Marngrook Footy Show

Is centre half-forward Travis Cloke a walk-up start for Collingwood's line-up for the blockbuster against Carlton at the MCG on Saturday?

Not if you ask coach Michael Malthouse.

"I don't make guarantees ... not on a Wednesday," Malthouse said at a special breakfast to promote the big game.

Cloke has missed the past two games because of suspension.

The Flagpies have demolished St Kilda and Richmond at the 'G in the games Cloke has been sidelined.

Hawthorn's Campbell Brown has accepted a two-match sanction for striking St Kilda's Nick Dal Santo during the first quarter of the blockbuster at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.

He can consider himself pretty lucky, too.

Dal Santo's face was a mess as he left the ground.

West Coast's Ashton Hams has accepted a three-match sanction for engaging in rough conduct against Dennis Armfield at Subiaco on Saturday night.

North Melbourne's Ben Cunnington has accepted a $900 sanction for making negligent contact with an umpire during the first quarter of the match against Essendon at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.

Adelaide star Graham Johncock has accepted a one-match sanction for engaging in rough conduct against Port Adelaide's Cameron Hitchcock during the second quarter of the match at AAMI Stadium on Sunday.

Marngrook Footy Show host Grant Hansen will be thrilled.

He nearly jumped out of his seat in the press box as Liam Picken kicked an amazing goal as the Western Bulldogs smashed Fremantle at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

"That's got to got one of the goals of the round," he said.

Picken had snapped truly from 40m after beating Stephen Hill to the loose footy and then breaking tackles of Hill and Clancee Pearce.

As predicted by our host with the most, Picken's mighty effort is one of the three nominations for goal of the round.

Meanwhile, Essendon's high-leaping debutant Kyle Hardingham is in line for mark of the round.

The round 17 Hungry Jack’s AFL Mark of the Year nominations are as follows:
 
Fans can now view and vote for their favourite mark at www.afl.com.au/mark

 
Port Adelaide great and 2004 premiership captain Warren Tredrea has decided to hang up the boots.

Unfortunately, the 31-year-old forward hasn't recovered from the serious ankle injury he suffered in the Power's thrilling three-point win over Essendon at Etihad Stadium in round seven.

The four-time best and fairest winner and four-time All-Australian played 255 games and kicked 549 goals in a grand career after making his debut as an 18-year-old in the club's second ever game in the AFL back in 1997.

He was born to play for Port Adelaide as his father Gary was a terrific player for the famous Magpies in the SANFL (and also played with Collingwood).

Tredrea will be farewelled with a lap of honour before this Saturday’s match against Hawthorn at AAMI Stadium.
 
The club will also hold a testimonial dinner for Tredrea in late October.

Last week it was Hawthorn's Luke Hodge leading Collingwood's Dane Swan by a vote in the AFL Coaches Association's champion player of the year award.

Now it's Swan leading Hodge by a vote.

Swan has grabbed the lead on 89 votes from Hodge on 88 as the champs continue to poll spectacularly.

Swan received the maximum 10 votes for his superlative display as the Magpies smashed Richmond at the MCG on Saturday.

Hodge received eight votes for his outstanding performance in the Hawks' unlucky draw against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.

What's the chances of a Swan/Hodge tie in the Brownlow Medal?

The pair's consistency has been absolutely amazing.

Swan and Hodge have cleared away from the rest in the eyes of the coaches.

Fremantle's ruckman Aaron Sandilands is third on 62 votes.

Geelong midfielder Joel Selwood has jumped to fourth spot on 59 votes after receiving the perfect 10 for his brilliant game in the big win over Brisbane at Skilled Stadium.

Teammate Paul Chapman is fifth on 57 votes.

Leading vote-getters from the 17th round were:

St Kilda v Hawthorn: Luke Hodge 8, Lenny Hayes 8, Brendon Goddard 7.

Collingwood v Richmond: Dane Swan 10, Alan Didak 8.

Geelong v Brisbane: Joel Selwood 10, Gary Ablett 6, Travis Varcoe 6, Matthew Scarlett 4.

North Melbourne v Essendon: Jobe Watson 10, Andrew Swallow 8, Brent Harvey 5.

West Coast v Carlton: Kade Simpson 9, Chris Judd 6, Marc Murphy 5.

The player adjudged best-on-ground in the Western Bulldogs' home game against North Melbourne game at Etihad Stadium this Sunday will receive the Gary Dempsey Medal.

The combatants will do battle in the second annual Emergency Services Appreciation Game.
 
Established in 2009, the game acknowledges the hard work undertaken by all Emergency Service Departments across Victoria.
 
The winning team will be presented with the Emergency Services Appreciation Shield in its rooms following the conclusion of Sunday’s game.

The Bulldogs hold the shield after triumphing in the inaugural game last year.

They won 11.14 (80) to 9.11 (65) in wet conditions at the MCG.

Josh Hill kicked three goals.

Midfielder Ryan Griffen won the Gary Dempsey Medal. 

The medal pays tribute to the magnificent career of Gary Dempsey.

AFL general manager of football operations Adrian Anderson said the AFL had met on the matter of the Etihad Stadium ground surface.
 
Mr Anderson said he convened a meeting of senior AFL Football Operations staff, turf experts and AFL Players Association representatives, including CEO Matt Finnis, with Etihad Stadium staff, including chief executive Ian Collins.
 
Mr Anderson said the AFL expressed its concern about the slippery nature of the ground during last Friday night’s match between St Kilda and Hawthorn.
 
Etihad Stadium has agreed to immediately implement a number of measures to improve the surface of the ground. These include:
 
· Hollow coring the ground to aerate it. This was done on Saturday before the match between North Melbourne and Essendon but was not done before Friday night’s game.
· Top-dressing the ground weekly, rather than fortnightly, to provide extra traction for players.
· Consider other recommendations from the AFL’s turf consultant.
· Make a recommendation to players on the type of boots they should wear on the ground
 
Mr Anderson said he had received advice that there was no evidence the surface at Etihad Stadium was not safe for AFL football, but said the slipperiness of the surface for last Friday’s game was unsatisfactory.
 

Skin-and-bone forward Jarrad Grant continues to catch the eye as the Western Bulldogs make their move in the build-up to the finals.

It's a happy time for Grant ... the Bulldogs have rocketed into the top four and he's the NAB AFL Rising Star nominee for round 17.
 

Grant kicked three goals as he worked well alongside Barry Hall and Brian Lake (at times) as the Bulldogs obliterated Fremantle at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

He gathered 20 possessions and laid four tackles.
 
The 21-year-old, who made his AFL debut in round five of 2009, has played 13 matches this season and is averaging 14 possessions per week.

The strong marking and quick player with exceptional hands is smart on the lead and dangerous near goal, kicking 17 so far for the season.
 
Coach Rodney Eade is thrilled with Grant's development.

“The nomination is a tremendous recognition for Jarrad’s efforts," he said.

Collingwood devotee Julio Estorninho has come up trumps with his fascinating new footy book.

He pays tribute to the champions of the game in V / AFL Teams of the Century: The definitive guide to the legends of Australian Rules Football.

It is certain to prove an excellent reference guide to all footy fans.

The beautifully produced book features plenty of colour (and some black and white) footy cards of champs like "Mr Football" Ted Whitten Senior, Darrel Bladock, Kevin Neale, Kevin Bartlett, Adam Goodes, Brent Crosswell and Kevin Murray.  

There's also rare colour photographs from the old Sporting Life (Gallery of Stars) of Essendon's triple Brownlow Medal winner Dick Reynolds.

Julio has painstakingly delved into the entire careers of the star footballers selected in team of the century line-ups, starting with their junior clubs and even the clubs they  played for after finishing their V / AFL careers.

For instance, Footscray and Collingwood champ of the 1960s and '70s George Bisset got his start at Braybrook in the Footscray District Football League and later spent a season with Yarraville in the Victorian Football Association.

The legendary Michael Malthouse has coached 357 wins with Footscray, West Coast and Collingwood since his coaching debut in 1984.

His next win with Collingwood will take him level with Allan Jeans (358 wins with St Kilda, Hawthorn and Richmond) in third spot in the history of the game.

The coaches with most wins are Jock McHale (467 wins with Collingwood from 714 games), Kevin Sheedy (386 wins with Essendon from 635 games), Allan Jeans (358 wins with St Kilda, Hawthorn and Richmond from 575 games), Malthouse (357 wins with Footscray, West Coast and Collingwood from 630 games) and Tom Hafey (336 wins with Richmond, Collingwood, Geelong and the Sydney Swans from 522 games).

The Magpies do battle with traditional rival Carlton in a blockbuster at the MCG this Saturday.

The ladder leader will be desperate to celebrate the 200th game of lively forward Leon Davis in style.

Davis returned to form with a four-goal bag in the big win over Richmond at the MCG on Saturday.

Teammate Josh Fraser is stuck on 199 games and has been playing with Collingwood 's VFL side.

Meanwhile, Sydney heart and soul Brett Kirk is due to play his 194th consecutive game, dating back to Round 15, 2002.

His streak will equal the fifth-best streak in the history of the game, established by former teammate Jared Crouch between 1998-2006.