The ten biggest AFL stories of 2010

 
Michael DiFabrizio Columnist

By , 30 Dec 2010 Michael DiFabrizio is a Roar Expert

Tagged:
 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

39 Have your say

Related coverage



Sports Highlights

Watch more sports news video



Gary Ablett of the Gold Coast Suns addresses the media during a press conference at Crown Casino in Melbourne. Slattery Images

Gary Ablett of the Gold Coast Suns addresses the media during a press conference at Crown Casino in Melbourne. Slattery Images

No matter how you spin it, 2010 has been a year of controversy and drama in the AFL, both on and off the field. Football has certainly been no stranger to the front page. Now, as the year comes to a close – fittingly, with a nude photo scandal still making headlines – it’s time for a reflection on the biggest stories in the game.

There are some notable omissions from the following list. The likes of Brendan Fevola, Andrew Lovett and Steve Baker will have to be content with honourable mentions.

However, this is just one man’s top ten. Feel free to throw in your own contributions or put together a list of your own.

10. The Essendon-Hird-Thompson coaching saga – After months of speculation and denial, the Bombers landed their coaching “dream team” by bringing home favourite sons James Hird and Mark Thompson this off-season. However, the lead-up to both appointments could’ve been handled better.

There was Hird’s comments while Matthew Knights was still coach that he held an ambition “deep in my heart” to coach the Bombers himself, and his weekly (albeit unconvincing) denials to Mike Sheahan on On The Couch.

Then there was Thompson’s confession to Geelong that he was “burnt out” – and the later confession he actually wasn’t – plus his constant calls for loyalty among Cats players during the year and the phone records that indicated he’d been in contact with Essendon as far back as July.

9. Mick Malthouse’s clash with Stephen Milne – It’s unusual enough to see a coach of an AFL club approach a player of the opposing team at quarter time. However, to see a coach (Collingwood’s Malthouse) call a player (St Kilda’s Milne) a “f***ing rapist” back in Round 3 was more than just a little surprising.

Initially, Malthouse denied any wrongdoing, and he was backed up by Collingwood president Eddie McGuire, however the knee-jerk response from those in black and white only ensured the saga dragged on well after the final siren on that fateful Friday night. Malthouse, Milne and Pies assistant Paul Licuria were all hit with fines over the incident.

8. The emergence of mature-age recruits – While they weren’t exactly front page material like other members of this list, Fremantle’s Michael Barlow and Geelong’s James Podsiadly were definitely the feel-good stories of 2010 and as a result, they thoroughly deserve a mention.

Barlow was plucked from VFL club Werribee and became an instant star in his 33-possession debut. He went on to be a big part of the Dockers’ resurgence in 2010 – right up until breaking his leg in an unfortunate incident in Round 14.

28 year-old Podsiadly had to wait even longer for his AFL debut, but he certainly made the most of it. Cementing his spot in the best 22 of the reigning premiers, he delighted fans at Skilled Stadium with multiple five-goal hauls and a total of 49 majors for the year.

7. The Israel Folau signing – Like the Karmichael Hunt announcement a year previous, GWS’ declaration it had landed NRL star Folau to play for the expansion club was major news all over the country, not to mention one of the biggest discussion points on The Roar this year.

While GWS coach Kevin Sheedy is confident Folau can make the transition to Aussie Rules, the size of his contract was questioned by many in the game – including Leigh Matthews, Michael Voss and The Roar’s own Troy Chaplin.

6. Jason Akermanis – Aker’s final season in the AFL was never far from the spotlight. To off-set the impact of a smaller playing contract, the Western Bulldogs allowed Akermanis to take up extra media commitments in 2010 – a move that was, in hindsight, a recipe for disaster.

Whether it was a controversial column on gay footballers in the paper or harsh criticisms of VFL opponents on radio, Aker found himself in hot water constantly. The trouble caused by his media work, combined with what the Dogs called “repeated breaches of trust”, led to his eventual departure from Whitten Oval and, unsurprisingly, even more Aker headlines.

5. Mathew Stokes, Michael Johnson and Travis Tuck – The AFL’s illicit drugs policy was given a stern public test this year with three cases involving players and drugs playing out in the media.

The first was Geelong’s Mathew Stokes, who pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine and had a trafficking charge dropped. In May, Michael Johnson was dropped from Fremantle’s leadership group, fined and suspended after also being charged by police with possession of cocaine.

Then, on the eve of the finals, Hawthorn’s Travis Tuck became the first player to be hit with a third strike under the league’s illicit drug policy. A tribunal sitting determined Tuck’s drug use was not recreational, but a by-product of clinical depression, and he was hit with a 12-game suspension.

4. Ben Cousins – The final season of Cousins’ career had plenty of drama. It started with rumours (never substantiated) of both a relapse and an alcohol problem. It continued when he was admitted to hospital and put in an induced coma after what was said to be an adverse reaction to a sleeping pill.

Towards the end of the season, though, came Cousins’ retirement and the biggest story of them all, the airing of his two-part documentary that went into detail about his drug use. The doco, which also delved into the former West Coast star’s relationship with the AFL and authorities, was a huge talking point all over the country.

3. St Kilda nude photo scandal – The game was well and truly rocked last week when a 17 year-old girl posted photos of naked St Kilda stars on Facebook, which quickly spread across the internet. The girl earlier this year was reported to have fallen pregnant after having sex with Saints players and claimed releasing the photos was an act of revenge.

St Kilda and captain Nick Riewoldt, who was one of the exposed players, were forced into damage control. They stressed that the photos were not distributed with the consent of the players and that they were taken by teammate Sam Gilbert, who stored them on a laptop that was later accessed by the girl.

The girl claimed to have 21 photos in total and was threatening to release them all. However, last Friday in court she agreed to delete the images. That’s not to say the saga is over yet – she’s promising a book that will tell her side of the story.

2. Gary Ablett to the Gold Coast – All year, the question was, “Will he, won’t he?” The footy world was speculating as to whether Gary Ablett would leave Geelong to join the AFL’s 17th club, the Gold Coast Suns. A massive multi-million dollar deal was reportedly on the table, but there was doubt over whether Gazza would leave the successful Cats.

As the saga continued to drag out, the consensus among fans and the media was that the 2009 Brownlow medallist was headed north. But it wasn’t just those outside the club speculating. Apparently Mark Thompson and Ablett were not on speaking terms for most of the season after a heated discussion on Ablett not re-signing with the Cats.

In October – under two weeks after Geelong’s season ended – it was made official, Ablett became a Sun.

1. Drawn Grand Final – No matter how big other stories have been, 2010 will always be remembered for only the third drawn grand final ever. Much like the mere mention of 1977 in AFL circles evokes memories of the North Melbourne and Collingwood stalemate, decades from now 2010 will send minds back to Collingwood and St Kilda, tied at 68 points apiece.

From Brendon Goddard’s mark to that frantic final minute to the stunned silence at the final siren to Nick Maxwell’s post-game comments, the 2010 decider had drama that simply couldn’t be scripted. Then came the fallout afterwards – from cancelled best and fairest nights to new ticketing arrangements to the debate over the merits of having the replay at all.

A week later came the replay, which provided even more moments that will be remembered – notably, Heath Shaw’s goal square smother on Nick Riewoldt and the obvious, Collingwood ending their 20-year premiership drought.

Follow Michael on twitter @mdifabrizio
Wild Turkey - find out more
The Turkey 10

The Turkey 10 teams have now been selected, as Wild Turkey Bourbon's sport sponsorship kicks into the next exciting phase.

Choose which side you're going to support and get in the running to win $2,500!

Simply visit Wild Turkey Australia on Facebook for your chance to win.

Find out more.

Get a daily afl email

Our daily emails are only sent if there is content for the sport. You can subscribe to multiple daily emails; or get the daily Roar email with all our content in it.

We value privacy. More.