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WESTERN Bulldogs legend Chris Grant has urged Jason Akermanis to play on and repay the club.
Grant declared Akermanis was still capable of playing a role in the Dogs' tilt for a premiership - as long as his mind was right.
"I think he owes it not only to himself, but his football club, to give himself every opportunity to help the club win the flag," Grant said.
"They (Bulldogs) are almost the only team in the competition that went out on a limb to actually get him.
"They've given him some sort of self-respect and respect back in the system so he should (play on)."
The comments from Grant, a former skipper and revered figure at the club, came as Akermanis was last night weighing up his future.
Akermanis yesterday copped an ultimatum by the Dogs to choose between football and the media and a decision will be made by noon today
Grant said Akermanis's breach of trust after his Herald Sun column on homosexuality was extremely serious, but made it clear the 33-year-old would be no help to the Dogs if he retired.
"He should be in the frame of mind of thinking 'How can I help this footy club?'," Grant said.
"He should be thinking: 'This is not the best two weeks I've ever had at this club, but I reckon at the end of the day I need to give something back here'."
It is believed Akermanis will serve a two-week suspension if he decides to continue to put his media commitments to the side for the rest of the year.
Grant said the club had to be tough on Akermanis, who made misleading comments after his controversial May 20 Herald Sun column.
"You just can't do that - and it wouldn't matter if it was Robert Murphy or Jason Akermanis," Grant said. "If that's occurred, he cops his right whack.
"They (the club) have a right to be angry about that and draw a line in the sand as to what's acceptable."
Akermanis has been hampered by a nerve problem in his hamstring, but Grant - a part-time marking coach and mentor at the Bulldogs - has no doubt he can get his body right with rest.
Grant said the only issue for the 33-year-old would be his mind.
"There's the old argument that if you're thinking about retirement, you're retired," Grant said.
"If he's thinking about that, then he's gone anyway.
"If he's thinking the world is against him and it's best to retire, then he has to retire - you can't ever get that out of your mind.
"Aker needs to make an honest assessment of what he reckons his body and mind is able to do - at the end of the day he's got to be in the frame of mind to do it."
Grant said Akermanis would benefit from taking a long-term view and aiming to be in peak physical shape at Round 22, heading into the finals.
"If he looks at the season as a marathon and he needs to just be there by the 42km mark, I reckon he's got the ability to be able to do that," Grant said.
"If he takes the frame of mind, 'I'm in poor form because my body's broken down a bit and I'm going to give myself every opportunity to be in as good a nick as I can by Round 22 to make an impact', I reckon he can do that."
Grant said Akermanis had been more than worth the effort over his 3 1/2 years.
"Up until this year, he's earned every game he's got - and plus," Grant said.
Grant said every serious finals challenger needed a list of 25 to 30 players capable of having an impact, and Akermanis was an "outstanding" option.
Grant declared Akermanis was still capable of playing a role in the Dogs' tilt for a premiership - as long as his mind was right.
"I think he owes it not only to himself, but his football club, to give himself every opportunity to help the club win the flag," Grant said.
"They (Bulldogs) are almost the only team in the competition that went out on a limb to actually get him.
"They've given him some sort of self-respect and respect back in the system so he should (play on)."
The comments from Grant, a former skipper and revered figure at the club, came as Akermanis was last night weighing up his future.
Akermanis yesterday copped an ultimatum by the Dogs to choose between football and the media and a decision will be made by noon today
Grant said Akermanis's breach of trust after his Herald Sun column on homosexuality was extremely serious, but made it clear the 33-year-old would be no help to the Dogs if he retired.
"He should be in the frame of mind of thinking 'How can I help this footy club?'," Grant said.
"He should be thinking: 'This is not the best two weeks I've ever had at this club, but I reckon at the end of the day I need to give something back here'."
It is believed Akermanis will serve a two-week suspension if he decides to continue to put his media commitments to the side for the rest of the year.
Grant said the club had to be tough on Akermanis, who made misleading comments after his controversial May 20 Herald Sun column.
"You just can't do that - and it wouldn't matter if it was Robert Murphy or Jason Akermanis," Grant said. "If that's occurred, he cops his right whack.
"They (the club) have a right to be angry about that and draw a line in the sand as to what's acceptable."
Akermanis has been hampered by a nerve problem in his hamstring, but Grant - a part-time marking coach and mentor at the Bulldogs - has no doubt he can get his body right with rest.
Grant said the only issue for the 33-year-old would be his mind.
"There's the old argument that if you're thinking about retirement, you're retired," Grant said.
"If he's thinking about that, then he's gone anyway.
"If he's thinking the world is against him and it's best to retire, then he has to retire - you can't ever get that out of your mind.
"Aker needs to make an honest assessment of what he reckons his body and mind is able to do - at the end of the day he's got to be in the frame of mind to do it."
Grant said Akermanis would benefit from taking a long-term view and aiming to be in peak physical shape at Round 22, heading into the finals.
"If he looks at the season as a marathon and he needs to just be there by the 42km mark, I reckon he's got the ability to be able to do that," Grant said.
"If he takes the frame of mind, 'I'm in poor form because my body's broken down a bit and I'm going to give myself every opportunity to be in as good a nick as I can by Round 22 to make an impact', I reckon he can do that."
Grant said Akermanis had been more than worth the effort over his 3 1/2 years.
"Up until this year, he's earned every game he's got - and plus," Grant said.
Grant said every serious finals challenger needed a list of 25 to 30 players capable of having an impact, and Akermanis was an "outstanding" option.
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