By Kevin Hillier
REGULAR readers of this column will know Rodney Eade is a mate of mine, I wrote a biography on him just two years ago. I was not happy he was sacked by the Bulldogs last week, I was also not happy when Terry Wheeler got the sack either. I am sure listeners to my radio shows were not happy when I got the sack from Gold FM or 3AK. Some might have been. That is life, we deal with it. Time will tell whether it was the right decision and even that may not be definitive. What I do want to say is that from day one Rodney was fantastic to work with at events for the club. He was always giving with the supporters and never gave me a hard time before or after any of our stage appearances. He answered the hard questions and was an entertaining and engaging speaker. I thoroughly enjoyed the banter with him on and off stage. We had our differences over a few issues which seemed very healthy to me. I have no doubt he will be involved in footy in the future. He should be as he has a lot to offer.
ON the day Rodney was sacked I was to host a special charity version of “Inside the Kennel’ at the Pound Cafe at Whitten Oval. I will be honest and say I hoped the club would cancel it. They didn’t and I am glad they stuck to their guns. Chief operating officer Robert Stubbs addressed the crowd and answered the tough questions and then Matty Boyd and Bob Murphy did the same. I did not hold back with the questions to all three and they handled it honestly and brilliantly. It was tough but they showed class and style with the way they handled it. You could tell it hurt Matt and Bob but they knew they had a job to do.
WHAT a start to a career did the likeable Jason Tutt have on Sunday. Three goals with his first three kicks set up a big win for the Doggies. I am not a fan of teams showing something extra after the sacking of a coach. My personal opinion is you don’t play for a coach you play for the team but I do understand if you have a problem with the coach it makes it a different motivation to give your best. My opinion comes from park footy and cricket, not professional level. I think it is hard to perform at your optimum level if you don’t like the boss but I also think that is a weak excuse in some ways. The next few weeks will show the real character of many of the Bulldogs people on and off the field.
LOCAL footy is a very hard job but one that is done by an enormous amount of volunteers and people who have a great passion for the game and their clubs. I want to acknowledge a few who have been terrific contributors. Raeleene Eldridge, Warwick Lucas and David Battistella at North Footscray, John Purches at Albanvale, Michael Grima at Sunshine Heights are some that I know are moving on or to different roles next year. Local clubs survive thanks to the passion of the people involved. I hope we never lose that due to money, politics, bureaucracy or any other outside influence.
GOOD luck to Leigh Ryan who won the Victorian Surf Sports Male Star of 2010/2011 and has been nominated for Australian Athlete of the year which will be announced on 8 October.
ANY news let me know on email kevin@howdypartnersmedia and you can follow me on Twitter @KevinHillier plus check out the Howdy Partners Media website as well.
