Tim Lane
As non-Victorian teams rise, crowds will play active part
Tim Lane In case you hadn't noticed, football's pendulum of ascendancy seems to be swinging back to its median position, if not quite yet to the non-Victorian side thereof.
AFL
Minnows to Giants - a long process but not impossible
Tim Lane Skoda Stadium beckons again on Sunday. Such is the nature of the modern AFL fixture, it will be my seventh look at Greater Western Sydney in the first 12 rounds.
AFL
Standing by Hird is natural, but what if he were not one of us?
Tim Lane It has been impossible to miss the way Essendon's players and supporters have supported their coach.
AFL
AFL must bear growing pains
Tim Lane Football is spreading its wings and officials, players and fans must now commit to a bigger game.
Sport in Crisis
Probe must be independent
Tim Lane Australian model of anti-doping authority is outdated and public confidence is wavering.
AFL
New man must knock heads
Tim Lane With plenty of issues facing the game, having no football operations manager is yet another one.
Cultural change, AFL gets Jeffed
Tim Lane Andrew Demetriou has overseen some momentous times at league HQ, but where to now?
Dark artists drop the ball
Tim Lane The tanking scandal and the Folau debacle show the dangers of tinkering with footy's natural order.
AFL follows bouncing ball
Tim Lane The league's continuous tinkering with the game's rules is like a dog chasing its tail.
Buddy flaws hurt Hawks
Tim Lane Lance Franklin can light up the modern game, but his inaccuracy holds back Hawthorn.
Tim Lane
Winning now not so foreign
Tim Lane Once again a Swans premiership has been made possible by their inspired trading.
The case for a new Brownlow
Tim Lane The highest honour needs a new voting system to beat the bias towards flashy midfielders.
Life of Mick, Blue messiah?
Tim Lane Carlton has a long history of bringing in outsiders to produce instant results - it's not always worked.
Off-field wins? No tanks, AFL
Tim Lane While the issue of tanking had to be addressed, the AFL's ''solution'' is not one that is appropriate.
AFL needs less shuttlecockups
Tim Lane IT WILL be a relief to the AFL to know it isn't alone in facing the reality that its rules might, under certain circumstances, encourage manufactured under-performance; or 'tanking' in the vernacular.
Fate stepped in to distinguish between two prodigious talents
Tim Lane Two of the Apple Isle's finest had contrasting fortunes in the big time.
Panel doesn't deliver justice
Tim Lane A system in which 51% gives the same result as 99% lacks sense, common or otherwise.
Football
Cup on offer, it's still footy
Tim Lane The new incarnation of the NAB Cup may still give some indication of what's to come.
Football
Jack's 'lost in mail' story has a stamp of doubt
Tim Lane and Roy Masters A Sunday Age investigation has raised doubts about the veracity of a statutory declaration.
AFL
All-clear on Jack deal can't be taken seriously
Tim Lane AFL credibility in the Jack affair quickly melts away under scrutiny.
