Tiger caught drink driving; brutal presser ‘worst experience of my life’ — AFL Daily

Richmond’s Mykelti Lefau has been caught drink-driving over the weekend, while ex-Eagle Oscar Allen has opened up about a brutal press conference.

Plus, a Blues forward has done “everything asked of him” in a strengthening bid to revive his career at Carlton.

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‘WORST EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE’: ALLEN ON THAT PRESSER

Big-name Brisbane recruit Oscar Allen has opened up about his distressing 2025 campaign, which included playing through injury and a brutal press conference he’ll “never watch again”.

Allen was one of the central figures in last year’s AFL trade period, exercising his free agency rights to move from West Coast to the Lions after eight seasons at the Eagles.

As the Eagles’ co-captain last year, Allen’s future was a significant talking point among the footy media as he remained unsigned at West Coast.

While Allen was weighing up his next move, he met with Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell – a meeting that became public and ultimately led to Allen fronting a media pack to apologise to Eagles fans and teammates.

Speaking to Herald Sun chief football writer Jay Clark, Allen said the fallout to his Mitchell meeting, including the presser, was something he does “not reflect on positively”.

“It was fair dinkum probably the worst experience of my life, to be honest,” Allen told CODE Sports.

“It was something I will never watch again and I don’t want to watch again.

“You say I was on the brink of tears. Trust me, before the interview I was crying and after the interview I was crying.

“I was having a tough time with everything, but I also think I learned a lot from it as well.

“I just have this belief and feeling that everything happens for a reason, and you know what? It has led me to be here (Brisbane).”

Allen, 26, also revealed he hurt the patella tendon in his knee against the Suns in Round 1 last year – an injury he “never told anyone about it because it was not important”. He played another 11 games for the Eagles before a separate Achilles injury forced him to undergo surgery – and prompted surgery to fix his patella – and, therefore, ended his 2025 campaign.

Allen said he’s now “incredibly happy” at Brisbane.

Read the full interview at CODE Sports.

TIGER CAUGHT DRINK-DRIVING

Richmond forward Mykelti Lefau has been caught drink-driving.

According to the Herald Sun, Lefau blew twice the legal limit, delivering a blood alcohol reading of .108 over the weekend.

Foxfooty.com.au understands Richmond is set to address Lefau’s situation on Monday afternoon.

It comes after Lefau booted a team-high three goals in the Tigers’ match simulation hitout against Essendon on Friday morning.

Richmond assistant coach Jack Ziebell praised Lefau’s effort after the practice match, with the Kiwi-born Samoan having completed a full pre-season after a lengthy injury history.

“He went through a bit last year and tore his calf. For him to get up and do a full pre-season and show what he’s capable of out there today is really pleasing for us,” Ziebell said.

The 27-year-old was hampered by injury last year, returning from a 2024 ruptured ACL in Round 17 only to suffer a calf strain in his first game back.

The former SSP signing played 10 senior games in 2024 and showed promise as a mid-sized third tall forward.

Prior to his indiscretion, he was slated to figure into Adem Yze’s forward-line calculations alongside Tom Lynch and youngsters Jonty Faull and Harry Armstrong.

MORE TO COME.

BLUES TRAIN-ON A ‘VERY STRONG CHANCE’ OF REPRIEVE

Elijah Hollands is on the verge of an SSP reprieve at Carlton, says Michael Voss.

The Blues delisted the forward last October amid off-field issues, but Hollands has this summer buckled down and put his best foot forward in a bid to revive his 41-game career.

The 23-year-old, who was traded from Gold Coast to Carlton at the end of the 2023 season, showed positive signs during the Blues’ match simulation win over Brisbane last Wednesday night.

Carlton has a vacant list spot ahead of the March 2 SSP deadline, with former GWS swingman Wade Derksen also staking his claim for a second AFL chance.

But Voss told SEN Breakfast that Hollands, who played just five senior games last year after 22 in 2024, was “on the way back”.

“Very strong chance (of regaining his spot on the list),” Voss said on Monday morning.

“He’s trained exceptionally well, we’ve obviously got to make decisions on that — I think we’ve got a couple of days or even a week to make those final calls.

“He’s done everything asked of him on and off the field, and he’s been really diligent with the way he’s gone about it.

“And we couldn’t ask more from him about what he’s done. He’s had a particularly impressive pre-season.”

Hollands, who took a personal leave of absence last March, was asked to seek a trade in October after Voss in September expressed his “disappointment” in the former No.7 pick’s Blues tenure.

“That discussion was: ‘It’s up to you to look around and find out if another place suits you’,” Voss said.

“He’s clear on where we stand with that … absolutely, we have been a little bit disappointed with how it has transpired across the year.”

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Carlton plays Geelong in its Community Series clash on Wednesday night, before preparing for its Opening Round season opener against Sydney on March 5.

Asked about a potentially faster brand of Blues footy in 2026, Voss pinpointed the side’s key area for improvement going into the new campaign.

“I don’t think it’s about (being) faster … our key issue, when you strip it all back, is our ability to finish inside 50,” he conceded.

“That’s the … we tend to put a really broad brush stroke across the whole thing, but the reality was we had a number that we just couldn’t change consistently enough across the season.

“There are a lot of factors to that, that we need to consider, but that’s obviously been an important number that we’ve tried to chase — and part of that is speed on the ball.

“When do you put speed on the ball? When do you take speed off because you don’t like the numbers ahead of you? We’ve just got to strike that balance.

“We want to be more dynamic, make no mistake, but we also don’t want to be reckless about it.”

STEPHENSON STILL ‘HUNGRY’ FOR AFL REVIVAL

Jaidyn Stephenson is still hellbent on resurrecting his AFL career after Port Adelaide declined to offer him a list spot.

The former Collingwood and North Melbourne forward said he was “extremely disappointed” in missing out at Alberton, having been told the news during a meeting with coach Josh Carr.

“I had an opportunity to chase my dream again, and I haven’t given up on that either,” he told Channel 9.

“There’s footage of our internal game, I’m sure there’s footage of that Crows game (SANFL practice match).

“So, for anyone else that has an SSP spot out there, I encourage you to look at that because I’m hungry, and I want to be playing AFL football again.”

Port Adelaide has three vacant list spots as the March 2 SSP deadline edges closer.

Along with Stephenson, ex-Geelong midfielder Ted Clohesy, East Fremantle forward Mitch Zadow and Norwood’s Balyn O’Brien have trained with the Power in hopes of securing AFL reprieves.

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