GVGjr
24-02-2007, 11:01 AM
Behind the 'divorce' (http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21278763-10389,00.html)
Q&A With Paul Malone
February 23, 2007 11:00pm
Article from: The Courier-Mail
I wanted to ask you about how you are going to handle the Western Bulldogs game in round 11. Do you believe there is some anger towards Jason Akermanis from the players?
It's not an issue until the week comes. It's three months away. There's some great interest and the marketing people love it.
In hindsight, was there anything you'd have handled differently about the weeks and weeks of controversy surrounding Akermanis?
We've asked ourselves the question.
It's a sad time. What I guess we've also been disappointed about is everyone won.
Aker left – he wanted to go to Melbourne, that's where he believes his career path needed to take him.
Some people would have you believe we kicked him out.
Aker seems to think that.
No, he doesn't. There's a lot of misinformation about what transpired and why it transpired and what people's motivations were. We had to live with that.
The club kept a lot of its powder dry at the time. Would it have been beneficial to have had your say more?
We were the ones who have got to have the dignity.
You are trying to respect the membership and let them know what's going on.
It was always a problem we couldn't be too expansive and specific.
At some stage early in the season, Aker said he wanted to leave. He felt he needed to go to Melbourne for his career path. The next point is, he's contracted for 2007. So he had to convince us to let him go. That's what happened for the duration of the season.
Without going into details, the members and supporters need to just be aware of at least the framework of all the things that happened.
The rest, you can read between the lines.
It was a very hard time for the members and supporters.
True or false – at some stage in the 2003 grand final week you said within the club that you wanted Akermanis out of the club because of how he had revealed Nigel Lappin's injury and how he fabricated an offer from the Swans?
Ah, no. There was no one unhappy that week.
But when a player announces to the world that his teammate has a cracked rib which we were trying to keep under wraps, it's not great for the popularity.
True or false, then. You wanted him out for 2004?
It never got to that stage. If you'd have asked me the question the Monday before the grand final, I might have given you another answer.
Q&A With Paul Malone
February 23, 2007 11:00pm
Article from: The Courier-Mail
I wanted to ask you about how you are going to handle the Western Bulldogs game in round 11. Do you believe there is some anger towards Jason Akermanis from the players?
It's not an issue until the week comes. It's three months away. There's some great interest and the marketing people love it.
In hindsight, was there anything you'd have handled differently about the weeks and weeks of controversy surrounding Akermanis?
We've asked ourselves the question.
It's a sad time. What I guess we've also been disappointed about is everyone won.
Aker left – he wanted to go to Melbourne, that's where he believes his career path needed to take him.
Some people would have you believe we kicked him out.
Aker seems to think that.
No, he doesn't. There's a lot of misinformation about what transpired and why it transpired and what people's motivations were. We had to live with that.
The club kept a lot of its powder dry at the time. Would it have been beneficial to have had your say more?
We were the ones who have got to have the dignity.
You are trying to respect the membership and let them know what's going on.
It was always a problem we couldn't be too expansive and specific.
At some stage early in the season, Aker said he wanted to leave. He felt he needed to go to Melbourne for his career path. The next point is, he's contracted for 2007. So he had to convince us to let him go. That's what happened for the duration of the season.
Without going into details, the members and supporters need to just be aware of at least the framework of all the things that happened.
The rest, you can read between the lines.
It was a very hard time for the members and supporters.
True or false – at some stage in the 2003 grand final week you said within the club that you wanted Akermanis out of the club because of how he had revealed Nigel Lappin's injury and how he fabricated an offer from the Swans?
Ah, no. There was no one unhappy that week.
But when a player announces to the world that his teammate has a cracked rib which we were trying to keep under wraps, it's not great for the popularity.
True or false, then. You wanted him out for 2004?
It never got to that stage. If you'd have asked me the question the Monday before the grand final, I might have given you another answer.