Whichever way you look at it, Jason Akermanis needs to be quickly put back on a very tight leash. The only problem for the Western Bulldogs is they were the ones who gave him such a free reign in the first place.
There are two issues here: the fact he betrayed the club , and his poor on field form.
The bizarre circumstances that followed his controversial article urging gay footballers to remain in the closet have been bemusing to say the least.
Akermanis claimed another of his employers, the Herald-Sun, had betrayed his trust by altering the article, but in fact it was Akermanis that misled the Bulldogs.
Is this enough to suggest his career is at the crossroads? Should the Bulldogs sack him now?
His shocking admission reneging on his original version of events has put him well and truly in the doghouse. In a statement Akermanis later conceded he gave the article his full consent.
It seems the egg wasn’t just all over his house but also smeared on his face!
After the club spent the week in damage control and subsequently defended its player, this stunning revelation completely outraged the Bulldogs and brought the entire club into disrepute.
Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade will be pulling out what hair he has left trying to determine the best action moving forward.
Should the club make its own statement and cut its losses? Or perhaps sanction Akermanis and hope he can return to the player he once was in the second half of the year?
The club took a punt and offered the veteran one last season but unfortunately for the Bulldogs, at the moment all Akermanis is doing is lining his pockets in the media instead of repaying the faith on the field.
His form is a major concern.
He no longer has the speed or the engine to keep up in the midfield, and even up forward he’s struggling to find the footy when the game is there to be won.
This is usually the Akermanis X factor and at the moment it’s completely missing.
He seems unenthused and passive, unwilling to fight his way back into form and lacking in motivation.
Does he care more about helping the Bulldogs to a premiership, or boosting his profile and exposure within the media?
I’d say the latter, but can you blame him? Reports have suggested he’s making more money this season from his off field media commitments than his playing contract anyway, perhaps the Bulldogs need to take a look at why they agreed to allow him so much freedom in the first place?
The Bulldogs basically chose to supplement his contract by allowing him a free reign in the media to earn the difference. Right now though, it seems it certainly wasn’t worth it.
The club’s leadership group will today recommend a punishment for Akermanis.
The likely scenario is a hefty fine and some form of club imposed suspension, Akermanis has said in the past he would walk away rather than play in the seconds, and on form alone there’s no doubt he should be sent back to Williamstown.
Luckily for Akermanis it was revealed he would probably miss at least a week due to slightly aggravating his hamstring anyway.
Everyone at the Bulldogs will be hoping he can somehow change his ways, or at the very least reverse his form slump because he is a proven finals performer.
But let’s not forget you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, and this one is set in his ways.
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