Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong for the Western Bulldogs in the lead-up to the 2015 AFL season.
Their captain Ryan Griffen walked out after his relationship broke down with Brendan McCartney, who exited himself shortly after.
Adam Cooney was traded, and yet more on-field experience in Shaun Higgins opted for a fresh start at North Melbourne.
Then after Christmas there was a mutual decision between president Peter Gordon and CEO Simon Garlick for Garlick to also finish up at the Bulldogs.
It appeared that life was then starting to settle at the Kennel under new coach Luke Beveridge, but in the first NAB challenge match inside the first ten minutes, the Dogs’ number one midfielder, Tom Liberatore, went down with a knee injury, putting him out for the season.
Then during the week, just as preparations for Round 1 appeared to be truly getting underway for the Bulldogs, the story broke that a senior player and an unnamed VFL player were being investigated as part of a betting scandal.
The bet relates to last weekend’s match between the Bulldogs and Demons in Ballarat, a game which Lachie Hunter did not play.
The bet was reportedly laid at half-time of the match, using Hunter’s betting account. It is believed the bet also included a wager on some football matches.
Hunter is claiming he didn’t lay the bet and as soon as he was told about it, he informed Bulldogs officials. It is now in the hands of AFL integrity officer Brett Clothier.
Hunter said he was taken by surprise that the bet was laid by someone who had access to his account and the allegations are that it was the unnamed Footscray VFL player.
Why though would Hunter give his VFL teammate access to the account?
He may not have known that a bet was going to be laid on the Bulldogs game, but with the greatest respect my wife doesn’t even know my pin number for my bank cards, and vice versa.
All AFL players should have a strong knowledge of the rules associated with betting on games, so there is really no excuse for a player to be associated with the act.
The AFL has tactics in place to prevent officials and players from placing bets on games. However, with online betting on a steep rise the challenge will clearly become far greater in the coming years.
This might be seen as going over the top, but I believe while you are an active sports person at an elite level, no matter the sport, betting has to be banned.
This incident rounds off a dirty time for Hunter, who had already incurred a three-match club suspension stemming from arriving late to a recovery session after the Bulldogs’ win over Richmond in their first NAB Challenge match last month.
As part of his three-match penalty, Hunter will already miss Round 1 against the Eagles on Easter Sunday, but there’s a good chance that that might only be the tip of the iceberg.
Hunter keeps pleading his innocence that he didn’t lay the bet, but if he gave his mate access to his account, that’s stupidity and for that the suspension should be increased.
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