Justin Koschitzke’s admission on Triple M Last week he no longer enjoyed football was hardly surprising. The St Kilda big man has struggled with injuries and form and is no longer a regular in the Saints’ line-up.
What was surprising though was the revelation he hadn’t actually enjoyed a football game for years, not even when the Saints were genuine contenders under Ross Lyon during the (almost) glory days of 2008 to 2010.
Koschitzke claimed the constant pressure of an elite player’s lifestyle had taken its toll, and the effort required to get on the park for two hours of play each weekend had all but robbed him of any enjoyment.
He also lamented the fact, even post game, there was little chance for players to let down their hair and reflect on the day’s achievements.
“…you have an hour off (after the game) to enjoy the game with the boys and have a muck around and then you go home. All of a sudden you are thinking about next week. You recover and you are on to it.”
There is no doubt the life of an AFL footballer is tough physically and, in this day and age at least, restrictive on a player’s social life.
Everyone in the AFL fish bowl is under constant scrutiny and the never ending cycling of training, playing and recovering, coupled with injuries and the pressure to perform, can suffocate the life out of those not totally dedicated to the cause.
That it has become a grind for Koschitzke is obvious. The once in a lifetime chance to play football at the top level has become nothing more than a job to him. It pays the bills, but no longer carries any prestige.
The game is now something that must be endured rather than celebrated. The childhood dream has been left shattered.
So what do we make of Koschitzke’s revelation?
There are a couple of ways of looking at it.
Some may say, “Welcome to the real world Kosi.” And they would be right to a certain extent.
Many thousands of people go through the motions at work everyday to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads.
How many people are stuck in jobs that they don’t particularly enjoy but endure anyway because the mortgage needs paying, the work is stable, the pay is good (or not), or simply because there is nothing else available?
A fair chunk of the population one would expect.
Others may question Koschitzke’s work ethic or dedication. Those that do would be able to present a strong case as well, especially considering this from Kosi:
“If I had a choice I would have loved to play footy 10 or 20 years ago when you have a few beers and have a muck around (after the game) and don’t have to think about it (again) until Tuesday night.”
While this is probably more a yearning for the less scrutinised social activities of times past, it also fires a shot at the degree of professionalism the game has attained today and the amount of preparation required to maintain that professionalism in order to present yourself in the best possible shape both on and off the field.
“It’s just the effort that it takes to prepare. The two hours that you see out there is two percent of what goes on in the footy life. Even when we were playing well and winning (there was no enjoyment).”
Koschitzke has a point. The life of an AFL footballer today is all consuming, but that comes with the sport going completely professional and players becoming full time employees of their clubs.
Compared to most of us, the players are well paid for their time in the game and accept their pay cheques eagerly.
The question must be asked then, if Koschitzke could return to a simpler, more relaxed time, would he be just as happy to accept the lower pay rate that came with it? And work a day job as well?
Of course Koschitzke is hardly the first footballer to have not been enamoured with the game at the highest level.
Gary Ablett’s brother Nathan became a premiership player on the back of a handful of games for Geelong in 2007 only to give the game away. He’d had more fun playing with his mates at Modewarre!
He later moved to the Gold Coast and was a part of the Suns inaugural squad but failed to make an impact and left the AFL scene for good soon after.
He was a talented player who, with further application, could have forged himself a successful AFL career. But the lifestyle wasn’t for him and he knew it.
He had the courage to step away from the game and follow his own path and good luck to him.
If nothing else, it opened up a spot on the list for a young player who was keen to make the AFL his life.
While all AFL footballers must feel restricted and drained at times by the constant scrutiny they find themselves under, not to mention physically run down because of the exacting toll that training and playing takes on their bodies, it is hard to imagine Joel Selwood or Jonathan Brown stating they don’t enjoy the game.
They love the contest and throw themselves willingly and fiercely into battle each weekend. They thrive on the pressure, feed off it and lift when it is at its greatest.
They are truly professional in their approach but haven’t lost the thrill of running onto the ground, proudly wearing their club colours.
Once they cross that line and enter the field, nothing else matters. It’s football time and they are still captivated by the game they have played since they were kids.
That Koschitzke has fallen out of love with football is sad. His career has had a lot of ups and downs, but it seems as if his divorce from the game began along time ago.
Perhaps he should have followed Nathan Ablett’s lead and left earlier.
Sean Lee
Expert
I thought McManus was alright. Whitnall could play a bit but didn't get the best out of himself.
Winston
Guest
Personal favourite of mine is Martin Mattner on 213 games. Can't mark can't kick can't handball can't see no right foot frequently kicks out on the full. Ok he's good at tackling, but that's not enough for him to be off this list. What about Lance Whitnall? Shaun Mcmanus?
Sean Lee
Expert
Thanks for the responses everyone. Some good discussion points raised. I'll leave the candidates for the worst 200 gamers to you. I look forward to reading them! Cheers.
Jan
Guest
Good comment Swampy - guess that's why I am not as excited as I would have been to see Kosi play his 200th. I like Kosi - don't get me wrong but as a Saints fan I too felt it came across as a lack of thanks to the St Kilda Football Club for the reasons you mentioned and as I stated in my previous comment, if he couldn't keep his negative thoughts to himself then I wished he had left it until his playing days were over.
Floyd Calhoun
Guest
Jesus Swampy, that's a cynical exercise, even by my standards. But, you've got me thinking though! Anyone who is brave enough to put that team together can expect flak on a scale this site has never seen before!
mark
Guest
Sorry Mick
mark
Guest
Mick Gayfer is the worst footballer i have seen make it to AFL level. (142 games)
mark
Guest
How many AFL games have you played Franko !.
Swampy
Guest
I want to see people come up with the candidates for worst 200 gamers ever - be a fun debate! Nick Maxwell definitely up there once he gets to 200 - mind you I respect the guy. He is the polar opposite to Kosi in that he replaced skill with work ethic and somehow became a premiership captain along the way. Rod Carter - 293 games. Couldn't kick, couldn't mark and wasn't any sort of athlete. -- Comment from The Roar's iPhone app.
Swampy
Guest
As anyone who has earned a high salary can tell you, with the salary comes sacrifice. My personal experience is that every employer gets his pound of flesh in return for that bit of extra coin. It comes across as a complete lack of thanks to St Kilda and their supporters for the good fortune and opportunity he has been provided with. I imagine he has a very nice house without any sort of mortgage stress, drives a nice car and his kids (if he has some) attend good schools that will afford them better opportunities later in life. Would he give all that back for a few beers with his mates? Makes you wonder why St Kilda persevered with him for so long? Kosi is in for a rude shock when he retires and rejoins the 'real world'. I hope he invested his earnings well... -- Comment from The Roar's iPhone app.
Samual Johnson
Guest
A lot worse than Kozzie out there. Ever see Shaun Hampson or Setanta O'Hailpin play. Not even near being footballers and only in the side due to size. Time to give it away and do something else in life by the sounds of it. He has gone on 2 or 3 years too long.
Franko
Guest
Nick Maxwell will give him a good run in the worst players to reach the 200 club, I think Nick is a couple shy.
Kev
Guest
If he gets there he'll be number 1 on the list of the worst player's to reach 200 games. I'll probably get torched for saying that but I have never understood why he is spoken about with the same amount of respect as Riewoldt when the reality is that he has barely achieved anything. He is inconsistent, injury prone and lacks awareness and he's lived off the hype of being a number 2 pick for more than a decade and is lucky he wasn't cut loose years ago.
Jan
Guest
Well said SportsFanMelb. Kosi appears to be a great guy - no one would dispute that but I agree with your comment that he could have easily dropped to a lower league and enjoyed the lifestyle he seems to yearn for. Right now Saints need all the positivity they can get so wish he had waited until after the season ended to make his feelings known. Most Saints fans want to see Kosi play his 200th - however when I heard his attitude towards playing must admit some of the anticipation of him reaching that milestone diminished for me.
SportsFanGC
Roar Guru
+100 Winston pretty fair summation of events. No one forced Kosi to stay on at the Saints, he could have easily dropped to any lower league across the country where you train twice a week, play Saturday, have beers that night and see all the boys on Tuesday night the next again. Kosi enjoyed the money and at the same time realised that there are not many jobs paying that sort of coin for unskilled workers, outside of professional sport. Still nothing stopping him from retiring now and the Saints getting a further 3 games into a younger kid who really wants to be there and make his career in the AFL.
micka
Guest
+1
Winston
Guest
I can't believe none of the posters before me have said anything controversial so far, so here goes. I would have said “Welcome to the real world Kosi.”, but Sean already made the point about comparing to the average worker, so I won't repeat here. But how about this? Don't people find it odd that he comes out to say this only after he's out of the side? He's just a whinger. Isn't he basically saying: "if only I tried hard, I could have achieved so much more, but I never tried because I wasn't interested". It souns more like an excuse for why he's playing like crap. Some Saints fans might disagree, but I think he was always a crap player. He can thank his mum and dad for making him tall, but apart from that he wasn't very good at all. He can't mark the ball to save his life, can't kick straight, can't bend down, can't chase and tackle. Worst of all, he has appalling awareness and kept getting injured because he didn't have the peripheral vision required to avoid contact. If he indeed wasn't interested, then he should have given up his spot ages ago like Sean said of Nathan Ablett. Instead what did h do? He ENJOYED being paid loads and being in the limelight, that's why he stayed on. He's only saying all this now because finally Scott Watters has the balls to drop him and he wants to justify his own incompetence by this primary school kid excuse.
RPollock
Guest
There are not many jobs paying $500k pa that where performance is not under scrutiny. Sure not media wise but scrutiny none the less. To get that kind of coin employers don't necessarily want you to enjoy yourself just get the job done. The real world is a hard place.
Brent Ford
Roar Guru
It's disappointing to hear from the big fella. It explains a lot and I want to see the big fella get to 200 and go out on a high note, mustn't be easy living in the fish bowl I think a lot of us forget this.
The Big Fish
Guest
One has to wonder. Did StKilda not pick up on this. And with currency as trade bait probably at its highest 5 or so years ago should they traded for good quality youth.?