Melbourne moved on Paul Guerra, but who will take his place in the long run?

One of the all-time sprays from Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell was explained by an injured midfielder.

Will Aaron Naughton play against Fremantle?

And what's the latest on all the contract news around the competition?

All that and more from media buzz....

From Stan is the man

Melbourne is on the hunt once again for a CEO after Paul Guerra was blindsided by his sacking.

It was reported on the Agenda Setters that Dan Taylor, Executive Director of Stan, is the frontrunner for the position. He is also a director at the Demons.

Brian Cook is currently the interim as the Demons set their sights on a new chief.

Guerra gone... but why?

The shock sacking of Melbourne CEO Paul Guerra blindsided most, but especially him.

After only seven months in the role, helping drive wholesale change on multiple fronts, the decision by the Demons raised eyebrows.

On Footy Classified, the panel explained why.

Mitchell vs Meek

Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell's spray to ruckman Lloyd Meek was eyebrow raising when the vision came through during the clash against Gold Coast.

Speaking on AFL360, injured midfielder Will Day attempted to explain why.

“Just before half time, they had conceded three goals in a row, and Lloyd Meek does this (handball out of a tackle),” he said.

“When they're in red time there is an instruction not to handball the ball backwards because that invites the pressure from the opposition.

“With 15 seconds to go in the first half, Lloyd Meek grabs it out of the ruck, handballs it back, the turnover (leads to) the goal with four seconds left on the clock.

“His teammates had all told him: ‘that's not in line with team instructions' before Sam Mitchell had got to him.

“Mitchell goes to him, gives him a spray, Lloyd Meek goes back and says, ‘look we've addressed this, we've done this, and that led to what we saw, the hug after the game.

“That is the standards that Hawthorn now live up to that we weren't seeing (in years gone by).

“There's a seriousness about this club that they know they're in the window to win it now, and I think the coach does as well, and he's not accepting any standards that he doesn't think live up to the way he wants this team to play.”

Naughton to play?

Western Bulldogs teammate Ed Richards is optimistic that teammate and forward Aaron Naughton will play Fremantle this week.

Naughton came down from a "sickening" marking contest, landing awkwardly on his neck before being stretched off.

He was cleared of any concussion and only had a sore neck, but can miraculously feature this weekend.

“It was pretty sickening watching it back,” he said on AFL 360.

“It's not ideal to see another one of your key players go down in that way.

“But he was pretty good after the game, he's been pretty good this week, I think he's pretty optimistic that he'll get up.

“I think he was more flat they didn't pay the mark, to be honest. He held onto it for a while.

“That's what he was most upset about, but I guess that just shows his competitive nature.

“He just wanted to stay out there but it was a pretty sickening collision, so hopefully we can still get him this weekend, but fully understand if he's not right to go.”

Day the recruiter?

Hawthorn's Will Day has a lot of time on his hands during his recovery, but is helping the list management team one of them?

The Hawks are keen to bring Gold Coast free agent Ben King to Victoria, as he weighs up his future beyond 2026.

Speaking on AFL360, Day said in response to who he'd prefer: King or Fremantle's Josh Treacy.

“I'll try and help us this off season; I'll say Ben King.”

Freo fever

Mason Cox revealed that Fremantle had chased him on three different occasions, with the last attempt successful in bringing the American Pie to Western Australia.

Cox was delisted by Collingwood at the end of 2025, but he wasn't ready to give up.

"I had unfinished business in my mind – whether other clubs believed in that is up to them," Cox told Fox Footy.

"Fremantle ironically had been chasing me I think for three different times – the third time they finally got me,” he laughed.

"I know JL personally. He's got great morals, he's a great person. He used to coach at Collingwood so we had that experience beforehand.

"I didn't want to go to a club I feel like was just going to fall to the wayside.

"It's nice to feel a part of a group again. You have a purpose for a group – I've really felt that here at Fremantle."

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