Ever wonder how different a player's career might have turned out if, by some unlucky quirk of fate, they'd started their careers at a less successful club? Dermott Brereton at St Kilda? Glen Jakovich at the Brisbane Bears? Mick Martin at Fitzroy? Shane Fell at Fremantle?
Might be a very different story, you'd think.
A good full-back was Mick, but out of the four "star" players mentioned above, it's hardly conceivable he'd have been a premiership player at the Roys. Unlike the Roos.
So you'd think ungrateful Mick might sit back and have a good hard think about the two premierships the Kangaroos had given him -- which except for the yips, should have been three -- before taking potshots at them.
Mick Martyn will regret his ridiculous and selfish behaviour over Glenn Archer's testimonial, just as Doug Hawkins clearly became more and more uncomfortable as last week progressed with his revelation he was still at odds with the Western Bulldogs.
Stars leave a bitter taste
Mick Martyn will regret his ridiculous and selfish behaviour over Glenn Archer's testimonial, just as Doug Hawkins clearly became more and more uncomfortable as last week progressed with his revelation he was still at odds with the Western Bulldogs. Martyn, as it turned out, had planned to boycott his two-time premiership teammate's dinner last night as some sort of ridiculous statement about the manner in which the Kangaroos treated him. He chose to air his continuing bitterness against North Melbourne in general, but coach Dean Laidley in particular, on Triple M yesterday. He appeared to have changed his mind about turning up at the testimonial but said he would be going nowhere near Laidley. Someone should have suggested that perhaps it was not, in this case, all about Mick. Martyn alluded to some sort of sinister ill-treatment by his old club after the Bali bombing. In fact, Laidley delisted the ageing defender, as Denis Pagan had done previously, except that this time his exit from Arden Street was final. Laidley reportedly had no qualms about sacking Martyn, believing him to be well and truly finished. One year under Pagan at Carlton did little to change anyone's opinion. There are people at Carlton who still shake their heads at Martyn's selfishness last season. In yesterday's Age, Laidley took a veiled swipe at individuals thinking they were bigger than the football club. Laidley was correct. The disturbing increase in player-initiated mid-season retirements goes against the ethos of the team. Some players simply cannot cope with the prospect of losing football and Martyn coped worse than most. Clearly traumatised by what had occurred at Kuta Beach and the state of his teammate Jason McCartney, the impression is the delisting would have been shocking for Martyn whatever the circumstances. But given his family's long love affair with the Kangaroos, Martyn should have found closure by now. Clearly, Laidley still bears some animosity towards his old teammate for his behaviour at the end but for Martyn to publicly turn on a club with which he achieved such highs was undignified and personally embarrassing - and, to repeat, selfish to distract from the testimonial of Archer, of all people. Clubs are getting better at respecting their histories and their past champions but there will always be players who believe those clubs owe them a living. Whether or not that is true of Hawkins, he certainly has given that impression. Interestingly, he, too, spent his final season at another club and has said in the past he regretted that, despite being a better pick-up than Martyn was for Carlton. Pagan, who spoke at Archer's celebration, once famously said of another prodigal son that there can be no winners when clubs fall out with their champions. That was the case, too, with Hawkins, who claimed his feud with the Bulldogs really boiled down to his distaste for chairman David Smorgon. But downgrade Smorgon, the public face of the club, and you downgrade the Bulldogs. Hawkins' media career never really recovered from what followed his decision to leave Channel Nine but if he has an image to uphold as he continues to forge a career in the media and public speaking, it is that of the loveable larrikin, the boy from Braybrook whose heart never truly left the west. But there was nothing loveable about publicly complaining at having to pay to attend a club function. Hawkins came across as mean-spirited and his attempt to redress the situation on Channel Nine's The Footy Show three nights ago was unconvincing and not a little sad.
bullshit. mick would never do that.
Posted by: trev | 09 May 2008 at 11:23