Akermanis remains defiant until the bitter end

 
Justin Rodski Roar Pro

By , 23 Jul 2010 Justin Rodski is a Roar Pro

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Last night on the Footy Show, it became clear that there are no winners in Jason Akermanis’ sacking. The often controversial and always outspoken Akermanis came out swinging and certainly landed a couple decent blows along the way.

In the end, though, it wasn’t the Bulldogs or Gary Lyon, or anyone else for that matter, that delivered the knock out punch.

It was Jason himself.

Ironically, his pride and self-belief has taken him to great heights as an AFL footballer. But now we’ve seen how quickly they’ve again been his biggest downfall, as well.

It still baffles me how he didn’t see writing on the wall. A club doesn’t sack a player out of the blue without good reason.

But when he almost condescendingly scoffed at the Bulldogs’ team process and said “I shouldn’t have to come in and put up with that bullshit,” to me, that showed the club has made the right call.

Herein lies the problem for Jason.

He seems almost delusional about the circumstances happening around him, as if he only listens when people are saying what he wants to hear.

Now, by his own admission, he said “this is the life you live sometimes and if you run to close to the edge…” And in the end, he did, and he fell off.

Just like in Brisbane when Leigh Matthews described his exit as Russian roulette, eventually the bullet is going to hit.

Maybe this time it was in the back, but ultimately he left the Bulldogs with no other reasonable choice and the club is now bracing for the continued backlash.

He says he ate ‘humble pie’ playing in the VFL, as if he’s too good for that league. Therein lies another mistake: every player must at some stage do his time in the lower ranks, not complain and call an opposition player a “dribbler.”

Akermanis took aim at Captain Brad Johnson and alleges he alluded that the players had completely lost trust in him by listening to player feedback about a ‘tell all book’ in an open forum at Whitten Oval, and then raising those concerns with the football department and the club’s board.

For the third time in the space of a couple of weeks, Aker claims he had been subjected to this form of ‘workplace bullying’ in an environment he believes is unfair and actually incited even greater division amongst the players.

If the political worm had been implemented at this stage of the night, I think Akermanis would have been slightly in front, winning audience approval and sentiment for the fleeting moment he appeared to be the victim.

And maybe he is.

But for me, by the end of the one-on-one stoush with Bulldogs CEO Campbell Rose, he showed exactly why he is in fact the villain.

Now Sam Newman described it as a ‘disgraceful vendetta’ as well as intimidating, belittling and degrading. However, it was clear from the outset that Sam had a guilty conscience from his own part in Akermanis’ demise.

After all, the idea of a leadership group must be a hard concept to grasp for someone from a bygone era like Sam. Jonathan Brown agreed, telling Sam: “you’re that far removed from the inner sanctum of a football club, you’ve got no idea.”

In relation to this point, Akermanis then hit back at coach Rodney Eade, explaining that one of the specific legal reasons the Bulldogs gave him for his sacking was that “he gave private and confidential information to Sam Newman and Steve Price”

But he claims the information must have been leaked through another source to the press the following day, and the only other person at the club with access to that information was coach Rodney Eade.

His legacy in football has also been a much debated topic over the last few days and many football pundits including former Bulldog and now Fox Sports commentator Rohan Smith believe he won’t be remembered for his three premierships or his Brownlow Medal, but rather the embarrassing way he left two separate clubs amid acrimony and before the end of his contract.

To that he fired back “well Rohan, at least I’ll be remembered.” And Aker there’s no doubt you will, but could there be one last chapter for Jason Akermanis?

One thing is for sure, it will be a darn good read.

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