Following our exes...................

[bulldogtragic]

No returns.

Pick 32 and a 3rd rounder this year seems a bit better again. Like Mitch Wallis said, something like, some guys (Adams) feel they need to leave for a fresh start with body and mind. I hope he finds it.

I agree with Wally, but this latest setback must be concerning for him. Like Tom Williams & Tim Walsh before him, some bodies just can't hold up to senior footy unfortunately, no matter how strong the mind might be.

[G-Mo77]

Such a shame for him. He's pretty dam good when healthy but he just never is

[Daughter of the West]

Nice little fluff piece in today's Spectrum about Emma Kearney.

https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment...28-h1buf5.html

I inherited my mum's white-line fever,' says AFLW's Emma Kearney
By Kerrie O'Brien

It's a good thing Emma Kearney isn't superstitious. The winner of the top award in the women's AFL last year had her front tooth knocked out in her first game of football.

"It wasn't even in the contest, it was away from the ball," she says. "Someone flung their arms out."

She was 21 and sports mad, playing hockey on Saturdays and footy on Sundays, and had left her mouthguard in her hockey bag.

When we meet at Kensington's La Tortelleria, a colourful Mexican restaurant, Kearney smiles broadly, all teeth intact, although she's sporting a shiner to her eye, having banged heads with a teammate on pre-season camp.

We opt for the chef's selection, which pares back the decision-making, and order a pinot noir for me, sparkling mineral water for her. "A nice wine would be good but I've got a practice match tonight."

At the end of last year's season, Kearney went to Mexico with a friend; the food here reminds her of what they ate in their travels, simple but flavoursome.

The trip was a celebration of a stellar year. Playing with the Bulldogs, Kearney not only won the premiership but was awarded the equivalent of the Brownlow. While clearly honoured to have won that highest accolade, she's low-key in her response.

"It's sort of surreal I guess. I still don't really see myself as one of those top line players, like Daisy Pearce or Katie Brennan, I just go about my business. I'm not one to jump at media opportunities, I just try to work hard and make the people around me better people and feel more comfortable in the environment that they're in and let my footy do the talking."

Growing up on a farm outside Hamilton, her dad used to mow ovals in the paddocks, setting one up for footy in winter and one for cricket in summer. With two brothers and a twin sister, and parents who were both active in sport, there was always someone to play - her younger brother in particular.

"I think I inherited my mum's white-line fever. She was always a very competitive person and from a very early age I was always wanting to finish things first – even if it was drinking a glass of water! Having three other siblings, you're always competing."

An Essendon fan, the young Kearney loved James Hird, and wore his number five on her back. She played Auskick from the age of four, one of two girls the group. When she turned 12 though, that was it – she was no longer allowed to play. Back then, girls just had to stop.

"So I gave up footy, I hated it there for a period. I remember if it was on TV, I would walk out of the living room, thinking 'this is not fair'. My two brothers, who were not great at AFL, were allowed to play. It probably took me about two years to get over it.

Her childhood is a far cry from life for the kids she works with at the Huddle, the North's Melbourne football club's not-for-profit arm. When we meet, she's planning a surf camp – many of the kids attending have never been to the beach.

Much of the Huddle's work revolves around the local community, many from nearby high-rise apartments, many from African backgrounds. It runs study support programs for high school kids, where volunteer tutors work with them, and offers a careers guidance service.

Kearney is responsible for the sport and recreation programs, including after-school and school holiday programs.

Encouraging kids to participate in team sports is a big focus. She has approached different sporting associations to run programs, including her alma mater at Cricket Victoria, Melbourne United basketball, Hockey Victoria and a local soccer club.

"There's something really special about belonging to a team," she says. "You feel really special when you get that uniform. That's something that I would love to be able to do [for them]."

When she moved to Ballarat to study secondary teaching, Kearney was terribly homesick. Her parents encouraged her to stick it out, as well as helping financially, as did her aunts.

"I'm super lucky to have had parents who could provide me that support," she says. "I constantly wonder how many kids don't reach their potential because one, they didn't have the opportunity, but two, because they didn't have the finances."

It prompts her to think about Aboriginal kids in remote parts of Australia, many of whom are talented athletes, but often don't have the support to reach their potential.

This year she's coaching the under 15 girls footy team in Flemington; last year it was the under 12s.

Winning the premiership with the Doggies was, she says, bittersweet. "I must admit I was pretty sad when we won, thinking this is a dream come true but knowing it was the last time I'd ever play with this group. I probably didn't enjoy the premiership win as much as I would've liked."

"During celebrations, people were saying 'Don't leave us' ... It wasn't easy telling the rest of the club. But I had to think about what I wanted to do after footy. Especially in community work, which aligns so well with my values."

Her decision to move to North was made before the women's league became a reality; the seed was planted when she took up footy as an adult, with Melbourne Uni, who had an affiliation with North Melbourne. She saw first hand North's commitment to women's footy ahead of any other club.

"So when other female clubs were training on Friday nights because they couldn't get the ground any other time, and the ground was in pretty ordinary condition, we were training Tuesday and Thursday nights at Arden Street. They would give us free tickets to games, we were able to use their change facilities, they were really supportive," she says.

While a lot of clubs support women's footy, North actively recruits women, with 31 in the football department, and a senior executive team that is 40 per cent female.

AFLW's gain last year was cricket's loss: until then, Kearney was playing Big Bash for the Melbourne Stars, juggling that with footy, as well as working full-time, often having to take unpaid leave in order to train during the day. But there was pressure to choose between the two and she was "burnt out".

Describing cricket as "the most individualistic of team sports", she says it's also a mental battle. "If it's not your day, you can't redeem yourself. In other sports, you can make a couple of mistakes and quickly make up for them. In cricket, if you bowl a couple of bad balls, that's your end, or you take a bad shot, you're done for the day. So it's a mentally draining sort of game."

An eye to a career beyond her playing days, together with her passion for footy, meant the choice was clear. How does she respond to people saying the women's game isn't as competitive as the men's? To her mind, we must stop comparing them.

"I think that's the key – it's different. We're not going to kick it as far, we're not as fast, and we don't jump as high. So the actual game is quite different – but we play quite similarly."

With time, some of that might change but for now, Kearney urges people to consider the context. Unlike the men, the women don't train full-time, many have just started playing – rather than from the age of four or five – and there hasn't been an equivalent quality of coaching for the women.

"These girls coming through who've been doing Auskick, they're going to be highly skilled, it will be hugely competitive. At the moment from the top to the bottom, there's a big gap."

Her advice to North's playing group at the pre-season camp was simple. "Work hard on your relationships outside of football. Because they're the ones that will support you through the really tough times. Sport is never going to be all happy times. If you're losing, or you're if you're injured, or you're not picked for a team, it sometimes sucks. It's about being able to lean on people outside football.".

To young girls specifically, she has a clear message. "Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do anything because I think it's fair to say that AFLW has shown that women and young girls can be whoever they want to be. If it's an AFLW player - or a doctor or a builder - you can do it."

Just make sure you wear your mouthguard.

[Axe Man]

Brian Lake to plead guilty to assault, stalking charges

Former footy legend Brian Lake has fronted court on a host of charges after he allegedly stalked a woman before going on a violent rampage at a home in Melbourne’s west last month.

The triple premiership player is expected to plead guilty to assault, stalking and trespassing offences following an incident at a home in Aintree on February 17.

The name of one of the victims was withheld from the media as the court heard she and her children had suffered “considerable distress and embarrassment”.

Lake appeared briefly in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court this morning where the matter was adjourned to Sunshine Magistrates’ court at a later date.

The court heard the former AFL star intended to plead guilty to the charges which include assault, trespassing, intentionally causing damage to a bedroom door, and stalking the victim.

Court documents reveal Lake filmed the victim in her home and used iPad software to listen to her private conversations in the two days prior to the rampage.

He did so with the intention of causing physical and mental harm to the victim including self-harm or of arousing fear for her safety, the charges read.

The court also heard an earlier charge of aggravated burglary was withdrawn and replaced with a lesser offence of trespassing.

Wearing a suit and tie, Lake did not speak during the brief hearing where his bail was also extended until his next court appearance.

The former Hawthorn star refused to answer questions from the media outside court and was quickly ferried away in a waiting car.

It comes after the 37-year-old, who last year appeared on Australian Survivor, was arrested in Japan in July following a late-night brawl.

He was never charged but spent six nights in a solitary confinement cell.

It followed a fight with his wife over the phone.

Speaking to the Herald Sun last year, Lake admitted he was doing it tough after returning from Survivor to discover his wife wanted out of their marriage.

“It wasn’t agreed upon beforehand, but it was obviously thought about,” Lake said of their marriage breakdown.

Lake will next front court on July 8.

[GVGjr]

Such a shame for all concerned.

[bulldogtragic]

Lucky for Lake they dropped the agg burg charge. I'm sinicle the court system will really do the job here. This begs out for a mild prison sentence, but with a good barrister he will walk out. Ex-player or not, this shit can't be tolerated. As for the article ending on poor Brian 'doing it tough' after survivor... How about poor victims of his crimes and poor the countless women who get bashed and many killed from domestic violence in Victoria each year... Maybe these journo's need to come out with police and go to hospitals with women with unrecognisable faces, or even stand around bashed/stabbed dead women to appreciate the wider issues here and end articles focusing on this scourge and not that poor Brian doing it tough after survivor garbage.

[bornadog]

Lucky for Lake they dropped the agg burg charge. I'm sinicle the court system will really do the job here. This begs out for a mild prison sentence, but with a good barrister he will walk out. Ex-player or not, this shit can't be tolerated. As for the article ending on poor Brian 'doing it tough' after survivor... How about poor victims of his crimes and poor the countless women who get bashed and many killed from domestic violence in Victoria each year... Maybe these journo's need to come out with police and go to hospitals with women with unrecognisable faces, or even stand around bashed/stabbed dead women to appreciate the wider issues here and end articles focusing on this scourge and not that poor Brian doing it tough after survivor garbage.

Putting that aside, I hope he sorts himself out.

[The Adelaide Connection]

Lucky for Lake they dropped the agg burg charge. I'm sinicle the court system will really do the job here. This begs out for a mild prison sentence, but with a good barrister he will walk out. Ex-player or not, this shit can't be tolerated. As for the article ending on poor Brian 'doing it tough' after survivor... How about poor victims of his crimes and poor the countless women who get bashed and many killed from domestic violence in Victoria each year... Maybe these journo's need to come out with police and go to hospitals with women with unrecognisable faces, or even stand around bashed/stabbed dead women to appreciate the wider issues here and end articles focusing on this scourge and not that poor Brian doing it tough after survivor garbage.

...and if history has taught players anything, it is that you can be the worst kind of off the rails and you won’t be made to be fully accountable for your actions and be welcomed back into clubland/media on good coin ala Carey.

I bet if Cousins could present as if he could have at least every second day off the drugs he would be special comments on Friday night footy faster than you can say “nothing to see here”.

[comrade]

Aussie Rules might be the last bastion of resistance to the MeToo movement. I can see Lake hamming it up on Fox Footy or Ch7 in 12 months time, with the studio heads rationalising it as a redemption story.

[bulldogtragic]

Aussie Rules might be the last bastion of resistance to the MeToo movement. I can see Lake hamming it up on Fox Footy or Ch7 in 12 months time, with the studio heads rationalising it as a redemption story.

I don't bet these days. But if I did, I bet the farm you're right. Is it too much to ask for some basic standards in our footy products?

[Ghost Dog]

That's, the women who actually file charges. Good post man

[The Underdog]

Aussie Rules might be the last bastion of resistance to the MeToo movement. I can see Lake hamming it up on Fox Footy or Ch7 in 12 months time, with the studio heads rationalising it as a redemption story.

He should be in prison in 12 months. *!*!*!*! that guy.

[jeemak]

Aussie Rules might be the last bastion of resistance to the MeToo movement. I can see Lake hamming it up on Fox Footy or Ch7 in 12 months time, with the studio heads rationalising it as a redemption story.

Well there'd no shortage of sycophants who will be ready to kiss his arse on that network in particular.

[Dancin' Douggy]

A kilo of boogie boards is heavier

[EasternWest]

I met Daniel Pearce tonight. I wasn't expecting to see him, but when I shook his hand and he said "Daniel", I said "Western Bulldogs Daniel?" Without even thinking about it. He looked straight at his shiftmates and asked which one put me up to it.

I had to explain to him that I knew him for less nefarious reasons. He was a nice fella.