Do the Dogs have an issue with indigenous players?

GoGeta

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The WB do have a bit of a problem. Birds of a feather flock together and if you don't have any indigenous players it is harder to attract them via trade. It is a temporary problem.

Another question is whether FA and increased players movement and the NGA's lead to fewer indigenous players at Vic clubs?

- NGA should mean more indigenous players, but more are now aligned directly to non-Vic clubs and don't go into the draft.
- player movement will mean more indigenous players able to go to their home state

I don't know.

Without having any in depth knowledge on the issue mentioned in the OP, I suspect the line of thinking above might be pretty accurate.
It's no different than where a player wants to live for family/life style reasons ect, most people want to feel comfortable where ever they are so I can see why some young aboriginal players would prefer to go to clubs with a number of other indigenous blokes already on the list. I imagine it would help a lot with the learning/transition factor for new draftees too.
 
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Hahndozer

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Richmond could take a punt on stack because they had a recent flag, a solid list, a minor premiership + Tom Lynch the previous few months.

I think the culture part is overrated. Stack wouldve worked fine at the doggies
To an extent. All clubs have their own "project players" that they think are worth a punt on.
 

Yojimbo

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I am usually quick to attack a redneck but this guy isn't one.
I think Mike123 owes you an apology.
Don't sweat it at all, I am an NT Thunder fan and watch a lot of NEAFL and NTFL football I love watching
Ben and Shannon Rioli, Adam Tipungwuti, Nick Yarran, Braedon Mclean as well as some who have
recently retired or left like Adam Sambono, Richard Tambling, Darren Ewing and the Sam Mitchell of
the NEAFL the great Cameron Illet as a duck would say it's water off my back. Sorry for all the guys i
missed, but thanks for the unstructured beauty of your football expression.
 
Didn't Hawthorn not have an indigenous player in their entire history until Chance Bateman?? I'm sure this is only a temporary thing.

1) that's pretty appalling
2) you've certainly made up for it recently with Buddy, Cyril, Burgoyne....
 
Whilst we dont have any indigenous players currently playing, we do have Buku Khamis (South Sudanese), as well as Lin Jong (East-Timorese/Taiwan) and Jason Johannisen of South African background. Supporting players of different cultures/backgrounds isnt a problem.

Are you implying that the Western Bulldogs have a problem with players of non-anglo backgrounds or just indigenous in general? If the latter, whats the point you're trying to make? We've previously had a number of indigenous players on the list in recent times however they changed clubs or were de-listed.
 

Rusty Brookes

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1) that's pretty appalling
2) you've certainly made up for it recently with Buddy, Cyril, Burgoyne....

It's not quite right. Hawthorn had indigenous players in the 1960s (Cyril Collard and Percy Cummings) but went a very long time between drinks. Also had Willie Rioli Snr at the club in the 1990s but he couldn't crack the seniors for a game. Without a doubt, Hawthorn recruiters preferred a particular type (mainly private school boy and eastern suburban types) which probably worked against a lot of indigenous players and I don't doubt that certain indigenous players were probably looked over for not meeting the expected mold. I doubt however Hawthorn would have said no to say Peter Matera expressing an interest at playing at the club.

And as you note, happily our recent record with indigenous footballers has improved markedly which I think everyone's happy about.
 

Bay Giant

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Article reads as if Impey and Wingard were going to join the Dogs but for the reason there was no indigenous players there. Find that hard to believe, think the fact they had Clarkson and were Hawthorn was a bigger reason why both went there.

Indigenous or not, players have been choosing higher profile clubs over the Dogs for years and years. Who are the big names the Bulldogs have signed in the last 15 years? Akermanis, Barry Hall and Cloke are probably the three biggest names who’d all burnt bridges at their old club in one way or another and there was no marketplace for them.
(Uncle) Tom Boyd?
 

Cam1967

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I can give an example of how the Dogs being PERCEIVED to not have a strong and welcoming culture when it comes to indigenous players costs them.

Sydney Stack.

The Tiges could back in their strong culture in that regard and take the punt on him.

Just wouldn't have happened at the Kennel.


General Isation says hello
 
If you have a look at any club there are a lot of sameish players at those clubs. It does seem that clubs who have a core of a specific type of person seem to attract more of that type of person.

Historically, there are clubs who are better with indigenous players than other clubs and have a higher representation of those players. Port Adelaide really jump out as one of those clubs. Hawthorn more recently are working harder in that area, but not too long ago we had no one until Chance Bateman and for a long while he was our sole indigenous representation.
 
Whilst we dont have any indigenous players currently playing, we do have Buku Khamis (South Sudanese), as well as Lin Jong (East-Timorese/Taiwan) and Jason Johannisen of South African background. Supporting players of different cultures/backgrounds isnt a problem.

Are you implying that the Western Bulldogs have a problem with players of non-anglo backgrounds or just indigenous in general? If the latter, whats the point you're trying to make? We've previously had a number of indigenous players on the list in recent times however they changed clubs or were de-listed.

Its a straight lift for the Hun where the Bulldogs president acknowledges there's an issue with having no indigenous players on the list right now.
 
Its a straight lift for the Hun where the Bulldogs president acknowledges there's an issue with having no indigenous players on the list right now.

I'd like to see a bigger representation of multiculturalism and indigenous players not only in the Bulldogs, but across the AFL in general. We have a long way to go, as a society, before people get their head around inclusion/fairness and dump the 1950's attitudes of marginalisation.
 
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Zeph Skinner, 2010 draft. Had a number of indigenous players drafted in the mid-late 2000s including Josh Hill, Liam Jones, Jarrod Harbrow, Brennan Stack, Malcolm Lynch.

You're forgetting 'The next Andrew McLeod' Cam Faulkner, too.
 
I'd like to see a bigger representation of multiculturalism and indigenous players not only in the Bulldogs, but across the AFL in general. We have a long way to go, as a society, before people get their head around inclusion/fairness and dump the 1950's attitudes of marginalisation.

Agree, but it takes time, look at the Sudanese blokes. Ten years ago North were being bagged for recruiting Majak as a "marketing tool".

Now lots of teams have Sudanese blokes and in another ten, I reckon Sudanese players will probably be about 5-10 per cent of the league.
 

AFDogs

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Not surprising really. There aren't many Aboriginals in the west (I live and work here in the education system - my school has 1 Aboriginal child out of 1,700 students). Not saying this is the reason why as players can't decide on where they are drafted, but it certainly makes it harder to attract and keep Aboriginal players due to the community demographics.
 

Tig017

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Just imagine if we had a team composed entirely of aboriginals, and they tried to recruit a white player, only to be snubbed because he'd rather play alongside people that share his skin colour.

De-registration, public lynching, exile from society. Anything else?
 

Tig017

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they dont have to draft them from victoria
They don't have to draft them at all. They should draft best available, like every other club.

If Sam Petrevski-Seton and Liam Jones are the difference between joining Carlton or the Bulldogs, that's Jack Martin's problem, not the Doggies' problem. Carlton has been an abhorrent failure for 5 years (20 years, really), the Bulldogs recently won a flag, and just made the finals with the youngest team in the 8. Taking all that into account, the Doggies' list management is one of the last things I'd be questioning.
 

Dazb86

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We probably have an issue attracting indigenous players in a trade. As for drafting them we've just gone best player available. Happens that none of the guys were aboriginal at our picks. I'd be very disappointed if we specifically targeted players in the next few drafts based on race and not ability.
 

MarvinMonroePhD

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We probably have an issue attracting indigenous players in a trade. As for drafting them we've just gone best player available. Happens that none of the guys were aboriginal at our picks. I'd be very disappointed if we specifically targeted players in the next few drafts based on race and not ability.

As disappointing as it is, I think this will be the case. It has been highly publicised and now I think the bulldogs will feel a bit of pressure to draft a few indigenous kids. Wouldn’t surprise me to see 2-3 over the next 2 drafts go to the bulldogs even if there is better talent available. Just another way this over politically correct world has gone mad.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app
 

TassieSaint

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So many people missing the point of this thread "Why not just draft the best available regardless of race?" Well no s**t but both Impey and Wingard would be best 22 at the dogs and could realistically push them into top 4 and they have missed out on the 'best available' trade targets at least partially because they don't have any indigenous players. It does beg the question as to whether they have the proper structures in place to retain indigenous players and make them feel comfortable. I don't think anyone would suggest they should be drafting indigenous blokes purely because they are indigenous, but it does raise the valid point as to whether there should be a concerted effort to maintain an indigenous presence at the club to avoid this situation in future. Btw this sort of thing isn't exactly unprecedented, clubs have been known to draft brothers or mates of star players in order to attract or help retain them.

I should add I don't think the Bulldogs should be blamed here per se. It's not like they're running a Hawthorn mid-90s operation and given the relatively low proportion of indigenous players it can easily happen. I think after Raph Clarke the Saints went a couple of years without an indigenous player on the list, but it's turned around pretty quick and this year we had 4 indigenous players in the side in indigenous round.

Also just a final thought but if you really can't understand why an indigenous player would feel more comfortable at a club with other guys of the same cultural background than one with none, I mean it's not rocket science put yourselves in their shoes. Perfectly reasonable decision.
 

Credit2thaB0is

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It’s now obvious the western bulldogs are no more than a front for Reclaim Australia

http://www.aflplayers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Indigenous-Player-Map-Update-2019_LR-1.pdf
WB = 0 Indigenous players
http://www.aflplayers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/AFLPA192_A-Multicultural-Map-Update-2019.pdf
WB = 4 People of colour

You might think they've been loading up on Poc but don't be fooled. They still only give games to the lighter skinned ones in Johanissen and Crozier. The case is mounting.
 
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