- Joined
- May 10, 2002
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- Vic - the place not 2 be
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- West Coast
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#1
In the mid 90's, West Coast drafted a kid who had 3 good options to chose from. His old man's team (Geelong), Fremantle or the Eagles, who at that time were a powerhouse, with greats like Matera, Jako, Kempie, Woosha, Mckenna and co all in their prime.
He chose West Coast but sadly he jumped on a sinking ship. Soon all the greats had gone... our coach deserting the sinking ship and a young superstar was left to pick up the pieces.
For two years under Ken Judge, we were a broken vessell and the only light was a Champion called Ben Cousins... who ran all day racking up 30 poss' each week while all around him were ageing veterans, other club's rejects... and no young prospects (apart from Wirra and Gardiner).
After 2 years, Ken Judge was fired... Neil Craig was signed... only for the West Coast faithful to be outraged that we would overlook a favorite son in John Worsfold... who had no experience, hadn't said much in the media and was by all acounts, pretty dissapointing during his Job application/presentation.... so much so that even Freo overlooked him for Chris Connolly (lol).
But the outrage was too much, the board caved... and the rest is history....
The point of this story? It's easy to make decisions on paper, go with the odds, play it safe... but without Heart, Loyalty, Courage and Belief.... the Club is an empty shell... a faceless entity controlled by shadowy figures in a boardroom who have not the tiniest understanding of playing AFL in a team that is as close to a Band of Brothers in the midst of war, as you'd want to get.
If things go wrong, sure we may lose a few draft picks, attract some negative press, spend an extra year down the bottom... but the price of NOT sending a message to the football world that 'we look after our own' would reverberate to the core of every player, coach and fan of this great club. One that will effect us 50 years from now because it showed just how cold and soulless a football club can be. And that club would never deserve success again IMO.
"what we do in life, echoes in eternity"
He chose West Coast but sadly he jumped on a sinking ship. Soon all the greats had gone... our coach deserting the sinking ship and a young superstar was left to pick up the pieces.
For two years under Ken Judge, we were a broken vessell and the only light was a Champion called Ben Cousins... who ran all day racking up 30 poss' each week while all around him were ageing veterans, other club's rejects... and no young prospects (apart from Wirra and Gardiner).
After 2 years, Ken Judge was fired... Neil Craig was signed... only for the West Coast faithful to be outraged that we would overlook a favorite son in John Worsfold... who had no experience, hadn't said much in the media and was by all acounts, pretty dissapointing during his Job application/presentation.... so much so that even Freo overlooked him for Chris Connolly (lol).
But the outrage was too much, the board caved... and the rest is history....
The point of this story? It's easy to make decisions on paper, go with the odds, play it safe... but without Heart, Loyalty, Courage and Belief.... the Club is an empty shell... a faceless entity controlled by shadowy figures in a boardroom who have not the tiniest understanding of playing AFL in a team that is as close to a Band of Brothers in the midst of war, as you'd want to get.
If things go wrong, sure we may lose a few draft picks, attract some negative press, spend an extra year down the bottom... but the price of NOT sending a message to the football world that 'we look after our own' would reverberate to the core of every player, coach and fan of this great club. One that will effect us 50 years from now because it showed just how cold and soulless a football club can be. And that club would never deserve success again IMO.
"what we do in life, echoes in eternity"
