Changes test Freo fans' faith

Change is supposed to be as good as a holiday.

Maybe not if the vacation is actually a one-way trip to the AFL scrapheap.

The throw-out pile belonging to Fremantle is currently the biggest in the league.

In the space of 12 months, the club's famous - or possibly infamous - anchor logo, something of great pride to true port footy supporters, has been pulled and turned into what looks like an out-of-shape paper clip.

The original jumper, coloured in maritime starboard and port, has been sunk.

The unique theme song is also about to be swamped.

And now the coach, who just 12 months earlier had guided a rebuilt team into the finals, has been sent "down below".

It is an extraordinary transformation for any club. It is even more remarkable for one that has been operating just 17 seasons.

Australian sport's happy homecoming

For every winner there has to be a loser.

So whenever Australia celebrates the graduation of a locally-produced talent to a top overseas league there is also the lament that the athlete won't be showcasing their skills at home.

For our soccer and basketball - the two biggest participation sports on the planet - it has been a pleasant unpleasantry. While wonderful for the sport to have Australians starring abroad, their absence has had a detrimental effect on the codes at home.

It is tough for FFA and Basketball Australia to make the A-League and NBL more appealing when they know the competitions aren't the best going around. That task becomes more difficult when parts of the sporting marketplace perceive that even Australia's best aren't involved.

But over the past week the winds - probably more like a zephyr but movement at least - of change have blown through both competitions.

Tanks for nothing AFL

Integrity has been the AFL's buzz word for 2011.

After all, trust is an important element for any sport on a marketing drive.

If the punters think your competition is a bit dodgy - and with all apologies to WWE - then they are going to take their faith to another venue.

That is why the AFL was at pains to highlight the drop in positive drug tests earlier this season. The league wants to be considered one of cleanest competitions in the world. When it comes to players, no-one should have the unfair advantage.

In recent times, AFL House has made examples of those who have bet on matches. Remember, Sydney's Kieren Jack was reprimanded for placing two $5 wagers on matches not involving his Swans.

Only last year AFL operations manager Adrian Anderson said on sanctioning others for gambling on games, "'(The penalties) may seem in some cases to be more than people may expect, but you cannot underestimate the importance of protecting the integrity of our game."

There's that word again.

So it has been hard to reconcile that level of integrity with what happened in the AFL this week.