The news that Collingwood and Geelong had reached agreements with Bobby Hill and Ty Stengle to depart the club was hardly a surprise.
But that didn’t make hearing it any less disappointing as both were extremely talented players who starred on the biggest stages for their clubs.
Premierships, All-Australian selection and a Norm Smith medal bear testament to the ability they possessed.
More importantly they are also people who I care about having enjoyed the interactions I have had with them over the years. Like their teammates and coaches and fans, I only want the best for them in the next chapter of their lives.
But their untimely departures raise questions in my mind about whether we need to reevaluate the way we manage players as they learn what is required to be a professional athlete.
Although ultimate responsibility sits with each individual, the game needs to have an honest look at what it can learn from such untimely departures.
The first and most important question to consider is why the game seems to allow players to continue to make mistake after mistake without them being held accountable.
That’s all players regardless of background, gender or talent.
My impression is that the clubs, the AFL and the Players’ Association have become comfortable with a system which allows players too much protection the first time they commit relatively minor indiscretions.
If the offence enters the public arena they might receive a two-match ban.
Otherwise the clubs, association and league are more inclined to keep the transgression behind closed doors to work with the player while they keep contributing to the business of winning.
That approach sets individuals up for failure because they have the opportunity to move further and further away from meeting the standards required to be a professional athlete. It then becomes more difficult for them to adjust and reset themselves.
I am not naive. Such an approach has been part of professional sport for aeons but in the era of unrelenting media coverage, wellbeing and personal issues are too often being used to protect individuals from unwanted scrutiny if they muck up.
Some argue that such a strategy has had successes no-one hears about.
But we also see the results of that approach when players gradually drift from the club and eventually train spasmodically.
It is disappointing for all involved, particularly when you wonder if some tough love early would have set the players on a more realistic course.
I suspect it would and if it didn’t it at least shows players what the expectations will be in the real world when skill at football means little and there is no-one to protect you.
Soon after I was charged with possessing cocaine in February 2010 (I eventually accepted a 12-month good behaviour bond) the club told me to go away for three months and work in a real job away from the team. It was hard work with no certainty as to what lay ahead.
I learned that the privilege of being an AFL player could be taken from me instantly and I would need to work to win back the respect of the league, club, teammates and supporters.
Such hard conversations would also force players to face the prospect that being a professional athlete might not be for them before clubs spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and expect teammates and coaches to speak in riddles about their absence from training or the club.
That doesn’t mean those in charge show no empathy for a player’s background or individual circumstances when developing them as a professional athlete. Not at all. Clubs must support people inside their environment.
Understanding players and building good relationships with them is an essential part of any successful club.
I am arguing that all players have to meet a certain standard regardless of who they are, their life experiences, or where they come from.
If they aren’t met, then the player faces consequences.
I would expect clubs, the league and the players’ association to review the decisions which led to Hill and Stengle’s departures from their clubs.
A mature conversation needs to be had about what happens if a player is not rocking up to training yet is still being rewarded with an income.
A conversation should also be held about the prospect of applying penalties to players who don’t meet required standards in real time to give them an incentive to lift their game.
Such penalties could set them up for a life beyond the AFL rather than rationalising a reason for someone to play the week after a misdemeanour because they are talented.
It will also reduce any disincentive a club might have in taking in players from various backgrounds or offering them long-term deals if they know they can deal with situations as they arise how they see fit.
People in footy want the best for players but development can only occur when consequences result from behaviour. And the sooner that happens, the better.
That’s the real world where the most important lessons are learned.
Mathew Stokes is a Larrakia man who played 200 games with Geelong and Essendon. He played in Geelong’s 2007 and 2011 premiership teams.
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Mathew Stokes is a Larrakia man who played 200 games with Geelong and Essendon. He played in Geelong’s 2007 and 2011 premiership teams.
