Fremantle right to ban Solomon

Fremantle’s decision this week to hand a one-match internal suspension to veteran Dean Solomon has raised eyebrows, with some onlookers labeling the ban harsh and part of a new hard-line approach from Dockers coach Mark Harvey.

The suspension was decided upon after it was revealed Solomon had been drinking with his former Essendon teammate Mark McVeigh at a Melbourne pub until 3am on Monday morning.

Essendon promptly suspended McVeigh for Round 14 after he missed a club training session on the Monday as a result of the drinking session and Fremantle quickly followed suit with Solomon.

But those who argue the decision on Solomon was harsh, point to the fact that the Docker actually didn’t do anything wrong.

He asked the club for permission to extend his stay in Melbourne for Sunday night, he caught his flight home to Perth on the Monday and didn’t miss any Dockers training sessions.

Nevertheless, Harvey notably cited a lack of professionalism as the reason for the suspension.

“In this instance, Dean hasn’t demonstrated the level of professionalism that we expect and require of a senior member of our playing group,” Harvey said.

“Dean accepts that his actions detracted from his preparation for this weekend’s game.”

And the reality is the Dockers coach is spot on and right to take action with Solomon.

Indeed, this lack of professionalism, which Harvey cites, correlates directly with the often-raised (but never elaborated upon) concept that Fremantle have a ‘culture’ problem.

The behaviour of Solomon is indicative of an underachieving organization, exactly what Fremantle have been for their entire existence.

It’s all about the psychology of running that extra mile, pushing that extra weight or, in this case, not drinking those last few beers and staying out for those extra few hours.

These are the little things which make the difference in the professional world and Fremantle have seemingly allowed these events to occur without sanction for too long.

So Harvey’s perceived new hard-line stance on player discipline, which reportedly was instigated a fortnight ago with an internal ban on Brett Peake for a similar offence, is spot on.

And while admittedly, from an external point of view, it is difficult to identify all the details precisely, these acts are symptomatic of such a problem, in any organization, let alone the cut-throat environment of AFL footy.

Those onlookers who argued Solomon has done nothing wrong, have got it wrong.

This time, Solomon got away with technically doing nothing wrong. But without sanction, there would be a next time, and then perhaps he may not be so lucky.

In saying that, it’s clear Solomon betrayed the trust the Dockers placed in him when they warranted him his request to stay in Melbourne an extra evening.

And as Harvey points out, a night drinking session which went into the early hours of Monday morning isn’t the best preparation for a week at work.

Indeed, professionalism is essentially about getting yourself in a position to perform at your ultimate capacity come game day, something which Solomon’s actions on the Monday morning wouldn’t have done.

So without doubt, Solomon will think twice before doing such an act again, and dare I say, any young players at the club now realize the repercussions of such an action and the expectations of their behaviour.

Again it’s all about the psychology of the players which essentially is linked to that magic generic term of ‘culture’. Perhaps even this concept of ‘culture’ is AFL footy’s modern-day term for the collective psychology of the players at a specific club.

And the only way to change ‘culture’ is through decisions and policies made at the top.

Indeed, change needs to begin somewhere for Fremantle, the AFL’s perennial underachievers, and however harsh Solomon’s penalty may seem right now, the essence of the Harvey’s decision has the footy club’s future in mind.

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