Shoe bandit Cameron slapped with fifty

Giants star Jeremy Cameron was slapped with a 50m penalty in the last minute of the third quarter for sensationally throwing away the boot of St Kilda’s Blake Acres.

The defender lost his boot after landing awkwardly from a marking contest.

In full view of the umpires, Cameron then picked it up after having already given away a free kick and then tossed the boot over the boundary next to the posts.

He was immediately hit with a 50m free kick.

The moment divided Fox Footy’s commentary team.

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen this boys,” Saints legend Nick Reiwoldt told Fox Footy.

“You have to give the footy back on the full, but I’ve never heard of having to give the shoe back on the full.

“He’s thrown his boot away and given away fifty.”

Brad Johnson questioned the heavy response to the cheeky act.

“Oh, you’re kidding me,” he said in commentary.

“Is that fifty? Is that unsportsmanlike?”

Saint ruled out after ugly bump

Saints star Jack Newnes has officially been ruled out for the rest of his team’s game against the Giants.

The defender took a knock to the head when he collided with the hip of Giants ruckman Dawson Simpson.

He stayed on the ground after the collision and needed to be helped from the field.

‘They should be disgusted with themselves’

There are ordinary scenes at Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium with a dismal crowd in attendance to watch St Kilda play GWS.

Triple M boundary rider Neroli Meadows said there are concerns less than 15,000 people will turn up and there were empty seats everywhere.

“St Kilda fans should be disgusted with themselves. Five games in and they’re no longer watching their side,” Triple M commentator Brian Taylor said.

3AW’s Tony Leonard said: “If the ball goes over the fence, there’s a chance a player will have to go get it.”

The Saints have won just one of four games but put up a spirited display in the opening quarter against the Giants. GWS led 2.5 (17) to 2.2 (14) at the first change.

Aussie sprinter Tim Rosen also chipped in with his thoughts on the crowd.

Footy feud lights up again

Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes has been vocal in his criticism of Taylor Walker but the Crows skipper silenced the doubters on Friday night.

He kicked four goals, took seven marks and had 16 touches in Adelaide’s win over Sydney and said he didn’t care what his critics thought about him.

“Let’s be honest a few of those people with their opinions you put your head on the pillow at night and have a pretty big giggle at those comments,” Walker told Triple M.

“The guys that were pretty vocal this week did not worry me one little bit.”

Asked if he was talking about Cornes, Walker didn’t name names but didn’t deny anything either.

“You guys can cross your “i’s” and cross your “t’s”, you know who we’re talking about,” he said.

Cornes and Walker have history which involved an icy exchange while the Crows forward was being interviewed on the Sunday Footy Show last year.

Crow’s subtle sledge for absent star

Jake Lever is a Crow no more, but that doesn’t bother his former teammates.Source:News Corp Australia

Jake Lever was the biggest story of last year’s trade period and his former Crows teammates clearly don’t miss the key defender.

Lever ditched the club to join Melbourne and his exit left a bitter taste in Adelaide with captain Taylor Walker reportedly furious at his walkout. Lever didn’t even attend the club’s best-and-fairest awards night after losing the grand final.

Crow Daniel Talia’s comments on Saturday have done nothing to suggest Lever’s absence is keeping any Adelaide stars awake at night as he praised youngster Tom Doedee.

“I think Tom has been great these first four or five weeks and has fitted in and I think he’s done better than Lever,” Talia told SEN’s Crunch Time.

“We’re not feeling the loss of Jake at the moment and Tom is putting his hand up and has played some awesome footy in the first five weeks so it’s been a credit to him.

“He’s intercepting everything back there and fitting that role and really dominating.”

Talia clarified his comments, saying he didn’t mean to say 21-year-old Doedee was already a better player than Lever.

“I didn’t say he’d be better than him, but he’s played a role these first five weeks and we haven’t felt the loss as much as people would’ve thought,” he said.

Despite the slight backtrack, former Western Bulldogs skipper Bob Murphy believes Talia took a dig at his ex-teammate.

“It was a good little shiv to the kidneys,” Murphy said.

“Will he be better than Lever? Well we need a bigger sample size than five weeks.”

It’s an added blow Lever who, according to Kangaroos great David King, has failed to stiffen up the Demons’ defence as much as the club would have been hoping for.

“There were some embarrassing mistakes down back,” King told SEN after Melbourne’s heavy defeat to Hawthorn last weekend.

“Down back it was just chaos and to be honest, that’s where they’ve spent their money this year.

“Jake Lever has been the big import and they’ve had to change their back six to accommodate that he couldn’t play key position.

“They had to bring (Sam) Frost in to play a more rigid centre half back type role to allow Lever to become a flanker.”

Tex repays coach’s faith

Taylor Walker was back to his best on Friday night.Source:AAP

A quiet word with Taylor Walker during a tough week had Adelaide coach Don Pyke convinced his under-fire skipper would send a message to his critics at the SCG. After Walker booted four goals to lead Friday night’s 12.13 (85) to 10.15 (75) win over the Sydney Swans, Pyke said the statement was vindication for publicly backing him in.

Walker has been under scrutiny over his form and leadership this campaign following an injury-interrupted pre-season.

The pressure intensified this week after the Crows’ shock 48-point home loss to Collingwood, and Pyke revealed he had stepped in to check on the 27-year-old’s wellbeing.

“We deal with what we can control internally and I just asked him how he was travelling,” Pyke said.

“He’s a really proud guy and he’s been a really strong leader of our footy club.

“He hasn’t been happy with his form either, to a point, but he’s still been having an impact.

“This was one of those occasions where he came to play and he came to lead and he did it really well.

“I was super proud of him in particular, especially with some of the opinion that has been around about him.

“Sometimes it helps when you back people in.”

Factoring in the Crows’ heavy injury toll and last week’s lacklustre display, Friday’s stirring 10-point upset could be labelled season-defining. The second-string side, missing Eddie Betts, Rory Sloane, David Mackay and the Crouch brothers Brad and Matt, led all the way and held off a late Swans charge to reign in adversity.

“It was an important win for us in the circumstances, and more important for the guys who are in the team than the guys who are out,” Pyke said. “I was pretty clear with the group that I wanted us to focus on who was in and what they were capable of.”

Adelaide will look to continue their revival against Gold Coast at home next Saturday, though they will be without Kyle Hartigan who joins the injury list after hurting his hamstring midway through the second term on Friday.

Pyke hoped Sloane might be ready to return, with others to come in the following three fixtures at Adelaide Oval against Carlton, Port Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs.

— Emma Kemp, AAP