Matt McLeanTanking Revisited
August 12th 2008 11:41
As we near the end of Season 2008, there is no better time to reflect on the year that has been. We have seen an influx of gossip, headlines, and controversy this year and arguably one of the biggest stories is that of 'tanking' reports.
We all heard champion ex-Bulldog and Brownlow Medallist, Tony Liberatore give his story and opinion on events that took place towards the end of last season during his time as an Assistant Coach with Carlton. The unprecedented uproar that followed this story led great debate throughout the football world and fingers began pointing at other clubs possibly guilty of 'tanking'.
For those who are not aware, the term 'tanking' refers to deliberately losing games to increase the clubs chances of obtaining high place priority draft picks for the next season. I was as shocked as most people when this story first broke that clubs would run out onto an oval and try to lose a game of football. In Carlton's defence, Liberatore did admit that he did not believe the players were trying to lose the game. He simply believed the coaching staff were fielding teams towards the end of the year that would not win to increase the draft selections Carlton would have available to them.
I understand that in this day and age there are some dishonest people out there. You do not have to look too far back into sporting history to find sportsmen that have 'thrown’ matches. We have all heard the stories of the now infamous cricketers who have made deals with Indian bookmakers, and no doubt profited handsomely. I have no doubt that there are many more stories out there that we may never hear - in particularly within individual sports. There is a lot of money in sports betting today and this would be more than enough to tempt the odd athlete into throwing a match here and there.
The concept of AFL teams throwing matches is one I am not willing to believe. For one there is too much at stake for clubs that put up consistently poor performances. There many clubs, particularly in Victoria that are struggling financially - there has been no secret of this. Any club that was losing badly would lose supporters and would in turn - lose money. Supporters are (generally) a pretty understanding bunch. We all know that footy works in cycles and you are going to have your good years and your bad years. What we don't want to see is our club throwing in the towel. Even if your club is down the bottom of the ladder with only a handful of wins - if you can see they are playing their hearts out but not just getting there - you'll stick with them. That's all that can be asked.
Many people have also criticised the 'planning for next year' outlook and linked this to tanking. The two are entirely different. There is absolutely no way that trying to develop your list and giving opportunities to younger or fringe players is a form of tanking. I would much rather see my club trying new things and players, and give an opportunity to some players who may be on their last life than keep going with something that has not worked. This will only hold you in better stead for years to come, but you can rest assured that your club is still going out there and doing everything that they can to earn those four points.
Footy is a wonderful game, and one with a long and proud history. The supporters are as passionate as they come and we all want to see our teams win. More importantly than that we all want to sit back at the end of the day and say - those kids gave their absolute all today. I think we can, and I hope that never changes.
Over and out.
We all heard champion ex-Bulldog and Brownlow Medallist, Tony Liberatore give his story and opinion on events that took place towards the end of last season during his time as an Assistant Coach with Carlton. The unprecedented uproar that followed this story led great debate throughout the football world and fingers began pointing at other clubs possibly guilty of 'tanking'.
For those who are not aware, the term 'tanking' refers to deliberately losing games to increase the clubs chances of obtaining high place priority draft picks for the next season. I was as shocked as most people when this story first broke that clubs would run out onto an oval and try to lose a game of football. In Carlton's defence, Liberatore did admit that he did not believe the players were trying to lose the game. He simply believed the coaching staff were fielding teams towards the end of the year that would not win to increase the draft selections Carlton would have available to them.
I understand that in this day and age there are some dishonest people out there. You do not have to look too far back into sporting history to find sportsmen that have 'thrown’ matches. We have all heard the stories of the now infamous cricketers who have made deals with Indian bookmakers, and no doubt profited handsomely. I have no doubt that there are many more stories out there that we may never hear - in particularly within individual sports. There is a lot of money in sports betting today and this would be more than enough to tempt the odd athlete into throwing a match here and there.
The concept of AFL teams throwing matches is one I am not willing to believe. For one there is too much at stake for clubs that put up consistently poor performances. There many clubs, particularly in Victoria that are struggling financially - there has been no secret of this. Any club that was losing badly would lose supporters and would in turn - lose money. Supporters are (generally) a pretty understanding bunch. We all know that footy works in cycles and you are going to have your good years and your bad years. What we don't want to see is our club throwing in the towel. Even if your club is down the bottom of the ladder with only a handful of wins - if you can see they are playing their hearts out but not just getting there - you'll stick with them. That's all that can be asked.
Many people have also criticised the 'planning for next year' outlook and linked this to tanking. The two are entirely different. There is absolutely no way that trying to develop your list and giving opportunities to younger or fringe players is a form of tanking. I would much rather see my club trying new things and players, and give an opportunity to some players who may be on their last life than keep going with something that has not worked. This will only hold you in better stead for years to come, but you can rest assured that your club is still going out there and doing everything that they can to earn those four points.
Footy is a wonderful game, and one with a long and proud history. The supporters are as passionate as they come and we all want to see our teams win. More importantly than that we all want to sit back at the end of the day and say - those kids gave their absolute all today. I think we can, and I hope that never changes.
Over and out.
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