Chris Grant lashes Akermanis

[The Coon Dog]

Jason Akermanis is a 'sad, lonely person': Chris Grant

Mark Stevens & Jon Ralph - Herald Sun - 1 June

WESTERN Bulldogs legend Chris Grant has described Jason Akermanis as a "sad, lonely person" who couldn't accept his sacking.

Grant, arguably the most respected figure at the Bulldogs, let fly at Akermanis after the former star's latest attack on the club.

"I don't know of anybody who thinks highly of him," Grant said.

Asked whether Akermanis was in danger of leading a lonely life, Grant replied: "I think he's a sad, lonely person now."

Grant's comments on superfooty.com.au's Front & Square program came days after Akermanis criticised current Bulldogs, including Brian Lake, Adam Cooney and Daniel Giansiracusa.

Article in full...

[chef]

Re: Chris Grant lashes Akermanis

I just wish everyone involved with the Dogs would just forget about him and act like he's irrelevant.

[Mantis]

Re: Chris Grant lashes Akermanis

On radio this morning Aker has already dismissed Grant's comments saying he is surrounded by good people and calls the likes of Shaun Hart, Craig McRae, Dale Morris & Brad Scott close friends.

He is made mention of a 1 on 1 chat he had in his first year at the club (2007) with Grant where they spoke about the cultural issues we had.... Many of these issues are the ones he is speaking about.

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In conversation on SEN Andy Maher described Aker as a mosquito bite, if you leave it alone it goes away, but if you scratch at it gets irritated and causes problems..... We just have to leave it alone and even though Granty was trying to do the right thing he is just giving Aker the opportunity to respond and inflame the situation.

[azabob]

Re: Chris Grant lashes Akermanis

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In conversation on SEN Andy Maher described Aker as a mosquito bite, if you leave it alone it goes away, but if you scratch at it gets irritated and causes problems..... We just have to leave it alone and even though Granty was trying to do the right thing he is just giving Aker the opportunity to respond and inflame the situation.

I'm surprised Maher said that. Was it before or after they spoke to Aker? To me Andy Maher is on your side if you are speaking to him and he is very agreeable.

Chris Grant was in a hard place with that interview, he is now a media figure so I guess being an independent person he had to answer the question as a media person first and bulldog second.
Also Chris Grant being Chris Grant he is very honest and from what I've heard on ABC radio and in the interview he is very open and honest and calls it how he see's it.

[comrade]

Re: Chris Grant lashes Akermanis

In conversation on SEN Andy Maher described Aker as a mosquito bite, if you leave it alone it goes away, but if you scratch at it gets irritated and causes problems..... We just have to leave it alone and even though Granty was trying to do the right thing he is just giving Aker the opportunity to respond and inflame the situation.

Before our game on Sunday, Rocket was asked about Aker and did his best to ignore the question and give no response. Terry Wallace and Maher both agreed that giving no response was STILL a response and proved that Aker had gotten under Rocket's skin.

Bit of a contradiction from Maher this morning.

[Mantis]

Re: Chris Grant lashes Akermanis

I'm surprised Maher said that. Was it before or after they spoke to Aker? To me Andy Maher is on your side if you are speaking to him and he is very agreeable.

Aker was on MTR this morning and part of what he said was discussed on SEN by Maher & Watson.

Chris Grant was in a hard place with that interview, he is now a media figure so I guess being an independent person he had to answer the question as a media person first and bulldog second.
Also Chris Grant being Chris Grant he is very honest and from what I've heard on ABC radio and in the interview he is very open and honest and calls it how he see's it.

I agree with that, but all Aker (and the media) see is ex- Bulldog Chris Grant speaks out about Aker's comments and it snowballs from there.

Granty wasn't trying to inflame the situation, and was just answering a question as honestly as he could, but that honesty gives Aker's comments the airplay he is after such that he has something to talk about.

[azabob]

Re: Chris Grant lashes Akermanis

I agree with that, but all Aker (and the media) see is ex- Bulldog Chris Grant speaks out about Aker's comments and it snowballs from there.

Totally agree.

[ratsmac]

Re: Chris Grant lashes Akermanis

I've said it once and I'll say it again, Aker is a TWAT!

[LostDoggy]

Re: Chris Grant lashes Akermanis

I just wish everyone involved with the Dogs would just forget about him and act like he's irrelevant.

It was a long interview with Grant (and totally worth watching if you haven't) and really
he only touched on Aker briefly, and what he said was quite mild if you take it in context.
It's not in the Herald Suns interests though to be subtle or to worry about context .

[LostDoggy]

Re: Chris Grant lashes Akermanis

I take on board what you are all saying about Chris giving Aker mileage, but in all honestey, he was just answering a question fired at him. What would we expect/like him to do - I think he is very honest and I admire him for this! Yes, he gives that dip s**t ammunition, but Aker is never going to go away! Does he (Aker) still work on that radio station (MTR = Men Talking Rubbish)? Great example of well-educated and measured commentary on lots of things there I hear! (I fess up, I have never listened to that station after hearing people talk about it!)

[ledge]

Re: Chris Grant lashes Akermanis

Chris the ultimate good guy even when talking about some twat he was very careful and respectful, but just read between the lines if CG is saying something isnt right about someone that someone has done something very wrong.
Even at the end he said he was a good bloke to a certain extent.
Aker I would love to ask, how the hell can you say bad things about CG?
Chris wasnt giving any mileage at all he is in the media, if the media asks a question he is employed to answer it.
Love the way the media asks questions out to get some sort of reaction so they can write it up.
Chris would have known it was coming and had his answer ready.

[Sedat]

Re: Chris Grant lashes Akermanis

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but we should have let him rot at Williamstown for the rest of the season last year (I was pro sacking and totally understand why we did this at the time). Easier said than done as he would have provided an internal distraction in our late season push for September, but the reality is that he is winning the ensuing PR battle out there now purely because he is fanning the flames via his many and varied media platforms and causing damage to the Bulldogs brand in the process. And we are being too nice to the scumbag by refusing to respond, allowing his tainted views to fester out there with no rebuttal - the media are lapping it up as he is a human headline and they trade in headlines.

So how do we handle this from now on? Continue to ignore it? That hasn't helped us all that much to be honest, and the media won't allow us to ignore it. I'd like to see a mysterious leaked memo somehow land in the hands of the media outlining all the written warnings he had over the course of his tenure at the Dogs and the reasons for these written warnings. Let the footy world know that has was warned repeatedly about his behaviour over a long period of time (highlighting specific incidents) and was only lucky that the benevolence of the Dogs prevented him from being thrown out of the game in disgrace from his self-inflicted wounds. Watch the media and the public (including some of our own supporters) turn on him then. We'll be asked about the memo and we can play dumb and say that any such discussions were private and personal, and that "we've moved on from the situation long ago and we had hoped by now that Jason and the media would have". Then let the media continue to feast on the Akermanis carcass as he then flails about and hangs on his own rope by trying to defend himself from factual proof that his behavouir was unacceptable and that he was warned time and time again to change. The story then becomes wholly and solely about Akermanis.

It's getting to the point that somerhing needs to be done once and for all to shut him up and expose the full story behind his justified sacking. Time to play dirty.

[Grantysghost]

Re: Chris Grant lashes Akermanis

Hearing him say he had lost the passion to play at the end of his career was of more interest than the Aka stuff for me.

[turtle]

Re: Chris Grant lashes Akermanis

I don't worry about the Aker too much. Whilst there might be some valilidity in what he says, its done with such malice that it removes any currency due to lack of objectivity.

I was more interested in the great man's view of the list and the coach. It's the most most honest assessment of the position of our list I have heard from someone connected to the club. In a lot of ways we are at the crossroads. Fo we reload and have another crack with the guys being fitter or look completely at the younger guys coming through and getting them to 30-50 games ASAP.

Re: Rocket, I have been wavering a little bit on him in the last few weeks. I was getting the feeling that maybe the message is getting a little bit old, but after hearing Chris talk about him in such glowing terms, I hope we keep the faith and give him all the support he needs

[Doc26]

Re: Chris Grant lashes Akermanis

Sedat, I to question the tactic of simply keeping silent and it will go away.

I'm sick of us being caught in the ropes whenever he sees it as opportune to vent his spleen. This is not going away in a hurry as he's building his post AFL career out of it and he will look for mileage whenever he can.

Like Brisbane have now managed to achieve, we now need to find a way to pass on the Akermanis baton.

Not unlike the tactics employed by political parties we should be looking to put out in the public domain, of course unbeknowns to us and unrelated to anything to do with his time at the Dogs, some skeletons of his past. We need to manufacture a distraction for him, one that he's forced to defend and one that finally will divert attention from us.

As he's only ever been a mouthpiece away from p,ssing people off, I'm sure there would be many suitors willing to oblige.