A famous name from the kennel has added his support to a men's mental health round.

A premiership contender is exploring a competitive advantage in the AFL Grand Final.

And multiple stories surrounding the manner of Tasmania's inaugural list build have surfaced.

All that and more from media buzz...

Star Dog advocates for Mental Round

Western Bulldogs premiership player Tom Boyd has advocated for a men's mental health round.

Speaking on Fox Footy, Boyd, who has navigated his own personal struggles, also highlighted that any such round should be used as a platform for greater good.

“From my point-of-view, the AFL as a sport is doing amazing things to bring people together across the country and participation in the game is good for your mental health, broadly speaking

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“The Spud's game is a great iconic moment to remember one of the game's greats with the context of mental health being really, really important.

“From my point-of-view, there's a lot of attention on it. I'd love for a mental health round to be in the AFL however in lieu of that happening, I would for them to continue to invest, through the grassroots programs to make sure mental health is on the program for those clubs because at the end of the day, the AFL is really well-resourced, the players are well-resourced, but lots of players around our country aren't and using the game as a spearhead around this is a really critical thing we can do.”

Wharfie Time

Fremantle has started discussions with the AFL about having Wharfie Time if the club progresses to the AFL grand final.

The AFL is yet to make a decision on whether it will be permitted, according to Channel 7's The Agenda Setters.

Geelong last year requested songs be played, to which the league agreed. Like Geelong, Fremantle would be the top seeds if it progresses to this year's grand final.

The noise and atmosphere brought by Wharfie Time late in matches has overwhelmed several opponents in Perth this year, including Hawthorn which addressed it in the aftermath of the tight loss.

Instability at Arden St

North Melbourne is facing pressure from external forces to make changes at board levels.

It was reported on Channel 7's The Agenda Setters that several groups believe the board lacks the necessary footy nous and are agitating for change.

It comes as pressure mounts on coach Alastair Clarkson for results as the Kangaroos are set for another year without finals football.

Irish Devils

Tasmania is seeking to make its inaugural AFLW side an Irish side.

According to Channel 9's Footy Classified, Tasmania was watching the Australia vs Ireland representative match at North Sydney Oval with interest on the weekend.

The club was “throwing huge money” at marquee players which represented Ireland to be the faces of the Devils.

Irish representation is far stronger in the women's game than the men's game with 46 currently-listed Irish players.

The synergy of Tasmania's club colour being green, the same as Ireland's national colour, has been highlighted.

Draft pick "purchasing"

Tasmania is exploring the possibility of effectively selling draft picks.

According to Footy Classified, it would be done by Tasmania agreeing to offload draft picks to clubs which are willing to pay a significant portion of the salaries of contracted players who are traded to Tasmania.

Tasmania must trade Picks 5, 7, 11 and 13 in 2027, and Pick 5 in each of 2028 and 2029, which are among the picks that have been given to them to assist with the inaugural list build.

Umpire accuracy clarification

Former umpire Ray Chamberlain has clarified a recent report that officiators get 94 per cent of calls correct.

The eyebrow-raising statistic comes in a year where there has been a flurry of complaints about the standard of umpiring

Chamberlain pointed out on Fox Footy's AFL 360 the statistic measured the accuracy of whistle blown intervention, therefore not accounting for incidents where the umpire misses an incident and does not blow their whistle.

Max King update

Luckless St Kilda forward Max King has undergone surgery following his injury in his AFL return a fortnight ago, per Footy Classified.

St Kilda is confident he will be fit and firing for day one of pre-season.

Hawthorn exploring Tasmania successor

With Hawthorn's deal to play games in Tasmania expiring at the end of this year, the club is exploring other locations to take home games.

It was reported on Channel 7's The Agenda Setters the Hawks have scoped Wellington, Cairns and Canberra as potential locations.

The view is there is an opportunity to find a new fortress, having won 75 per cent of games it played as the home club in Tasmania.

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