Kyle Cheney Biography

Kyle Cheney is delisted by Adelaide which could spell an end to his 11-year and 85-game AFL career.

The Crows, however, will consider re-drafting him in the upcoming rookie draft.

After a 2017 season punctured by groin and hamstring injuries, Kyle Cheney is ready to once again stake his claim for a permanent spot in the Crows' backline.

"I just want to get back out and enjoy footy," he said.

"I was lucky enough to get another 12 months at the end of last year.

"Nothing's changed in terms of my role, I'm fit and available for selection."

Kyle Cheney has had another setback in his return to the senior side, with a hamstring injury ruling him out of this weekend's SANFL trial.

The AFL releases a statement after News Corp published details of a submission the Bulldogs made during the investigation into Michael Talia in 2015.

The leaked documents detail several accusatory claims about the leaking of inside information to the Crows prior to the elimination final between the two clubs, implicating Talia and various Crows players including Daniel Talia, Kyle Cheney and Jake Lever.

"In this matter, the AFL received numerous submissions and conducted a broad range of interviews," a statement from the AFL read.

"The documents made public today are only one side of the story, and their publication is unfair to all parties involved."

Michael Talia is cleared of sharing game-sensitive information with his brother Daniel ahead of the second elimination final between Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs.

But in its findings released on Wednesday, the AFL has issued a formal warning to Crow Kyle Cheney for his conduct as part of the incident.

"The AFL is satisfied that the evidence does not support any finding that the rules have been contravened," AFL general counsel Andrew Dillon said.

After interviewing a further 16 people, the AFL found no intention between the brothers to leak sensitive information, but have formally warned Cheney.

Kyle Cheney is set to be cautioned by the AFL for his role in sparking the investigation into former Bulldog Michael Talia and brother Daniel.

Cheney has come under fire after admitting to AFL investigators he was joking when he told ex-teammate Ben Stratton the Crows had received information about the Bulldogs' forward set-up for the September final at the MCG.

Stratton alerted Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge, who used to be an assistant at the Hawks, to the situation, leading Beveridge to phone Cheney to seek the truth.

It is believed Cheney was hesitant to tell Beveridge he had overstated the accusation levelled at now Michael Talia, now with the Sydney Swans.

The Talia brothers are reportedly disappointed by the League's handling of the situation and also the wording of the statement, which subtly hinted they should have had a case to answer, despite being cleared by the formal investigation.

The Crows are also set to be cleared, with the League content that stand-in coach Scott Camporeale had not received any information on the Bulldogs' game-plan.

Michael Talia has no option but to depart the Western Bulldogs after being "left hanging" in the midst of a current AFL investigation, according to his manager Liam Pickering.

The Dogs have called on the AFL to look into leaking claims where Talia was said to have told his brother, Adelaide's Daniel, private team information ahead of their elimination final a fortnight ago.

Despite not playing in the match, Michael is alleged to have passed on information which made its way to Crows defender Kyle Cheney.

He then informed a former Hawthorn teammate who is believed to have passed on details to Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge, well-known to Hawks players through being a former assistant coach at that club.

Out of contract and in demand from rival clubs, Pickering revealed his client had been attempting to make contact with Beveridge.

"I'm really surprised and a little disappointed he hasn't heard from the coach still," Pickering said.

"He's left him a number of messages and hasn't heard back. I think he's spoken to a heap of Hawthorn blokes.

"They're brothers, they have discussions every second night. He went in thinking he was going to see the coach and he still hasn't seen him. He hasn't spoken to Michael.

"He's (Michael) not going to be there (Western Bulldogs) next year, it's as simple as that.

"Daniel's been cleared by his club, there's no issues from that end. The one that's been left hanging is Michael, which is really disappointing."

For Kyle Cheney, football has become an outlet to deal with significant personal tragedy.

In early January, one of Cheney's closest mates was killed in a car accident near his hometown of Warracknabeal, in western Victoria.

Cheney says his football club had become a sanctuary in a testing time.

Within the walls of Adelaide's base is a teammate to confide in and a common goal on which to focus.

Some days are better than others, but footy has helped Cheney handle his grief.

"When I get time on my own you think about it a lot more, but football – probably not just for myself but for a lot of people in the industry – it's an escape from things going on in 'real' life," Cheney said.

"You get to footy and you're fully focused on what you need to do – it's a good release.

"To be able to talk to people when you need to is good, but when you get to footy training and you're having a laugh with the guys it takes your mind away from things.

"It had been tough but, like I said, I've got good mates around me, both from Warracknabeal that are going through the same thing, and good mates who have gone through similar things at the club."

Kyle Cheney will spend the rest of the week resting after suffering an episode of an irregular heartbeat.

Cheney visited a heart specialist and will be closely monitored but is expected to make a full recovery and could return to training as early as next week.

After being traded to Adelaide, Kyle Cheney is hopeful this third AFL club will deliver him the opportunity he desires.

"I played the nine games this year, pretty much whenever Brian Lake was injured or suspended," Cheney said about his time at Hawthorn.

"I'd come in and play that sort of role but as soon as Brian came back, regardless of form, I'd get pushed out of the side.

"I was looking for opportunities and when Adelaide expressed an interest in me, I came over and had a look through the facilities and it was all systems go from there."

Adelaide secures Hawthorn pair Kyle Cheney and Luke Lowden in a complicated exchange for draft selections that involved Geelong in the dying stages of the NAB AFL Trade Period.

The medium defender and ruckman were packaged with the draft picks (No.43 and No.47) for the Crows' second, third and fourth round picks.

The Crows have given up picks No.31, No.50 and No.68 to the Hawks, and have swapped their first-round pick of No.10 with Geelong's No.14 as part of the deal.

Kyle Cheney has no intention of giving up his spot in a strong Hawthorn line-up without a fight.

But he knows he has to keep performing well to stake a legitimate claim when premiership defenders such as Ben Stratton and Brian Lake return from injury and suspension.

"I'm in it [the team] at the moment so someone has got to kick me out," Cheney said.

"As long as I keep playing well, hopefully it's a tough decision for the coaches in a few weeks."

Kyle Cheney's opportunities at Hawthorn have been limited but he took full advantage as an emergency against Essendon by tallying 21 disposals.

"It was pretty late, but as the emergency you prepare like you're going to play anyway, so it was nothing out of the blue and I was ready to go," Cheney said after the win.

"It was probably handy in the end; Murphy and I are similar sorts of players so in terms of roles, it was just like-for-like. So we just swapped straight away and it was all pretty good."

Melbourne has completed its first trade of the exchange period, sending young defender Kyle Cheney to Hawthorn.

The Demons packaged in with Cheney their fourth-round pick in November's NAB AFL Draft (no.66 overall). In exchange they received Hawthorn's third-round pick, no.52 overall.

Melbourne has delisted Michael Newton and John Meesen, but says the club is prepared to re-draft them if there is no interest from any other clubs.

Meanwhile, young Demons Clint Bartram, Kyle Cheney and Tom McNamara have agreed to contract extensions.