Dogs declare interest but for now I'm just chilling
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday July 24, 2009
JUST before Swans fans start pulling out those Barry Hall voodoo dolls, and poking pins into "my" right leg, let me say that despite the Bulldogs indicating this week they plan to speak to me about my future, I am not sure if I want to be a footballer again.First of all, I guess if any club wants to talk, that's OK, but that only really means they want to know where I am at, and while they might be interested, it doesn't mean they definitely want to sign me.Where am I at? Well, I'm talking a holiday in the snow. I'm having a good time and, to be honest, while I miss being around the club and the guys, I'm not missing footy. I didn't watch the game last weekend because it's still a bit hard at this stage. I'll step right away from footy in general and just work out whether I miss it or not, and whether I want to go through the steps to come back or not.It's been good to get away and turn off the phone so it's not ringing every three seconds. There's been lots of talk going on, and people giving their advice on what I should or shouldn't do, but we've told all interested parties we don't want to talk about it any further at the moment. When we are ready to talk, we'll come to them. The way I see it is we won't talk about anything in depth or make any decision for another month or two months.A couple of people have jokingly suggested to me in the past week that maybe instead of footy or boxing, I should perhaps think about playing rugby league next year because you can belt someone and virtually get away with it. I don't know about that, but I have noticed there has been a bit of publicity around some of the punches thrown in the State of Origin and the Wests Tigers game last weekend.I think if you ask most grown men watching that stuff, they will tell you they love it, and they are of course one market the game is aimed at. But you always have to think of the kids in these situations, and whenever I did something stupid on the field, that was one thing that hit home with me after the event the responsibility you have, as an example for the kids.From a parents' point of view, while dad might like watching the biff, you wouldn't want your kid getting involved in the same sort of violence.I got a fair few weeks of suspension for striking during my career, and while I probably wouldn't have got as long if I was in rugby league, the AFL has taken a stance and got it right. I know they are totally different cultures and sports and administrations, but I think for the sake of keeping kids in their game for the future, rugby league should start looking at doing the same.Having a look at last weekend's results, and like everyone else I guess, the one that caught my eye was Hawthorn doing a job on Collingwood.Sure it was an upset, but I can't say I'm totally surprised by it. They have the players to cause any team some trouble, and I still reckon if Hawthorn can make the eight, they can cause damage in the finals.It's a long season, and it's all about peaking at the right time, and maybe the Hawks could be timing their run to perfection. I know it's only one win although it was a good one, by all reports but they are getting players back from injury, and getting some game fitness into them, and I'll be very interested to see how they perform in the next few weeks.As strange as it may sound about a team that is in 10th place with only six rounds to go, I think Hawthorn could still be some sort of chance this season. History tells you it's very, very hard to win a flag from outside the top four, and I don't even know if the Hawks could make the top four even if every single result went their way, but if any team could give it a shake from outside the four, it's Hawthorn with all their stars up and going, and performing at their peak.I know everyone expects the Saints and Cats to be playing on the last Saturday in September, and justifiably so, but the Bulldogs are not too far away, and are capable of beating any team on their day, too.Having said all that, you have to admit it would be great to see St Kilda and Geelong fighting it out on grand final day, because you know it will be a quality game, and won't be one of those one-sided contests.
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald
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