ST KILDA Defender Matt Maguire pressed his claim for a return against Collingwood on Saturday during a series of one-on-one drills with defensive coach Stephen Silvagni yesterday. Maguire played with Casey Scorpions at the weekend and is a likely replacement for Max Hudghton, who injured a hamstring. Aaron Hamill also trained after his four-goal haul with the Scorpions — his first match in almost 10 months following knee surgery. Hamill was restricted to 15 minutes of handball drills. Veteran Matthew Clarke's back will be tested later in the week.
MARTIN BOULTON

Bassett out for eight

ADELAIDE The Crows' finals campaign has been delivered a blow with full-back Nathan Bassett ruled out for at least eight weeks with a broken left ankle. He sustained it in a marking contest during the Crows' loss to West Coast, and the club announced that scans revealed the worst, but expected, scenario. Bassett will have surgery today. The Crows will be buoyed by the return of Brett Burton for the crucial match against Hawthorn after missing three games, while Simon Goodwin is expected to resume.
ASHLEY PORTER

Clarke shows Irish pluck

COLLINGWOOD Rising Star nominee Martin Clarke puts the pluck of the Irish down to making football count on the other side of the world. The half-back, nominated for the AFL's best young player award after his first two games, believes Ireland could provide more stars. Clarke, 19, was considered the next best thing in Gaelic football before he signed with the Magpies and is desperate to make his mark in AFL. "Maybe a fresh approach and a willingness to learn," he said when asked what the Irish brought to AFL. "We've come over here, we've sacrificed a lot leaving home and we're just willing to have a crack."

Hawthorn re-signs trio

HAWTHORN The good news continues for second-placed Hawthorn, with the club re-signing three players. Campbell Brown, Ben McGlynn and Zac Dawson have extended their contracts. Dawson has re-signed until the end of 2008, while Brown and McGlynn agreed to remain at the club until 2009.

'70s style to come back

AFL The AFL will celebrate the 1970s in round 14, which means some lairy strips. Essendon and the Western Bulldogs will wear red shorts and Richmond yellow, while Melbourne's guernsey will be royal blue instead of navy blue. Port Adelaide can wear the black and white prison bar-style guernsey the club wore in the SANFL.

Fev may fit in Sydney

SYDNEY Adam Goodes says Sydney could be a perfect fit for troubled Carlton spearhead Brendan Fevola. The Blues have suspended him for one week and declined to guarantee his future following his latest petulant display. "Obviously something is bugging Brendan and I think a fantastic player like that might need a sea change and we are very good at offering that up to players up here," Goodes said.

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