Saints CEO says Ross Lyon is ‘running a pretty safe environment’; Pies opt to rest Pendlebury
Your daily football news package in today’s AFL Briefing:
- Saints chief Dilena supports Lyon and says the issue with domestic players has been resolved.
- The Magpies will rest Pendlebury before the record-breaking game.
St Kilda chief executive Carl Dilena said there was no need for further action regarding the incident between Ross Lyon and the club’s Indigenous players, saying the “innocent negligence” that had led to the veteran coach’s offer to reconsider his position at the club had been resolved internally.
In fact, Dilena said that she only became aware of the incident on Monday night, shortly before it was made public by the United States. Age Caroline Wilson, columnist for Channel Seven Agenda Setters.
Wilson revealed Lyon had offered to reconsider his role as St Kilda coach after learning a comment he made in training had upset domestic players at the club.
Wilson reported on the program that Lyon said after a training exercise that brought together three Indigenous players: “I love the Brotherboy connection, but we’ve all got to remember we’re part of a bigger team here.”
In a radio interview with Gerard Whateley on SEN, Dilena said she became aware of the incident on Monday night, before Wilson’s episode aired.
“It was a pretty innocent oversight by Ross, he didn’t mean any harm and it shows that he runs a pretty safe environment with our First Nations children and they feel comfortable talking to him about this, discussing it and working it out in a harmonious way,” he said.
“They dealt with it among themselves like any other mishap.
“It was a positive outcome. Although Ross said he was very emotional about it (because the last thing he wants to do is upset our First Nations players, who he is very close to), this is an issue that has been resolved at work and there is no need to go beyond that.”
Lyon told Wilson that his comments “didn’t go where they needed to go” and could be interpreted as “casual racism.”
When asked whether Lyon’s comments constituted casual racism, Dilena said: “It had to be looked at through the eyes of the person receiving the comment.”
“There were questions like, ‘Was this really that serious?’ “And Ross didn’t think anything of it at the time,” he said.
“Yet it is very challenging and, as we have seen in a variety of cases, how it is received is more important than how it is delivered. Casual racism or unconscious bias is always a problem.
“People don’t think about it, but they probably need to be more aware of it.”
After Wilson’s episode aired, St Kilda Indigenous player Bradley Hill shared a photo of himself and Wanganeen-Milera arm in arm with Lyon on social media on Monday night, with the caption: “Sorry Caro, we love Ross.”
Dilena said the club will learn from the experience and be thoughtful and conscious about the impact of words.
Rest before evergreen Pendlebury’s record
Jon Pierik
Collingwood great Scott Pendlebury will be rested after Thursday night’s blockbuster game against Hawthorn as the Magpies continue to weigh selections and commercial realities ahead of their record-breaking clash.
Pendlebury, 38, has played 431 matches and will equal North Melbourne champion Brent Harvey’s record of 432 when he next comes into the fold.
The Magpies face Geelong at the MCG in a fortnight and Pendlebury are now expected to equal Harvey’s record, but they must then determine whether to break the record against premiership challengers Sydney at the SCG or wait until the home clash with West Coast at the MCG in round 11, when they will be rested again and more than 90,000 people can be expected to attend.
Pendlebury had a career-high 43 disposals and 19 scores against Essendon on Anzac Day; Off the field was where he was at his best, but he told McRae he wanted to rest this week.
McRae said he had no thoughts of limiting his minutes against the Bombers, particularly towards the end of the game when the Magpies secured four points to play this week. He played 92 percent of the game time in the final quarter.
“I don’t want to predict the future, but it could happen. [have been] last Anzac Day [game]. So, to enjoy this whole experience, athletes – they’re in the zone, they’re in the flow – they’re all there. But ultimately we listen to our athletes and what they want to do,” McRae said.
“He won’t play this game but Geelong will and we’ll see where it goes. We’ll talk again when the game is over.” [Consider] how his body is doing and then we all evaluate the performance as well. “It’s a delicate balance.”
However, McRae said Pendlebury had “had some discussions with the management team” about the commercial aspect of planning and preparations for the milestone game.
“Honestly, I said, ‘Can you keep this on the other side of the building because we’re here to demonstrate. We’re doing this right,'” McRae said.
“Then of course there have to be plans for the future because there’s a lot going on behind the scenes to celebrate Pendles because we don’t want to miss it. So we’ll let people do that and we’ll just live in our space and do our thing there.”
McRae said the Magpies wanted Pendlebury fit and healthy at the end of the season.
While Pendlebury was rested, McRae confirmed captain Darcy Moore had cleared all fitness hurdles and would return for just his second game of the season. Moore had a strong workout on Tuesday and completed sprint work.
Midfielder Ned Long, who was rested against the Bombers, looks likely to replace Pendlebury.
“Yes, yes, there are some decisions taken accordingly [at selection last week]said McRae.
Small forward Bobby Hill has been active again around goal, returning to football via the VFL last weekend, playing 40 per cent of the game. McRae said the 2023 Norm Smith medalist will play up to 80 per cent of game time in the VFL this weekend but refused to say when he would be available for senior selection.
“I often say that people have to go through things to get better, and that’s what he’s working on,” McRae said.
The Magpies face Jack Ginnivan once again, who was acrimoniously traded following the club’s 2023 win over the Hawks. Ginnivan angered the Magpies by attending the Moonee Valley races on the eve of the grand final, prompting McRae to say he “couldn’t read the room”.
Ginnivan was a goal-scoring striker at the Magpies, but has since developed into a good all-rounder at the Hawks, moving into midfield and further out in a team that McRae rates as “the best team in the competition right now”.
“It’s really good to see Jack playing well. I watch him play different roles on the wing and at half-forward. He’s always been a smart player,” McRae said.
McRae says the Magpies are still chasing restricted free agent Gold Coast forward Ben King, who has been offered a two-year contract extension by the Suns.
“We’re interested in him becoming a free agent, but ‘race’ is interesting terminology. I’ll leave that to ‘Leppa.’ [list and talent boss Justin Leppitsch]and our list management committee. We meet once a month. As far as I know his name is still on the board,” McRae said.
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Hannah Kennelly is an award-winning sports journalist and Formula 1 writer for The Age.Connect via email.
Jon Pierik is a sports reporter for The Age. He covers the AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect with: X or email.
