Yes the AFL has behaviour problems, while they shake their heads at the bad boys of the NRL they choose to ignore the worrying trend of the AFL clubs and the fact that not ONE club has not had some form of bad behaviour in the last few years. Lets go through them and if I leave some out, please add them below in the comments.
Last updated Dec 31st 2009
Adelaide Crows
- 2009 Nathan Bock charged with Assault
- 2008 Scott Thompson guilty to injuring a passenger & leaving scene of accident
- 2007 Simon Goodwin named in AFL Betting Probe
- 2007 Hudson, Vince & Pfeiffer break late night curfew
- 2007 Scott Welsh slaps 18 year old girl on face
- 2006 Simon Goodwin assaults photographer
- 2002 Ramsgate affair with 25 players involved
Brisbane Lions
- 2009 Albert Proud assault occasioning bodily harm
- 2008 & 2009 Hooper goes on walkabout
- 2008 Joel Macdonald fined $250 over a public nuisance charge arising from a 2.30am fight
- 2007 Voss & Black escape criminal charge
Carlton Blues
- 2009 Andrew Walker and Ryan Houlihan involved in an altercation with Crown staff.
- 2009 Carlton players kicked off Ferry where excess booze was drunk including Levi Casboult being bound to another player for a drinking game.
- 2009 Eddie Betts was arrested in the Melbourne CBD for drunkenness.
- 2009 Fevola gets drunk at the Brownlow medal and gets put up for trade.
- 2009 Eddie Betts, Cameron Cloke and Jeffrey Garlett suspended for missing recovery session.
- 2009 Setanta O’hAilpin kicks butt and punches team mate
- 2008 Fevola pees outside a building
- 2006 Fevola sent from Ireland after a drunken night
- 2004 Drug issues with Lawrence Angwin and Karl Norman
Collingwood Magpies
- 2008 Sharrod Wellingham caught drink driving.
- 2007 Didak had a wild night out with Melbourne CBD killer Christopher Wayne Hudson.
- 2007 Ben Johnson and then forward Chris Tarrant were also involved that year in a vicious brawl that left one man unconscious and led to a police investigation.
- 2006 Chad Morrison booked for drink driving.
- 2006 Brodie Holland guilty of driving without a licence and assaulting a woman over a taxi.
- 2006 Didak charged with being drunk and disorderly.
- 2004 Cameron Cloke fined $10, 000 for speeding.
- 2003 Dane Swan guilty of affray (what ever that is).
Essendon Bombers
- 2008 Tom Hislop suspended for pre season matches after an alcohol-related incident
- 2008 Lovett suspended twice for discipline reasons
Fremantle Dockers
- 2009 Players dress up as KKK members.
- 2007 Brett Peake, Steven Dodd, Des Headland and Antoni Glover were axed for drinking alcohol mid-week. Dean Solomon was late for a recovery session, while Paul Haselby missed a recovery session altogether.
- 2007 Jeff Farmer several alcohol incidents (hitting partner/ posing as Kerr).
- Heath Black was charged with assault, obstructing police and assaulting police after an incident at the Perth Cup.
- 2006 Three players returned two positive tests to illicit drug use under the new code. 1 was a Fremantle player.
- Jeff Farmer and Steven Dodd were involved in an unspecified “altercation”
- Des Headland was involved in a physical altercation on the streets of Northbridge.
- Chris Tarrant mooned a female in a Darwin nightclub and punched Damian Hale.
Geelong Cats
- 2008 David Johnson drink driving
- 2006 Steve Johnson intra club suspended
Hawthorn Hawks
- 2008 Renouf interviewed by police over damage to two parked vehicles
- 2008 Franklins anti social behaviour with girls
Melbourne Demons
- 2009 Sylvia break late night curfew
- 2008 McLean & Caroll intra club suspensions
- 2006 Ward in AFL betting probe
Kangaroos
- 2009 Chickengate – senior players make a video tape with a rubber chicken
- 2008 Grant drunk at club function
- 2006 Hale in AFL betting probe
- 2001 Wayne Carey
Port Power
- 2006 Brogan punches fan in face
- 2006 Three players returned two positive tests to illicit drug use under the new code. 1 was a Port player.
- 2002 Ramsgate affair with 25 players involved
Richmond Tigers
- 2008 Johnson pees in public
- 2005 caught drink driving and club looses TAC sponsership
St Kilda Saints
- 2009 New recruit Andrew Lovett suspended for being drunk in November & in December for alleged sexual assault.
- 2009 Goddard crossing his arms for symbol to his brother in jail
- 2007 Fraser Gehrig escapes criminal charge along with Brisbane players
- 2004 rape allegations with several players
Sydney Swans
- 2007 & 2008 Davis intra club suspension for breaking “Blood” code
- 2008 Barry Hall suspended twice for hitting players
- 2006 Jack in AFL betting probe
West Coast
- 2008 Daniel Kerr in court over bashing gate crashers
- 2008 Chris Masten suspended from pre season games for drinking incident
- 2007 Adam Selwood racial comments
- 2007 Cousins escorted to police
- 2007 Chick, Embley, Cousins etc involved in several incidents
- 2006 Gardiner crash car
- 2006 Cousins runs from Booze bus
- 2006 Three players returned two positive tests to illicit drug use under the new code. 1 was an Eagles player.
Western Bulldogs
- 2008 Akermanis claims WCE player Braun taking steriods
So lets get serious AFL, you guys are not immune to the problems that the NRL and every other sporting group has to deal with. With every club I have listed only one club at the time of publication has had less than one public incident in the last 7-8 years and that is the Western Bulldogs.
Its surprising that of the big supporter base/ financial high flyer clubs West Coast, Fremantle, Adelaide & Collingwood have the most problems while the poorer/ struggling clubs like Kangaroos, Sydney and Western Bulldogs do not.
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April 7th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Great post, spot on.
These incidents seem to taint the game’s image more than the club’s, so why is it that the AFL largely sits back and lets the clubs deal with these issues?
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April 7th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
A) the AFL did do something about it and the first person up got punished.
B) Franklins was alleged and there was conflicting evidence
c) Do we have to through out the Australian right to be innocent until proven guilty?
d) (as I said to you on twitter) I still think the only two options to fix this 100% is to either 1) Lock all AFL players in Brighton and lock everyone else out (including Wives, Family, etc) 2) Invent robots that aren’t human so you don’t get humans making human errors or just having bad judgement. And while we have it, what have the media done to clean up there own? Seems they have a lot of incidents as well? And Pollies. And Lawyers and accountants and students and, etc, etc,etc,etc,etc,etc,etc,etc.
Was there a point to the post?
Phillip Molly Malones last blog post..Disclaimer
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April 7th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Thanks Mike and Phillip for your comments. My main point of the post is not to drag out dirt on players/ humans. Heck we all have problems (and im the first to point out mine) BUT more to show that while the AFL laughs and points the finger at the NRL, they are less than perfect.
What gets me is that the boss of the NRl came out and suspended the Sea Eagles player while the club waited. Yet with the AFL, Andrew the spineless AFL leader hides behind Angry Anderson and the clubs and waits for them to make a decision.
For example the Eagles should have been pulled up a long time ago, like wise with Collingwood and now Adelaide.
I hope that explains the reason behind the post. and yes I do agree with you that a lot is over rated (and some is alleged but when their’s smoke their usually is fire) but surely these players must except their “role model” tag.
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April 7th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
I think part of my issue with the post is you say the AFL should do something but a lot of these they did!
) and would be a better list with the punishment.
a) They give the clubs a chance to disipline the players.
b) A lot of these incidents were diciplined (e.g. Renouf was suspended and made to pay for damages to the car, Thompson of crows was fined and put in a program (I believe) for problem gamblers, Hudson of crows missed a match (in fact prompting this funny skit of DT TALK
C) I don’t know that the “AFL” (are you talking supporters or the officials) are bagging the NRL. They may point to them at times when people are hammering them for doing nothing but they are doing things, but hardly bag them. Its a dangerous game doing that. I made this point on the show today in reference to the off-field incident involving spectators. No point pointing at that clubs supporters as all clubs have supporters that in a certain situation could do that!
JMTC
Phillip Molly Malones last blog post..Disclaimer
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April 7th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Phillip, your comment got swallowed up but I fixed it for you.
Some clubs do (Hawthorn like your example with Renouf) but what about Collingwood’s several incidents, the Eagles and their history, G Thomas’s handling of the rape charges and Aker bringing the game into damage control with his steroid claims??
Like I have said before, I like how the clubs do suspend players etc but i wish the AFL was a bit more pro-active.
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April 7th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Jermayn writes: :My main point of the post is not to drag out dirt on players/ humans.”
And yet that’s exactly what you do by listing them, notwithstanding that some don’t belong there.
Jermayn write again: “I hope that explains the reason behind the post. and yes I do agree with you that a lot is over rated (and some is alleged but when their’s smoke their usually is fire) but surely these players must except their “role model” tag.”
Whether you like it or not, Jermayn, you have a responsibility — at least morally, and in all probability legally — NOT to make assumptions like this.
On role model status, in an ideal world players would take the role model issue into account when contemplating an action. Newsflash: it’s not an ideal world! A player who is treated like a demi-god for nine or ten months each year, who takes on a little too much social lubricant, is unlikely to ponder his role model responsibilities before acting. Even if clubs/AFL were to attempt an alcohol ban, there’s still no guarantee that some knuckle-dragging football genius isn’t going to thump his bird at some point, or drive too fast, or . . . .
and: “and Aker bringing the game into damage control with his steroid claims??”
I THINK you mean bringing the game into disrepute rather than damage control? Why does the smoke not suggest fire in this case?
PS: Can I respectfully suggest you read what you’ve written before hitting the POST button?
aussierulesblogs last blog post..Jack Anthony, you’re the man!!!
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April 8th, 2009 at 8:27 am
I am sorry if this has caused people to be offended BUT im curious about exactly which players mentioned do NOT belong in the list above?
Yes if you or I do something wrong its not plastered on the front page but if we were AFL footballers or other high standing citizens it would be which they are. If they do not like it, they do not have to play the game.
AussieRulesBlog – I do not think what I have written is anything outrageous as its all common knowledge and what I have written is already plastered over the Net, I did it to prove that the AFL is not squeaky clean as some like to think it is. If I was dragging dirt onto the innocent I would accept that these are assumptions but only the Buddy incident have I mentioned, names a player off allegations (ie: St Kilda’s rape allegations – no names were mentioned).
I did NOT say that what he said was right or wrong. At the moment they are claims but the AFL was most disgusted about the fact that Aker ran to the media before and instead of the authorities. Braun may have taken steroids but surely going to the “drug police” would have been the wiser move.
Maybe the real issue/ conversation should be about the “Role Model” situation…
Thank you for your input AussieRulesBlog and Deano, its ok if we do not quite see eye-to-eye.
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April 7th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
wow you have opened a can of worms here Jermayn. I’m just going to put my perspective in here. i grew up in football mad melbourne and read all the papers and knew everything that was going on and it can become all too encompassing. since moving to nsw i do not read the paper, get no afl news on the tv at all and get late night matches which i have to tape. it is quite refreshing to only watch football matches, i know nothing of the politics and saga’s that go on and honestly i don’t care. Footballers get paid to play football and that is what i love watching them do. If the media want these blokes to be role models then don’t print the story…
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April 9th, 2009 at 9:05 am
Was there a point to the post?
Of course there was. It got a reaction didn’t it and it makes a point.
Certain club cultures of the past have led to misdemeanors being played down or covered up in the AFL.
The AFL and its players are not perfect and no one is but the issue here is that the AFL does have a problem that they are reluctant to tackle head on.
I see David Gallop (head of NRL) in the public eye and media willing to talk and confront these issues. He takes action immediately and so he should.
Andrew Demetriou doesn’t appear to do enough and leaving it to clubs is not adequate. No club is bigger than the game.
I also think our culture of glossing over a sportspersons’ off field behaviour because of their on field success also has something to answer for.
This topic does open a Pandora’s box but it is a great topic to discuss because issues like this one need to seriously be looked at.
Thanks Jermayn
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April 9th, 2009 at 11:06 am
Guess proof we have a problem is that the day after I post this, The AFL have yet another AFL/ sexual/ female incident that has caused many red faces this time by North Melbourne and their rubber chook named Boris.
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April 9th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
i made some horrendous decisions when i was a younger bloke and came out the other side a better person. it is what most young people do. These guys have the added variables of money and fame and i do not envy them one bit. this sort of stuff should be dealt with in-house and not through the front pages of the media. why embarrass family, friends,etc for someones stupid mistake.
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April 9th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
There is an easy solution…deregulate the Eagles…and half the problems will be gone.
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April 9th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Come on Mark, your Fremantle boys are not exactly the choir boys either…
Deano you do raise a few good points and I know for myself I have made (and still do) make big mistakes.
Some boys will always continue to make mistakes but I think gone are the days when clubs just recruit a boy to their club based on their footy skills. Nick Davis is a perfect example and we have discussed before about whether if Gary Ablett snr would get a game in todays AFL before. The point I’m trying to make is that clubs have to now play parent along with everything else.
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April 14th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
“what I have written is already plastered over the Net” — I think you’ll find that’s not much of a defence if it came to a legal scenario.
“I did it to prove that the AFL is not squeaky clean as some like to think it is.” Who are these people? Are they deaf, dumb and blind amputees?
“Maybe the real issue/ conversation should be about the “Role Model” situation…” Well, indeed. See for a discussion of the matter.
The underpinning principle we have to acknowledge is that these young men are in the position they’re in primarily because of their football skills. There is no precondition that they be Rhodes scholars or ethicists. If a club picks up a Nathan Buckley or a James Hird, they’re grateful. But a Brendan Fevola or a Steve Jonhnson are just as welcome because their on-field output is so valuable.
When society ceases to expect these testosterone-fuelled elite sports machines to be choir boys, we’ll all be better off. By all means aim for a high standard of behaviour, but let’s avoid an attack of the vapours every time one of them puts a foot wrong. Better, let’s celebrate the 95% of listed players who DON’T end up spread across page one!
aussierulesblogs last blog post..Jack Anthony, you’re the man!!!
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April 15th, 2009 at 11:27 am
Thanks for fixing that last post Jermayn. I forgot that inserting URLs sends your blog into a spin.
aussierulesblogs last blog post..Of Emperors and clothes . . .
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