http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/flawed-eagles-hardly-heinous/2007/04/06/1175366477203.html
TONIGHT West Coast hosts Collingwood and, while having great respect for the views of my colleague and friend Robert Walls, I'll be happy to see the locals play well.
While the recent behaviour of some of their players has damaged football's image, I don't believe the Eagles are evil. Their effort last week, to travel to Sydney and win without Cousins, Cox, Fletcher, Embley, and Hansen, was outstanding. But it is, of course, less than half the story.
The rest is that they played the game under the most extreme scrutiny. Most tipsters believed the pressure on the club, largely driven by the excesses of its most influential player, Ben Cousins, would cause the premier to topple. We were wrong. Of course no further proof was needed that West Coast is a very good footy team.
While last week underlined it, it also served to prove that they are as responsive as any other team to the spur of criticism and the prospect of vindication. Usually, the spur is only about football; this time the issues went well beyond the game. Sport was truly being played out against the backdrop of life.
Clearly, the Eagles represent some of what is unhealthy in our lifestyles as well as much of what is good. No one is recommending the use of mind-altering drugs, merely acknowledging that they exist in our society and will inevitably touch football. As Andrew Demetriou said, just because a person has become addicted to drugs doesn't mean he/she is bad.
Furthermore, footballers have done worse things than use illicit drugs without arousing the storm of indignation Cousins and company have faced. Accusations of gang rapes through the years have barely prompted a whisper. Assaults in bars have been seen as the sort of things blokes do when they're letting off steam.
As for the abuse of alcohol, David Parkin told a story last weekend of having blood-tested his Carlton players at Sunday morning training in the early 1980s, to test for after-effects from the previous night. The results were alarming, one player still reading 0.113.
Of course, West Coast and its players don't deserve to be championed for the behaviour that has recently emerged. The club must ask itself whether more could have been done to avoid it or deal with it. They must also ask whether the unique place of their club in the community may have contributed to what has transpired.
Claims about the Eagles' unhealthy level of power in Perth, even extending to the local press, are common. It is time for some brutal honesty that should not be camouflaged by impressive on-field performance. Moreover, the game as a whole must attempt to learn from the experience. One thing to become obvious is that massive confusion exists over the two separate drug codes the AFL now runs.
Many are assuming that West Coast players have gained an unfair advantage on the field although none has returned a positive result under the WADA code. One contribution to this paper's letter page during the week suggested that under the AFL's code Ian Thorpe would have two more strikes.
Some of the radio discussion on the issue has been so ill-informed as to be depressing. That is the level of confusion the AFL has created for itself.
As for the Eagles being evil, sadly we have greater problems. At a function during the week I heard a man speak of his experience mentoring troubled youth. The great fear of one boy, too troubled to avoid a detention centre but too young to be there, was that the lights would be turned out at night and he would be left in the dark.
Then there are other sports, like cricket. There the big issue isn't a few performers taking drugs; it's the apparent murder of a national coach.
Now that sounds like true evil.
Thought it was a pretty good article.
Well balanced and not full of **** like most of the other articles about the saga.
TONIGHT West Coast hosts Collingwood and, while having great respect for the views of my colleague and friend Robert Walls, I'll be happy to see the locals play well.
While the recent behaviour of some of their players has damaged football's image, I don't believe the Eagles are evil. Their effort last week, to travel to Sydney and win without Cousins, Cox, Fletcher, Embley, and Hansen, was outstanding. But it is, of course, less than half the story.
The rest is that they played the game under the most extreme scrutiny. Most tipsters believed the pressure on the club, largely driven by the excesses of its most influential player, Ben Cousins, would cause the premier to topple. We were wrong. Of course no further proof was needed that West Coast is a very good footy team.
While last week underlined it, it also served to prove that they are as responsive as any other team to the spur of criticism and the prospect of vindication. Usually, the spur is only about football; this time the issues went well beyond the game. Sport was truly being played out against the backdrop of life.
Clearly, the Eagles represent some of what is unhealthy in our lifestyles as well as much of what is good. No one is recommending the use of mind-altering drugs, merely acknowledging that they exist in our society and will inevitably touch football. As Andrew Demetriou said, just because a person has become addicted to drugs doesn't mean he/she is bad.
Furthermore, footballers have done worse things than use illicit drugs without arousing the storm of indignation Cousins and company have faced. Accusations of gang rapes through the years have barely prompted a whisper. Assaults in bars have been seen as the sort of things blokes do when they're letting off steam.
As for the abuse of alcohol, David Parkin told a story last weekend of having blood-tested his Carlton players at Sunday morning training in the early 1980s, to test for after-effects from the previous night. The results were alarming, one player still reading 0.113.
Of course, West Coast and its players don't deserve to be championed for the behaviour that has recently emerged. The club must ask itself whether more could have been done to avoid it or deal with it. They must also ask whether the unique place of their club in the community may have contributed to what has transpired.
Claims about the Eagles' unhealthy level of power in Perth, even extending to the local press, are common. It is time for some brutal honesty that should not be camouflaged by impressive on-field performance. Moreover, the game as a whole must attempt to learn from the experience. One thing to become obvious is that massive confusion exists over the two separate drug codes the AFL now runs.
Many are assuming that West Coast players have gained an unfair advantage on the field although none has returned a positive result under the WADA code. One contribution to this paper's letter page during the week suggested that under the AFL's code Ian Thorpe would have two more strikes.
Some of the radio discussion on the issue has been so ill-informed as to be depressing. That is the level of confusion the AFL has created for itself.
As for the Eagles being evil, sadly we have greater problems. At a function during the week I heard a man speak of his experience mentoring troubled youth. The great fear of one boy, too troubled to avoid a detention centre but too young to be there, was that the lights would be turned out at night and he would be left in the dark.
Then there are other sports, like cricket. There the big issue isn't a few performers taking drugs; it's the apparent murder of a national coach.
Now that sounds like true evil.
Thought it was a pretty good article.
Well balanced and not full of **** like most of the other articles about the saga.
