Oppo Camp Former Freo player watch

[Docker82]

On paper least at the time I don't think that trade was even that bad, just nobody actually bothered to check with Mr Croad on how happy he would be on moving over here. And who knows who we would have taken with it anyway.

Hodge and Riewoldt are probably the only number one picks that were better players than McPharlin.

Pick 36 quite often gets you a spud that plays less than 20 games.

We traded Croad for pick 10, which we drafted Ryley Dunn with. If we’d drafted David Mundy here instead of nine picks later what would people think of that?

Croad and McPharlin would be the modern day of Gold Coast trading Peter Wright and Ben King to the same club - it’d be worth two first rounders and more.

Let’s also remember our recruiters would’ve drafted Graham Polak pick one anyway and who really knows who we would’ve drafted at pick 36 (probably not Sam Mitchell). The trade itself wasn’t a bad idea - it was just the wrong year to do it and Hawthorn used their picks amazingly.

 

[FreoRicci]

The number of players we virtually handed to North Melbourne on a platter is quite sickening.

What about the B22 that have won a premiership/made GF at their second club.

Both Abraham and Bell won a flag in 99.

Holland and Clement was apart of the 2003 GF sides.

De Boer in 2019 GF.

Quite a few gone on to have significant success.

On paper least at the time I don't think that trade was even that bad, just nobody actually bothered to check with Mr Croad on how happy he would be on moving over here. And who knows who we would have taken with it anyway.

He did a surgery prior to trade deadline or thereabouts, said he wasn’t sure if he’s staying. Then has surgery, gets traded during the time he’s under and his response is he’s less then amused, but ah well I’ll take it.
Poor trade tbh. If we were getting Polak with pick 4, then why get Croad? Meh. Whole thing was poor in hindsight. Luckily McPharlin came good. But giving up pick 1 still and always will be a bitter taste.
If we wanted McPharlin, trade for him and then pick Polak with pick 1 anyway. Oh and how that turned out... Polak at pick 4 vs picks 1-3. Boy oh boy.

 

[Square Peg]

I respectfully disagree De Boer would still be best 22. His role is the first to go, rightly or wrongly, when a team’s performance drops off a cliff.

He wouldn’t be on an AFL list if we’d kept him another season. De Boer shows system is slightly broken but most clubs wouldn’t take a 27 year old delistee to play as a tagger

He wasn't even drafted as a tagger, they wanted a defensive forward and solid citizen to keep their young Ben Cousins wannabes in line.
I don't get the angst about letting him go either to be honest. Losing Roberton and Crozier from around the same era, you know actual footballers that can play, hurts more

 

[Kram]

Polak seriously looked the goods very early on. wtf happened there.

 

[WilloTree]

What about the B22 that have won a premiership/made GF at their second club.

Both Abraham and Bell won a flag in 99.

Holland and Clement was apart of the 2003 GF sides.

De Boer in 2019 GF.

Quite a few gone on to have significant success.

He did a surgery prior to trade deadline or thereabouts, said he wasn’t sure if he’s staying. Then has surgery, gets traded during the time he’s under and his response is he’s less then amused, but ah well I’ll take it.
Poor trade tbh. If we were getting Polak with pick 4, then why get Croad? Meh. Whole thing was poor in hindsight. Luckily McPharlin came good. But giving up pick 1 still and always will be a bitter taste.
If we wanted McPharlin, trade for him and then pick Polak with pick 1 anyway. Oh and how that turned out... Polak at pick 4 vs picks 1-3. Boy oh boy.

In 2004 White (Melb) McFee (Ess) and Clement (Coll) all won BnF's at their respective clubs after leaving Freo.
Croad was runner up to Peter Everitt in the same year at Hawks
Peter Bell was the Doig winner after leaving, then returning.

 

[WilloTree]

The disgust in that we paid massive overs for Tarrant, giving them Medhurst, who then goes on to make AA.
THEN Tarrant leaves as an established CHB in 2010, and we got nothing in return. He makes the GF the season he returns. Picks 43 and 55 was given back as an insult. Far out.

Also, can we just add Pick 1, 2001 to the fire sale team? Can be named to the bench, at least. Got a prize, reward for that pathetic 2001 season to then gift it to Hawthorn, who draft both Hodge and Mitchell with our picks. HUGE shut out to pick 1.

Crap - I forgot Menegola

 

[Van_Dyke]

I don't get the angst about letting him go either to be honest

Agreed, it was definitely the right call at the time and it’s worked out for GWS and MDB and given more space for others to come through here. if nothing else it’s a quality example of revisionism, can’t recall anyone wanting us to keep him in 2016

 

[Taylor]

The disgust in that we paid massive overs for Tarrant, giving them Medhurst, who then goes on to make AA.
THEN Tarrant leaves as an established CHB in 2010, and we got nothing in return. He makes the GF the season he returns. Picks 43 and 55 was given back as an insult. Far out.

Also, can we just add Pick 1, 2001 to the fire sale team? Can be named to the bench, at least. Got a prize, reward for that pathetic 2001 season to then gift it to Hawthorn, who draft both Hodge and Mitchell with our picks. HUGE shut out to pick 1.

I think we gave Polak to Richmond with pick #13 to get their pick #8 to trade to Collingwood with Medhurst for Tarrant.

What a shambles.

 

[Dockeroo]

Trading up till 2010 was utterly horrendous. But I read recently that we were 100% going to draft polak at pick 1 in 2001 if we didn’t trade the pick. (Imagine the ridicule if we had burned pick 1 on Polak in the greatest draft of all time?) In that scenario, Saints would have probably taken Ball at pick 2, west coast might have taken hodge instead of Judd at 3 and we could have got Juddy or even hodge with pick 4.... Jesus! Although knowing how much of a farce we were back then, we’d have probably ignored Judd and taken Ash Sampi with pick 4!
apparently the issue back then was we were considered a nothing club, a total backwater. Selecting Judd, hodge or Ball would have meant a very high chance of losing them wishing 2 or 3 years and the club hierarchy hated that possibility so much that they were willing to take a lesser local talent ahead of them. You just don’t do that with a pick 1, just don’t!! Also read a comment from James clement recently bemoaning his selection by the dockers “I wanted to go to the eagles, they were the glamour, successful side out west” then he fell out with drum and got traded for jack s**t.
Collingwood have really benefited out of our s**t trading more than any other club it seems... we owe them one.

 

[Lach72]

Hodge and Riewoldt are probably the only number one picks that were better players than McPharlin.

Pick 36 quite often gets you a spud that plays less than 20 games.

We traded Croad for pick 10, which we drafted Ryley Dunn with. If we’d drafted David Mundy here instead of nine picks later what would people think of that?

Croad and McPharlin would be the modern day of Gold Coast trading Peter Wright and Ben King to the same club - it’d be worth two first rounders and more.

Let’s also remember our recruiters would’ve drafted Graham Polak pick one anyway and who really knows who we would’ve drafted at pick 36 (probably not Sam Mitchell). The trade itself wasn’t a bad idea - it was just the wrong year to do it and Hawthorn used their picks amazingly.

I agree in principle...if all 3 had come off we would've been laughing, but as Croad left and Polak was a dud...

McPharlin would've been worth pick 1 alone...come at me.

Anyway, the main issue is a recruiting system that picks Polak at 4...great hands but couldn't kick for s**t...how does that not rule a player out...

And if you were being honest the same could be said about Brayshaw, although he at least ticks every other box

 

[salim malik]

It's hard though when the Greens have already recruited the really bright young people like Sarah Hanson-Young and Jordon Steele-John.

At least they show a little empathy and care about the planet and where it's heading.
The Nationals and their mining billionaire friends don't give a rat's arse , its fill up your coffers and **ck the rest of us.

 

[poshman]

At least they show a little empathy and care about the planet and where it's heading.
The Nationals and their mining billionaire friends don't give a rat's arse , its fill up your coffers and **ck the rest of us.

Politics thread for politics would be amazing

 

[raffrox]

Trading up till 2010 was utterly horrendous. But I read recently that we were 100% going to draft polak at pick 1 in 2001 if we didn’t trade the pick. (Imagine the ridicule if we had burned pick 1 on Polak in the greatest draft of all time?) In that scenario, Saints would have probably taken Ball at pick 2, west coast might have taken hodge instead of Judd at 3 and we could have got Juddy or even hodge with pick 4.... Jesus! Although knowing how much of a farce we were back then, we’d have probably ignored Judd and taken Ash Sampi with pick 4!
apparently the issue back then was we were considered a nothing club, a total backwater. Selecting Judd, hodge or Ball would have meant a very high chance of losing them wishing 2 or 3 years and the club hierarchy hated that possibility so much that they were willing to take a lesser local talent ahead of them. You just don’t do that with a pick 1, just don’t!! Also read a comment from James clement recently bemoaning his selection by the dockers “I wanted to go to the eagles, they were the glamour, successful side out west” then he fell out with drum and got traded for jack s**t.
Collingwood have really benefited out of our s**t trading more than any other club it seems... we owe them one.

Yeah, we really were a basket case of a club back then.

A blind man could see that Croad didn't want to be there.

My memory is that we also threatened to take McPharlin in the pre-season draft. Luke ended up in the deal in the end but if we had done that we would have missed out.

That's the year we promised Fabian Francis a spot on our list that we couldn't give him because of TPP salary cap breaches. Francis had to sit the year out, did his knee and he never played for us. It was just lucky that it wasn't McPharlin sitting a year out.

At least we can say that we have act together a bit better these days.

 

[salim malik]

Politics thread for politics would be amazing

No footy so anything to discuss is better than nothing.

 

[Dale147]

THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND, THE CLIVE

JOSH GARLEPP

“People say Clive is an unconventional footballer. I think he’s a conventional footballer playing in an unconventional team.” Dennis Cometti always had a soft spot for Clive Waterhouse. In fact he was responsible for the abandonment of the Waterhouse surname altogether in favour of an ascending “CLIVE” projected across Australian TV’s on countless occasions during the late 90s. And if you go back and watch the now legendary ‘demolition derby’ closely you’d find it hard to argue with the footy commentary icon. That afternoon in 2000 is remembered for the brawls, spot fires and four suspensions as a defiant Fremantle drew a line in the sand against the big brothers from across town. What’s sometimes forgotten is an ‘unconventional’ footballer’s career-high goal haul that propelled the Dockers to a club defining one-point victory over West Coast. Down 42 points midway through the third term, with Tony Modra and first-year players Matthew Pavlich and Paul Hasleby injured on the bench, Freo coach Damian Drum opened up the orward line and told Waterhouse to go for it. Late in the fourth, as Clive outran Australian Football Hall of Fame defender Glen Jakovich for his seventh goal, the Dockers took a two-point lead and would hold on for the win. “No one could stop him. Jako (Jakovich) and Daniel Metropolis were playing on him they didn’t know where he was going,” teammate Shaun McManus said. West Coast had embarrassed Freo earlier that year by 117 points and after the game the under-fire Drum defended his side’s aggression. “Our players feel, rightly or wrongly, that they have been pushed around by the big boys up the road for too long,” he said. “When you understand the history, it is very easy to understand the way the game was played today.” Opposition coach Ken Judge was more pragmatic in his assessment. “We couldn’t stop Clive,” Judge said. Waterhouse’s greatest showing was a far cry from his arrival to the game. His family migrated to South Australia from England, following an aunty who had previously made the move. Young Waterhouse didn’t touch a football until 17 but his freakish athleticism made up for any skill gaps once he found his way to the local game. Four years later Fremantle drafted him with the No.1 pick. Cometti remembers initial scepticism about the selection as the Dockers, after their first season, were desperate for a star. “There was some confusion about drafting a player who hadn’t played much football. When they went for Clive it seemed a gamble a team down the ladder shouldn’t take,” he said. The transition to the AFL was tough, particularly under foundation coach Gerard Neesham. Neesham’s coaching was ahead of his time but potentially made adapting more difficult for Waterhouse. “I shudder to think how well he would have played for the West Coast Eagles in that era,” Cometti said. “I think to get to see Clive in a good team would have been the icing on a pretty good cake. “He had skills that made you catch your breath, that not many other footballers had. He was fearless in a clumsy sort of way. “He was very athletic but he wasn’t a natural footballer at that stage and perhaps he never was, (and) this sounds like a contradiction, but he was still a very fine footballer. “Even when he played and did well he still looked different. He never really looked like a footballer should look. He was just a guy trying to get a handle on it and clearly was a fast learner.” That raw athleticism was obvious to teammates. “When Clive was on-song he was unstoppable.” McManus said. “The game itself was always a work in progress for Clive, he did it all off raw talent. “I still remember doing clean and jerks, real technical Olympic lifting. To be able to power the heavy bar you have to have the technique down and Clive is literally picking it up like Bam Bam out of the Flintstones, 110 to 130 kg.” Nowadays, Waterhouse is somewhat of a cult figure amongst Freo fans. You can buy shirts showcasing his flowing blonde mullet and the club themselves play along with “Waterhouse Wednesdays” . Ironic that such a polarising player amongst early Freo faithful is now remembered purely for his mercurial flare. While the symbolism of the Dockers’ demo derby win lives on, Waterhouse’s three Brownlow votes would be his last. He led the Dockers in goals for the 2000 season with 53, his best, but injuries plagued his next four years. A broken collarbone and hamstring issues limited Waterhouse through 2001 before tearing his ACL in the pre-season of 2002. After missing all of 2002 he would manage 15 more games before being de-listed at the end of 2004. Waterhouse was awarded a retrospective Glendinning-Allen medal in 2018 for his efforts in the demolition derby. Cometti’s call in the fourth quarter summed up the mood of the cult figure’s career. “They could make a movie from Clive this afternoon, from just one game,” Cometti said. As the unconventional footballer found his feet, his career met a conventional end.
CLIVE WATERHOUSE Born: 23 June, 1974 Fremantle: 1996-2004 , 106 games, 178 goals, No.1 pick in 1995 AFL draft FORWARD THINKER Clive kicked 0.5 for Claremont in the WAFL against Subiaco early in 2003 just before making his Freo comeback. A Freo assistant asked him what went wrong with his goal kicking. Clive replied that every shot for goal had gone exactly where he wanted it to. “They moved the goalposts around from where they normally have them for AFL games so I just kicked where they should have been, not where they were.” The Tigers lost.
THE MENTOR In his book, Matthew Pavlich described Clive as a character as polarising to teammates as he was to his early fans. He wrote about a teammate with good, but often misguided, intentions. “One evening he invited 10 young Docker squad members over to his house for dinner — a brilliant gesture,” Pavlich wrote. “But when we left, he asked us all to give him 10 bucks for the meat. A walking contradiction.”

 

[blue shark]

THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND, THE CLIVE

JOSH GARLEPP

“People say Clive is an unconventional footballer. I think he’s a conventional footballer playing in an unconventional team.” Dennis Cometti always had a soft spot for Clive Waterhouse. In fact he was responsible for the abandonment of the Waterhouse surname altogether in favour of an ascending “CLIVE” projected across Australian TV’s on countless occasions during the late 90s. And if you go back and watch the now legendary ‘demolition derby’ closely you’d find it hard to argue with the footy commentary icon. That afternoon in 2000 is remembered for the brawls, spot fires and four suspensions as a defiant Fremantle drew a line in the sand against the big brothers from across town. What’s sometimes forgotten is an ‘unconventional’ footballer’s career-high goal haul that propelled the Dockers to a club defining one-point victory over West Coast. Down 42 points midway through the third term, with Tony Modra and first-year players Matthew Pavlich and Paul Hasleby injured on the bench, Freo coach Damian Drum opened up the orward line and told Waterhouse to go for it. Late in the fourth, as Clive outran Australian Football Hall of Fame defender Glen Jakovich for his seventh goal, the Dockers took a two-point lead and would hold on for the win. “No one could stop him. Jako (Jakovich) and Daniel Metropolis were playing on him they didn’t know where he was going,” teammate Shaun McManus said. West Coast had embarrassed Freo earlier that year by 117 points and after the game the under-fire Drum defended his side’s aggression. “Our players feel, rightly or wrongly, that they have been pushed around by the big boys up the road for too long,” he said. “When you understand the history, it is very easy to understand the way the game was played today.” Opposition coach Ken Judge was more pragmatic in his assessment. “We couldn’t stop Clive,” Judge said. Waterhouse’s greatest showing was a far cry from his arrival to the game. His family migrated to South Australia from England, following an aunty who had previously made the move. Young Waterhouse didn’t touch a football until 17 but his freakish athleticism made up for any skill gaps once he found his way to the local game. Four years later Fremantle drafted him with the No.1 pick. Cometti remembers initial scepticism about the selection as the Dockers, after their first season, were desperate for a star. “There was some confusion about drafting a player who hadn’t played much football. When they went for Clive it seemed a gamble a team down the ladder shouldn’t take,” he said. The transition to the AFL was tough, particularly under foundation coach Gerard Neesham. Neesham’s coaching was ahead of his time but potentially made adapting more difficult for Waterhouse. “I shudder to think how well he would have played for the West Coast Eagles in that era,” Cometti said. “I think to get to see Clive in a good team would have been the icing on a pretty good cake. “He had skills that made you catch your breath, that not many other footballers had. He was fearless in a clumsy sort of way. “He was very athletic but he wasn’t a natural footballer at that stage and perhaps he never was, (and) this sounds like a contradiction, but he was still a very fine footballer. “Even when he played and did well he still looked different. He never really looked like a footballer should look. He was just a guy trying to get a handle on it and clearly was a fast learner.” That raw athleticism was obvious to teammates. “When Clive was on-song he was unstoppable.” McManus said. “The game itself was always a work in progress for Clive, he did it all off raw talent. “I still remember doing clean and jerks, real technical Olympic lifting. To be able to power the heavy bar you have to have the technique down and Clive is literally picking it up like Bam Bam out of the Flintstones, 110 to 130 kg.” Nowadays, Waterhouse is somewhat of a cult figure amongst Freo fans. You can buy shirts showcasing his flowing blonde mullet and the club themselves play along with “Waterhouse Wednesdays” . Ironic that such a polarising player amongst early Freo faithful is now remembered purely for his mercurial flare. While the symbolism of the Dockers’ demo derby win lives on, Waterhouse’s three Brownlow votes would be his last. He led the Dockers in goals for the 2000 season with 53, his best, but injuries plagued his next four years. A broken collarbone and hamstring issues limited Waterhouse through 2001 before tearing his ACL in the pre-season of 2002. After missing all of 2002 he would manage 15 more games before being de-listed at the end of 2004. Waterhouse was awarded a retrospective Glendinning-Allen medal in 2018 for his efforts in the demolition derby. Cometti’s call in the fourth quarter summed up the mood of the cult figure’s career. “They could make a movie from Clive this afternoon, from just one game,” Cometti said. As the unconventional footballer found his feet, his career met a conventional end.
CLIVE WATERHOUSE Born: 23 June, 1974 Fremantle: 1996-2004 , 106 games, 178 goals, No.1 pick in 1995 AFL draft FORWARD THINKER Clive kicked 0.5 for Claremont in the WAFL against Subiaco early in 2003 just before making his Freo comeback. A Freo assistant asked him what went wrong with his goal kicking. Clive replied that every shot for goal had gone exactly where he wanted it to. “They moved the goalposts around from where they normally have them for AFL games so I just kicked where they should have been, not where they were.” The Tigers lost.
THE MENTOR In his book, Matthew Pavlich described Clive as a character as polarising to teammates as he was to his early fans. He wrote about a teammate with good, but often misguided, intentions. “One evening he invited 10 young Docker squad members over to his house for dinner — a brilliant gesture,” Pavlich wrote. “But when we left, he asked us all to give him 10 bucks for the meat. A walking contradiction.”

Freo is built on different people, classes, races, and it's what makes life interesting. The last thing we need is a reminder of big brother.
Just reading about Clive, the Drum years, how many good players were injured, traded?
Still hurts Today thinking of Clem, Clement ...

 

[stax on the mull]

I heard Clive interviewed on radio, about the time when he was considering going back to SA because his father was ill, and pretty much said he didn't feel he like had been coached until Drum got there.

Also remember watching a game of WAFL when Clive was playing for Claremont after his injury (03/04 period) and then coach Guy McKenna was dragging him off for every minor mistake or show of frustration with umpiring decisions. Just pathetic coaching.

 

[Square Peg]

Des trying his hand at journalism - and making a good fist of it:


By Des Headland
June 2, 2020 — 5.20pm

It's hard for anyone who has not experienced racism to understand it. For people of colour, racism can destroy any semblance of self-worth in a split second.

Being a descendant of First Nations Australians, as a Noongar man, racism is something we talked about as a family growing up. We dealt with it daily in its various forms. From direct abuse, to more subtle examples, such as people looking through you at the shops, security guards following you around because they think you will steal something, or people crossing the street so as not to feel afraid.
It is both hurtful and stupid.

At the moment, with the world under the grip of a pandemic, things are strange. We can't socialise or interact in ways that we normally would. Football is about to resume at a time when half a season should have already been played. Things are tense and difficult.

Then George Floyd is killed in America by a police officer and the 'land of the free and the home of the brave' does not ring quite as clearly in my mind.

Floyd's death has resonated here. A massive turn out in Perth on Monday night in the heart of the city made it clear that the death of an unknown American has meaning. The reason for this is that outrage and sadness driven by social media means people can connect easily. They can speak out and express themselves.

For Hawthorn forward Chad Wingard, the moment has meant he is speaking out by not speaking.

Wingard has taken the stance that he will not be conducting interviews other than what he has been contracted to do. That is his right. But it is in the silence that meaning is made. He has chosen instead to directly use his social media platforms to highlight the issues of police brutality globally and in Australia, and get Australians to think of the long-term issues that stemmed from things like the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.

Australia in this sense is no different to America where people of colour, that is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, continue to suffer, not just in terms of dying in custody but because of a system that does not seem to care, not just in terms of blatant racism but institutional issues, such as constitutional recognition, health, education and Closing the Gap measures. At a time when COVID-19 has stripped so much back, care is the very thing that needs to be at the foremost of our minds and our actions.

We only have to turn our minds back to the horrible situation of Mr Ward in 2008 to understand the yawning gap of care. Arrested for drink-driving, the Warburton elder and artist was essentially cooked to death in the back of a paddy wagon that was not fit for a dog. I speak about this because I can. I speak about this because it shows that the system is broken. To remember this is to ensure that our memories stay alive and our voices will be heard.

Just as Winmar, Long and Goodes all made a stand about prejudice in Australia, they also paid a price for speaking out. Winmar found he could not go anywhere in Australia without people talking about him raising his jumper and calling out racism. Long, having received abuse, took the AFL to task and held the line to make change. Even when he did, he still felt the need to walk to Canberra to meet with Prime Minister John Howard to talk about Indigenous health and how dire it was. Goodes, feeling he needed to use his platform to speak out against crowd abuse, was booed out of the game by the crowd.

We only have to think about these incidents and the connection to NFL San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who protested against police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem. The criticism and attacks on him were immense and echoed those that Goodes experienced. He too was drummed out of the game, with many feeling he was an athlete so all he should concentrate on was sport.

The thing that people forget is that elite athletes are people too. They live in the world. They watch the news. They talk with their loved ones. They feel and they think. So, to suggest that sports people don't respond to the world they live in and simply kick a goal, tackle, train and eat well, simply for the benefit of our enjoyment and recreation, is not just ridiculous but insulting.

For me being in the world means being actively engaged. How can I not? The issues that impact upon me and my family, whether it is COVID-19, an Aboriginal elder dying in the back of a paddy wagon, or a black man asphyxiated to death in broad daylight by police means I have a choice.

I choose to stand up and speak but I also respect the stance of Wingard - to let the silence do the talking and in that silence start to consider what all these things mean to us, how we might choose to think of a better future where deaths in custody become a thing of the past, not just for people of different backgrounds but for white people also.

 

[Vintage]

Des trying his hand at journalism - and making a good fist of it:


By Des Headland
June 2, 2020 — 5.20pm

It's hard for anyone who has not experienced racism to understand it. For people of colour, racism can destroy any semblance of self-worth in a split second.

Being a descendant of First Nations Australians, as a Noongar man, racism is something we talked about as a family growing up. We dealt with it daily in its various forms. From direct abuse, to more subtle examples, such as people looking through you at the shops, security guards following you around because they think you will steal something, or people crossing the street so as not to feel afraid.
It is both hurtful and stupid.

At the moment, with the world under the grip of a pandemic, things are strange. We can't socialise or interact in ways that we normally would. Football is about to resume at a time when half a season should have already been played. Things are tense and difficult.

Then George Floyd is killed in America by a police officer and the 'land of the free and the home of the brave' does not ring quite as clearly in my mind.

Floyd's death has resonated here. A massive turn out in Perth on Monday night in the heart of the city made it clear that the death of an unknown American has meaning. The reason for this is that outrage and sadness driven by social media means people can connect easily. They can speak out and express themselves.

For Hawthorn forward Chad Wingard, the moment has meant he is speaking out by not speaking.

Wingard has taken the stance that he will not be conducting interviews other than what he has been contracted to do. That is his right. But it is in the silence that meaning is made. He has chosen instead to directly use his social media platforms to highlight the issues of police brutality globally and in Australia, and get Australians to think of the long-term issues that stemmed from things like the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.

Australia in this sense is no different to America where people of colour, that is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, continue to suffer, not just in terms of dying in custody but because of a system that does not seem to care, not just in terms of blatant racism but institutional issues, such as constitutional recognition, health, education and Closing the Gap measures. At a time when COVID-19 has stripped so much back, care is the very thing that needs to be at the foremost of our minds and our actions.

We only have to turn our minds back to the horrible situation of Mr Ward in 2008 to understand the yawning gap of care. Arrested for drink-driving, the Warburton elder and artist was essentially cooked to death in the back of a paddy wagon that was not fit for a dog. I speak about this because I can. I speak about this because it shows that the system is broken. To remember this is to ensure that our memories stay alive and our voices will be heard.

Just as Winmar, Long and Goodes all made a stand about prejudice in Australia, they also paid a price for speaking out. Winmar found he could not go anywhere in Australia without people talking about him raising his jumper and calling out racism. Long, having received abuse, took the AFL to task and held the line to make change. Even when he did, he still felt the need to walk to Canberra to meet with Prime Minister John Howard to talk about Indigenous health and how dire it was. Goodes, feeling he needed to use his platform to speak out against crowd abuse, was booed out of the game by the crowd.

We only have to think about these incidents and the connection to NFL San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who protested against police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem. The criticism and attacks on him were immense and echoed those that Goodes experienced. He too was drummed out of the game, with many feeling he was an athlete so all he should concentrate on was sport.

The thing that people forget is that elite athletes are people too. They live in the world. They watch the news. They talk with their loved ones. They feel and they think. So, to suggest that sports people don't respond to the world they live in and simply kick a goal, tackle, train and eat well, simply for the benefit of our enjoyment and recreation, is not just ridiculous but insulting.

For me being in the world means being actively engaged. How can I not? The issues that impact upon me and my family, whether it is COVID-19, an Aboriginal elder dying in the back of a paddy wagon, or a black man asphyxiated to death in broad daylight by police means I have a choice.

I choose to stand up and speak but I also respect the stance of Wingard - to let the silence do the talking and in that silence start to consider what all these things mean to us, how we might choose to think of a better future where deaths in custody become a thing of the past, not just for people of different backgrounds but for white people also.

Thanks for sharing

 

[Okinakashi]

So with Jono Brown and Lenny Hayes being inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame, is next year time for the Great Man to get inducted? His individual record is far superior to J. Browns, surely it's just a matter of time.

 

[Van_Dyke]

So with Jono Brown and Lenny Hayes being inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame, is next year time for the Great Man to get inducted? His individual record is far superior to J. Browns, surely it's just a matter of time.

I think it's a 6 year waiting period (remember seeing Robbo mention that), so the great man will be in, in 2022

 

[Hazelsnuts]

Harley Bennell......?!?!????
I am confused comments made by Ross Lyon.
Ross said the difference as stated by Harley for the reason for him now being close to a return is due to the Melbourne strength and conditioning guru Dean Burgess ??
When interviewed Lyon said he even suggested to Harley at the end of 2017 that maybe a change of scenery might be better for his career??? Get away from our S&C regime?
If this is the case, is it damning of our S&C department OR is Ross s**t stirring??
I’ll say it again, I am now very confused as I thought Ross backed the S&C crew.... maybe not.
I hope that Harley gets back and tears it apart, I just regret that we were not able to have him do it at Freo - time will tell, he has been at this point before.....
Go well Harley..........,

 

[Taylor]

Harley Bennell......?!?!????
I am confused comments made by Ross Lyon.
Ross said the difference as stated by Harley for the reason for him now being close to a return is due to the Melbourne strength and conditioning guru Dean Burgess ??
When interviewed Lyon said he even suggested to Harley at the end of 2017 that maybe a change of scenery might be better for his career??? Get away from our S&C regime?
If this is the case, is it damning of our S&C department OR is Ross s**t stirring??
I’ll say it again, I am now very confused as I thought Ross backed the S&C crew.... maybe not.
I hope that Harley gets back and tears it apart, I just regret that we were not able to have him do it at Freo - time will tell, he has been at this point before.....
Go well Harley..........,

I think Ross backs his people all the way to the end when they turn on him and kick him out. Which is why so many former players hold him in such high esteem.

Regarding Harley, a fresh perspective couldn't hurt him at that point in his career and he still hasn't gotten back to playing at WAFL/VFL level yet. Hopefully for his sake he can get through those three or four games patch without breaking down that were his insurmountable hurdle with us.

 

[WilloTree]

I think Ross backs his people all the way to the end when they turn on him and kick him out. Which is why so many former players hold him in such high esteem.

Regarding Harley, a fresh perspective couldn't hurt him at that point in his career and he still hasn't gotten back to playing at WAFL/VFL level yet. Hopefully for his sake he can get through those three or four games patch without breaking down that were his insurmountable hurdle with us.

Harley was sold to us with a career finishing injury. We tried to rehab him - we couldn't.

Poor DD by the club. Poor faith for many years after we knew he was finished, and shame on us for putting up with his sh*t for so long.

Shame on us.

 

[Scham]

Harley was sold to us with a career finishing injury. We tried to rehab him - we couldn't.

Poor DD by the club. Poor faith for many years after we knew he was finished, and shame on us for putting up with his sh*t for so long.

Shame on us.

Nah, can’t accept that. There’s no proof that his injury or condition was anything close to career finishing when he was at GC. They managed it ok. The only shame on us was that we weren’t able to.