Star-struck Tigers punished

The Indigenous All Stars show a united front against the Tigers. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

RICHMOND'S first game of the year descended to almost embarrassing levels last night after the Tigers were swept aside by the Indigenous All-Stars.

In warm conditions, the Tigers were never in the hunt and went down 14.6 (90) to 6.4 (40) in front of 8350 fans at Alice Springs' Traeger Park.

Richmond couldn't, or wouldn't, match the All-Stars' hunger at the contest and struggled to contain their run and spread from stoppages in the slightly shortened match.

Both sides missed key players, with stars including Lance Franklin, Cyril Rioli, Shaun Burgoyne, Brett Deledio, Trent Cotchin and Jack Riewoldt all sitting out.

The All-Stars' speed inside 50m was the telling factor, with Graham Johncock (three goals), Liam Jones, Eddie Betts (both two) and Lindsay Thomas (one) all on the end of quick counter-attacks.

Betts - involved in an intriguing match-up with Steven Morris - Thomas and Johncock all had moments of brilliance.

Liam Jones marks strongly under pressure. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

But it was Jones who caught the eye early, with the Western Bulldogs forward leading quickly and marking strongly to kick two first-quarter goals.

Leroy Jetta's 60m bomb on the run helped the All-Stars to a 23-point quarter-time lead they never looked like relinquishing.

It was an even performance from the victors, who were propelled by the midfield influence of Harley Bennell, who won the Polly Farmer Medal for best afield.

Alwyn Davey and Lindsay Thomas were consistent contributors, Neville Jetta was a success off half-back, while Brett Goodes showed signs he could make it at the highest level playing in the same position.

Richmond started with Luke McGuane and Aaron Edwards deep inside 50m in the absence of Riewoldt and Tyrone Vickery.

McGuane kicked two, but Edwards' first game in yellow and black was a success. The former North Melbourne and West Coast forward looked bright early before the supply dried up.

Second-year forward Todd Elton looked promising, despite his kicking continuing to let him down. Dustin Martin lifted after a poor first quarter, but his influence was blunted by unusually poor execution.

Acting captain Shane Edwards got better as the game wore on. Orren Stephenson did the lion's share of the ruck work in the absence of Ivan Maric and finished with two goals.

The Tigers played three draftees - Nick Vlastuin, Kamdyn McIntosh and Matthew McDonough - and rookie Cadeyn Williams.

While none of the quartet exerted any great influence, none looked out of their depth. Vlastuin's ferocious attack on the football late in the match was eye-catching.

GOALS All-Stars: Johncock 3, Jones, Betts 2, Leroy Jetta, Ryder, Ugle, Thomas, Anderson, Bennell, Newman Richmond: McGuane 2, Stephenson 2, McDonough, Edwards BEST All-Stars: Bennell, Johncock, Thomas, Alwyn Davey, Jones, Betts Richmond: Martin, Grigg, Edwards, Jackson, Conca, Elton

ALL-STARS 5.0 8.1 12.4 14.6 (90) RICHMOND 1.1 2.1 3.1 6.4 (40)

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Milne boots four in Seaford heat

Stephen Milne starred in St Kilda's first intraclub practice match of the year. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

AGELESS Stephen Milne set the pattern for another productive AFL season as a standout performer in St Kilda's first intraclub practice match today.

Milne booted four goals and set up at least another three with his renowned crumbing work in the forward line at Seaford.

The form of the 258-game veteran was high on coach Scott Watters' list of encouraging signs from the workout that lasted nearly two hours.

Watters said Milne was on a modified training program early in the pre-season to protect a minor knee problem.

But the 32-year-old stepped up his work when players resumed after the Christmas break.

Milne looked sharp and keen and the coach continued to marvel at his leadership and example for younger teammates.

He had a hand in two of fellow forward Terry Milera's three goals while another small forward Ahmed Saad also chimed in with two.

Beau Maister - formerly Wilkes - was impressive among the tall targets with three goals and midfielders Jack Steven and David Armitage were others to show impressive early touch.

Captain Nick Riewoldt, best and fairest winner Lenny Hayes, Sean Dempster, Adam Schneider and Rhys Stanley were the senior players to sit out the opening practice match.

Watters was the overseer of the game, supervised by a full complement of field and boundary umpires, that gave players short breaks every 10 or 15 minutes for onfield drinks in the heat.

Ruckman Ben McEvoy ran to the dressing rooms with a trainer midway through the match and didn't return. But

Watters said he was fine and the rest was only to manage his heavy workloads.

St Kilda starts its NAB Cup campaign against Adelaide and Port Adelaide in Adelaide tomorrow week.

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Nisbett has faith Eagles are clean

CONFIDENT: West Coast chief executive Trevor Nisbett has the "utmost faith" his club is clean. Picture: Justin Benson-Cooper Source: PerthNow

WEST Coast chief executive Trevor Nisbett says he has "the utmost faith" that the Eagles are clean of the drug allegations sweeping Australian sport, but conceded it was impossible for any club to be "100 per cent" certain.

The AFL will move to have all its sports science staff accredited before appointment at a club in the wake of both the Essendon supplement fallout and the report released yesterday by the Australian Crime Commission that alleged wide-spread use of performance enhancing and illicit drugs across all sporting codes in the country.

Nisbett said he agreed with the accreditation move, pointing to the fact that other officials - such as coaches - required approval and the rule should be applied across the board.

But while he remained confident the Eagles would avoid getting swept into the issue, he said the size of current-day clubs made it difficult to be certain they were clean.

"I don't think anyone can ever say, '100 per cent', and I think it would be naive to say that," Nisbett said.

"But we know from the programs we've implemented, the education we've done, the senior players who are the leaders in our club, the staff that we've appointed; we're very confident about our playing group.

"No doubt, we've done a lot of work with our players and made sure they're not only versed in illicit drugs, but that they understand their obligations to the code.

"They have a very big obligation to make sure that football as a sport is at the forefront for kids growing up."

West Coast was embroiled in its own off-field dramas in 2007 and the club tightened up its operations as the AFL threatened to impose sanctions.

It was a time that damaged the image of the club, and Nisbett said regardless of the more detailed findings into the AFL that would be released, the league had also now been tarnished.

But he said the investigation would result in changes for the better for the AFL and threw his support behind the league's chiefs.

"It's damaging now - just the allegations are damaging," Nisbett said.

"Hopefully - and I say this with all sincerity - there won't be a lot of issues that come out of the investigation into AFL footy, but, again, I wouldn't say that there won't be some.

"There's a lot of mud being thrown around at the moment and I hope that the investigations are going to be really thorough and we make sure that, if there are people trying to do things against the system, that we make sure they get the appropriate sanctions.

"It's something that has to be addressed, and it will be.

"If you've seen the action the AFL has taken over the past 24 hours, you'll see that it's been taken seriously.

"There's no room for drugs in sport and, certainly, we're one of the major advocates.

"So we're very supportive of Andrew (Demetriou), and Mike (Fitzpatrick) at the AFL and what they're committing to."

Nisbett was speaking from the Eagles' community camp in Northam, and said it had been a positive experience for the players, especially Northam native Darren Glass.

"The camps are significant in our calendar, they're one of the great things that we do and getting to the country is fantastic," he said.

"Coming to Northam, there was no-one more excited than Glassy, coming to his home town ... it was just fantastic for him to showcase his home town."
 

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Voss: Lions are clean

Brisbane Lions coach Michael Voss says his club has nothing to fear. Picture: Mark Cranitch Source: The Courier-Mail

BRISBANE senior coach Michael Voss says the Lions have nothing to fear from the wide-ranging probe into drugs and organised crime in Australian sport.

But he has urged investigators and the AFL to name names as soon as possible to clear the ``cloud'' hanging over the code.

Speaking at a jumper presentation at the Gallipoli Army Barracks today, Voss backed his players and support staff to be operating inside the law and welcomed the "watershed moment'' for the sports industry that has been rocked by the explosive ACC findings.

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He said the issues of drugs and organised crime had always been ''in the back of the mind'' but was confident that all the practices and processes at the Gabba were above board.

"I think everyone is looking forward to that moment (when names are named)...because until that actually happens I guess everyone is implicated,'' Voss said.

"We are just at a point where that cloud is hanging over the whole code.

Dank set to tall all

"The response from the AFL has been quite swift. There's a lot of actions that have come out of the back of it (Thursday's announcement).

"I'm looking forward to that moment when we can go about our business.

"I trust the people that we've got in place and I trust our program...I think they do an exceptional job. I think our players are well and truly communicated with as well.''

Voss said the club had met with the players after Thursday's ACC press conference in Canberra.

"(We) reinforced the exact same message we've said to them a number of times. If you are unsure about anything, everything has to be passed through the doctors,'' he said.

"That's part of our protocol. That's been around for a long time. It will continue to be so.

"That's just paramount. It must happen. If you are putting anything into your mouth, you are responsible for it.''

Voss said he was "not concerned at all" about the very "limited involvement'' the club had with controversial sports scientist Steve Dank in 2009.

He also dismissed a question about whether or not the club was worried about the involvement assistant coach Shane Woewodin had with convicted drug trafficker Shane Charter in 2000 when Woewodin won the Brownlow Medal.

"No. It's a silly question,'' Voss said.

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Crows annoint van Berlo as skipper

Adelaide captain Nathan van Berlo will lead the Crows in 2013. Picture: Simon Cross Source: The Advertiser

ADELAIDE has re-appointed Nathan van Berlo as captain for a third consecutive season.

The Crows leadership group for 2013 includes vice-captain Scott Thompson, deputy vice-captain Patrick Dangerfield, Rory Sloane and newcomers Jason Porplyzia and Sam Jacobs.

Crows coach Brenton Sanderson said van Berlo was the obvious choice as captain.

"VB is the complete package when it comes to leadership," Sanderson said.

"He leads by example and he understands our game plan - he's an extension of the coaching group in that respect. His relationship with the whole squad is fantastic. He lives the values of the Club and of the players. He's the ultimate role model for our young players and the entire squad."

Defender Ben Rutten has stepped aside to focus more of his time on mentoring young backs including Rising Star Daniel Talia and Sam Shaw.

"Truck (Rutten) has been in the leadership group for a long time. He came to me before Christmas and said he felt there were players coming through, who were ready to lead," Sanderson said.

"Truck decided he really wanted to help (defensive coach) Darren Milburn fast-track those young defenders. Truck will spend a lot of time with that group, watching their game tapes and helping them at training."

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Act before it's too late: Sheeds

Former Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy says it's better to have doping "on the table" and investigated rather than covered it up.

GWS Giants coach Kevin Sheedy. Source: News Limited

REVERED AFL figure Kevin Sheedy has called on his sport to hunt down the drug cheats and banish them from before it is too late.

The GWS Giants coach spoke this morning following the dramatic media conference in Canberra.

Australian athletes across multiple sports are involved in doping and have links to organised crime groups, the major Government investigation has found.

Australia's day of sporting shame

The AFL is not immune and Sheedy said now was the time to strike or risk being overrun.

"We need to get rid of it - we need to find the people and eradicate them from the sport," he said.

"This is a rude awakening for a lot of people in all sports.

"I think when it comes out, whatever that report is going to say, we'll handle that correctly.

Trafficker worked with James Hird in 2004

"And that means for the players, player managers and clubs in general right throughout our sport and across all sports in general."

Sheedy said there would be consequences if the AFL did not act.

When asked if the AFL and other codes had done enough to prevent what has happened, he said:

"Well, you'll never know what is enough until you've eventually found out that's happened," he said.

Demetriou wages war on drugs

"I still struggle with the Tour de France debacle.

"That's alarms for me and I would look at that and would think what is happening in our sport is perfect for us to go in and go crunch straight away."

Sheedy also weighed into the issues at his former club Essendon.

The man who coached the Bombers to four premierships applauded the stance taken by the club.

"Essendon have done the right thing because in the end, we want to get that sorted out," he said.

How the codes responded today

"Essendon haven't been found guilty of anything.

"They just had basically an investigation, so we shouldn't really be jumping into them too much.

"But I'm glad they did what they did because it actually says to the public they are going to investigate this."

The legendary coach said he would not tolerate players being injected with substances without his knowledge.

"You'd want to know about that, because you'd stamp it out straight away," he said.

The key points that stunned a nation

"I'm pretty ruthless in this area.

"I don't know how these people infiltrate into football clubs."

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Around the world in 80 injections

Former Juventus superstar Alessandro Del Piero was accused by a rival coach of bulking up through methods other than training. Source: AP

THE East Germans wrote the book on it, the Chinese Olympic team refined it, and now the question is: did Essendon also use illegal injections to take their performance to another level?

Professional sport is littered with stories of teams and players who have pumped their bodies full of all manner of substances in the quest to get a jump on the pack.

SOCCER

We very rarely hear a decent drug-related story in world football, but in reality the surface of the world game's use of mystery substances and injections has barely been scratched.

Cast your minds back to 2004, when French soccer legend Zinadine Zidane testified in a drug trial that he was given vitamins and supplements intravenously "according to what the doctor said", while playing for Italian club Juventus.

The murkiness doesn't stop there.

Czech coach Zdenek Zeman was coaching AS Roma in 1998 when he levelled his sights at Juventus, and in particular the A-League's recent recruit Alessandro Del Piero, who was one of the team's star players at the time.

Zeman said Del Piero appeared to have suddenly bulked up, and queried whether he could have done so without a little bit of chemical help.

Zeman's accusations against Juventus led authorities to take action, with a police search on Juventus' stadium finding more than 280 types of drugs.

NFL

The Bombers wouldn't be the first club to ask players to sign waivers absolving their club of any responsibility for the substances it doles out.

In fact, in America's National Football League, the entire competition has been asked to put ink to a liability waiver for a painkilling shot called Toradol.

Toradol is an extremely powerful anti-inflammatory that masks any number of injuries, aches and pains to allow players to take the field, but also comes with a history of side-effects, including kidney, liver and gastrointestinal problems.

One former NFL player said his team used to "line up like cattle" to receive their Toradol shot before a game.

But forget about the NFL finding out about Toradol's use (which is legal) second-hand - the league is actually handing out the waivers, seemingly in a bid to trump potential future lawsuits like those arising from the current wave of post-career concussion issues.

Former New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens was tried over allegations he used performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career. Source: AP

BASEBALL

You name it, they've done it in baseball.

And the list of big names who may have used questionable methods to gain an edge while engaging in America's pastime grows by the year.

Two-time World Series winner, 11-time All Star and seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens was last year found not-guilty of lying about using performance-enhancing drugs during his glittering career.

That was despite a trainer saying he injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone. Clemens maintained the needles contained vitamin B-12 and a legal anesthetic.

Chinese swimmer Zhang Yi was one of four Chinese swimmers who tested positive for banned substances at the World Championships in Perth in 1998. Source: AP

OLYMPICS

It says something about how sorry China really is for their years of state-sponsored doping that the man in charge of the entire setup is still a celebrity there.

Chen Zhanghao, who was the lead doctor for the Chinese Olympic teams at the 1984, 1988 and 1992, finally broke a three-decade silence last year to admit that his athletes were human guinea pigs as China searched for the best cocktail with which to inject their way to gold.

Chen said athletes were only given illegal substances on a "voluntary" basis, but many athletes later came forward to say they had no idea of exactly what they were being given.

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Carlisle backs Power medicos

AFL football - Port Adelaide Power vs Fremantle match at AAMI Stadium - footballer Alipate Carlile and Matthew Pavlich. Source: Herald Sun

PORT Adelaide's players have been shocked at the probe into Essendon's use of potentially illegal substances after having their own policies strengthened and fireproofed under fitness coach Darren Burgess and club's medical staff.

Power backman Alipate Carlile was surprised even to be asked whether the players injected -- half the team was afraid of needles to begin with -- and the players are banned from taking any supplements without having them checked by the club.

"Whatever we buy, we've  been told to bring it to the club doctor and he'll tick it off with the AFL,'' Carlile said.

"And if there's anything close to being a red mark, we don't go anywhere near it.

"So everything's ticked off by the club doctor. We've got full faith and trust in him and that he studies the rules.

"It goes through all levels.

"And we've never injected anything.''

Carlisle's comments follow Power premiership captain Warren Tredrea's admission he had been offered a supplement to help him with a knee injury from a person from outside the club.

But when he had the drug tested, it came up with three illegal ingredients, none of which were on the label of the pills.

Tredrea put it down to the supplements being imported.

He suspected the reason some players unwittingly took imported illegal substances was because US legislation does not require all ingredients to be listed on the bottle, which Australian law does.

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Eagles cool on Buddy play

Lance Franklin has put contract talks with Hawthorn on hold until the end of the season. Picture: Daniel Wilkins Source: PerthNow

WEST Coast will wait until Lance Franklin confirms he definitely wants to leave Hawthorn before making a play for his services.

Franklin has put contract talks with the Hawks on hold until the end of the season, but yesterday declared he had no intention of leaving the club he tasted premiership glory with in 2008.

The 26-year-old Perth product becomes a restricted free agent at the end of the year and is likely to attract huge offers from rival clubs, especially the two teams in his home state.

Fremantle is understood to have the money to bid for the superstar forward after failing to lure Travis Cloke and Brendon Goddard west via free agency late last year.

However, the prospect of playing alongside best mate Sharrod Wellingham puts the Eagles in the box seat to acquire Franklin's services should he change his mind and leave the Hawks.

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Coach John Worsfold left the door open for Franklin to play for West Coast in 2014, but said such a move could come at a high price.

"We could squeeze Buddy into the line-up, but the other issue is being able to afford to fit him into your squad," Worsfold told 6PR.

"When the time is right, we'll get a list of all players that may be interested in moving clubs and available to us.

"There are so many factors that you have to take into account that it's not something I worry about until we get down to the crunch time."

Wellingham is set to make his Eagles debut in next weekend's NAB Cup triple header against Fremantle and Geelong at Patersons Stadium.

Forward Mark LeCras is also expected to line up for the first time since undergoing a knee reconstruction last February.

But ruck veteran Dean Cox is in doubt after dislocating a finger at training last Friday and will be sidelined for at least a week.

Mark Nicoski (hamstring), Brad Sheppard (thumb) and Brad Dick (knee) will also be missing from the NAB Cup opener, but Worsfold expected them to be available for the following pre-season fixture.

"In the first week we're allowed to play 34 players, so we'll probably use all of those guys," Worsfold said.

"For a variety of different reasons, we've probably got about 10 guys that we won't play that weekend.

"That means everyone else is going to have a run, whether it's two of the games or just one of them."

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Bombers face fitness probe

Essendon players training at Windy Hill in 2012. Picture: Colleen Petch Source: Herald Sun

BREAKING NEWS: ESSENDON is facing an investigation by the AFL over its 2012 fitness program.

Essendon has confirmed to the Herald Sun that it sacked its sports science guru Stephen Dank late last year amid concerns about his conduct with players.

It has emerged Dank was the major casualty from Essendon's calamitous 2012 season which saw the cub slip from second to 10th on the AFL ladder in 11 weeks.

The Herald Sun can reveal Dank raised the ire of the club chiefs over his performance.

Essendon will hold a press conference at AFL House at 2.45pm AEDT.

A former Essendon player told Channel 9 that the club knew it was pushing the boundaries with its program.

"From what they were saying, it was right on the borderline of what they were going to give us," he said.

"Everyone signed it, it was a personal choice as to whether they took it.

" ... it does seem very odd the type of stuff we were taking.

"They admitted to us it was right on the edge of the levels you could be taking."

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Buddy: I want to stay a Hawk

Lance Franklin has put contract talks with Hawthorn on hold until the end of the season. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

Shane Crawford channels his inner Liam Neeson when he discovers Gary Ablett is 'taken' and tries to organise a swap with one of his mates

BREAKING NEWS: LANCE Franklin says he has "no intention" of walking out on Hawthorn despite putting contract talks on hold until the end of the season.

Franklin, who is out of contract and set to become a restricted free agent in October, said he wanted to focus on his football.

"There's going to be a lot of speculation, but I just want to play football. I have no intentions of leaving the footy club," he said.

"Internally it won't be spoken about, we'll just worry about playing footy.

"The footy club was shocked I didn't sign but I want to stay at hawthorn. It was my decision."

The superstar forward faced the media at 2pm today, just two days after the Herald Sun revealed he had put off contract negotiations with the Hawks until the end of the 2013 season.

Franklin and Richmond superstar Trent Cotchin spoke at AFL House ahead of Saturday night's Richmond-All-Stars exhibition showdown.

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Franklin's  contract revelation led to a media frenzy across the weekend, with the line from Buddy's  management eerily similar to that of Tom Scully, Gary Ablett and Kurt Tippett before that trio walked out on their clubs.

SuperFooty explained how history revealed this could spell disastrous news for the Hawks, while club legend Dermott Brereton told the Herald Sun that Franklin had made the right decision.

It was also revealed that Franklin had not struck a secret pact with Magpie-turned-Eagle Sharrod Wellingham to relocate to Perth and again shack up with his former housemate.

But Adelaide jumped on the front foot, today declaring it could make an audacious end-of-season play for the champion goalkicker.

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Crows plan closed doors scratch match

Adelaide Crows football list manager David Noble says there is nothing sinister in the club's decision. Picture: Ray Titus Source: The Advertiser

ADELAIDE will hold its major internal trial at AAMI Stadium on Friday - but fans will be kept in the dark.

 In a move which will upset some supporters, the Crows will play behind closed doors as they fine-tune their 2013 game style and experiment with some positional moves.

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In contrast, hometown rival Port Adelaide will open its internal trial up to its fans, incorporating its 5.30pm trial game on Friday with its annual family day.

List manager David Noble defended Adelaide's the decision to lock fans and the media out.

Crows want Buddy

"There's nothing sinister to it, we just want to work on a few things away from prying eyes,'' Noble said.

The match is expected to be held at about 10.30am.

The Crows have plenty of competition for spots, with only bulldozing forward Jared Petrenko on their long term injury list.

However he is recovering faster than expected from end-of-season shoulder surgery and is likely to be fit for the start of the AFL premiership season.

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Cloke is Lynch's No.1 fan

Collingwood recruit Quinten Lynch works up a sweat in pre-season training. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

TRAVIS Cloke has lots to be excited about.

With last year's contract circus behind him, the Collingwood spearhead will enter 2013 with a clear mind and niggle-free.

But there's something else that is giving the Magpies' chief goalkicker plenty to smile about as the club stepped up its pre-season with a solid one-hour match simulation session yesterday.

The man who replaced Chris Dawes as Cloke's new key forward partner, Quinten Lynch, has been one of the standouts of Collingwood's summer.

While the 30-year-old may not have attracted as much pre-season hype as some of the other club's big-name recruits, the West Coast premiership forward's physical game style is set to bring an imposing and versatile edge to the Pies' forward setup.

Cloke, who ranked No.1 in the AFL for contested marks last season, yesterday warmly welcomed the aerial support Lynch is poised to provide.

"He's going to help us out and and obviously 'Jolls' (Darren Jolly) and 'Huddo' (Ben Hudson) in the ruck, so he's a massive plus for the team and also myself," Cloke said.

"I'm looking forward to working with him. He's an amazing (physical) specimen and he's a very big man and he can run all day, so it's great.

"I got to know him quite well the last couple of months, he's a fantastic man and a lovely family man."

Adding to their Magpies' delight, fellow free agent Clinton Young, from Hawthorn, joined in on the match simulation after spending much of the summer carefully managing his recovery from foot surgery.

Jordan Russell and Ben Hudson also impressed in the full-ground workout at Victoria Park, adding vital playing depth to the club's premiership tilt.

Picture gallery: Collingwood family day

After booting 33 goals mainly playing deep forward for West Coast last year, Lynch yesterday said he was relishing the move to the Westpac Centre.

" I just feel there's a hunger in this group at the moment to succeed and it's really exciting for me," Lynch said.

"I've obviously come in as a tall forward to help Clokey out up there and that's exciting and no doubt I'll have a little bit of a run through the ruck if needed, so there are two good roles there," he said.

"These boys made the prelim final last year and hopefully I've come over here and we can go one better."

Cloke, who kicked 59 goals last year, downplayed the distraction caused by his contract saga, which looms for Hawthorn and its superstar Lance Franklin this season.

"I spoke to Bucks and said earlier in the year: 'Mate, this is what I want to do and he knew the whole way along what was happening'," Cloke said yesterday.

"And I had faith in him and he had faith in me, so we knew what was happening, it was just a matter of getting pen to paper."

These boys made the prelim final last year and hopefully I've come over here and we can go one better.

Midfield dynamos Scott Pendlebury and Dane Swan continued their impressive build-up to the season yesterday as Dale Thomas and Dayne Beams watched the match practice from the sidelines.

Beams, whose enjoyed a career-best year last season winning his first Copeland Trophy, said he had overcome a few niggles in the pre-season.

"(I've had) a couple of little hiccups along the way, but it has probably been one of my better pre-seasons," Beams said.

Luke Ball and Lachy Keeffe continue to make solid progress in their comeback from knee reconstructions, training away from the main group yesterday.

Andrew Krakouer, who had a quick-fix type of knee surgery to repair his ruptured ACL, also looked in excellent touch with a bag of goals deep forward.

Summer Barometer: Magpies injury, training latest

Hoping for a better run of injury luck in 2013, coach Nathan Buckley is expecting more welcome headaches picking the Pies' best 22 this season.

"The great thing we have got is we have competition for spots, so we'll spend the next two or thee weeks in practice matches and through the early part of the NAB Cup working out who is going to be putting their hand up to play senior footy early in the first couple of rounds," Buckley said.

"We've probably got 30-35 blokes that we're trying to squeeze into 22.

"You will be rewarded in selection for your efforts."

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Country rookies in high demand

TALL TIMBER: Young giants Darcy Cameron (of Albany) and Scott Jones (from Busselton) have their eye on an AFL future. Picture: Stewart Allen Source: PerthNow

WA will provide the two tallest players in this year's national draft pool, with towering ruck pair Scott Jones and Darcy Cameron capturing plenty of attention at yesterday's inaugural WA Talent Day.

The duo, who are both 17 and stand at 203cm, are set to form a powerful ruck combination in this year's under-18 championship and are predicted to be hot property come November.

State Academy manager Raff Guadagnino said it was rare to have teenagers of that size with clean hands and high overall skills.

"They are definitely the best ruckmen the WAFL has produced at an under-18s level since Nic Naitanui," he said.

"They possess intelligence, quality hand-eye coordination and are mentally-tough athletes."

Jones, from Busselton, said he had always embraced his height.

"I love being tall, it's who I am, and I love ruckwork," he said.

"I'm making the move up to Perth to get my footy career up and going and have a big year with East Perth and with the state 18s again, so hopefully if that goes well I'll get drafted at the end of the year."

Albany product Cameron also has his sights set on an AFL career.

"I'd love to get there and I'll work real hard for it," he said.

"I was always fairly tall but then I had a bit of a growth spurt in Year 9 and got a lot bigger and I've been playing ruck since then."

The best 50 prospects from around the state completed combine testing and interviews with recruiters from 16 AFL clubs yesterday.

They also played a north v south of the river match at Arena Joondalup in front of scouts.

The first WA Talent Day came after criticism of the state's development system last year.

"It ensures that we're the first in the nation to promote our under-18s players to the AFL clubs, but more importantly ensure that they get a good quality education throughout the day," Guadagnino said.

"We want to be at the cutting edge and this is part of making sure that our players are better developed going into 2013."

AFL talent manager Kevin Sheehan said it was too early to make judgments regarding the depth of this year's crop of potential draftees from WA.

"Kids change so much over a period of three or four months: they change athletically and get bigger," he said.

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