Michael Talia Biography

Michael Talia will play for Norwood in the SANFL in 2018 with the hopes making it back to an AFL list.

"I genuinely believe I'm good enough to be on an AFL list and Norwood's going to be the best club for me to get re-drafted from," Talia said.

"I still think I have a lot of good football left to give at the age of 24."

Michael Talia is desperate for another opportunity at AFL level, ideally to play with his brother, Daniel Talia, at the Crows.

At Daniel's wedding in Adelaide last weekend, Michael didn't miss the opportunity to cheekily put it to Taylor Walker that he should be considered for a spot on the club's rookie list.

"I jokingly asked whether he could get me a rookie deal," Michael Talia said.

"It would be a dream come true to play with Daniel, but not knowing what their list is like makes it hard."

Talia didn't play a senior game for the Swans in 2017, but believes he has plenty to offer in the AFL.

"The next step for me is talking to my manager and going through both the delisted free agency period and then the rookie period after that," he said.

"If it is my time, though, we’re not delusional and will be prepared to put things in place outside of football.

"I definitely haven’t given up and feel I have something to offer an AFL club."

St Kilda opens discussions with delisted Sydney backman Michael Talia in in a bid to boost its key defensive stocks.

"We've got Nathan Brown and Jake Carlisle who both played the entire season for us, but it's a little bit thin underneath that," Saints chief operating officer Ameet Bains said.

"We've been investigating different ways in which we can bolster our defensive stocks and Michael's back in Melbourne and keen to have a chat, so we did that."

The Sydney Swans delist Brandon Jack, Tyrone Leonardis and Michael Talia, while rookie Shaun Edwards has announced his retirement after 24 AFL games.

A senior return still unclear for Michael Talia despite strong pre-season.

Talia received a good behaviour bond, but avoided a conviction, after pleading guilty to cocaine possession in August of 2016.

"That will depend on what our list is looking like [and] form but he has done all the training," Swans coach John Longmire said.

"[He must] be consistent in everything he does and follow through with what he says he is going to do. It's fairly simple."

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 will return to the Swans from a club-imposed suspension on August 19.

The former Western Bulldog will return from his ban one month and one day after he was initially stood down, and Swans coach John Longmire said that Talia now had some work to do to make up for his mistake.

"He just needs to make sure that he's working really hard to be able to earn back the respect of the players," Longmire said.

"He's spoken to the players, he's stood down until the 19th of August, and then it's about working to make sure he gets himself in the best possible physical shape he can be."

Michael Talia has been issued with his first strike under the AFL's Illicit Drug Policy having escaped conviction and been handed a 12-month good behaviour bond after pleading guilty to drug possession in court on Thursday.

Under the AFL's policy Talia received a suspended $5000 fine and is required to attend compulsory counselling and education programs.

"I'm obviously very disappointed in my actions," Talia said.

"I'm looking forward to learning from this experience and putting it all behind me."

Swans general manager of football Tom Harley, who attended court with Talia and the club's head of welfare Dennis Carroll, maintained that the Swans would stand by their player.

"As a footy club we're obviously disappointed to be here today, but (we're here) in support of Michael," Harley said.

"From a club point of view we've now got the facts, which we stated we were keen to unearth, and we'll now move onto the next step."

Michael Talia has been charged with being in possession of a quantity of a prohibited substance, alleged to be cocaine after being stopped by police in Sydney's eastern suburbs early Sunday morning.

Talia has since been stood down from training and club activities with Sydney.

"Michael was injured, coming back, and getting ready to play again in a couple of weeks, so it's disappointing that he put himself in that situation," Swans coach John Longmire said.

"We've had a number of people speak to Michael and his family, particularly in the last 24-48 hours, and that will continue.

"He's got people at the football club that have spoken to him a number of times, whether it's to do with welfare or other services."

Hawthorn is comfortable youngster Jono O'Rourke did nothing wrong despite being with Sydney Swans defender Michael Talia when he was arrested for alleged possession of cocaine in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The Hawks' leadership group spoke with O'Rourke yesterday after news broke that Talia had been stood down by the Swans after being arrested outside a nightclub in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

Veteran midfielder Sam Mitchell said O'Rourke was simply caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"We dealt with that yesterday, a couple of the leaders just had a chat with him and figured out exactly what happened. Firstly, you want to have clarity around the situation," Mitchell said.

Michael Talia is placed on the club's long-term injury list after suffering a setback in his rehabilitation from a serious foot injury.

Talia partially tore the Lisfranc ligament and suffered some bone displacement in his foot in the Swans' round one win over Collingwood.

"Michael's rehabilitation is ongoing and recent x-rays highlighted that the break in his foot will require more time to mend,” Swans football manager Tom Harley said.

“We’re confident that Michael will be able to return to the field in eight weeks."

Michael Talia could miss up to three months of football after suffering a foot injury in the Swans' 80-point win over Collingwood at the SCG.

"Michael suffered quite a serious foot injury to his Lisfranc ligament – they call it the ACL of the foot," Swans general manager of football Tom Harley said.

"He's suffered a partial tear in that and also some bone displacement in his foot.

"He'll be out for eight weeks and potentially up to 12, so it's disappointing news for Mick."

Michael Talia says he has been "shocked" by the amount of running at the Sydney Swans this pre-season, claiming his new teammates are "a lot fitter group" than his old side, the Bulldogs.

"I've definitely noticed there's a lot more running - endurance-based running, I should say - here at Sydney," Talia said.

"The one thing that I've noticed the most is just the amount of running in between drills and that sort of stuff.

"So at the moment I'm still adjusting. I think I'm running pretty well, but that's probably the one main difference.

"It's been good, though. Across the board I think they're a lot fitter group down at Sydney."

Western Bulldogs premiership ruckman Harvey Stevens believes his "shattered" grandson Michael Talia deserves a public apology after being accused of sharing game-sensitive information.

"What they've done to him, I'm just absolutely disgusted," Stevens, 85, who played in the Dogs' only premiership victory in 1954, said.

"The day in question they reckon he passed on information was just ridiculous because the lad was so keen for them to win that day. It was just stupid.

"It was just like two boys … they say very little as far as those sort of things to one another, (they) just talk like we normally do about football."

Meanwhile Steven's wife, Elva, told News Corp that the Bulldogs' actions had ended the family's 88-year association with the club.

As well as Harvey Stevens, the Talias' great-grandfather Arthur played 64 games for Footscray between 1927 and 1932.

"We'll never have anything to do with them again, not under the present regime," Mrs Stevens said.

Harvey Stevens said his grandson – who wore his No.32 guernsey and was a lifelong Bulldogs supporter – had been "ambushed" at the club after the elimination final defeat.

The out-of-contract defender believed he was going to speak to coach Luke Beveridge about his playing future when he was instead told of the allegations.

"He went down there to talk to the coach and they just accused him of … passing on things to his brother," said Stevens, who played 72 games for the Dogs from 1953-57.

"He wanted to have a talk to the coach – he never got a chance. He rang the coach two or three times and the coach never spoke back to him. He was so disappointed. He wanted to know what his future was there.

"I sat down with my wife with him and we had a yarn to him and the kid was absolutely shattered with what he'd been charged with.

"I'm still very, very disgusted with the club that we've been connected with for so, so many years to think that they'd do this to our family.

"I'm just hoping that somewhere along the line there's a public apology for that boy because it's absolutely a disgrace."

The Western Bulldogs say they are "troubled" by aspects of the AFL investigation that ultimately cleared former Bulldogs Michael Talia of leaking game-sensitive information to his brother Daniel at the Crows.

"As a Club we are troubled by certain aspects of the AFL investigation," the Bulldogs said in a statement.

"However, our responsibility has been to ensure that our club complied with our fundamental values and obligations and we are satisfied that we have done so. We note the relevant finding of the AFL in relation to this point."

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.

Brothers Michael and Daniel Talia are still waiting for the outcome of an AFL probe into allegations of 'information sharing'.

The inquiry being lead by the League's integrity unit is understood to still be open and there is no timeframe for it to be completed.

An AFL spokesperson said officials would take as much time as they need to complete the probe.

Michael Talia is traded to the Sydney Swans, along with pick No. 69, for the Swans’ fourth-round selection in the 2016 NAB AFL Draft.

Talia's manager Liam Pickering says his client is expected to be cleared of leaking game-sensitive information to Adelaide ahead of the Western Bulldogs’ elimination final against the Crows.

“I’d say there’s a decision coming on that, which I fully expect to be positive for the boy, either the end of this week … or early next week," Pickering said.

“It’s been a really unwanted distraction. It’s been extremely unfair on Michael and his family, who have gone through this whole period. Luckily we were able to do a deal today with Sydney.”

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."

The Western Bulldogs have asked the AFL's integrity unit to investigate the leaking of "game-sensitive information" ahead of its elimination final against Adelaide.

The club said it became aware more than a week ago of the "inappropriate transmission" of internal match planning and conducted its own investigation.

Adelaide has insisted it did not use the sensitive information to its advantage in the seven-point win.

It is understood out-of-contract defender Michael Talia, whose brother Daniel plays for the Crows, is at the centre of the investigation.

"The Western Bulldogs became aware on Monday 14 September of allegations of the inappropriate transmission of game-sensitive information from the Western Bulldogs to the Adelaide Crows prior to the final on 12 September," Bulldogs CEO David Stevenson said in a statement on Tuesday evening.

"The club conducted such interviews and enquiries as we considered appropriate last week and as a result of those enquiries, the club has today referred the matter to the AFL for consideration by its integrity unit.

"While we do not believe this matter had a material bearing on the game or the result, we believe it is appropriate to report these matters relating to integrity to the AFL for investigation."

The Crows won the elimination final against the Bulldogs by seven points, and coach Scott Camporeale was asked on radio in the week following if he had received sensitive information from within the Bulldogs.

The coach said he did not, and Crows CEO Andrew Fagan said any leak did not have an impact on the coaching group's strategies.

"We are aware of an internal investigation undertaken by the Western Bulldogs regarding the transmission of some limited game-sensitive information in the lead up to our recent final," Fagan said in a statement.

"Our club strongly refutes any suggestion of wrongdoing.

"At no stage did our coaches meet to discuss any information received from an external source, nor did it alter our team selection, strategies or game plan."

After managing just three senior games in 2014, Michael Talia says he wants to become a regular of the Bulldogs' defensive unit.

"I'll be pretty disappointed if I don't play much this year to be honest because I know I have the ability to," Talia said.

"I want to be a pillar of our defence for many years, not just this year."

Michael Talia says his All-Australian brother Daniel has been a source of inspiration to him.

"To see him named an All Australian last year and also in the (Adelaide) leadership group, I'm extremely proud of him," Talia said.

"I always use Daniel for tips on an upcoming opponent and feedback on my own game, so it's great to have someone so close to you that you can feed off."

Michael Talia recognizes the need to continue improving his game after being relegated to the VFL at the start of the year before being given being selected in the seniors in round five.

"Obviously it's a harsh and brutal industry," Talia said.

"I knew if I just stayed resilient and worked hard and kept chipping away with Brendan, which is what I did, hopefully it all takes care of itself.

"I've still got a lot of areas to work on in my game but hopefully the improvement starts to show in the next few games."

Michael Talia signs a new two-year deal with the Western Bulldogs.

"Michael's got fantastic running ability, which Daniel has as well," Western Bulldogs list manager Jason McCartney said when comparing the key defender to his brother Daniel who plays at the Crows.

"Michael probably tends to win a little bit more of the football than Daniel, yet Daniel can lock down on players a little bit better than Michael can at the moment. It's funny, there's a lot of similarities, and there's a lot of differences."

Michael Talia makes his AFL debut for the Western Bulldogs at Docklands Stadium with 7 disposals (7 kicks), 2 marks, a tackle and a goal in a 54-point loss to North Melbourne.