Clarke hospitalised with gastro

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Concern ... Michael Clarke spends a night in hospital with severe gastro. Source: Phil Hillyard / News Limited

Australia captain Michael Clarke was hospitalised overnight after suffering a bout of gastroenteritis.

Clarke, who returned home early from Australia's forgettable tour of India last month to treat a lower back injury, has since been discharged from hospital.

Cricket Australia confirmed he was recovering at home. 

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'Lindsay Thomas is very lucky'

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Tribunal ... Lindsay Thomas has no case to answer and is free to play round two.   Source:AAP

North Melbourne forward Lindsay Thomas has escaped AFL suspension and Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley says he was lucky.

The match review panel cleared Thomas of his collision with Magpies key defender Ben Reid on Saturday.

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The incident in the third quarter at Etihad Stadium prompted some angry post-match comments from Buckley and his North counterpart Brad Scott.

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Thomas and Reid clashed heads after the Kangaroos small forward changed direction, leaving the Collingwood player with concussion and a gashed mouth.

It is unclear whether Reid will play in Sunday's blockbuster against Carlton.

The panel ruled the collision was outside Thomas' control.

"Lindsay has got away with one,'' Buckley told radio station Triple M.

"But that happens - sometimes you get good decisions, you get bad decisions, you get lucky ones, you get unlucky ones.

"That's footy. I have no animosity at all towards anyone at North or anything that's happened.

"I think there's a grey area in the tribunal and it's up to others to discuss that.''

The panel ruled "the contact to the head was caused by circumstances outside the control of the player, which could not be reasonably foreseen.''

Buckley said after the match that Thomas' action was average, prompting an angry reaction from Scott.

The North coach said Buckley should worry about his own team.

Buckley also accused Thomas post-match of "staying down'' - lying on the ground - after the collision.

He apologised for that accusation, but had another dig at Thomas.

"Watching the incident, he obviously had an impact himself,'' Buckley said.

"He's pretty good playing for free kicks, though - he got a couple earlier in the night.''

North chairman James Brayshaw said on Monday that Buckley should not have used the post-game media conference to criticise Thomas.

"I don't think a coach's post-match presser is the right forum to hang an opposition player,'' Brayshaw said.

The match review panel also charged Brisbane's Pearce Hanley with rough conduct and Melbourne utility Colin Sylvia with striking.

The pair received one-match bans, but can reduce the penalties to reprimands with carryover points if they take early pleas.

Hanley was charged for his late challenge on Western Bulldogs forward Daniel Giansiracusa during Saturday's match at Etihad Stadium.

Sylvia was charged with striking Port Adelaide key forward Justin Westhoff in the last term of Sunday's MCG clash.

Carlton's Chris Yarran and Gold Coast's Jared Brennan were cleared of match-day striking charges.

New Sydney co-captain Kieren Jack was also cleared of contact with GWS opponent Stephen Coniglio.

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Gerard Healy's round one analysis

Harry O ... Collingwood's round one use of Harry O'Brien drew plenty of interest from FOX FOOTY's Gerard Healy. Source: DAVID CROSLING / AAP

Round one of the AFL season always sees months of off-season strategy and planning on display.

The Sunday twilight contest at Etihad Stadium was an interesting case study. The Kangaroos surprised as they looked to go a lot wider than the high-risk, high-reward approach through the middle of the ground that took them to the finals last year. 

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North Melbourne's handball numbers were down enormously on last year's average.

Ironically, Collingwood went the other. The Magpies, long-term users of the boundary-line approach, played more through the middle of the ground when the opportunity opened up. They backed themselves with some high-risk moves that paid dividends.

The most obvious alteration to the Collingwood set-up was shifting Harry O'Brien to the wing. 

We saw O'Brien move up the ground in the NAB Cup against West Coast and it looked to be promising on that occasion. After Sunday it appears it could be a season-long event for the dreadlocked defender. And it could be a move that reinvigorates the career of Harry O.

Last year was pivotal in a sense that the competition believed Harry had become vulnerable one out in defence.

Opposition forwards dragged him back to the goal square in an attempt to expose him in one on one contests. The ploy forced Nathan Buckley to consider what he would do with his talented premiership defender.

Harry's size and pace is a major weapon a bit further up the ground. At least half a dozen times on Sunday the 188cm O'Brien was the target for long dump-out kicks from the back half. He was also the go-to man on

Collingwood kick-ins and intercepted the North kick-ins, setting up shots for goal.

When O'Brien won the footy he quickly rebounded, put the Magpies in dangerous territory, and had the opportunity to kick a couple of goals himself. In time his ability to finish and hurt teams on the scoreboard will come but his attacking flair going forward was impressive. 

I haven't seen Harry run as freely and creatively for a long time. It reminded me of previous big wingmen who have had a big impact on the competition. There was all 100kg of Dipper for the rampaging Hawks, Jimmy Stynes for Melbourne, Matthew Richardson at Richmond, and Andrew Embley and Martin Pike for successful West Coast and Brisbane outfits.

If you've got athleticism, size isn't an issue. O'Brien can become a ball carrier, a marking target, a goal assist player for the Magpies – that's a difficult package to combat.

Interestingly, given Heath Shaw's late withdrawal, Buckley ignored the obvious thought to push O'Brien back to defence to cover. He appears to be committed to the move.

There were other interesting positional changes across the opening round. Young Gold Coast midfielder Dion Prestia performed the roll of small defender probably for the first time in his career in a serious match. It's a good move from Suns coach Guy McKenna. Prestia makes good decisions with the ball and Gold Coast have an abundance of young midfielders trying to find a place in the club's best 22.

Andrew Walker went back to the future for Carlton and was one of their better performers against Richmond while Chris Yarran's efforts in defence during the NAB Cup – which were too loose for coach Mick Malthouse – meant he was played forward. It should have won the game for the Blues.

Western Bulldogs also mixed things up with Robert Murphy released from defence by the inclusion of Brett Goodes as had been flagged by the coach. Nobody could have tipped how successful the move would be with Murphy performing well and Goodes near best on ground.

Coaches won't be locked into these moves for the season given the flexibility of players but on the early showing they'd be encouraged by what they saw.

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Kennett calls for Clarkson's head

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Under Pressure ... former president Jeff Kennett has called for the Hawks to sack Alastair Clarkson. Source: JULIAN SMITH / AAP

Former Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett has called for premiership coach Alastair Clarkson to be sacked at the season's end.

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Asked if he thought Clarkson should be moved on at end of the season, Kennett said: "Yes."

"I think we need to introduce a freshness at the club that doesn't exist at the moment because so many of the personnel have been there for a number of years," Kennett told 3AW on Sunday evening.

"They have been listening to the same voice for too long."

Clarkson, who has a 57 per cent winning percentage in his eight years at the helm, has another year remaining on his contract.

But Kennett said the club had "underachieved" since winning the 2008 premiership.

"I always believe six to eight years is long enough any coach should stay at any club," he said

"He has brought great service to the club, but he has been in charge of one of the best groups of young men going around in footy now for a number of years now, certainly since 2008.

"There was an excuse in 2009 for our performance because of injury.

"But in 2010, 2011, 2012 we underperformed ... someone has to accept responsibility for that."

Kennett said the club should look at appointing an untried assistant coach rather than try to lure a big name.

"I'd be looking for a second-tier coach who has proved himself and hungry for success and trying to prove himself," he said.

"I don't believe you look around for another senior coach - you elevate an assistant coach who has something to prove.

"Alastair has now been there for a long time, the players understand him very well...you have to freshen up the group.

"And we have a very good list still."

Kennett said near enough was not good enough at Hawthorn.

"What are we doing right? We're not winning flags," he said.

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Roosters put 50 on spineless Eels

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Hat-trick hero ... Roger Tuivasa Sheck runs riot over the Eels. Source: Renee McKay / AAP

Sydney Roosters' big-money off-season signings finally hit their straps on Monday and it was Parramatta that bore the brunt, the home side inflicting a record 50-0 win over Parramatta at Allianz Stadium.

Sonny Bill Williams and Michael Jennings both scored tries for the Roosters and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck bagged a hat-trick as the hosts ran in nine unanswered four-pointers.

9 Tries 0
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 12'
Sonny Bill Williams 18'
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 28'
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 35'
Michael Jennings 45'
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 63'
Daniel Mortimer 69'
Daniel Tupou 72'
Boyd Cordner 78'
7 Conversions 0
James Maloney 13'
James Maloney 29'
James Maloney 36'
James Maloney 65'
James Maloney 71'
James Maloney 74'
James Maloney 79'

James Maloney maintained his good form since his arrival from the Warriors, kicking seven goals as the Roosters held a team scoreless for a second successive week after beating Brisbane 8-0 last Saturday.

		W	L	D	B	PD	Pts
1	Storm	4	0	0	0	52	8
2	Rabbitohs	4	0	0	0	37	8
3	Sea Eagles	3	1	0	0	64	6
4	Titans	3	1	0	0	54	6
5	Knights	3	1	0	0	44	6
6	Roosters	3	1	0	0	42	6
7	Sharks	2	2	0	0	11	4
8	Tigers	2	2	0	0	-35	4
9	Broncos	1	3	0	0	-6	2
10	Bulldogs	1	3	0	0	-17	2
11	Panthers	1	3	0	0	-18	2
12	Dragons	1	3	0	0	-36	2
13	Eels	1	3	0	0	-37	2
14	Cowboys	1	3	0	0	-40	2
15	Warriors	1	3	0	0	-54	2
16	Raiders	1	3	0	0	-61	2

Ricky Stuart said after being appointed it would take time to turn the Eels around and his words look to be prophetic as he experienced the biggest defeat of his long coaching career in front of a crowd of just over 18,000.

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Roosters coach Trent Robinson hailed his side's performance but admitted they were helped by a nine-day turnaround and not having to travel following the shutout against the Broncos last Saturday.

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"I was confident we could win, but I didn't think it would be by that much, and you can never be sure if you can back up a good defensive performance with another one," Robinson said.

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"Going from a Saturday to a Monday allows time to work on combos and we spent a day on it and that's why our attack was a lot better tonight. It was nice to see."

Robinson's decision to switch Williams to the right edge paid dividends as the New Zealand superstar produced his best attacking display since returning the NRL.

In addition to his try, he destroyed the Eels with four offloads in the opening 20 minutes and produced a stunning pass to create Tuivasa-Sheck's third try.

"He's a natural right-sided player, he feels more comfortable there and the carries, the passes and the offloads came off," he said.

"You can't coach what he's got and it came out a few times tonight."

Eels coach Stuart made no excuses for his side's display, and said they simply were not good enough to deal with their star-studded opponents.

"You can't sweeten up a bitter pill," he said.

"There was a lot of effort in the first half. They tried their hearts out until the end but they just weren't good enough.

"They outclassed us, outplayed us and were too good for us. They're a very, very good football team and they were on tonight."

Jared Waerea-Hargreaves opened the scoring after 12 minutes when he powered over after Parramatta winger Vai Tautai fumbled Mitchell Pearce's teasing kick, before Williams added his second of the season.

Tautai's defensive frailties were again exposed by Pearce when he found Tuivasa-Sheck with a well-weighted kick and the winger acrobatically climbed above the Eels wide man to break his scoring duck.

Tuivasa-Sheck didn't have to wait long to double his career tally as the Roosters once again roasted the Eels' right-flank to score a fourth try five minutes before halftime.

The second half saw the Eels find good field position but two scoring opportunities were squandered when Ben Roberts twice knocked on from dummy-half.

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Their sloppy play was punished in ruthless fashion when Jennings opened his account for the club in the right corner five minutes after the restart.

That try opened the floodgates as the Eels capitulated, conceding four tries in the final 16 minutes as Tuivasa-Shek completed his treble before Daniel Mortimer and Daniel Tupou got in on the act.

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