AFL News for the week ending January 29, 2023 - Silvagni answers the Saints SOS, Court for alleged GF ticket scammer and SEN rates the 3 players your side cannot afford to lose
Saints SOS to Blues great
As further proof that once footy is in your blood it's impossible to turn your back on it, something we've seen countless times over the years, yet another AFL great has found his way back into the game.
Stephen Silvagni, the great SOS, axed by his old club the Blues back in late 2019 over a 'conflict of interest', is set to return to the game, albeit at another club.
The club revealed on Thursday that SOS would be joining the Saints as their list manager.
Having worked there as an assistant coach from 2007-10 under Ross Lyon, it won't surprise many that the return of Ross the boss to the Saints must have been a temptation too hard to resist for SOS to work with him again.
According to Saints chief executive, Simon Lethlean, SOS will work alongside Graeme 'Gubby' Allan, focussing on "developing the club's overall list strategy ... as the club seeks to bolster its list".
Clamping down on scamming
If there is anything a fan hates (more than a soggy pie and a contentious umpire decision!) it has to be ticket scalping and scams.
Despite attempts by the AFL to stop this practice, it remains one of the more difficult parts of the fan experience for the AFL to manage because of how endemic it is.
This doesn't mean it goes unchecked, with the Age reporting on Thursday that a 24-year-old Mill Park man will face court in April, accused of duping fans looking for 2022 Grand Final tickets.
Allegedly selling fake tickets to fans in a scam that may have brought in as much as $30,000, if it's proven he was behind this scam let's hope for all AFL fans' sake a strong message is sent by the courts that this kind of behaviour will not go unchecked.
SEN's three most important players structurally in 2023
As the season approaches, we're going to see a whole slew of articles and commentary about how each club will fare.
This latest piece by SEN writers is based on 'how difficult it would be for the club to replace the output of these players if they’re injured', with SEN identifying the three players your club just cannot afford to lose.
There won't be too many surprises in there as many of the players listed are key players or integral to a side's structure in terms of the part of the game the side excels in.
But reading over them, fans will, no doubt, have their own trio they feel are indispensable, so it's definitely worth a read!