Load Gun, Point at Foot, SHOOT! | Thebigtip

Here we go again. Another of sport’s characters is given the boot. Jason Akermanis was today sacked by the Western Bulldogs for being exactly the same person they signed up in 2007. It will be a great loss for football. Jonathon Brown is now the only true remaining character in AFL football.  He is outside the mould of the media savvy, straight down the line prototypes, being manufactured at AFL clubs today. There is of course Brendan Fevola as well, but he is best placed under the banner of ‘raving lunatic’.

Love him or hate him, Jason Akermanis has been an integral part of AFL football for over a decade now. Fans have loved watching him on the field.  He was something different, someone no other player could quite replicate. Sure he polarised many with his incessant media presence, and tendencies to tackle/create controversial issues, but he is exactly the kind of character the AFL needed. A player people both love and hate is a draw card, no doubt about it. Shane Warne was just the same. The Australian Cricket Team was perhaps denied potentially its greatest cricket captain ever, because Shane Warne was a little too alternative the conservative powers that be. He was still invaluable on the field, as Akermanis' experience would be for the Dogs come finals time.

One can only feel that with six weeks to go, and still within reach of a flag, the Bulldogs may have made a big mistake here. If all goes according to plan, the Dogs should finish in the top four. If this happens, they have a playing list that can cause some damage. As good as they look on paper though, experience still counts for a lot at the pointy end of the season. Who has experience in September? Umm, lets see…what’s his name, I can’t think of it….he has mismatching facial hair…a jaw that never stays still….oh yes, JASON AKERMANIS!

Akermanis may well be that fine line for the Dogs, between premiership success, and further Western heartbreak. We cannot assume to know what has happened behind closed doors out at Whitten Oval, but surely the Dogs need all the experience they can muster. They are up against Geelong, Collingwood, St.Kilda and possibly even a rampaging Hawthorn, none of which equate to a walk in the park.

The majority of Bulldogs fans are angry about Akermanis’ sacking.  SEN radio station was inundated with calls, a majority in support of Jason.  Comments on articles in The Age have been mostly against the clubs decision. Did he really do anything wrong?  The club knew from the outset that he has a presence in the media after all?

It is done now. We have lost another character of the game. Love him or hate him, he is the kind of personality that is needed in sport. Who is going to stir up controversy now? The AFL needs someone to stir the pot and keep them on their toes. However outrageous his comments were, they always promoted healthy debate in a public forum, and that is not a bad thing is it?

Do you agree with the sacking? Have the Western Bulldogs just shot themselves in the foot? What would you have done?  Comment below.

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