MATTHEW RICHARDSON’S TOP 10: Dean Cox has Eagles job if he wants it, Toby Bedford shouldn’t have been banned

1. We don’t want concussions in our game.

But our game is a collision sport. Accidents and injuries are going to occur. The players know and accept that. We have taken it too far. We are asking too much of players in certain tackling situations. Tony Bedford should not have been suspended.

2. When I think Aussie Rules heartland, I think the north-west coast of Tasmania stretching from Devonport to Smithton.

That beautiful coastline has produced some champion AFL players. I was lucky to get back there at the weekend and attended the Ulverstone-Latrobe clash at Ulverstone. Then I kicked on at a mate’s 50th in the Ulverstone club rooms. What a good time. There’s nothing better than grassroots footy.

3. The Hawks-Pies game on Saturday feels like an early elimination final.

Can you believe Hawthorn are favourites? The Pies are getting desperate sitting in 12th, but just one win outside the eight. I can’t wait.

4. Dean Cox is the man to coach West Coast.

He has done his apprenticeship under John Longmire at the Swans and he’s an Eagles legend. If he wants the job he’s an odds-on favourite to get it.

5. A lot is being said about Richmond and where they are at.

The advice has been here, there and everywhere. Just remember that Tigers list boss Blair Hartley knows how to build a strong team – three premierships are proof of that. The Tigers will be in a good position to draft strongly by year’s end. So those at Tigerland need to keep the faith.

6. And if your club is at the bottom of the ladder like the Tigers, get excited because after watching the under-18s championships final between Vic Metro and Vic Country you can be assured you will be getting some quality players to your club via the national draft.

7. I’ve been thinking about the Isaac Heeney suspension and it’s convinced me the Brownlow Medal eligibility rules need to be changed.

There was nothing in what he did that warranted a ban.

8. Stephen Wells the long-time recruiting boss at Geelong deserves a statue at Kardinia Park.

What an eye for football talent he has. It’s not the obvious firs- round selections either because the Cats never have first-found picks. Think Mark Blicavs who was a category B rookie selection. Tom Stewart was pick 40 in 2016 and recently Ollie Dempsey was the 15th pick in 2022 rookie draft. Wells looks to have done it again this year with Lawson Humphries from WAFL club Swan districts taken at pick 60 in the 2023 draft. The West Aussie recruit looks like a genuine player.

9. The AFL insist they don’t have a “rule of the week” policy.

Maybe they don’t, but watch Friday night or Thursday nights when it’s back next year and you can often pick up if umpires are going to crackdown on a certain interpretation of a rule. Last Friday in the Cats-Pies game it was the 15m kick. Right from the first start it was obvious. The umpires could be heard regularly yelling “not 15...play on”. I find this strange. Just umpire the rules the same every week, please.

10. I was walking to the gym in the rain the other morning and a lady walking on the other side of the road offered me her umbrella as she made it to her front gate.

I politely declined. How nice of her. I’m then at the gym shifting a bit of steel around and another lovely lady offered me a bottle of water. She had paid for it as she said I looked like I needed a drink. Two random acts of kindness. I couldn’t believe it. The world is OK.