Open Mike with Jason Akermanis

[Dogs_r_barking]

Yeah I also thought it was interesting he was never on more than ~350k at Brissie in his prime when he would have been worth double that, maybe more although salaries were smaller back then. Don't believe him for one second when he said he would've given up media if the Lions paid him more though, loves the sound of his own voice too much.

One thing I took away from the Bulldogs issue was Adam Cooney saying you could be a 4 time premiership player if you give up the media. I get why they'd want to pull him in line, but not only is that statement patently ridiculous but it makes it sound like the Dogs leadership group was frustrated they couldn't take the final step (or even the penultimate step to make the Granny) but instead of looking at themselves or on-field problems they put the blame on Aker writing offensive columns.

Aker was going to retire at the end of the year and then changed his mind, the salaries were already set, he agreed to take a salary cut, it wasn't the dogs fault. He created a lot of disruption throughout his last year wanted to be an individual in a team environment, biggest mistake the dogs made was letting him play on for that extra year.

 

[Dogs_r_barking]

Some of the stuff he did as a player was unforgivable and I don't blame Brisbane or the Bulldogs for giving him the arse. Still, it's a joke that a guy like Brad Johnson retired the same year as Aka, but made the HOF ahead of him. Would love to know how they could possibly justify that decision.

There is a lot of good players who didn't win premierships Geelong players between 1964 and 2007 as well. Johnson was AA captain in 2006 and would have been in the top five midfielders if he didn't do the team thing and sacrifice his game to play well above his height in the forward line. Also he wanted to retire earlier it was Rocket that kept talking him out of it.

 

[Dogs_r_barking]

If anything, the Bulldogs should have been thankful for the media exposure he gave them during that era. Sure, they were a good side, but the players and the club are/were pretty anonymous and vanilla personality-wise too.

Yeah no gangsters and bikies for the doggies.

 

[Sprout]

Was he actually an omission from the greatest AA side of all time that was voted on recently, or did I just miss his name? He would surely have to be in there. Absolutely brilliant in his prime.

Appears to have tickets on himself but usually that stems from deeper insecurities, and I'm pretty sure Aker would fall into that category.

The Stynes comment he explained and I took him on face value.

People just love to sink the boot into public figures. It's extremely prevalent in this country for some reason.

 

[MaxHunt]

When its all said and done, he played 330+ games, 77 at the dogs. Can't have been impossible to manage. Obviously the good far outweighed the bad.

Hi Smorgan.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

There is a lot of good players who didn't win premierships Geelong players between 1964 and 2007 as well. Johnson was AA captain in 2006 and would have been in the top five midfielders if he didn't do the team thing and sacrifice his game to play well above his height in the forward line. Also he wanted to retire earlier it was Rocket that kept talking him out of it.

I didn't say anything about premierships. Or Geelong. But I think you would have a tough time finding a non-Bulldogs supporter that would take Johnson ahead of Akermanis based on their playing careers. Aka was a cut above and he doesn't get his due for that, because he was also a dickhead.

 

[royals1922]

Hall of Fame needs Akermanis more than Akermanis needs the Hall of Fame.

Without him in it, the selectors for the HOF just prove themselves to be a petty bunch of vindictive p---ks.

Did he commit any crimes, get pissed, take copious amounts of drugs or beat his missus.

I don't think he'll pay that great a part in the football fabric in the next few years- there are a few people who have achieved significantly less than him in the football media that have blackballed him.

 

[Thewlis Dish]

I read his book a few years ago - had a pretty messed up adolescence.

 

[SSrixon]

There is a lot of good players who didn't win premierships Geelong players between 1964 and 2007 as well. Johnson was AA captain in 2006 and would have been in the top five midfielders if he didn't do the team thing and sacrifice his game to play well above his height in the forward line. Also he wanted to retire earlier it was Rocket that kept talking him out of it.

You serious? The fact that players such as Brad Johnson are household names at the Bulldogs is exactly the reason you haven't won a premiership in 60 years. Same goes for Gia, Murphy, West, Smith etc. If these players were actually genuine stars you would've progressed further than a preliminary final. Aker can be a dickhead, but given he was part of 3 premiership teams his critique of the Bulldogs leadership and culture sounds spot on to me.

 

[Father Jack]

How many 3 time premiership players have the Bulldogs ever had on their list?

 

[TTRRAAVVIISS]

How many 3 time premiership players have the Bulldogs ever had on their list?

And considering the fact Eade hasnt set the world on fire at the pies and aker complained about training to hard (Davoran has destroyed stk and pies in the last 2 years with injuries) I will back Aker to the hilt. Akers problem has always been he speaks the truth no matter what the situation is. He was right about Matthews after the geelong game not getting the rotations right. Matthews cracked it cause Aker spoke the truth. Dogs cracked it about him stating the fitness guy didnt know how to train a team to win a flag. Im sure Aker said Davoran over trained players and caused injuries. 5 years later Davoran distroyed the saints and completely f#cked Collingwood with soft tissue injuries. He may be a loud mouth but Aker can always backs it up. He is so underrated as a player. Honestly I cant recall a player so talented and dominant offensively as Aker. Peolpe talk up Dangerfield yet Aker was 10 times the player

 

[Power Raid]

How many 3 time premiership players have the Bulldogs ever had on their list?

good call

 

[Power Raid]

And considering the fact Eade hasnt set the world on fire at the pies and aker complained about training to hard (Davoran has destroyed stk and pies in the last 2 years with injuries) I will back Aker to the hilt. Akers problem has always been he speaks the truth no matter what the situation is. He was right about Matthews after the geelong game not getting the rotations right. Matthews cracked it cause Aker spoke the truth. Dogs cracked it about him stating the fitness guy didnt know how to train a team to win a flag. Im sure Aker said Davoran over trained players and caused injuries. 5 years later Davoran distroyed the saints and completely f#cked Collingwood with soft tissue injuries. He may be a loud mouth but Aker can always backs it up. He is so underrated as a player. Honestly I cant recall a player so talented and dominant offensively as Aker. Peolpe talk up Dangerfield yet Aker was 10 times the player

I didn't realise aker was under-rated

He is better than bartlet and on par with daicos as the best small forward. overall he is better than both because of his all round ability, fitness and longevity.

 

[ManOfClay]

good call

Because that has relevance to Akermanis being a dick?

 

[Power Raid]

Because that has relevance to Akermanis being a dick?

you must admit, it was a good call

 

[Craze]

I didn't realise aker was under-rated

He is better than bartlet and on par with daicos as the best small forward. overall he is better than both because of his all round ability, fitness and longevity.

Not sure I'd compare him to Bartlett as a small forward. KB only spent 2-3 years in that position, vast majority of career roving. In fact wouldn't Aker be in a similar boat?

And in terms of longevity, I reckon KB had most blokes covered, except for Michael Tuck.

That said, yes Aker superior in many areas. But I'd still rate Daicos the best small-medium forward I've ever seen.

 

[Hollow Knight]

When we traded Aker I remember copping shit from Dogs fans saying that he was a steal and that our leadership group were a bunch of arrogant cry babies for kicking him out etc and that he would thrive in their culture...

A few years later...

Ultimately, it was Aker unwilling to subject himself to a team ethic in a team environment.

To his credit, he is slowly trying to turn his reputation around post footy. Really doing his best to work his way back into the Brisbane Lions "family" which is great.

 

[ossie_21]

The most disappointing thing for me is that while we wanted everyone to focus on a flag tilt, Aker didn't buy in even though he knew what our terms were. I know he might not like Brad Johnson because of how it ended, but Aker did it to Aker, he can't always blame someone else.

 

[Power Raid]

Not sure I'd compare him to Bartlett as a small forward. KB only spent 2-3 years in that position, vast majority of career roving. In fact wouldn't Aker be in a similar boat?

And in terms of longevity, I reckon KB had most blokes covered, except for Michael Tuck.

That said, yes Aker superior in many areas. But I'd still rate Daicos the best small-medium forward I've ever seen.

I missed his midfield days as I was too young and VFL was only becoming big in SA when he was the fragile bald guy in the pocket who just knew where the goals were.

 

[WowWeee]

When we traded Aker I remember copping shit from Dogs fans saying that he was a steal and that our leadership group were a bunch of arrogant cry babies for kicking him out etc and that he would thrive in their culture...

A few years later...

Ultimately, it was Aker unwilling to subject himself to a team ethic in a team environment.

To his credit, he is slowly trying to turn his reputation around post footy. Really doing his best to work his way back into the Brisbane Lions "family" which is great.

what's aker doing these days?

I really hope a club takes a punt and hire him as a skills coach or something. His footy skills were impecabble.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Hall of Fame needs Akermanis more than Akermanis needs the Hall of Fame.

Without him in it, the selectors for the HOF just prove themselves to be a petty bunch of vindictive p---ks.

Did he commit any crimes, get pissed, take copious amounts of drugs or beat his missus.

I don't think he'll pay that great a part in the football fabric in the next few years- there are a few people who have achieved significantly less than him in the football media that have blackballed him.

Well...

 

[Hawker55]

The most disappointing thing for me is that while we wanted everyone to focus on a flag tilt, Aker didn't buy in even though he knew what our terms were. I know he might not like Brad Johnson because of how it ended, but Aker did it to Aker, he can't always blame someone else.

The argument is (and I don't necessarily agree with this) that a club with a stronger leadership team, or less need for Aker could have handled him. I dunno enough about the personalities involved with the Dogs - or Aker really - to know whether that is a strong argument, but I can see how it can be argued.

 

[romeoh]

good call

Not really -it was hardly a level playing field for the Lions and its quite possible they would not have won all 3 flags without the significant salary cap concessions etc they received.
So not really fair to make such a comparison is it?

 

[who_let_the_dogs_out]

How many 3 time premiership players have the Bulldogs ever had on their list?

1. What's your point?

 

[Klang]

Because that has relevance to Akermanis being a dick?

Your club went out and actively courted then drafted that dick .