January issue of Inside Football

Anyone who has ever gone fishing has a tale about the one that got away; the fine specimen that slipped the hook and later became a photo piece on another lucky angler’s wall.

Football clubs have them, too.

Some misses have proven to be costlier than others—but they all hurt. Over the past 35 years a long list of players either failed to play a game for their original club but went on to distinguished careers elsewhere, or were traded in with big expectations that amounted to zilch.

We delved into the trade and draft records of each AFL club to find the “zeroes to heroes”.

We apologise in advance. For true fans, some of these tales will leave you weeping…

What is featured this month…

FROM ZEROES TO HEROES
Our editor BRETT ANDERSON delves into the trade and draft records of each AFL club the stars your club had in its grasp but let slip through its fingers. Read it and weep!

THE TAMPER AFFAIR: HOW PIES LOST A YOUNG STAR
When then Richmond recruiting boss Doug Vickers selected a 16-year-old South Australian named Brett Chalmers at the 1989 national draft, using pick 103, he soon sensed that something was up.

BIG HIT, HIGH IMPACT
The AFL decision-makers have made a brave and possibly reckless call in asking one person to carry their revamped judicial system.

AN INSIDE JOB
RUSSELL HOLMESBY looks back over 47 seasons of Inside Football. From the origins of a new idea to a staple of the footy industry, it has been a fascinating ride.

TRIPLE THREAT
Could Gary Ablett, playing alongside Joel Selwood and Patrick Dangerfield, win a third Brownlow Medal. BEN CASANELIA thinks it’s possible.

THE CAPTAIN’S TABLES
Some players wear leadership responsibilities like a cape on their backs, for others it’s a millstone around their necks, writes RUSSELL HOLMESBY.

THE LAST PLACE KICK
Fitzroy forward Tony Ongarello has an ever-lasting niche in football history, writes RUSSELL HOLMESBY.

LAKE PLACID
Long-time Bulldog and triple premiership Hawk defender Brian Lake took many a timely intercept mark. In fact, no footballer has better embodied the principle ‘right place, right time’.

‘IF YOU’RE PASSIONATE ... IT’S PERSONAL’
Alan McConnell was the last man out of Fitzroy, first in the door at Greater Western Sydney and is now lending his lifelong enthusiasm for football to the Giants’ women. PHOEBE MCWILLIAMS chats to her coach.

ONWARD & UPWARD
Departed VFL coaching doyen Gerard FitzGerald is taking a gap year but feels that he’s not finished yet, writes PAUL AMY.

FIGURING IT ALL OUT!
Statisticians are among the myriad volunteers that help community football tick all its boxes. Dedicated and quirky, they are much more than the sum of their spreadsheets, writes ROSS COUZENS.

VFL | Home favours for stand-alones
Competition gives a leg-up to non-aligned clubs.

WAFL | League ‘docks’ finals eligibility
Peel Thunder claimed back-to-back flags on the back of its Fremantle players. In future that won’t be so easy.

SANFL | A three-dimensional tall
Keegan Brooksby has developed some new angles since he last dominated the air in South Australia.

Plus…

THE LOCAL WHITEBOARD
Our award-winning column delves into all the happenings in grassroots footy this month.

CAREER COACH CALLS TIME
South Australian stalwart Alan Stewart leaves a lasting legacy in the game writes PETER ARGENT

SPIRIT KEEPS SISTERS ON A HIGH
The South Australian All Schools grand final was a peak moment for twins Amber and Lilly Poulton.

And finally…

Better to skip the negative feedback; Not party Pies anymore; All change at this station; Talent scouts take a hike; A talent for online strife; A toss of the Bitcoin; Think before you ink; A worrying development – we reveal some of the whispers around footy's corridors of power.

All this and more in the January issue of Inside Football magazine.

ON SALE NOW at your local newsagent, Woolworths, Coles, 7-Eleven, Caltex and Coles Express for just $6.95.