Why Eagles fans will never forgive Judd
Roar Guru By art pagonis, 15 Jun 2012 The Crowd is a Roar Guru
- Tagged:
- AFL, Carlton Blues, Chris Judd, John Worsfold, West Coast Eagles
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Eagles win, Carlton in the bin. That man about town, that prematurely bald icon, that TRAITOR! That is how Chris Judd was greeted in Perth last night.
Judd took his trophy wife and his bald head to Carlton several seasons back now and the Eagles faithful have yet to forgive.
Carlton have done very little and the Eagles are building as top four material for the next three to five years.
That is grist for the mill for Judd, but smirk stuff for the Eagles hierarchy. They still smart at Judd leaving in the midst of the Eagles darkest hour.
They know that Judd is your corporate footballer. The bankable, marketable captain with the quick feet. But a pair of plodders, no names in Melbourne town maybe, made Judd look silly last night.
That’s how the Eagles like it. That’s how John Worsfold likes it. One on one, show me how you can compete, and just remember we have four players of All Australian quality to come back into this team.
These Eagles kids are blue collar, not white collar Lygon Street coffee bar frequenters.
This is the land of sun, storms, sand and sea – and the Dockers might not be as tough as real wharfies, but the Eagles are.
This was not vintage Eagles getting back on top of the ladder. And Worsfold is mindful that teams like Collingwood, Sydney, Hawthorn, Adelaide and even Geelong are building.
But he can send mobile battering rams like Hams, Selwood, Shuey and others out there and watch them manage the game, something other teams can’t do.
Not that they are impregnable. Far from it. Take Naitanui out of this team and the weight of ball going into the Eagles backline would see them lose a lot of games. He actually was the difference between winning and losing tonight, and should he ever go down, West Coast will struggle more than the faithful think.
Tonight they kicked something like 20 behinds. And there is a very, uncorporate, unprofessional, loose, irresponsible, uncultured, undisciplined, non-wet weather approach to set shots and clear open goal shots which the Eagles might have turned into a 50 point win on another day.
Josh Hill is a prime offender. He is the only half smart Eagle. He should be averaging three or four goals a game with the space he gets.
But it was wet and slippery, so we’ll take that as read and congratulate the fly boys on win number nine and top position on the AFL heap.
- Explore:
- AFL, Carlton Blues, Chris Judd, John Worsfold, West Coast Eagles
June 15th 2012 @ 8:33am
Lroy said | June 15th 2012 @ 8:33am | Report comment
Nice article… think we need to take it easy on poor Juddy, the guy did win us a flag after all
Am a bit worried about the Eagles conversion rate, they really could be putting sides away rather than falling over the line.
Looking forward to the big game next week, I think that will tell us were the boys from the west really are,contenders? Well the Pies will be the real test.
June 19th 2012 @ 2:10pm
Dan said | June 19th 2012 @ 2:10pm | Report comment
Win us a flag? Judd didn’t single handily win us the 2006 grand final. He was one of many stars. The man is an opportunist as far as i’m concerned. Internally the forecast for the next few years must have looked pretty bleak, and Judd didn’t want to be part of a wooden spoon.
June 15th 2012 @ 8:46am
langou said | June 15th 2012 @ 8:46am | Report comment
Oh dear, who let an Eagle supporter write an article
“Carlton have done very little and the Eagles are building as top four material for the next three to five years.”
Since Judd left
Carlton11th,7th,8th,5th
WCE 15th, 11th,16th,4th
June 15th 2012 @ 9:41am
Winston said | June 15th 2012 @ 9:41am | Report comment
But judging by how both teams have travelled this season, that’s not an unfair assessment.
June 16th 2012 @ 5:31am
Jack said | June 16th 2012 @ 5:31am | Report comment
Let’s stick to the present shall we?
Eagles 1st and on the rise – Blues 9th and on the slide.
Eagles will win 2-3 flags before the Blues will will another one – their last flag was 17 years ago (1995) and unfortunately for them the next one isn’t even close as I see a rebuild coming soon. Or maybe a top-up but only if Malthouse or Roos take over next year, otherwise it’s back to the drawing board for the Blues I’m afraid.
Blues are two key forwards and one key backman short of a flag and they were stupid enough to trade away two of the very best key forwards in the game – Fevola & Kennedy
Eagles are much younger, much classier, much better coached, they are the richest club in the land and they have an administration and coach to die for!
Their Chairman is Alan Cransberg (the Managing Director of Alcoa Australia – a multi-billion dollar resources company with tens of thousands of employees who has played in 2 WAFL premierships) versus Stephen Kernahan (zero business experience but without question a truly great AFL captain and player with 1 SANFL flag, 1 VFL flag and 1 ALF flag). No offence Sticks, but you don’t even come up to Alan’s ankles when it comes to leading any type of organisation and that is exactly the role that you took on champ. It’s like a toddler getting into the ring with Mike Tyson and expecting to win.
Let’s face it – if you were interviewing for the position who would you prefer to lead your footy club?
I’d take Cransberg over Kernahan any day of the week. Cransberg is never in the media and no-one even knows who he is. That’s just the way that the Eagles play the game of AFL and their CEO & Coach are exactly they same.They don’t get distracted – they exist to win flags, period!
Eagles have won more flags (3) than any other club in AFL history (AFL began in 1990) and they’ve played in more finals series (17) than any other club in history by a margin of 3 (Geelong & Essendon are the next best).
Is this just a co-incidence or is it strategic and well planned? I choose the later!
If you want to look back into history ‘langou’ (because that’s all that the Blues have got) let’s go back a little further shall we?
Let’s go all the way back to the introduction of the AFL in 1990…
Final Series Played
Eagles (1st in AFL history) – 17 out of a possible 21
Blues (11th in AFL history)- 10 out of a possible 21
Flags Won
Eagles (1st in AFL history) – 3 flags (Geelong & Brisbane also have 3 flags but I think the Eagles will be the first club to win 4 flags and probably the first to 5 flags, the only Collingwood on 2 flags has a chance of stopping that).
Blues (10th in AFL history) – 1 flag (1995 – 17 years ago and no sign of another flag on the horizon)
Click this link to see Rohan Connolly’s article on this subject- http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/the-greatest-team-of-all-20120504-1y4c1.html
It’s back to the drawing board for the Blues I’m afraid.
Judd is 29 in Sept and while he has been a great servant in helping elevate the Blues up from the bottom of the ladder he will not win another flag in his playing career unless Malthouse or Roos takes over which will in-turn attract a string of new players (under free-ageny) to the club in the hope of winning a flag and playing under two legend coaches before their time is up. That’s the Blues only hope I’m afraid.
Judd is without question a champion player and the Eagles & Blues should both very grateful for having him in their teams.
95% of the fans at Subi Oval on Thurs night were Eagles supporters so of course we will all hear the boo’s but it’s also true that the vast majority of Eagles fans respect Judd and his decision to go home and thank him for the service he gave them. He went home for family reasons and the Pratt $$$ and the challenge sealed the deal for sure. He left the club when they needed him and I don’t respect that and neither do the Eagles fans. He’s a great player but he is over-rated as a captain and leader of men in my opinion.
Lot’s of players get unfairly booed by a MINORITY of fans eg. Buckley, Matera, Reiwoldt and now Judd, it’s a part of the game and it’s a minority that do that so let’s not make a mountain out of a molehill
Great clubs lick their wounds, get on with business and will themselves back up to the top very quickly and there is no greater example of that truism in the AFL than the Wst Coast Eagles. One man does not maketh the team!
It’s very unfortunate for the Blues and their fans that they viewed Judd as their saviour but let’s not forget that they were down, out and desperate at the time! At least they’ll finish somewhere betwen 7th – 12th this year which is a definite improvement for them!
June 16th 2012 @ 6:01am
amazonfan said | June 16th 2012 @ 6:01am | Report comment
I don’t particularly like Carlton, however to talk about the AFL era, as if forgetting that the AFL is just the VFL with a name change, is a complete revision of history. Either talk about the present, and the future, or if you talk about the past, talk about the whole past. Not just the past that suits your argument. Furthermore, if you talk about actual history, it still suits your arguement, as while Carlton has claimed 16 flags, they’ve won one less flag since you joined the competition. Anyway, regardless, only focusing on the AFL era is just silly IMO.
Also, why does it matter if Cransberg played in the WAFL? For that matter, Kernahan’s footballing career also shouldn’t matter, as being a footballer has nothing to do with being a president, and many of the great presidents never played the game.
“He went home for family reasons and the Pratt $$$ and the challenge sealed the deal for sure.”
Great to see a West Coast fan that acknowledges that.
“He left the club when they needed him and I don’t respect that and neither do the Eagles fans.”
He was with you for six seasons. Playing careers don’t last forever. Why should he stay on, when he clearly didn’t want to? Would you stay on at a work place where you served for a long time, and with great success, even though you truly want to leave?
June 28th 2012 @ 12:42am
Jack said | June 28th 2012 @ 12:42am | Report comment
Agree about the work analogy Amazon. Some will make sacrifices and others won’t and neither is wrong, it’s a personal decision and I wasn’t in shoes so I forgive him, just!
Cransberg – I was making the point that he was a great leader of organisations ie Alcoa and the skill sets that he has learned in business are a great asset to the WCE. A footy club is an organisation and it should be led by people by business leaders, there are exceptions of course but Sticks isn’t one of them, I do respect him highly, he’s a champ but there might just someone better suited to the job within the Blues faithful! Footy was secondary, just wanted to note that he’s won a flag at WAFL level so he will understand it from a players perspective.
June 16th 2012 @ 10:39am
brendan said | June 16th 2012 @ 10:39am | Report comment
Jack enjoyed your post good comparison between relative presidents of West Coast and Carlton.I think your being premature in writing off Geelong’s chances of being first to four flags, they have a warchest of money waiting for free agency.IMO premierships before 1925 shouldnt count as that was the year the vfl moved to a twelve team comp with many of the early flags in the war years being won in four team comps.This would mean Carlton are on 11 flags ,Collingwood ,Hawthorn ,Essendon and Melbourne on ten and the Eagles for instance are on three flags .
June 28th 2012 @ 12:54am
Jack said | June 28th 2012 @ 12:54am | Report comment
Brendan, I think it should start from 1990, not 1925. you can’t include and compare WC against the 1925 when WC didn’t exist for 80% of the time period being measured. WC joined the leage in the 66th year of 87 yearold comp, hardly a fair comparasion IMO.
June 20th 2012 @ 12:53pm
Tom of Darwin said | June 20th 2012 @ 12:53pm | Report comment
Great point Jack,
Can’t say I agree with some of your predictions, but appreciate your bias passion.
One thing I can agree with is that the AFL started in 1990. Premierships won before this time are irrelevant to the current game. We don’t say that Port Adelaide has won 37 premierships – we say they have won one AFL premiership and 36 SANFL premierships. Same should apply with Collingwood, Carlton et al.
Silly to place West Coast above Brisbane and Geelong, they are equal first with three premierships each. There is no doubt that Carlton is a great team of the modern era with 2 premierships, and your crystal ball is a little clouded, you are writing on mixture of facts and adrenaline. You may be proven right, but maybe not.
You are forgetting on one other super club though – Adelaide (insert personal bias here). With 2 AFL premierships since 1991 and several heartbreaking preliminary final losses to a drugged up West Coast Eagles team (can’t blame Juddy from wanting to leave that culture behind) – when Cousins played out of his skin (27 touches in a massive come from behind win in 2006) while we now know he was playing with pinhole pupils, Adelaide is now ready to challenge again.
June 20th 2012 @ 1:22pm
amazonfan said | June 20th 2012 @ 1:22pm | Report comment
“One thing I can agree with is that the AFL started in 1990. Premierships won before this time are irrelevant to the current game. We don’t say that Port Adelaide has won 37 premierships – we say they have won one AFL premiership and 36 SANFL premierships. Same should apply with Collingwood, Carlton et al.”
That is completely different. The AFL is just the VFL with a namechange. The SANFL is an entirely different competition, and the Port Adelaide Power & the Port Adelaide Magpies are different clubs.
“and several heartbreaking preliminary final losses to a drugged up West Coast Eagles team”
There is no evidence to suggest that any of the Eagles took performance enhancing drugs. That is a ridiculous assertion, when the reality is that Adelaide just lost to a better team. As far as performance enhancing drugs go, not only were they not drugged up, but they were just as clean as Adelaide!
“(can’t blame Juddy from wanting to leave that culture behind)”
You don’t know why Judd left the Eagles. There is no evidence he left because of the culture.
“when Cousins played out of his skin (27 touches in a massive come from behind win in 2006) while we now know he was playing with pinhole pupils,”
He never took performance enhancing drugs. What we know is that Adelaide are poor losers.
“Adelaide is now ready to challenge again.”
If they fail, hopefully there won’t be any more excuses.
June 21st 2012 @ 2:31pm
Tom of Darwin said | June 21st 2012 @ 2:31pm | Report comment
Juddy’s influence in ending Fevola’s time at Carlton was a pretty open insight into the man’s principles and expectations of team mates. It is not such a long bow to imagine that he would have been pretty unhappy with the WCE drug culture, not a long bow at all.
As for the performance enhancing drugs thing, the thing about cocaine is that it increases energy, motivation and changes behaviour. It is not classified as a performance enhancing but there is little doubt that cousins trained better and played better on coke (IMHO).
As for Port, bloody Port, you clearly weren’t in Adelaide when Port turned their back on the SANFL in 1990 in their bid to join the AFL, before finally making it into the big league in 1997. They are the same team whether you like it or not.
June 21st 2012 @ 3:11pm
amazonfan said | June 21st 2012 @ 3:11pm | Report comment
“Juddy’s influence in ending Fevola’s time at Carlton was a pretty open insight into the man’s principles and expectations of team mates. It is not such a long bow to imagine that he would have been pretty unhappy with the WCE drug culture, not a long bow at all.”
He might have been unhappy, however you can’t be certain that is why he left.
“As for the performance enhancing drugs thing, the thing about cocaine is that it increases energy, motivation and changes behaviour.”
All I will say is that the players were never charged with taking performance enhancing drugs.
“It is not classified as a performance enhancing but there is little doubt that cousins trained better and played betteron coke (IMHO).”
Cousins was never charged with taking performance enhancing drugs.
“As for Port, bloody Port, you clearly weren’t in Adelaide when Port turned their back on the SANFL in 1990 in their bid to join the AFL, before finally making it into the big league in 1997. They are the same team whether you like it or not.”
It doesn’t matter whether I was in Adelaide or not. They are not the same team whether you like it or not.
June 21st 2012 @ 3:29pm
amazonfan said | June 21st 2012 @ 3:29pm | Report comment
EDIT: Even if they are considered to be the same club (incredibly debatable), they are different versions in different competitions, and it does not mean that the SANFL flags should be included, even though VFL flags are included.
June 28th 2012 @ 1:00am
Jack said | June 28th 2012 @ 1:00am | Report comment
ThanksTom
Agree with everything you said except for drugged team comment, that’s way over the top and just wrong. One player was an addict, just like other players have been gambling addicts, it’s an addiction and they very little self-control. Don’t tarnish the whole team, it’s just a dumb statement.
June 27th 2012 @ 4:00pm
Tom of Darwin said | June 27th 2012 @ 4:00pm | Report comment
Shouldn’t Wooden Spoons counter a premiership? Oh the shame of a wooden spoon.
June 15th 2012 @ 9:46am
Balthazar said | June 15th 2012 @ 9:46am | Report comment
“These Eagles kids are blue collar, not white collar Lygon Street coffee bar frequenters”
“This is the land of sun, storms, sand and sea – and the Dockers might not be as tough as real wharfies, but the Eagles are”.
Sorry, that’s delusional. Methinks you have been supping a bit too much from the Eagle supporter’s favourite tipple (chardonnay)
June 15th 2012 @ 2:22pm
Lroy said | June 15th 2012 @ 2:22pm | Report comment
Mate, mate, mate, its beer north of the Swan river… chardonnay sippers are closet dockers fans.. lol.
June 18th 2012 @ 10:52am
johno said | June 18th 2012 @ 10:52am | Report comment
Ha – Eagles tough as wharfies. Not only do West Coast lack identity now they are trying to steal the Dockers, as well as palm off their own stigma (they have been the chardonnay set in WA for the last few decades)
Take away umpires like Margetts and the Eagles would slip out of the top 4 and maybe even top 8, the bunch of pampered, ducking, umpires pets that they are.
As for Hill being the only half smart eagle, I think you do a dis-service to the other halfies (which is maybe what you meant to say when you said wharfies) in the budgie colours of yellow and blue. A Selwood, T Swift, C Masten are but a few that jump immediately to mind without much effort.
June 18th 2012 @ 2:44pm
Lroy said | June 18th 2012 @ 2:44pm | Report comment
@Johno… dude, none of that made sense..”they are trying to steal the Dockers”… steal what from the Dockers?
Stephen Hill plays for the Dockers.. not West Coast…. you then name a bunch of WCE players, but don’t make any coherent point…
What exactly are you trying to say?
June 18th 2012 @ 3:51pm
johno said | June 18th 2012 @ 3:51pm | Report comment
the Hill that was referred in the article and who I mentioned is Josh (“Josh Hill is a prime offender. He is the only half smart Eagle. He should be averaging three or four goals a game with the space he gets.”)
Dockers = wharfies (remember Pav’s infamous miked up pre-game speech “It’s wharfie time boys”). Fremantle being a harbour town and having wharves again lends itself to the identity
Sorry LRoy I’ll try to be a bit more obvious for your benefit next time I respond to an article you may not havce read.
June 19th 2012 @ 11:14am
Lroy said | June 19th 2012 @ 11:14am | Report comment
Ha ha, thats ok, no need to apologize, its a free forum after all.
Actually I didn’t notice the reference to Josh Hill the first time around, so thanks for pointing that out.
June 28th 2012 @ 1:07am
Jack said | June 28th 2012 @ 1:07am | Report comment
Almost spot on Balthazar, it was a red though. WC are tough but the supping embellished it a little.
June 15th 2012 @ 10:00am
TomC said | June 15th 2012 @ 10:00am | Report comment
I reckon the Eagles fans could show a touch more forgiveness to the bloke that helped them win them their last premiership.
Last night was difficult to watch. The crowd had a serious impact on the umpires and I reckon it played a part in the result.
June 15th 2012 @ 11:16am
swannies05 said | June 15th 2012 @ 11:16am | Report comment
Judd was a premiership captain for your club. Give the guy a break. Barry Hall captained the Swans to a premiership and hardly left on good terms, yet we never bood him when he played us in a Dogs jersey. After Cousins returned for his first game in an Eagles jersey after an extended lay off he was lauded by your faithful as a hero and someone who should be celebrated for what he did.
Don’t get me wrong I have a lot of respect for what Cousins did as a player and the struggles he must have endured due to his addiction, but if Cousins did not cause all the problems he did at West Coast, I think the Carlton number 5 would still be wearing blue and gold with a 3 on his back and probably lifitng another Premiership cup with Worsfold on the last Saturday in September this year, next year or 2014.
Judd is a true champion, a class act both on and off the field and if it weren’t for the drug culture that engulfed West Coast the years before he left, he would have become as big a name as Worsfold is at your beloved Eagles.
June 15th 2012 @ 11:58am
joe blackswan said | June 15th 2012 @ 11:58am | Report comment
there is a huge difference between how hall and cousins left their respective clubs and judd. Hall and Cousins had their issues and demons forcing them to move on (not by choice), where as Judd sold himself to the highest bidder. Judd’s lack of leadership off the field at west coast contributed to the clubs dark period, and the fact he left as soon as possible suggests somethings. Judd’s first couple of seasons at carlton had seen numerous off field indescretions take place with him as captain….he is not a leader off the field, in fact he is not much of a leader on the field…Cousins was a brilliant leader on the field.
Judd also claims that footballers should not be role models, this view is naive….the AFL is a professional sporting organisation recieiving tax breaks for their clubs and tax payers money for the redevelopment/building of stadiums etc, it is broadcast on television and radio and plastered all over the many media outlets. If you are not prepared to be a role model that’s fine, just don’t play AFL… go and play aussie rules in an amateur competition. These are some of the reasons why west coast fans aren’t all that fond of judd.
Judd is a brilliant player, but he is not a leader.
June 16th 2012 @ 5:38am
amazonfan said | June 16th 2012 @ 5:38am | Report comment
“Hall and Cousins had their issues and demons forcing them to move on (not by choice), where as Judd sold himself to the highest bidder.”
There is nothing wrong with choosing to leave a club and nor is there anything wrong with accepting the highest financial offer (although it should be noted that the money wasn’t the only reason he choose Carlton). Plenty of non-footballers make the decision to leave their place of work, and many accept large financial offers. Why should footballers not be allowed to do the same?
Furthermore, Judd left after captaining West Coast to a flag (and almost playing a key role in helping you win what could have been the first of back-to-back flags). Instead of attacking Judd for doing something that countless people do every day, maybe you should just be grateful?
“Judd’s lack of leadership off the field at west coast contributed to the clubs dark period, and the fact he left as soon as possible suggests somethings”
No, it doesn’t. All it suggests is that too many people are unwilling to believe the man, and all too willing to believe the worse even though none of you know him.
Judd wanted to leave West Coast for ‘family reasons “not related to football” ‘ and in fact had been thinking about it as early as 2005. He made up his mind in 2007, which was also when his contract expired. He even made the comment that ‘if the club was the East Coast Eagles, I would have signed a 10-year contract for under market price.’
http://www.westcoasteagles.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/7155/Default.aspx?newsId=51204
“Judd also claims that footballers should not be role models, this view is naive….the AFL is a professional sporting organisation recieiving tax breaks for their clubs and tax payers money for the redevelopment/building of stadiums etc, it is broadcast on television and radio and plastered all over the many media outlets. If you are not prepared to be a role model that’s fine, just don’t play AFL… go and play aussie rules in an amateur competition.”
I don’t agree. Yes, they receive tax breaks from the government and money from tax payers (although I don’t see how that is relevant), and yes, they are famous, however any the people who should be responsible for role modelling are parents, teachers, religious leaders (if applicable), and other significant figures in the child’s life. As for the footballers? Their only responsibility should be to act like decent human beings. Like everyone else.
I suspect the reason that WCE fans don’t like Judd is because they simply can’t stomach the fact that one of their absolute greatest (some would say their greatest) players is playing for another club.
Anyway, I agree that he’s not a particularly impressive leader. Brilliant footballer, arguably one of the best of all time, however both West Coast and Carlton have had far superior captains.
June 17th 2012 @ 10:54am
Jack said | June 17th 2012 @ 10:54am | Report comment
Judd is 100% correct – footballers should not be role models. If our sons looks to footballers of any code as role models then shame on us, not on the young men we expect to show them the way.
June 16th 2012 @ 4:36am
amazonfan said | June 16th 2012 @ 4:36am | Report comment
“but if Cousins did not cause all the problems he did at West Coast, I think the Carlton number 5 would still be wearing blue and gold with a 3 on his back and probably lifitng another Premiership cup with Worsfold on the last Saturday in September this year, next year or 2014.”
That is a massive presumption to make since Judd himself has claimed that he left because he wanted to return home to Melbourne. Patrick Smith claimed that he left because of the drug culture, a Roar article a while ago claimed the same thing, now you are claiming it. Perhaps you should just give him the benefit of the doubt seeing as you don’t know him, and therefore are in no position to speculate on why he left!
“Judd is a true champion, a class act both on and off the field and if it weren’t for the drug culture that engulfed West Coast the years before he left, he would have become as big a name as Worsfold is at your beloved Eagles.”
You have absolutely no way of knowing that. You state this as if it’s a fact, yet you don’t even know the man!
June 16th 2012 @ 5:42am
Jack said | June 16th 2012 @ 5:42am | Report comment
Hall didn’t leave for a better offer, he was pushed. Poor comparison.
June 16th 2012 @ 6:23am
Jack said | June 16th 2012 @ 6:23am | Report comment
Hall didn’t leave for a better offer at it’s darkest moment in history and he didn’t want to return to Melbourne – he was pushed out for bad behaviour, poor comparison. Tough men push through hardship and become even greater men, weaker men leave when the going get’s tough, enough said!
June 15th 2012 @ 12:14pm
micka said | June 15th 2012 @ 12:14pm | Report comment
“These Eagles kids are blue collar, not white collar Lygon Street coffee bar frequenters.”
I haven’t laughed like that in years!
One of the most cashed up clubs in the comp… Also, smashing pingers does not make you blue collar. It just makes a good, honest, hard working player want to move to the other side of the country.
The Weagle supporter’s seem a bit ungrateful to the bloke who delivered them their last flag.
June 15th 2012 @ 12:15pm
Nathan of Perth said | June 15th 2012 @ 12:15pm | Report comment
Good squishy, hilarious article.
June 15th 2012 @ 12:20pm
Redb said | June 15th 2012 @ 12:20pm | Report comment
Eagles fans still ducking the issue. Judd left becuase the club was an embarassment.
You guys were lucky you werent thrown out of the league – Culture!
June 15th 2012 @ 12:30pm
Nathan of Perth said | June 15th 2012 @ 12:30pm | Report comment
See that culture/embarrassment argument just doesn’t wash.
Why?
Because he went to Carlton! The only thing crazier would have been if he went to St Kilda!
June 15th 2012 @ 1:46pm
Redb said | June 15th 2012 @ 1:46pm | Report comment
Just goes to show bad the Eagles are that Judd went to the Blues for a culture upgrade.
June 15th 2012 @ 1:50pm
Nathan of Perth said | June 15th 2012 @ 1:50pm | Report comment
Have seen nothing to suggest there was any kind of upgrade
better druggies than downhill skiers! At least at West Coast he could get other people to fly the flag for him.
June 15th 2012 @ 2:13pm
brendan said | June 15th 2012 @ 2:13pm | Report comment
Nathan of Perth if i was you i would cheer Judd for leaving you did well out of it Kennedy and Masten a subsequent slip in ladder position netting you Natanui .People forget that Leigh Colbert leaving Geelong was the start of our three premierships as we secured Mooney and Enright in the deal. Judd is a champion but like Ablett his talent will never get to the big dance on the last saturday in September again.
June 15th 2012 @ 2:28pm
Redb said | June 15th 2012 @ 2:28pm | Report comment
Its not wise to take drugs when your downhill skiing
June 16th 2012 @ 2:08pm
brendan said | June 16th 2012 @ 2:08pm | Report comment
Yes Redb you would definetly be skating on thin ice.
June 16th 2012 @ 5:54am
Jack said | June 16th 2012 @ 5:54am | Report comment
Eagles have the best culture in the AFL now
2-3 players (at most) had those problems so don’t brand the club as it’s a stupid argument.
Far more clubs were and are are broke and the spotlight should have been thrown on them for financial mismanagement and for trading insolvent. Don’t forget, the VFL was on the fringe of bankruptcy and not one VFL back in 1986 had the funds to bail the VFL out so they turned to the Eagles & Bears who both coughed up millions for a license. Not one VFL club coughed up a penny. The Eagles saved your asses and has been leading the competition ever since Red, show some respect!
June 18th 2012 @ 11:40am
johno said | June 18th 2012 @ 11:40am | Report comment
2-3 players ….. Ican’t let that comment go without a reply.
I can name a few more than 3, with no inside knowledge of the club whatsoever, who have been tainted.
Cousins, Gardiner, Fletcher, Kerr, Hunter, Chick – in one way or another all of these blokes have either been directly involved (Cousins and Gardiner and their bikie connections), allegedly involved (Fletchers Las Vegas incident and NSW possession charge in 2010, and Kerr and his taxi tap dancing routines), or tarnished post career (Chick importing steroids, Hunters flatmates getting done with pill presses in the house).
When you can easily name 6 blokes (thats 1/3 of your starting 18) then I would say the club had a drug problem and not a few individuals.
And then when you look at the sad fate of Mainy you start to get a glimpse into the priviliedged look the other way treatment that West Coast players get (or hopefully ‘got’) in WA.
I hope that the club has changed and more importantly that the WA media has changed in its approach to these issues at this club.
June 18th 2012 @ 3:01pm
Lroy said | June 18th 2012 @ 3:01pm | Report comment
Mate, take of the blinkers eh?
Dale Lewis said about ten years ago that recreational drug use within the AFL was rife… he got canned for it..
There are a dozen or so current players in the AFL who have at least one strike against them for recreational drugs… I recall speaking to a retired Vic Police detective, and you’d be surprised at some of the high profile names he reckons are known to use coke and other substances.
“Cousins, Gardiner, Fletcher, Kerr, Hunter, Chick… ”
Cousins, Gardiner were both sacked… Chick was not resigned and neither was Fletcher… Hunter retired.
Gardiner and Cousins were subsequently resigned by Melbourne clubs… what does that say about double standards?
“you cant take drugs and play footy at West Coast.. but if its a Melbourne club, then its ok”
Kerr has been a dill at times, sure..
but he didn’t ride around with a Hells Angel who was shooting guns one night.. and then fail to report it to police.. if you recall, that particular Angel shot a guy dead a week later… other Collingwood players made false statements regarding a drink driving incident…
So If you just want to have an anti WCE rant, thats your prerogative..but don’t try to dress it up as anything other than that ok?
June 18th 2012 @ 3:42pm
Brewski said | June 18th 2012 @ 3:42pm | Report comment
Drug taking for these guys did not start once they became AFL footballers, from what i know, have heard and understand it can be traced back to school and mates who they grew up with, it is a society wide problem, the only difference is when a new generation comes along, a new drug of choice comes along.
60,70,80′s pot and then heroin, 90,00′s pot and amphetamines, and 10 years ago E’s etc , cocaine seems to make a comeback every 20 years or so as well.
June 18th 2012 @ 4:01pm
johno said | June 18th 2012 @ 4:01pm | Report comment
Read my comments – I responded to a 2-3 players at most blinkered view of West Coasts drug problems.
I never mentioned that no other club has these issues. I simply was trying to expand the “blinkered” view that the original poster had in relation to their club.
My comment was also trying to draw light to the way the media turned/turns a blind eye in WA to the widely known recreational habits of footballers, especially their favourite sons from West Coast.
If anything my comments are an un-blinkered view of the issue LRoy.
I think Brewski’s comments about the drugs of choiceand the history of drug use is very apt (refer back to the play “The Club” and the central character playing while high in one scene – this is art obviously immitating life from the 70′s). A club cannot say it is simply a few bad eggs when there are too many occurences to continue to ignore. They needed to find root causes for these issues, put in place programs to help these young men and not merely palm players off to other clubs to fix.
And yes there are plenty of issues from other clubs (look at how the media pack swarmed over Michael Johnson – just like they didn’t over the West Coast boys … which maybe if they had things may have been different for a few players)
June 18th 2012 @ 4:28pm
Brewski said | June 18th 2012 @ 4:28pm | Report comment
@ Johno, WA drug culture ATM is pretty well entwined with Bikies and Amphetamines, FIFO workers and amphetamines and a pub and nightclub culture that has become more and more agressive, and amphetamines fuel it.
Cousins, Gardiner etc are just products of the dominant youth/young adult culture of the time, it may get worse, it may get better, the current Eagles seem to be clear of it all, but who knows.
June 18th 2012 @ 9:31pm
Lroy said | June 18th 2012 @ 9:31pm | Report comment
mate… so what you are saying is that everyone in Perth is a coke or amphetamine addict?
For what its worth, I grew up in Perth, and never saw any “hard” drugs till I moved to the eastern states when I was in my twenties…
This thing about miners and bikies (you didnt mention it by the way, another blogger did) mine workers get drug tested all the time… they are quite strict about that stuff..
Bikies.. ok.. WA bikies take non prescription drugs.. but the Melbourne chapter of the Hells Angels all drink warm milk… lol… come on boys….you gotta do better than that eh?
June 18th 2012 @ 10:53pm
Brewski said | June 18th 2012 @ 10:53pm | Report comment
@ Lroy, if you are directing it at me, i am not saying it is just Perth, but IMO Perth has a pretty big meth problem partly due to single young guys earning big money and meth goes through your system very quickly, so testing does not really pick it up, thats one of the reasons why meth is so big over here.
I live in Perth, great place.
A meth lab is found in Perth every day, it’s a problem, give it 5 years and a new drug will take it’s place
Plenty of young guys try all sorts of things, and for many it’s a right of passage, some like Cousins don’t come through it unscathed.
June 28th 2012 @ 1:14am
Jack said | June 28th 2012 @ 1:14am | Report comment
Well put Lroy!
June 15th 2012 @ 2:25pm
TW said | June 15th 2012 @ 2:25pm | Report comment
As an Eagles supporter -I think the author of this article should not give up his day job. Very strange to call Scotty Selwood a “plodder”. He did a job on Judd again –
Judd will be remembered forever as a traitor who took the money and moved back to Melb then had the hide to visit several clubs before “he” picked one out with the help of the then current president of Carlton. Also he will be booed forever at Pattersons – Why because we thrive on the them v us culture.
And the Eagles have sorted out their club since those dark years.
June 15th 2012 @ 2:52pm
swannies05 said | June 15th 2012 @ 2:52pm | Report comment
Being born in Perth and every family member I have outside my direct family still living there and the vast majority being Eagles supporters I feel so lucky to have relocated to Sydney when I was 5. Eagles supporters are up there with the most one eyed supporters in the competition (yes, this includes Collingwood fans). It is articles such as this, and TW’s comment that make me so happy that we were able to win in ’05 (which may I remind you the player in question here was voted best afield) and why it hurt so much in ’06 when the same player captained the Eagles to victory against us.
June 15th 2012 @ 3:42pm
TW said | June 15th 2012 @ 3:42pm | Report comment
The point about Judd leaving the Eagles was the sneaky way he did it as perceived by some of the supporter base – He was a very good footballer and he peaked at the WCE.
He had made up his mind 12 months before hand it appears and strongly denied it when questioned by the media at that time but rumours persisted around town. The fans were not happy with that situation – Was Judd going or staying.
The other eastern states players who have left the club and return to play with other clubs do not get that level of reception.
June 16th 2012 @ 6:46am
I'm a winner said | June 16th 2012 @ 6:46am | Report comment
Swans joined the comp in 1874 and have won 4 flags in 137 years
Eagles joined the comp in 1987 and have won 3 flags in 24 years
You’re obviously a guy that loves losing and hates seeing others succeed.
June 16th 2012 @ 10:18am
EddyJ said | June 16th 2012 @ 10:18am | Report comment
“I’m a winner”, you’ve got your facts wrong. The Swans have existing since 1874, but in the VFA between 1877 to 1896, they won five premierships in 1881, 1885, and 1888-89-90. They’ve won four premierships in the VFL/AFL since 1897, but nine in total since 1874. Your point is taken, that the Eagles have got a better success rate, but you haven’t got the correct facts. Anyway, so what? What’s your point?
June 19th 2012 @ 11:59am
johno said | June 19th 2012 @ 11:59am | Report comment
Swans also had a 70+ year drought, so in 1933 (36 years into their AFL/VFL existence) they were boasting 3 premierships, compared to West Coasts 3 from 24 this doesn’t seem so bad.
You just don’t know where your next premiership will come from. Just talk to Saints, Dogs and Tigers fans.
June 19th 2012 @ 6:44pm
amazonfan said | June 19th 2012 @ 6:44pm | Report comment
I don’t think you should include the VFA flags; it’s an entirely different competition. As such, I wouldn’t question criticisize IAW when it comes to facts.
June 19th 2012 @ 9:06pm
EddyJ said | June 19th 2012 @ 9:06pm | Report comment
“I’m a winner” reckons the Swans won four flags in 137 years, which covers VFA and VFL/AFL periods. It’s either nine flags in 137 years of their entire existence, or four flags in 115 years of VFL/AFL. Anyway, it’s not a great record but who’s to say that West Coast won’t win another flag for 72 years, like the Swans?