.

"I'm starting to feel quite fit again, which is good. I'm starting to get a bit of fitness back and starting to feel pretty good."

Michael Jamison may miss just one match after scans revealed his hamstring injury is only minor.

"It's a low-grade strain of the hamstring so he will be out for one or two weeks," Blues football manager Andrew McKay said.

"We are hoping one, but it may end up being two. The scan shows there is a very, very small amount of swelling in the area, so [it is] not too bad."

On the request of his mother, Kade Simpson may wear a helmet when he returns from a jaw injury against the Swans.

"It may just be a double mouthguard, but the doc was going to have a word to the surgeon and get her thoughts on a helmet ... and if they say I need to wear one I'll strap it straight on," Simpson said.

"Mum and Dad wanted me to wear one then and Mum's pretty keen for me to wear one now. I've told her that they've done a study into helmets and they don't actually do anything, but she's pretty keen for me to put one on."

Heath Scotland wants to play on next year, but will wait until the end of the season to decide his future.

"I do want to go on, but it's in the club's hands," Scotland said.

"They know I'd like to go on, but I'll leave it with them. If they think I'm a required player for next year that would be fantastic, but if not then that's life I suppose.

"I can only control what I can control and that's training, staying on the park and trying to play well. I'll just keep plugging away. Hopefully, in the short-term, we can play finals then hopefully at the end of the year I'll be able to go around again."

Brett Ratten says he has been interviewed twice by the AFL over tanking rumours=.

"Personally as a coach, I got investigated twice in regards to this, so I've gone through that procedure and the AFL have ticked it off," Ratten said.

"They've done their findings behind the scenes and everything's clear."

The AFL wants to speak to Brock McLean after his sensational allegations about Melbourne and tanking.

"The AFL has resolved that this matter will be addressed by the general manager of football operations, Adrian Anderson," AFL chief executive officer Gillon McLachlan said.

Brock McLean has revealed he left Melbourne because he believed the club was tanking.

"Circumstances that happened in the second half of the year (2009) never really sat well with me," McLean said.

"They don't call it tanking, we would call it 'experimenting' or whatever it was. It just went against everything I was taught as a kid, taught as a footballer and as a person."

Brock McLean's miracle goal inside the final minute sees the Blues claim a four-point win over Richmond.

With just a minute remaining, Richmond defender Steven Morris ignored a shoulder problem to win a critical contest against four-goal forward Eddie Betts, only to send the ball out of bounds on the full.

McLean took a mark from the resultant free kick and, from outside the 50m arc, kicked long looking for Levi Casboult, but the ball sailed over the tall forward and bounced through for the match-winning goal.

Carlton defender Lachie Henderson rules himeself out for the rest of the season due to groin surgery.

"After speaking with the medical staff I decided it was best to have the surgery as soon as possible," Henderson said.

"Even with further rest I was no certainty to be able to play later this season and would still require the surgery. Having the surgery now will ensure I will be able to complete as much as the pre-season training as possible."

Andrew Collins plays his best game since becoming a Blue after tallying 21 disposals and 3 goals in a win against the Bulldogs.

"It was enjoyable to contribute tonight and kick a few goals, but I think the most enjoyable thing to come out of the game was playing with our three debutants who all came off the rookie list," Collins said.

"I think ... we showed the club that we've probably found three players."

Carlton midfielder Andrew Carrazzo has labelled the four-week suspension to Jack Ziebell 'disappointing' despite teammate Aaron Joseph being concussed from the incident.

"It's disappointing. It probably goes against our instincts as players to see the ball and win in," Carrazzo told Seven's AFL Game Day.

"'AJ' (Joseph) was hit in the head and knocked out. I'm not trying to take the gloss off that. But it is confusing for us players as well about knowing what to do and what's acceptable and what's not."

Carlton skipper Chris Judd says he wants to move on quickly from his four-week ban.

"What's done is done - I've made my peace with Leigh and made my peace with the footy club," Judd said.

"Now I'm just focusing on being useful during this month when I can't get on the field and obviously making sure I'm cherry ripe to go when I can get back out there."

Chris Judd's business partner Steven Greene says Judd will walk away from football after his playing days are done.

"He's put his all into it over a 12- or 13-year career and is hell-bent on Carlton winning a premiership. I think he has a sense of not achieving everything he wants out of his career if he can't do that. I know it's his biggest goal. He's a driven beast," Greene said.

"But I just see Chris putting everything into this chapter of his life and then moving on to something else. Footy has consumed his life so much now that I can't see, when he's finally got that ability to enjoy the other things that life can offer, that he'll jump back into a (football) role."

Marc Murphy will skipper the Blues for the next four games while Chris Judd serves a suspension.

With Matthew Kreuzer injured, Carlton turns to Levi Casboult to make his debut in the ruck against the Bulldogs.

"He's an exciting young player and I think there's going to be great energy come out of the guy," Carlton assistant coach John Barker said.

"We don't want to give him too many instructions, especially given it's his first game. We want him to go out there and enjoy it and play on a bit more instinct rather than cripple him with too much instruction."

Running defender Chris Yarran has signed a new contract tying him to Carlton until the end of 2014.

"I'm just rapt to get the deal done and I'm really looking forward to two more exciting years with this club," Yarran said.

"Now that it's done I'm just rapt to be a Carlton Blue for another two years. I love it here and I'm hoping to finish my career as a one-club player."

Carlton coach Brett Ratten is tossing up whether to play Jarrad Waite against the Bulldogs or ease him back in the VFL.

"It would be a huge risk to bring him up at senior level knowing his history with injury and then how does he get through? He might get through this week, but then what effect does it have next week?" Ratten asked.

"He's one we would just love to rush straight back, but if he broke down again or had an injury ... we want to make sure he finishes the year really strong."

Player agent Paul Connors has apologised to key AFL figures for comments about the Chris Judd case.

"I jumped to incorrect conclusions and stated them as fact," Connors said.

"I accept that the MRP and the tribunal are independent bodies and I apologise to Adrian for suggesting that he would interfere and to Mark for suggesting that he would allow such interference.

"I didn't intend to undermine confidence in the MRP and tribunal system and hope I haven't done that."

Chris Judd's manager savages AFL for its "interference" after the Carlton star's four-week suspension handed out on Tuesday.

"You've got the head of the match review panel making comments before the case is heard - I just can't remember that happening before," Connors told SEN.

"Then you've got ... Adrian Anderson. If he hasn't been speaking to Fraser and telling the world why this had to go directly to the tribunal, I'll go 'he'.

"It's just another case of AFL interference for mine and I think we're getting a pretty good dossier."

AFL operations manager Adrian Anderson responded aggressively to the allegation.

"That's nonsense ... that's absolutely incorrect and I'll be having a close look at exactly what he said, and I'll be assessing it from there," Anderson said.

"The allegation of interference is a very serious one, and a wrong one. I'm really concerned about those comments."

Chris Judd incurs a four-week ban for his 'chicken wing' tackle on Leigh Adams.

"We're disappointed but we respect the tribunal's decision," Judd told reporters outside the hearing room.

"I'd just like to reiterate that it was never my intention to hurt Leigh Adams.

"I've obviously expressed this apology to him personally since the event, and we'd just like to extend that apology to the Carlton Football Club and their supporters for obviously letting them down."

MRP chairman Mark Fraser says Chris Judd's tackle on Leigh Adams was 'unsportsmanlike'.

"We had a discussion amongst the panel about whether it was rough conduct or misconduct and we decided this would probably be best served under misconduct," Fraser said.

"We thought it was unsportsmanlike in nature. It has the potential to bring the game into disrepute so we thought it would be better served by sending it straight to the tribunal for a verdict."

A medical report by the Kangaroos submitted to the Match Review Panel is expected to reveal that Leigh Adams' shoulder was dislocated by Chris Judd's 'chicken wing' tackle.

Chris Judd's report for a "chicken wing" tackle on Kangaroo Leigh Adams dominates the media landscape.

"I was stuck at the bottom of the pack and obviously felt the arm get pulled and it was a pretty uncomfortable position," Adams said.

"He doesn't have a bad bone in his body so I'm sure, whatever he did he didn't mean it, and hopefully he gets off."

Marc Murphy will make his return from a shoulder injury against North Melbourne in round 16 after missing the last 8 weeks.

Carlton ruckman Robert Warnock has signed a new deal tying him to the club until the end of 2015.

"I am really pleased to have this finalised before the end of the season as it stops speculation about my future," Warnock said.

"I really enjoy being at the Carlton Football Club, we have a great playing group, a great mix of successful and knowledgeable coaches and importantly great facilities at Visy Park.

"While there has been frustrating times due to injury, I believe I have an important role to play and it is great the club agree and has shown faith in me. I look forward to repaying this faith."

Carlton ruckman Shaun Hampson is set to miss the rest of the year after injuring his knee against the Pies.

"It is obviously disappointing for Shaun, as well as for the team. Importantly, the surgery will repair the knee and ensure he is available to resume full training prior to Christmas," Carlton general manager of football operations Andrew McKay said.

Collingwood midfielder Sharrod Wellingham says he was immediately affected following his sickening bump on Carlton's Kade Simpson.

"He didn't look to be in a great way when he was on the ground so I wanted to make sure that he was feeling all right and let him know it wasn't intentional to hurt him that much," Wellingham said.

"I think for a couple of minutes it certainly did play on my mind. Carlton were really taking the game away from us at that stage and the (Carlton) boys were letting me know it was a bad thing to have done."

Carlton confirms midfielder Kade Simpson will spend time on the sidelines with a fractured jaw after clashing with Magpie Sharrod Wellingham.

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley concedes that Wellingham will likely serve time for it.

"It was a clumsy contest," Buckley said.

"I think, initially, I've got no doubt that he's intent would have been to go and mark the footy and then I think he made a split-second decision that 'I'm not going to be able to mark this but I need to be able to spoil it'."

Former Carlton captain Mark Maclure says dumping Brendan Fevola was the most positive move the Blues have ever made.

"I think it was the most positive move we ever made to get rid of Fev. He was the ultimate not-team man," Maclure said on The Blue Print Hangout.

"He was here for the worst 10 years in the history of this football club. That wasn't his fault. But he turned into a very selfish player."

Brock McLean vows to be smarter with his use of social media, but says he won't stifle his individuality.

"The idea of getting on social media is to connect with the fans with a more personal interaction and to get yourself out there and actually be yourself rather than doing the normal footy interview and saying 'one week at a time' and 'get recovery right' … and all that sort of stuff," he said.

"People complain, mainly media people, about players being boring, but as soon as you say something a bit different or speak your mind or speak an honest truth suddenly they tarnish you a little bit or give you a bit of a bad whack."

Dr Peter Larkins says Blue Matthew Kreuzer will always be hampered by surgery he had when first recruited and is currently not fit enough to play in the ruck on a full time basis.

"I'd just like to remind people that he had surgery on his left hip and his right hip when he was recruited … which I thought was always going to limit how much he'd get out of a big body over the course of a 10-year career," Larkins said.

"Then he had a reconstruction of his left knee with some tendon out of his right knee. He had troubles in the reconstructed knee again last year and had surgery again on that to deal with some scar tissue.

"I've been watching him play and there's no doubt he's playing sore."

As pressure builds on Carlton coach Brett Ratten following a string of losses, rumours suggest that former Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse has been earmarked to take over from Ratten.

Malthouse, however, says such speculation is "distasteful".

"I just think that it's totally distasteful that people are dancing on his grave and I think that they need to have a look and reflect on how good Brett Ratten has been for that football club," Malthouse said.

"I will not entertain one little bit about talking, or being interested in any [speculation] when a person has got the job and needs the full backing of his club and his supporters."

Michael Jamison says the Blues have moved beyond the Brock McLean Twitter storm after the midfielder accepted his punishment.

"He's apologised, he's accepted the penalty and he's just looking forward to playing tomorrow night," Jamison said.

"The guys are educated on what to say and what not to say so, knowing that, Brock did the right thing and pulled the tweet down. He's accepted responsibility, he's apologised for it and we're looking forward to moving on."

Carlton have suspended Brock McLean for one match after his offensive remark on Twitter.

McLean will also be required to undertake an education program and make a donation of $5,000 to an appropriate charity.

"We met with Brock in relation to the comments and also reminded him of the responsibilities that go with being an AFL player and the importance of remembering he is a representative of the Carlton Football Club and the AFL," Carlton general manager of football operations Andrew McKay said.

Carlton's Kade Simpson says he will break his run of consecutive matches, now at 156 and currently the AFL's longest, if a rest would benefit the side.

"If we were in that position and it was going to benefit me and the team before the finals I'd definitely rest up," he said.

Carlton midfielder Brock McLean is set to land in hot water after posting an offensive tweet in response to a comment he objected to.

"I was disappointed in the cowardly remark and responded as such," McLean said.

"I realised it was not suitable and took it down and apologise for offending anyone with the tweet in the short time it was up."

McLean had initially posted a Twitter update about his day: "Today can f--- right off."

When another Twitter user responded, "Did you finally get delisted", McLean responded with: "No, your mum has given me aids."

Carlton defender Jeremy Laidler is set for knee surgery, ending his season.

Laidler injured his knee in the second quarter of the Northern Blues' game against Geelong in the VFL at Visy Park.

"This is obviously extremely disappointing for Jeremy, particularly after the hard work he has just completed to return to playing," Blues football manager Andrew McKay said.

"He is a very important player and has been very positive around the club in the last few weeks as he prepared for the last half of the season."

Brett Ratten says injured key forward Jarrad Waite is unlikely to play in the Blues' critical clashes with Hawthorn and Collingwood.

"We've known what it is but how you actually get the back moving without any pain or stiffness, that's been the real thing that we've been trying to work out and manage," Ratten said.

Carlton coach Brett Ratten says the bye will allow Blues skipper Chris Judd to rest neck and shoulder problems that have hampered him in recent weeks.

"He has had to do a fair bit of work to get himself up to play each week," Ratten said.



"He'll thrive from having a few days off. He's got to work through this part of the injury and take the time to heal. We've got 15 days so that will allow him to get a bit of recovery."

In his autobiography, Fev: In my own words, Brendan Fevola says he once joked about tanking with an opponent and the team always knew what was best for Carlton.

"I remember one incident in our game against Essendon in round 20. We kicked four goals in the second quarter and were 21 points up when the half-time siren sounded," Fevola said.

"As I started walking towards the rooms, my opponent, Mal Michael, turned to me and said, 'What are you blokes doing? You don't want to win this game.' I smiled and said to him, 'Yeah, I don't think we'll win, mate.'

"Sure enough, we ended up losing by 10 points."

Jeremy Laidler will return from injury in the VFL this weekend with an eye to tackling Hawthorn in round 14 after working hard on his rehabilitation with teammate Andrew Carazzo.

"I've basically done another pre-season for eight weeks, and he (Carrazzo) pushed me along, which was good," Laidler said.

"Andy's a great runner and I tried to stay with him, which was very tough. I was so rapt for him last week because I know he did everything he possibly could to get himself up to scratch in the AFL."

Carlton has been fined $7,500 by the AFL for tweets by injured players Marc Murphy, Jarrad Waite and Jeremy Laidler that were critical of umpires during the Blues' clash with West Coast.

"The AFL will not tolerate public denigration or humiliation of umpires as we continue to face very real problems with the retention of umpires throughout Australia," general manager football operations Adrian Anderson said.

"A player's use of social media to make comments around umpiring will be subject to the AFL's rules in exactly the same way as comments made in a formal interview or any other media environment, as the AFL competition must continue to set a positive example on conduct towards umpires."