By Mark Stevens

CAMERON Bruce is certain to line up against his former Melbourne teammates on Sunday despite a quiet debut for Hawthorn last week. Bruce was marked hard for a telling missed goal and an untimely turnover, but the Hawks were content with his efforts against Adelaide at AAMI Stadium. His Crows opponent, Chris Knights, kicked two goals, but the dangerous forward never threatened to crack the game open. Bruce is likely to be matched against another mid-sized forward this week - Ricky Petterd looms as an obvious candidate when the clubs clash at the MCG.

By Samantha Lane

A RECENTLY retired AFL footballer is seeking compensation from his former club after he was diagnosed with brain damage linked to the multiple concussions he sustained during his career. Daniel Bell, who played 66 games for Melbourne before being delisted last year, has lodged a claim with the AFL Players Association after a neuropsychologist found his cognitive function had deteriorated significantly and linked this to his history of concussions. Bell, who turns 26 next month, had hoped to continue playing football this year, but has been strongly advised against it given the risk of further brain damage. He has been told that another concussion would increase his chances of developing Alzheimer's disease or dementia in later life.

Most rotations important, not more or less

By Michael Gleeson

HIGH rotations still equal victory. That is the conclusion to be drawn from round one with a new cut-down interchange bench.

And despite the number of rotations with the reduced interchange being not much less than before the rule change - as well as the prospect of a player revolt against the new three-man-plus-substitute bench - the teams that used the most rotations won every match played in the first round.

In the drawn match Melbourne and Sydney had near identical interchanges.