Lions cut ties with ruckman McLaren
The Age
October 31, 2005 - 5:15PM
Brisbane has cut 2004 AFL grand final ruckman Dylan McLaren from its list, setting up the 23-year-old to be one of the most enticing prospects in December's pre-season draft.
McLaren played 46 games in five seasons with the Lions, 17 of them this year and 19 in 2004, including the club's three finals.
But he was a victim of Brisbane's ruck depth, as a third-choice ruckman behind Jamie Charman and Clark Keating this season.
The Lions also have Beau McDonald, who did not play a game this season with a knee injury, set to return to bolster their ruck depth next year.
Several clubs lacking ruck depth are expected to be keenly interested in McLaren, including Carlton, which holds the No.1 pick in the pre-season draft.
The Blues had to call on first-year player Chris Bryan to lead the ruck on several occasions this season, while Barnaby French was out injured.
Brisbane held onto three-time grand final player Brad Scott, defying speculation that he was set to be cut.
The Lions also upgraded rookies defender Josh Drummond and midfielder Marcus Allan.
Drummond impressed in 14 matches this season, after coming off the rookie list to replace long-term injury victim Richard Hadley.
Two Melbourne midfielders - Steven Armstrong and Chris Heffernan - are also likely to attract interest in the pre-season draft, after they were cut by the Demons.
Melbourne, which had already lost veteran midfielder Guy Rigoni to retirement, also delisted Luke Williams and Cameron Hunter ahead of Monday's deadline for clubs to lodge their lists to the AFL.
Carlton included Irishman Setanta O'hAilpin on its primary list, upgrading him after two seasons on the club's rookie list.
Setanta's younger brother Aisake O'hAilpin was retained for a second year on the rookie list.
The Blues also kept disgruntled veterans Matthew Lappin and Scott Camporeale on their list, although the off-contract Camporeale is almost certain to nominate for the pre-season draft.
Collingwood has officially off-loaded three members of its 2004 grand final side, with former Brownlow Medallist Shane Woewodin and Matthew Lokan cut from the Magpies list.
They joined Richard Cole in leaving the Pies, with Cole having already been traded to Essendon.
The Pies also cut Tom Davidson, who managed just one AFL game in 2004 before having his career destroyed by two major knee injuries.
Essendon retained both Paul Thomas and Justin Murphy, despite speculation at least one of them would be axed.
The Bombers have delisted eight players, including retiring ruckman Matthew Allan and defender Ted Richards, who was traded to the Swans.
Young St Kilda talls Nick Stone and Dylan Pfitzner joined tough half-forward Brent Guerra on the scrapheap.
Richmond added Alex Gilmour to its group of delisted players.
Gilmour was the Tigers' first pick in the 2003 draft, but he failed to play a senior game in two seasons on the list.Premier Sydney and struggler Hawthorn made the most deletions from their lists, both losing nine players through a combination of trading, delisting and retirements.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/Sport/Lions-cut-ties-with-ruckman-McLaren/2005/10/31/1130720472607.html
