Aussie cyclist admits doping

Stepping down ... Matt White has admitted to doping while with US Postal. Source: Matt White / AAP

Matt White, one of the most influential figures in Australian cycling, has confessed to doping during his time at Lance Armstrong's disgraced US Postal team.

White voluntarily stood down from his position as sports director at Orica-GreenEDGE and Cycling Australia men's road co-ordinator on Saturday, delivering a damaging blow to the sport's image in Australia.

The 38-year-old is the first Australian casualty from the US Anti-Doping Agency's damning 1000-page plus report on the US Postal team's doping regime.

The report claimed seven-time Tour de France champion Armstrong's team conducted the "most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping program that sport has ever seen".

The document contained the sworn testimony of 11 of Armstrong's former teammates with disgraced Tour de France winner Floyd Landis stating he had shared testosterone and EPO with White in 2003.

"I am aware my name has been mentioned during talks that USADA has had with former team mates of mine in their investigation regarding doping activities at the US Postal Service team," White said in a statement.

"I am sad to say that I was part of a team where doping formed part of the team's strategy, and I too was involved in that strategy.

"My involvement is something I am not proud of and I sincerely apologise to my fans, media, family and friends who trusted me and also to other athletes in my era that consciously chose not to dope."

The admission is a major embarrassment for Orica-GreenEDGE and Cycling Australia.

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It came only hours after Orica-GreenEDGE's general manager Shayne Bannan said White had the team's full backing.

"We fully support Matthew White and trust his integrity as a sports director with us," Bannan said in a statement.

White, who rode for the US Postal team between 2001 and 2003, said he had not been involved in any doping in his roles at Cycling Australia and Orica-GreenEDGE.

"In my roles with Slipstream Sports, Cycling Australia and now at Orica-GreenEDGE, I have always acted within the ethos of clean sport and I am very proud to have worked with the new generation of clean superstars," he said.

"A lot has changed for the better, cycling is totally different now, and I have seen these changes as an athlete and also in management with my own eyes in the last decade.''

White stopped racing in 2007, his last team being Discovery Channel which was a continuation of the US Postal Service outfit.

He moved into management with Slipstream-Chipotle (now Garmin-Sharp) and said one of the main reasons he stopped racing was the desire to help change the sport with the team's founder Jonathan Vaughters and British rider David Millar.

"I stopped my racing career because I had the opportunity to be part of something that had the potential to actually change cycling," White said.

"The ideas about a clean team that Dave Millar and Jonathan Vaughters spoke to me about back then, were ones that the sport desperately needed."

White said he would not be making any further comment beyond his statement until Cycling Australia and Orica-GreenEDGE had decided on his case.

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Aussies fire at Gold Coast sevens

Pama Fou ... was a constant threat for Australia on day one. Source: AAP

Amidst the colour and carnival atmosphere of the Gold Coast international rugby sevens tournament, Australia are making a serious bid to win the event.

Australia haven't won a sevens tournament on home soil in a decade but they go into Sunday's finals day in a strong position to end that drought after winning all three of their pool matches on Saturday.

Top spot in Pool B and a quarter-final against Kenya was the prize for a thrilling 15-14 win over defending champions Fiji in the last match of the day.

Jordan Tuapou was the hero for Australia, diving over in the corner late in the second half to seal the stirring three tries to two victory.

Fiji scored in either half through Joji Baleviani Raqamate but a double to Allan Fa'alava'au and Tuapou's brave effort secured Australia's first sevens win over Fiji since May 2011.

"To finally finish it off was a great plus," Tuapou said.

"It was a team effort but obviously in the end I ended up getting the ball just to put it down.

"It's a great confidence boost for us ... it doesn't matter about the first day, it's what you put on the paddock the second day that counts."

Only Luke Morahan's knee injury less than a minute into the tournament dampened the party atmosphere among the 12,558 fans at Robina Stadium dressed in all sorts of fancy-dress outfits.

Morahan limped off the field with medial ligament damage to his knee in Australia's opening match against Tonga, a game the hosts won impressively 31-14 to get their sevens world series campaign off to a good start.

"It's not looking too good, I don't think he'll be back out tomorrow unfortunately," captain Ed Jenkins told reporters.

In fact, the injury is all but certain to end Morahan's hopes of going on the Wallabies end of season tour of Europe, after the Queensland Reds back rushed back from international duty in Argentina to be part of the sevens team.

His teammates didn't seem to miss the flier however, sealing a quarter-final berth with an emphatic 22-0 thrashing of Scotland in their second game in Morahan's absence before their epic win over the Fijians.

Jenkins has labelled South Africa as the competition favourites after they completed a trio of wins in Pool A by upsetting the fancied New Zealand 31-21 in the penultimate match.

South Africa now face France in the quarter-finals with the winner of that match to meet Pool C winners Samoa or Fiji in the semis.

Australia will face either Argentina or their great rivals New Zealand if they overcome Kenya.

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Watch all the day two action of the Gold Coast sevens LIVE from 11.25pm (EDT) Sunday on Fox Sports 2 and Fox Sports 2HD.

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Junior Roos thrash Junior Kiwis

Flyer ... Jack Wighton starred for the Junior Kangaroos. Source: Alan Porritt / AAP

The Junior Kangaroos strolled to a 48-16 win over the Junior Kiwis in the curtain-raiser to Saturday's rugby league Test at Townsville.

New Zealand took the lead through Carlos Tuimavave's early try but Kelly Egan's side hit back through efforts from Edrick Lee, David Klemmer, Jake Stockwell, Cheyse Blair and Jack Wighton, with Wests Tigers halfback Jacob Miller kicking five goals.

Ngataua Hukatai pulled four points back for the Kiwis with a well-taken try, but the hosts led 30-8 at halftime after Penani Manumalealii missed the extras.

The second period saw the Kiwis cut the deficit when David Fastiua raced 90 metres to score after intercepting a Miller pass.

However, any hopes of a stirring comeback from the tourists were dashed following a sustained spell of pressure from Kangaroos that yielded quickfire tries from Wighton, exciting young Melbourne winger Mahe Fonua and Canberra's Lee.

The Kiwis, struggling in the humid conditions, did almost score again through Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, only for the Sydney Roosters winger's try to be chalked off for a double movement.

But their efforts were rewarded with a second for Hukatai.

The Kangaroos had the final word when giant Sydney Roosters centre Tautau Moga brushed aside two tackles to score in the final seconds of the game for his side's ninth try.

That led to a scuffle between both sets of players with Jason Taumalolo and Kane Evans going toe-to-toe.

Miller then missed the conversion to end the game with six goals.

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Djoker powers in to final

Djokovic ... wins through to the final of the Shanghai Masters. Source: AAP

Red-hot Novak Djokovic accelerated his push for the year-end No.1 ranking on Saturday, dismissing the challenge of Tomas Berdych in a one-sided semi-final at the ATP's Shanghai Masters.

The Serbian second seed entered the match with an impressive 9-1 lead against the Czech player in head-to-head match-ups and immediately took charge, dominating the contest to win 6-3 6-4.

Yet to drop a set in Shanghai, the Australian Open champion was ruthless, breaking at the first opportunity and repeating the feat as he threatened to run away with the opening set.

But Berdych, 27, bidding to reach the elite ATP World Tour Finals in London, slowed his charge, retrieving one break as the five-time grand slam champion served for the set and making him work to close it out.

A single break in the second set was enough for Djokovic, 25, to progress to a final against either Roger Federer or defending champion Andy Murray.

Djokovic faded towards the end of a stellar 2011 but looks fresh as he hunts down Federer at the top of the rankings, looking to add the Shanghai Masters title to the China Open crown he won last weekend.

Because of his limp end to last season, Djokovic has relatively few points to defend in the rolling 12-month rankings whereas Federer has more to lose after a successful spell towards the end of 2011.

The second semi-final between Federer and defending champion Murray comes after two high-profile duels. The Swiss drew first blood, winning the Wimbledon crown in July but Murray demolished Federer to take Olympic gold before going on to win the US Open.

Federer, 31, who will be world No.1 for a 300th week when the new rankings are issued on Monday, is looking to win a record 22nd Masters title, which would take him one above injured Spaniard Rafael Nadal.

There are four positions remaining in the eight-man field for the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals next month, with Berdych currently in sixth spot in the Race to London.

Djokovic, Federer, Murray and Nadal have all qualified for the end-of-season showpiece.

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AFL sticks with NAB Cup format

Format ... The NAB Cup will remain as a round-robin tournament in 2013. Source: Sarah Reed / News Limited

Love will be in the air on February 15 next year for footy-starved fans, with matches returning through the NAB Cup the day after Valentine's Day.

And the AFL will stick with its drawn-out schedule with the pre-season competition to again start with a lightning round and span five weeks in total.

The league today announced all 18 clubs would play two mini games - starting in 126 days - before two full-scale matches in March.

The best-two ranked sides, based on wins and then percentage, will then play off in the grand final.

The AFL abolished its knockout finals format this year, ensuring all teams played "live" matches up until the final weekend.

Etihad Stadium, Patersons Stadium, Blacktown and Metricon Stadium will host the triple-headers with the lightning round to open the tournament and be played across two weekends.

Clubs will be split into six groups of three for those matches.

The AFL Players' Association this year requested a shortened NAB Cup to allow a second bye in the home-and-away season, but that has been rejected.

The round-robin format is expected to see sides grouped on location, with the two Queensland, Adelaide, Perth and Sydney teams likely to go head-to-head.

The NAB Cup decider is locked in for March 15 or 16.

Adelaide toppled West Coast in this year's grand final.

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Slap on wrist for Schumacher

Schumacher ... has got a slap on the wrist for an incident in practice. Source: Mark Baker / AAP

Michael Schumacher's faltering conclusion to a glorious career hit another bump on Friday when he was officially reprimanded for impeding two other cars in practice for the Korean Grand Prix.

The 43-year-old seven-time world champion got in the way of the HRT pairing of Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan in the afternoon practice at Yeongam, where the Mercedes driver was fifth fastest.

Schumacher, who announced in Japan last week that he was retiring for a second time, was reprimanded after a similar incident earlier this year at Barcelona where he impeded Lewis Hamilton during final practice.

The German was handed a 10-place grid penalty for last week's Japanese Grand Prix after he ran into the back of Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne in the previous race in Singapore.

Then at Suzuka he took the blame for another high-speed accident during practice, saying he misjudged the entrance to the Spoon curve before sliding across the run-off area and ploughing into the barrier, losing his front wing.

Despite the latest mishap, he said: "I was pleased with both sessions today.

"As expected, it looks like our car is better suited to the circuit. The day went well, so I think we can get into the top 10 tomorrow and plan our strategy on that basis."

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Hawker goes in to bat for Deans

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Robbie Deans's greatest ally has left the building but it seems there is still plenty of support where it matters for the Wallabies coach.

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The long-time ARU chief executive John O'Neill announced on Friday he would stand down at the end of the month with the move expected by most to spell trouble for Deans as popular Ewen McKenzie waits in the wings.

But a strong supporter of Deans, ARU chairman and former Wallaby Michael Hawker, jumped into the spotlight on Friday.

O'Neill was asked if it was a mistake re-signing Deans for two years before last year's World Cup where Australia finished third.

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Hawker intervened.

"It was a board decision with John," he said.

"I'd just like to put Robbie Deans's performance in context as well. Robbie came in and we were fifth ranking in the world, we've gone to second in the world.

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"... We've retained the number two position in the world. We just so happen to play the numbers one and three in the world pretty regularly."

Hawker added that Australia are battling a huge injury toll and did well to go 1-1 with South Africa and land two wins over Argentina in the Rugby Championship as the Wallabies finished second.

"The discussion about Robbie Deans needs to be held in that (injuries) context," he said.

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O'Neill was again asked if re-signing Deans was a mistake.

"I don't believe so," he said.

"The board's pretty well-equipped to do that with four former Wallabies including the chairman, John Eales, Brett Robinson and George Gregan."

The Wallabies play a third Bledisloe Test against the All Blacks on October 20 before a four-game European tour starting next month that comprises matches against France, England, Italy and Wales.

A 3-1 return should keep Deans safe while a failed 1-3 campaign is unlikely to be tolerated.

The last time a depleted Australia squad went to Europe and won just one Test, in 2005, Eddie Jones was sacked.

For now, Deans appears to have the full support of the board.

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Murray, Djokovic advance in Shanghai

Winner ... Novak Djokovic celebrates his win over Tommy Haas in Shanghai. Source: Mark Ralston / AFP

Andy Murray maintained his perfect record at the Shanghai Masters on Friday, battling back from a set down against unseeded Radek Stepanek to reach the semi-finals as Novak Djokovic showed ominous form.

The US Open champion, chasing a hat-trick of titles in the eastern Chinese city, was staring defeat in the face when a set down and searching in vain for inspiration but recovered to win 4-6 6-2 6-3 in two hours and 18 minutes.

"It was quite a scrappy first couple of sets. Obviously the second set I managed to get a break, got a bit of momentum,'' said Murray, 25.

"For me, the beginning of the third set was what was most frustrating. Then I just managed to turn it around in time.

"I played actually very well, I thought, the last 10, 15 minutes of the match.''

A single break was enough for 33-year-old Stepanek to win the first set as he troubled the third seed with frequent successful forays to the net.

A rattled Murray finally made the breakthrough in the sixth game of the second set, breaking again to level the match but his opponent, ranked 41st, interrupted the Scot's charge in the third set with another break.

Not to be denied, Murray hit back immediately and at last found his range, dominating the end of the contest to set up a semi-final against either Marin Cilic or Roger Federer, whom he beat in the Olympic final.

There were no such problems for red hot second seed Djokovic, who beat German veteran Tommy Haas 6-3 6-3 as he keeps his eyes firmly fixed on dislodging Federer from the top of the rankings.

Djokovic will play Tomas Berdych in the last four, who came out on top against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a battle between two of the contenders to reach next month's ATP World Tour Finals.

The Czech fourth seed grabbed a crucial break against the powerful Frenchman in the eighth game of the first set and edged the second set tie-break to win 6-3 7-6 (7-4).

"The biggest difference between me and Jo was I was able to take the small chances during even the first and especially the second set,'' said Berdych.

With four berths still up for grabs at the elite eight-man showpiece in the UK's capital, Berdych is sixth in the Race to London while Tsonga is in eighth spot.

Federer, Djokovic and Murray have already qualified for London, along with the injured Rafael Nadal.

Federer's win on Thursday over Davis Cup team-mate Stanislas Wawrinka guaranteed him a record 300th week as world No.1 when the next rankings are published on Monday.

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Woods sweeps past McIlroy in Turkey

Woods ... has advanced to the semi-finals at the World Golf Final in Belek. Source: AAP

Tiger Woods easily accounted for world No.1 Rory McIlroy in the first ever matchplay showdown between the pair to reach the semi-finals at the World Golf Final in Belek, Turkey on Thursday.

Woods was always ahead in his match, shooting a seven-under-par 64 to McIlroy's one-under-par 70 on the Sultan course at the Antalya club, to advance to a showdown with England's Justin Rose.

Rose defeated reigning US Open champion, Webb Simpson with a new course record of nine-under-par 62, compared to Simpson's 67.

South African Charl Schwartzel posted a 63 to defeat American Matt Kuchar, who signed for a 65.

Schwartzel, who won all three of his round-robin matches, now faces England's Lee Westwood in the second semi-final, after Westwood shot a 64 to defeat American Hunter Mahan by three shots.

McIlroy, who had already lost his opening two matches, began horribly against Woods when he found the water off the opening tee and he did not drop below par for the round until he birdied the 17th hole.

McIlroy and Mahan, who also failed to win a match, nonetheless leave Turkey with prize cheques worth $US300,000. ($A295,000)

Woods, meanwhile, remains in contention to win the $US1.5 million ($A1.47 million) first prize.

"It felt good and I really hit it good out there," said Woods.

"I missed a couple of putts, and it really could have been a low number, but it was good enough to advance.

"My game is starting to turn around a bit and I am beginning to hit it like I did at the start of the year.

"I've now got Justin and that should be a good match this afternoon."

The Turkish event had been billed as 'Tiger v Rory' and with McIlroy out, the 23-year old was already looking forward to time away from the course despite having to return on Friday for a Pro-Am involving all eight players.

"I'm not that disappointed because I've got the afternoon off around the pool," he said.

"I just came here because I have never played in Turkey and there is a lot of good players here, and I thought it would be a fun week and it has been.

"So I've enjoyed myself. I feel fine and the energy levels are okay and I've got another week off next week before I get myself up for the Race to Dubai."

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Watch the final day of the World Golf Final in Belek LIVE on Fox Sports 2HD from 4.30pm (EDT) Friday. Get Foxtel!

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Easy for Djoker, Murray in Shanghai

Djokovic ... is looking good at the Shanghai Masters. Source: AAP

Novak Djokovic fired an ominous warning to his rivals on Thursday, powering into the Shanghai Masters quarter-finals as defending champion Andy Murray finally got his tournament under way with an easy win.

The Serbian second seed, looking to wrestle the world No.1 ranking from rival Roger Federer, barely broke sweat against Spain's Feliciano Lopez, wrapping up a straightforward 6-3 6-3 victory in front of enthusiastic fans.

In-form Djokovic, fresh from his third China Open title in Beijing on Sunday, struck 12 aces and took advantage of some below-par serving by the left-handed Lopez, breaking him three times.

A powerful backhand down the line sealed the match for the 25-year-old and set up a clash against either sixth seed Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia or German veteran Tommy Haas, who play later.

"I'm not very well known around the Tour for big serving," said Djokovic. "But so far in this tournament, and also in Beijing, it has been working very well for me.

"It has been giving me a lot of free points, a lot of confidence into the matches."

US Open champion Murray, 25, proved far too strong for Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov, serving consistently well and seizing on five out of six break points to win 6-2 6-2 in just 57 minutes.

It was the first match of the tournament for the Scot, who had a walkover into the third round. The top eight seeds received a first round bye.

Earlier, fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga struck 11 aces in seeing off the challenge of former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus 6-2 7-6 (7-2) in a contest containing a surprising eight breaks of serve.

The Frenchman said he was happy with his game and was focusing on the task in hand rather than on London. He is currently in line to secure the last singles berth in the elite eight-man field.

"For the moment I think about this tournament," he said. "You know, I try to play my best tennis. After, of course for me London is a goal. But I also have another goal, to win some tournaments and try to beat the guy before me."

Czech fourth seed Tomas Berdych, sixth in the Race to London, set up a quarter-final meeting with Tsonga after fending off a barrage of 17 aces from American Sam Querrey to win 6-2 6-7 (3-7) 6-4.

Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic upset eighth seed John Isner of the United States 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-3.

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Pearson is the new Don

The Don ... the award caps a sensational year for Sally Pearson. Source: Joe Castro / AAP

Sally Pearson has declared the pressure off in her quest for a world record after capping off a great year with recognition as the athlete who most inspired Australia in 2012.

Pearson won The Don award at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame dinner in Melbourne on Thursday night.

Her Olympic 100m hurdles gold medal under crushing expectation was judged Australia's most inspiring sports performance of the year against a high-class field, including fellow London gold medallist and friend Anna Meares.

Pearson, who caused a stir on the awards red carpet in a stylish low-cut dress, says her bid to break the long-standing women's 100m hurdles world record is on track.

With an Olympic gold medal added to her world championships and world indoor and Commonwealth Games titles, the 26-year-old Queenslander feels she can now just concentrate on becoming the fastest ever female hurdler rather than just winning medals.

"I've been able to say I've done everything I wanted to achieve in the sport, and now I can go out in the major competitions and see how fast I actually can run with no pressure on me," Pearson said.

Eight-time Olympic swimming medallist Susie O'Neill was officially elevated to Legend status in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.

She is the 34th athlete - and 10th woman - to achieve the status.

Former Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist, rugby league legends Andrew Johns and Wayne Bennett, and former Wallaby Stephen Larkham were among eight former athletes, coaches and administrators inducted into the Hall of Fame.

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Trade Wrap D4: Dawes, Gumbleton

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We keep you up to date with the latest offers, moves and rumours doing the rounds in the AFL trade period.

The AFL free agency period runs from 9am October 1 to 5pm, October 19.

The AFL trade period runs from 9am October 8 to 2pm, October 26.

Got a whisper? Leave it below.

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POWER SAY NO TO RUSSELL
Port Adelaide has confirmed it won't try to lure Carlton free agent Jordan Russell to the club, according to the AFL website.
Russell, an unrestricted free agent, is set to be delisted by the Blues, but is reported to have up to four clubs chasing his services.
The 25-year-old is reportedly out of favour with the Power's new director of coaching and strategy Alan Richardson, who was previously an assistant coach at Carlton.
Despite meeting with Power officals and being put through a medial last week, the club's football manager Peter Rohde said Russell, who finished runner-up in Carlton's best and fairest in 2010, wasn't on the club's radar.

COOK TO PROVE DEMONS WRONG
A fitter, bigger and stronger Lucas Cook is desperate to prove Melbourne wrong and transform into an AFL player at a second club.
Cook, the under-18 All-Australian centre half-forward, is set to be delisted by the Demons after just two years on their list.
The Dees used the No. 12 pick in the 2010 draft to snag Cook but never handed him an AFL debut.
The Ballarat product has been training every second day since the season finished in a bid to earn a second chance and, with a trade unlikely to eventuate, is set to become a delisted free agent on November 1.
That means Cook, 20, can sign at the club of his choice. The delisted free agency period spans until November 13, before the second official list lodgement.
"It's safe to say he's not going to be at Melbourne next year. The signs aren't good that good that they want to keep him," Cook's manager Marty Pask told The Herald Sun.

DEMONS DESIRE DAWES
Melbourne coach Mark Neeld says he can fit both Collingwood's Chris Dawes and Essendon's Scott Gumbleton in the Demons' attack if they can be persuaded to join the AFL club.
The Demons, along with the Western Bulldogs and Carlton, are waiting on Magpies premiership key forward Dawes to choose his preferred club, a decision expected this weekend.
Neeld has also spoken to Gumbleton and said he would be happy to have both play alongside fellow tall forward Mitch Clark.
"That would be alright, I reckon, Clark, Gumbleton, Dawes, they'd all get a game," Neeld told reporters on Thursday.
He said ideally the Demons, who have already picked up Geelong dual premiership player Shannon Byrnes, would gain four to six experienced players during the trade period.
"Leigh Brown (Dawes' former teammate and now Melbourne assistant) and I rolled around to see Dawesy straight away," Neeld said.
"That's really important, so we know what type of player Chris is.
"We'd really like to have him at the Melbourne footy club and we'll wait until the end of the weekend, he may or may not be."

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CADDY'S HEART NOT AT SUNS
Geelong recruit Josh Caddy says Gold Coast had his body but not his heart during his two years with the AFL expansion club.
The Cats this week won a bidding war to recruit the 20-year-old midfielder, who was chased by several Victorian clubs after revealing his desire to return to his home state.
While he has shown little yet in his 24-game AFL career to justify the fierce interest, averaging just 15 touches per match with the Suns, Caddy said it was tough playing while longing to be elsewhere.
"Playing AFL footy is hard enough as it is, so I think your heart's got to be completely in it," he said.
"To be completely honest, my heart wasn't completely in playing footy for the Gold Coast, just because I'd rather be living in Victoria."

YOUNG WEIGHING UP FUTURE
Unrestricted Hawthorn free agent Clinton Young is still weighing up his future, deciding on whether to accept a contract from the Hawks or move to Collingwood.
It is understood Young toured the Magpies' facilities earlier in the week.
The dashing wingman would be an ideal replacement for Sharrod Wellingham, who was traded to West Coast on Tuesday.
Young was one of the Hawks best on ground in their 2008 premiership but after suffering injuries in 2012 struggled to make an impact against Sydney last month.

JACOBS GIVEN ULTIMATUM
Port Adelaide is becoming frustrated with defender Ben Jacobs and has demanded that he makes a decision about his future.
Jacobs, 20, has been linked with a return to his home state of Victoria, but football manager Peter Rohde says he is a required player.
"We're getting to the stage where we need to know exactly what Ben wants to do," Rohde told The Advertiser.
"There's been a lot of discussion and speculation about him but the bottom line is that he still hasn't told the club where he wants to play his football next season."
Rohde said Jacobs' indecision had forced the club to put other contract negotiations on hold.

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SALOPEK FORCED TO WAIT
Steven Salopek's AFL future is expected to go to the final hours of free agency.
A unrestricted free agent, Salopek has walked out on Port Adelaide and returned to Melbourne, looking for a new AFL home.
His manager, Bruce Kaider, said "three or four" clubs had shown interest in 27-year-old Salopek but were waiting on other deals before making contract offers for him.
"We think it might take until the end of free agency (on October 19) before Steven knows whether an opportunity will open up for him," said Kaider.
"Given Sal is an unrestricted free agent who already has cut ties with Port means there is no urgency to secure him."

GRUNDY STAYING IN SYDNEY
Adelaide's hopes of landing Heath Grundy, a Swan from South Australia, in exchange for Kurt Tippett have been quashed.
But progress was made in trade talks between the Crows and Sydney on Thursday.
While Grundy's manager, Marty Pask, said the Croweater would not be involved in any Tippett move to Sydney, Swans chief executive Andrew Ireland said the two clubs were finally getting somewhere in their bid to strike a deal. He said Swans recruitment manager Kinnear Beatson and Crows counterpart David Noble had held a constructive meeting.
"We might well now be on the road to completing something," Ireland told the AFL website.
Ireland said it was possible a third club might get involved but talks will no longer involve Grundy.
The 26-year-old premiership defender was viewed as an ideal fit for the Crows who are seeking to bolster their backline with experience.
"There's 100 per cent no chance," Pask said.
Read more here.

DAWES TO DOGS ON HOLD
Weekend talks are expected to decide the future of Collingwood forward Chris Dawes.
Rumours were rife on Wednesday that Dawes had agreed to a Western Bulldogs deal, but his management hosed that down on Wednesday night.
Dawes's manager Ben Niall met the Dogs on Tuesday, but said he was gathering information so that his client could make the best call on where to play. Melbourne was also among the interested parties.
"No decision has been made," Niall said.

DEMONS ZERO IN ON GUMBY
Melbourne has zeroed in on Essendon forward Scott Gumbleton, but could face a fight from Fremantle for the luckless goalkicker.
In another aggressive trade move, Demons coach Mark Neeld met Gumbleton in Perth on Wednesday, along with family members of recruit Jesse Hogan, 17.
The Dees are keen to land another tall to partner Mitch Clark in a forward line that last season scored the fourth-fewest points in the AFL.
It might have to hold off Fremantle, which confirmed on Wednesday it had completed a medical check on Gumbleton and is interested in luring the out-of-contract Bomber back to his home state of Western Australia.

GEELONG SAY CADDY WILL BE A CAT
Geelong have confirmed they've secured the services of Josh Caddy, trumping a range of clubs including St Kilda and North Melbourne to nab the rising Gold Coast Suns star.
The Cats will give up their Gary Ablett compensation and shuffle early draft picks with the Suns to secure the inside midfielder.
The deal has not been lodged with the AFL but both Geelong and Gold Coast have confirmed they had agreed to the trade.
"We are really pleased we will secure a first round compensation pick, tied to Geelong's finishing position to be used in either the 2013 or 2014 drafts as well as draft selections to be finalised in exchange for relocating Josh Caddy back to Victoria," Suns football manager Marcus Ashcroft said in a statement on the club's website.
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