Caroline Wilson’s Top 5 AFL stories of 2024

Veteran journalist Caroline Wilson has listed has her Top 5 stories of the 2024 AFL season.

“I largely focus on off-field and the big picture of football and my top five stories will encompass that,” Wilson said on the Don’t Shoot The Messenger podcast.

See the list and read her thoughts below:

Caro’s Top 5 footy stories of 2024

5 - Political upheaval at Collingwood

“They win the flag one year, one year later they still don’t have a head of football,” Wilson said.

“Their head of football, Graham Wright, left. He’s had a total falling out with former premiership teammate and Collingwood CEO Craig Kelly.

“He (Wright) has gone to run the Carlton Football Club, taking over across the next year.

“You’ve got recruiters not happy, you’ve got the president, Jeff Browne, stepping down, you have the CEO Craig Kelly under enormous pressure, and another senior coach who took over the football role, Brendon Bolton, quitting the club altogether to go to St Kilda, and a new head of list management, Justin Leppitsch, who is causing a lot of friction.

“And a women’s team who got a wooden spoon and (there’s) still a difficult relationship.”

4 - Port Adelaide and Hinkley v Hawthorn and Ginnivan

“Port Adelaide had a homophobic slur to deal with, the first ever that was publicised in AFL footy, and a player, Jeremy Finlayson, suspended.

“But they also had Ken Hinkley flapping his arms at Hawthorn’s Jack Ginnivan.

“That story generated more talkback, more opinions… it became an Australian national issue.

“You had Jack Ginnivan, the little upstart from Hawthorn, who messaged one of his mates at Sydneys saying ‘see you in two weeks’ - in other words ‘we’re going to beat Port Adelaide’- after a great Elimination Final win.

“Of course they didn’t win and I still maintain Jack Ginnivan caused a lot of damage to his club that day. I think it really fired up Port Adelaide.

“But then Ken Hinkley swore at Jack Ginnivan, flapped his arms in an aeroplane gesture, and he ended up getting a really heavy fine.

“I though that was a very, very big story what happened between Hawthorn and Port Adelaide.”

3 - John Longmire stepping down at Sydney

“He’s a brilliant coach with an unbelievable coaching record, but a dreadful, disastrous Grand Final record.

“He’s won one premiership and to do that is enormous. To be an interstate club outside of Victoria to come to the MCG and play in that many Grand Finals is an extraordinary feat.

“I don’t believe that John Longmire was ever going to come back from that Grand ?Final loss (to Brisbane) and he has decided to enter another succession plan with Dean Cox.

“But that still was a bombshell and my third biggest story of the year.”

2 - Christian Petracca and Melbourne story

“It began publicly at the end of last season with issues with Clayton Oliver and Joel Smith.

“The Melbourne CEO (Gary Pert) has resigned (as has president Kate Roffey).

“What happened on King’s Birthday when Petracca thought hard only damaged his ribs but ended up having far more serious injuries to his vital organs.

“Christian Petracca nearly died, there are major investigations still continuing in the medical world, the AFL world and the MCG stadium world to see exactly what happened that day and what went wrong.

“Christian Petracca then tried to leave Melbourne, Melbourne wouldn’t let him, and it turns out his relationship with some of his players is bad, or worse, than Clayton Oliver’s was.

“He’s one of their best players with a very big social media following.

“That story still has ramifications for the entire industry in terms of welfare and health, and for the Melbourne Football Club which will continue onto next year.”

1 - The Brisbane Lions and Chris Fagan

“In late May/early June, Chris Fagan considered quitting altogether and walking away from the game.

“His team was 13th, looked hopelessly out of touch and (looked) unable to make finals.

“He had a dreadful and gruelling session at the Human Rights Commission because of the Hawthorn first families complaints.

“He turned it around, came back twice in finals against GWS and Geelong to make the Grand Final.

“His full-forward, Joe Daniher, was a big part of that comeback against GWS. He quit straight after the Grand Final, which was an extraordinary story, even though he had a very lucrative contract.

“And Marcus Ashcroft, the three-time premiership, player, his son Will, who had an ACL injury and missed most of last year, came back and won the Norm Smith Medal.

“That was one of the great Cinderella stories I have ever seen, the Brisbane Lions, with Chris Fagan and everything around it.”

Apologies

Wilson also had two stories that didn’t quite make the cut - the GWS capitulation and subsequent Wacky Wednesday antics, and Dustin Martin’s 300th game for Richmond.

“The two apologies are Greater Western Sydney and their horror end to the season,” Wilson added.

“That culminated in being eight or nine goals up against Brisbane (in the Preliminary Final) and then losing, and then heading off to a Wacky Wednesday where they decided to dress up as an accuse sexual assaulter, an accused rapist, as the Twin Towers.

“It culminated in the club itself trying to keep the whole thing in-house and punish the players themselves. The AFL stepped in and players have been suspended, the captain Toby Greene received a heavy fine, as did Tom Green for not stepping in.

“That doesn’t make it, nor does Dusty’s 300th where an extraordinary 90,000-plus people came on a Saturday night to the MCG when Richmond had no hope in the season.

“They were playing Hawthorn, who at the time had not quite become the cool club to follow, and Richmond were absolute thrashed. But anyone who was there will know what an extraordinary night that was.

“There were tears, there was laughter, there was one moment of brightness for the Tigers fans when Dusty goaled.”