LIVE chat with Adelaide’s Josh Jenkins

JOSH Jenkins is back in the hot seat from 2pm today ready to take all your questions ahead of the Crows' clash with Carlton in Melbourne.

Jenkins was the star in Adelaide's 21-point win over Collingwood last Thursday night at Adelaide Oval.

He kicked four goals in front of more than 50,000 fans, but was part of a huge controversy after one of his goals was allowed despite being kicked after the three-quarter time siren.

Put your thinking caps on a leave your questions below ready for Josh to answer from 2pm.

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Dad’s with me every time I play, says Darcy Bailey

Dean Bailey's son, Darcy, who plays for Glenelg, has been awarded the SANFL's Star Search Award for Round 7. Source: News Corp Australia

DARCY Bailey takes his dad with him every time he runs out on the footy field.

Speaking for the first time since the death of his father, the former Crows senior assistant Dean Bailey, the 19-year-old Glenelg small forward says he thinks about his dad before and during every game he plays.

"He always told me before games that 'the ball in your hands is a good result for the team' and when I'm running out I always remind myself about that," says Bailey, who has played five league games.

"Sometimes I'll think about things he's shown me because my favourite thing to do when I was younger was to watch football with him on a laptop while he edited games.

"The majority of the stuff I know now is from those experiences.

"Small things like that, when I'm out on the ground, I remember him saying what to do in this situation and I try to do it as best I can."

Dean Bailey, who played at Essendon, and who was also an assistant at Port, and coached Melbourne, died in March, aged 47 - just three months after he was diagnosed with cancer.

Darcy has shown remarkable resilience since his father's death and this week won the SANFL's Star Search Award - which identifies the competition's best young player - for round seven.

He says the support of his teammates, Glenelg officials and the Crows helped him through the difficult period - and continues today.

Darcy Bailey, right, with father Dean Bailey during the TAC Cup.

Darcy missed a week of training after his dad's death - "just sitting around at home" - but was soon back among his Tigers teammates.

Returning to the Tigers was important given his dad played two seasons there and won the Tigers' best and fairest in 1995.

"I love playing football and being around the guys so I came back to training and it was really good. Everyone got around me and I felt amazing when I came back,'' Darcy said.

"They have been amazing from when we first found out about Dad to after - both the Crows and Glenelg have been unbelievable.

"I received a text from every single player from Glenelg and the board and have had so much support from everyone - and continue to have that. I can't thank the club enough."

Darcy knows his dad would be proud of his form this season, during which he has also played one game for the Crows reserves as a top-up player.

"Dad was always pumping me up with confidence - probably too much - before games,'' he said.

"He'd tell me to keep going the way I'm going, keep doing the things I'm doing and keep trying to be as professional as I can to keep my spot in the team. He's been a great support of mine."

Darcy's goal this season is to cement a spot in the Tigers' league team.

He hopes to one day play AFL, like his dad.

"Since year two I've had a goal and dream to play AFL football, used to join in dad's trainings at Melbourne and at Essendon was kicking with Scotty Lucas," Darcy said.

"Dad always said get to the highest level you can but he was supportive of whatever I wanted to do. But if I didn't enjoy playing footy he wouldn't have cared, he'd be proud of me either way."

Along the way, Darcy, who is studying a Bachelor of Arts and working at a restaurant to keep busy, says he intends to follow his dad's mantra.

"The main thing everyone spoke about (when Bailey died) was the way he treats people.

"It doesn't matter if you're the best player or the worst player - he'd invest time in you as a person and treat everyone equally.

"I feel like I've tried to take that from him."

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AFL Team of the Week with Jai Bednall

It was another round of controversial calls in the AFL and we've got the pick of them here in this week's edition of 'If you don't mind umpire'.

Fremantle's Hayden Ballantyne celebrates a goal in the third term. Source: News Corp Australia

ROUND nine was all about flexing. Fremantle and Sydney showed any premiership discussion has to include them this season, while North Melbourne and the Gold Coast showed they're good enough to bully the weaker sides who troubled them last season.

As a result, players from these four sides dominate our Team of the Week.

Team of the week. Source: The Advertiser

ATTACK

Tom Lynch (Gold Coast)

Kicked a goal in every quarter and was the only Suns player with multiple contested marks in a wide open game against the Saints.

Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson believes the Crows forward line is the envy of many other AFL clubs as Taylor Walker prepares to make his return from injury and bolster an already prolific attack.

Josh Jenkins (Adelaide)

Jenkins is a fresh reminder that it pays to be patient with the big fellas in attack. Since passing the 30 game mark he's looked like a genuine AFL key forward.

Hayden Ballantyne (Fremantle)

Praising Ballantyne isn't easy but how can you not be impressed with his effort a week after breaking his jaw. A player you love if he's on your side.

Matthew Pavlich celebrated a win in his 300th AFL game as Fremantle scored a comfortable win over Geelong.

Gary Ablett (Gold Coast)

Just a standard day out for Gaz - 37 disposals, four goals.

Ablett dishes off a handball. Picture: Wayne Ludbey. Source: News Corp Australia

Lance Franklin (Sydney)

Found his radar against the Bombers and has now taken seven contested marks inside 50 in the past fortnight.

Brent Harvey (North Melbourne)

Brad Scott has raved about Harvey's ability to stand up in big games but he's not bad in the other ones either. Had 39 disposals and two goals in a thumping of the Lions.

MIDFIELD

Sam Gibson (North Melbourne)

Gibson has more 30 disposal games (5) in the first eight games of this season than he had in all of 2012-13.

Josh Kennedy (Sydney)

Looks set to return to the All-Australian team after narrowly missing out last year. Ridiculous numbers against the Bombers.

Stephen Hill (Fremantle)

The handball he shot out in one of the Dockers' end to end goals had to be seen to be believed. A special player.

A great spoil by Hill. Source: News Corp Australia

DEFENCE

Kieran Jack (Sydney)

It took until round nine for Jack to top 30 disposal mark but it was worth the wait. He played a peach against Essendon.

Sydney Swans continue there season turn-around with a 64 -114 win over Essendon

Daniel Talia (Adelaide)

It's always nice to watch the first kick directed to your opponent bounce straight off his chest and it was all downhill from there for Travis Cloke as Talia enjoyed another strong outing.

Jeremy Howe (Melbourne)
Howe took four contested marks against the Tigers to lead the Dees to a 19-9 edge in that category.

The Melbourne Demons have held their nerve for a gutsy 17-point AFL win over the Richmond Tigers at the MCG.

Tom Langdon (Collingwood)

Started on the pine because of the return of Toovey and Maxwell but didn't lose any momentum.

Langdon puts the pressure on Taylor Walker. Picture: Sarah Reed. Source: News Corp Australia

Steven May (Gold Coast)

The Suns' 6-2 record is as much about the development of players like May as it is about the sustained brilliance of Ablett.

Gold Coast's breakout AFL season has continued to gain momentum with a 38-point win over St Kilda.

Levi Greenwood (North Melbourne)

The Kangaroos are being rewarded for their patience with Greenwood, who is enjoying his best season.

FIRST RUCK

Aaron Sandilands (Fremantle)

Responded to his final quarter against the Power by leading Freo to a +18 advantage in clearances.

Sandilands makes things hard for Hamish McIntosh. Source: Getty Images

David Mundy (Fremantle)

Who says contract years have to negatively affect your form? Mundy's value is going up every week.

Patrick Dangerfield (Adelaide)

It wasn't a good night for the taggers at Adelaide Oval. Dangerfield physically overpowered Brent Macaffer and Scott Pendlebury gave Sam Kerridge nightmares.

INTERCHANGE

Nathan Jones (Melbourne)

Seriously how was this bloke not made captain until this season? Another 33 disposals - including 17 contested - on the weekend.

Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood)

Pendlebury was the key reason the Magpies led at half time against the Crows. Kicked a pearler from the boundary.

Jaeger O'Meara (Gold Coast)

O'Meara puts up big numbers most weeks but perhaps his most impressive stat is the seven tackles he's averaging per game.

O'Meara wraps up Jack Stevens. Source: News Corp Australia

Craig Bird (Sydney)

Bird's certainly not a Bondi Billionaire... after 117 games he's still relatively unknown outside of Sydney. But he was as good as anyone outside of Kennedy for the Swans on the weekend.

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Someone’s making a killing at Oval — but not the clubs

The Crows v Collingwood match at Adelaide Oval attracted more than 50,000 people. But who made all the money? Picture: Sarah Reed. Source: News Corp Australia

ANDREW Demetriou came to hate the red tags on files in his in-tray at AFL House. They signalled to the AFL chief executive a series of recurring problems in SA football.

As a South Australian - and a well-connected South Australian - new AFL boss Gillon McLachlan will develop the same headache.

This is despite the two SA-based AFL clubs having "independent" licences and supposed freedom from the SANFL.

The reality is the Power and Crows are now dependent on the SANFL in another form - the Stadium Management Authority that has become the new layer of bureaucracy in SA football. This government-endorsed authority is not only an SANFL beast, but also contains the SA Cricket Association.

McLachlan will have had his feet under his new desk at AFL House in Melbourne for less than a month before he comes to Adelaide to deal with the finer (and ugly) points of the Stadium Management Authority.

Adelaide Oval is not - repeat not - the "pots of gold" that SMA chairman and SANFL president John Olsen proclaims. There certainly is more money to be made by the AFL clubs at the Oval. But the costs associated with this new revenue - costs dictated by the SMA - are extraordinary.

Here is a prime example.

Traffic management around the MCG costs the host AFL club $1000 a game.

At Subiaco, the Eagles and Dockers pay $800. What are the Crows are Power charged at the Oval. Get ready for this .... $18,000.

Cleaning bills are said to be four times greater at the Oval than at Football Park. How can this be? Each stadium catered for 50,000 fans. There are a few more rooms at the Oval, but not four times as many.

Another fascinating question posed since Olsen presented the "pots of gold" theme of an extra $12m for the Crows and Power at the Oval is: How much are the AFL clubs collecting on game day at the Oval?

Port opened the Oval with a sold-out Showdown on March 29.

How much did the Power collect? At least $500,000? When McLachlan arrives for the stadium deal review in early July the figure he will see on the agenda is not even with six figures. Again, how can this be?

Clearly, the AFL clubs need to have a clear picture on how much money is being made at the Oval and how this money is being carved up. For now, all they are getting are bills with some concerning figures - and very thin cheques. Hardly gold.

And how much will the Crows get from the SMA for the Thursday night extravaganza against Collingwood?

If that figure is not six figures, expect the Adelaide Football Club's "wait and see" theme on the Oval to turn into a much more aggressive tone.

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Crows seek consistency via defence

Adelaide forward Josh Jenkins says the Crows must use Thursday's impressive win over Collingwood to gather some momentum in the coming weeks.

David Mackay says Adelaide will be focusing on defence to improve its consistency this season. Source: News Limited

DAVID Mackay believes a defensive mindset can help Adelaide find the consistency which has plagued it this season.

Adamant the Crows have a potent attack, wingman Mackay says denying the opposition easy goals is the key to the club moving ahead in the win-loss ledger for the first time this year and playing finals.

NO MCG INJURY DEMONS FOR TEX

CROWS WAIT ON CROUCH

"We think we can score, we haven't had too many issues scoring and we think we've got a lot of options going forward,'' Mackay said as his team prepared to play Carlton at the MCG on Sunday afternoon.

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"We've just got to make sure we keep teams to low scores. When we've lost it's because we've lost momentum in games and allowed teams to score pretty easily against us.

"That's been the area which has let us down all year. We think if we can rectify the effort we had defensively against Collingwood then we'll be in pretty good shape with our attack.''

Adelaide bounced back from an embarrassing defeat to Melbourne, stunning Collingwood with a 21-point win at Adelaide Oval on Thursday night.

Adelaide conceded just 55 points to the Magpies — a far cry from the 93 points it had been averaging after round seven.

Mackay is not putting the heat just on the club's defenders to silence rivals.

He said the all-round pressure which the Crows applied on Collingwood is the key to his 4-4 team winning regularly.

LOVE NOT MONEY FOR DANGERFIELD

"We've still got a lot of things to work on but the positive from last week was that we played the four quarters of intense footy that we've been trying to play all year,'' Mackay said.

"We saw the fruits of what we've been working on, which was the most pleasing thing.

"But we have to build on that. It won't mean much unless we continue on with that form.

"We certainly believe that when we bring our best form we can match anyone but the trick for us is to have that consistency.

"And that starts with the pressure and making sure we do our job defensively.''

Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson fronts the media following the Crows' 21-point win over Collingwood on Thursday night.

Adelaide set a season benchmark for defensive pressure against the Pies, laying 93 tackles — the second best performance in club history.

Mackay said the Crows are "under no illusions'' of where the team is at and that "we still have plenty of work to do''.

He said Adelaide is aware of the importance of backing up the win against Collingwood by beating the Blues.

"Every game now is really big for us,'' Mackay said.

"We don't have the luxury of putting in a poor performance because at 4-4 we're pretty delicately balanced.

"We've got to make sure we get ahead of the (win-loss) ledger and all the boys and coaching staff are well aware of that.''

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Port close to deal on match in China

Port Adelaide is close to securing a deal to play a pre-season game in the Chinese city of Macau. Source: AP

PORT Adelaide is closer to playing a pre-season game in China next year — and opening new sponsorship deals in the lucrative Chinese market.

The Power is considering two venues on the casino-driven Chinese island of Macau for a pre-season game that will put Port ahead of two AFL rivals — in particular Greater Western Sydney — in finding a new source of corporate money outside the increasingly crowded Australian market.

POWER WANTS HAWKS ON GROWING LIST

QUIT THE CHARADE — THE MAGPIES ARE DEAD

"We're thinking outside the square — and we need to such so that we can differentiate ourselves," Port president David Koch said from China yesterday.

"We've worked our 'central corridor' strategy in Central Australia from Adelaide to Darwin and now there is Melbourne and Essendon there as well. We have to find somewhere with clean air — and China offers that."

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Port's board — with every director paying for their travel — met in Hong Kong during last week's bye to work through a strategy session.

The Power business lunch in Hong Kong — that returned a profit — not only opened connections to some of China's business leaders but reaffirmed Port's interest in taking a pre-season game to South-East Asia.

"This is a very good market for us," Koch told The Advertiser.

Travis Boak could be leading Port Adelaide out in a pre-season game in China. Source: Getty Images

"Just in Hong Kong there is the second-largest ex-pat group of Australians; second to London."

Port is now waiting for AFL approval for a venue in Macau. The first stadium proposed for the pre-season game is not meeting league requirements.

"But there is another — half an hour away from Macau's centre — that meets the AFL's minimum standards and can host 10,000 people," Koch said.

"As a club we are very interested in playing a pre-season game in Macau next year. The sponsors of the game are very keen. Now we have to wait on the AFL to weigh up which venue is best for the game.

"On the sponsorship this game offers, we're ready to go."

Port's new China theme advances Koch's intent to broaden the Power from its traditional "5015 postcode" to be a national and now international brand. Port's new joint major sponsor, Energy Australia, has its headquarters in Hong Kong.

The other major sponsor is French car manufacturer, Renault.

View of Macau at dusk. Picture: Edmon Leong Source: Supplied

The rebirth of the Power's corporate strength is coupled with Port having record membership of 53,007 — and closing within 500 on hometown rival Adelaide's count that has always lead in the SA market.

"That is what Adelaide Oval has done for us," Koch said. "For our members, Adelaide Oval feels like home — they left AAMI Stadium to come home to Adelaide Oval.

"For all the controversy created by the Adelaide Oval debate, there is no doubt now that this is the best decision ever made for the SA economy. When Fremantle declares it had 30 sponsors come to Adelaide — and they turned the trip into more than a football game by visiting the Barossa — after hardly any would be here for a game at AAMI Stadium, we know tourism in SA will be boosted by AFL games at Adelaide Oval.

"That is music to my ears."

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Quit the charade — the Magpies are dead

Magpies' Sam Colquhoun ready to dish the ball off at Alberton Oval. Picture Tom Huntley Source: News Corp Australia

THE Port Adelaide Magpies are in name only and are not the true Magpies.

Port Adelaide and the SANFL can voice their disapproval as much as they want but the charade is already over after just eight rounds.

They ceased to be the Magpies when they were given a licence to include Eagles, Roosters, Bulldogs and Tigers in the side.

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Paul Stewart is a Woodville-West Torrens product, last year Cameron Hitchcock was in the Glenelg jumper and Sam Colquhoun learned his football at Central District. State league clubs are now playing against players they developed who signed with the Power for the AFL.

The Power, just like the Crows, wanted teams in the state league so they could keep their players together. Any club with a second side calls it their reserves under the same label.

The Crows didn't come up with the Galahs or Pigeons for their second side. They stuck with the Crows and while they prefer the team be tagged its state league side, it is still acknowledged as their reserves.

So why is the Power reserves called the Magpies, especially when products of other state league programs are involved? And don't they want to be known as the one club?

The difference between the Crows and Power reserves is the more favourable conditions offered to Port Adelaide, which was allowed to retain key personnel from last year's Magpies outfit.

Next year, Port Adelaide will lose its zones and under age teams. However, the damage is already being done on the evidence of the past six weeks.

The Power reserves have won their past six games by a combined 423 points at an average of more than 70. Their past two wins were by 50 and 60 points against Sturt and South Adelaide respectively. Those two teams sat second on the ladder underneath the Power reserves going into those battles.

The Power reserves have also beaten the Eagles by 58 points. It is the Eagles' only loss.

When the Crows were given the green light to field a team in the state league and Port Adelaide was allowed to keep its reserves at Alberton and not spread throughout the competition, there were plenty of nerves of an AFL team domination.

Already clubs are relying on Power injuries to bring it back to the pack.

No doubt if the Power reserves win the grand final the club will claim it as an extension of the Magpies' proud history. Yeah, right.

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No MCG injury curse for Tex

Adelaide forward Josh Jenkins says the Crows must use Thursday's impressive win over Collingwood to gather some momentum in the coming weeks.

Taylor Walker runs out on to Adelaide Oval after a year off recovering from an ACL injury. Picture: Sarah Reed. Source: News Corp Australia

ADELAIDE says star forward Taylor Walker will not be weighed down by any extra mental demons when he runs onto the MCG to play Carlton on Sunday.

Walker — who made his comeback after a year on the sidelines in the Crows' upset win against Collingwood on Thursday — will be returning to the ground where he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament on April 27 last year, ironically also against the Blues.

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While dashing wingman/half-back David Mackay noted the strange twist of fate which has Walker playing in the corresponding fixture so soon in his comeback from a knee reconstruction, he said "Tex" had done so much work in his recovery any doubts about his knee standing up under pressure had been erased.

"I don't think so," Mackay said when asked if Walker would be affected by an early return to the MCG.

Walker and Tom Langdon fight for the ball. Picture: Sarah Reed. Source: News Corp Australia

"Tex has done so much work. It's incredible the amount of work he's done over the past 12 months to get himself not only physically right but mentally prepared to play AFL footy again.

"He's done so much work to make sure that he's got every confidence that it's not going to happen again and that he can get back to how he was playing before he did it.

"It is a credit to him and we are just looking forward to seeing how he goes for the rest of the year."

The Crows are close to regaining another player from a long-term injury, with playmaking defender Ricky Henderson making good progress in his recovery from a broken leg.

He could resume in the SANFL in rounds 12 or 13.

"He's really important to our structure and getting him back will be a real bonus for us," Mackay said.

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