HPN

Every year there are a near–constant series of calls for the good old days of State of Origin football, usually on Wednesday nights or Thursday mornings after the NRL equivalent. The reasons that it isn’t currently on the AFL schedule are plentiful. They include overscheduling, injury concerns, a likely competitive imbalance and

Hammersley Chat is hopefully the first in a series of pieces where HPN chats about the big and small issues of the day. This week, we talk about the game’s scoring drought, and whether rule change is coming to “fix” it. Cody Atkinson (cody), Sean Lawson (arwon) and Ryan Buckland

After a number of disappointing years, and with the departure of their marquee star, the Gold Coast Suns have been the epitome of an off-Broadway show in 2018. Due to the Commonwealth Games happening on the Gold Coast (remember that? We barely do), the Suns have hosted games at four

It is a function of any comparative exercise, from sport to food to beer to literature, that some things are good and others are not so good. Indeed, some things in any category of thing are bad. Many professional sporting competitions try to limit the extremes of excellence and shithousessness

In round five at the SCG, in front of a television audience of more than a million people, two extraordinary passages of football unfolded in quick succession. After intercepting a wayward kick from Adelaide defender Rory Laird near the middle of the ground, Sydney’s Lance Franklin weighed up his options.

The Giants in 2018 have been hobbled by injury, but they have shown some creativity and originality in how they’ve tried to play footy given this reality. GWS have nothing if not top end talent at their disposal, and some of the quirks of the Giants 2018 methods suggest Leon

The always excellent James Coventry called up Cody from HPN to have a chat about the then-upcoming Showdown between Port and Adelaide for ABC Grandstand. We collaborated with James alongside a cast of other excellent people on the upcoming book Footballistics, which you can buy via presale now (with a $5

Before the year started, HPN predicted that Adelaide and Port Adelaide were likely to be the best two sides in the competition. Things have not exactly gone to plan for either side so far this year; both sides have been hit by injuries, and other issues around incoming/outgoing talent. Both

Read the title back again and think for a moment. The Eagles lost Sam Mitchell, the all-time leader in clearances (well, since 1998 when we first had the stat) over the off-season. Moreover, they also lost the player who was 4th-ranked in Matthew Priddis. Despite his age, Mitchell was a

Look, the Roos probably won’t make the finals, but there are some really promising signs for a Kangaroos side which had been expected to give Brisbane, Carlton and the Gold Coast company at the bottom of the ladder. North has largely built their competitiveness on a vastly improved defence, although