Okay, the election is semi-over, i’m on break from The Midday Show for two weeks and i’m enjoying the relaxation. Don’t worry too much, TRG and SITA will continue as usual, but in the mean time let’s see what’s making media news in short sentences:

• Network Ten will launch new digital TV channel in early 2011, will be named ‘Eleven’
• About 2 million people watched the first part of that Ben Cousins Doco on 7 last night
• Hamish & Andy will reduce their radio show to a weekly show from next year because of their TV committments
• Seven Network’s new DTV channel 7Mate will launch on September 25th

Yeah, that should do it for now. New SITA vlog should be done today, so check back soon.

I believe that Ben was in it for the money but I also believe Ben Cousins wishes to set the record straight and put his past behind him. Ben also shows himself on the field succeeding greatly. Ben Cousins is an amazing athlete and still is massively respected as a footballer, however, off the field Ben is just a party-boy and drug-addict who screwed over his family, friends and workplace. The most shocking of those is that West Coast knew about him being a trouble maker yet kept him on the team UNTIL they won the premiership.

What surprises me the most about this, is that Ben was able to perform on the field from 17 years old, when he began taking drugs all the way until 2005 when Cousins won the Brownlow and in 2006 when Ben was in the West Coast premiership team. Ben Cousins motivation according to him, was “how much drugs (he) was going to launch into (after training or a game)”.

However I do believe that some of the incredibly low points of Ben’s life have been shut out from the story. And he almost seems cocky when he is interviewed; as if he is retelling a funny story. I honestly hope Ben is a changed man but now that he is retiring this year I wonder what Ben will be like when he has no motivation to stay off drugs. I think that if Ben doesn’t gain a job working in the AFL, he may go back to his old ways. Anyway all the best to Ben and his $500,000 gain from making the doco. I hope he is truly reformed.

What will we learn in part two of the documentary? Leave a comment below about what you think of Ben Cousins documentary, Such is Life: The Troubled Times of Ben Cousins.

Money, girls, fame, parties… What else does a young man want?

You feel for Ben a bit and any prejudice against him goes as he did bust his arse to get where he was!

I will update you after I watch part 2 tonight…

I watched the first part of the documentary Such is Life: The Troubled Times of Ben Cousins tonight and wow. It’s pretty stark in its honesty and the footage of AFL footballer Cousins when he was at his lowest is absolutely raw. Even if you’re not a football fan this is definitely worth watching.

The interviews with his family, the football community, counsellors, media and friends are riveting. His family breaking down as they describe a period in his life is just heart-wrenching. There’s no holds barred, no punches pulled, nothing left on the table as the cliches go. I’ve never been a huge Cousins fan but this is riveting viewing. Watching him speak directly to camera at the varying stages of being in the grip of his addiction is fascinating – you can definitely pick when he’s at his most troubled. The hair, the clothes the attitude all give him away.

I think it’s pretty brave to put his story out there like this and hopefully it has a profound effect on everyone watching. As he himself says, if it means even one person reconsiders drug use then it’s all worth it. I can’t wait for tomorrow night’s conclusion.

The second goal of Heroes is to incorporate community ideas into the thread. Some suggested VOIP in game. (I would support VOIP with the ability to mute players.) Ben Cousin’s, of DICE, said he would allow a vote on VOIP when BF:H reached several million players. Using a new twitter account, I tweeted Ben Cousins to ascertain whether he will allow for a vote. His response seems to indicate no.

This would mark a major retreat from the community-driven model as well.

His suggestion that I play another BF game, while well-intended is also rather meaningless as I own BF2, BF2142, BFV, BF1942-RTR-SW). I have reinstalled 2142 on the new computer and it looks awesome, but again I am waiting for tech support.

Here is the current achievement I’m working on:

RELIVING THE NIGHTMARE: Ben Cousins drug video has hit Australia. Photo obtained from: http://images.triplem.com.au/2009/01/14/106443/AFL-bencousins-01-600x400.jpg

Recently retired AFL superstar Ben Cousins has had his fair share of up and downs in the sport. While he was celebrating an end to his glittering career this weekend, his drug addiction video revealing what happened during 2007 was splashed around Australian media, reports the Hearld Sun

Cousins shot to fame as captain and Brownlow medalist winner and led with the Sydney Swans to an AFL premiership in 2005. Two years later, Cousins hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons when it was revealed he had been arrested for drug possession  in 2007. He gained a bad boy reputation within the sport but was handed a lifeline by Richmond and fought his way back to the top before retiring on the weekend.

READ MORE

CHAMPION PLAYER: Ben Cousins has taken the AFL by storm. Photo obtained from: http://www.abc.net.au/.../2007/11/02/2080185.htm

Ben Cousins has faced all the critcism and problems since being arrested for possession of drugs in 2007 and his comeback into AFL has proved he is still one of the best reports Australain newspaper, The Australaian.

Cousins has won most of the accolades the sport has to offer the Brownlow Medal and a premiership.

READ MORE

The tell-all Ben Cousins documentary, Such is Life: the troubled times of Ben Cousins, is reported to screen on Channel Seven on Wednesday 25 August at 8:30pm. The 32-year-old served a 12-month suspension for bringing the Australian Football League (AFL) into disrepute for an addiction to recreational drugs in 2008. Cousins was subsequently cleared to return to football in 2009 and was drafted by Richmond Football Club on 16 December 2008, leading to a surge in Richmond’s club membership. The doco has been more than two years in the making, with hundreds of hours of interviews distilled to 90 minutes. Intense speculation has surrounded Cousins’ future. He is on a one-year deal with the Tigers, having gained another contract after his first year at the club in 2009. Media outlets today are reporting that Cousins is set to announce his AFL retirement at a press conference on Tuesday. As Mike Sheahan wrote in the Herald Sun, “Ben Cousins is the young man with the film star face, extraordinary sporting talent and charisma by the truckload who has been a drug user since his teens and an addict for several years.” After being the subject of so much Australian media scrutiny and gossip, the documentary will provide Cousins the forum to tell his side of the story.

UPDATE

So, as expected, the airing of the Ben Cousins doco stirred up controversy. Some punters felt it glamorised drug use, while others felt it was an educated and insightful depiction of the illness of addiction. The documentary was a major ratings winner for the Seven Network with two million people tuning in to the first instalment. Amidst all the hype and opinion pieces written after it’s screening, there is one news item from ABC Online that was not so widely picked up. It reports that the airing of the documentary sparked an increase in help line calls.

 Geoff Munro from the Australian Drug Foundation says there has been a big increase in activity on its website and on national telephone helplines.

“[A] fifteen fold increase in Victoria, 200 per cent in Sydney 400 per cent in eastern Australia,” he said.

“So around the country it appears that the documentary has sparked a massive increase in people wanting information.”

Whatever your opinion of Cousins, those figures can’t be scoffed at.

QUICK HIT: Ben Cousins drug addiction is to be shown on video. http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200707/r158243_574918.jpg

AFL centre Ben Cousins is back in the media spotlight again after a video detailing his drug addiction is to be released, reports Australia’s Daily Telegraph.

It overshadows in what is possibly his final game in the code this weekend.

The 238 game superstar was arrested after having his car searched and being charged with drug possession back in October 2007.

READ MORE

I think Akermanis might be right about this - for once

I would never have guessed that AFL player Ben Cousins - who once won a Brownlow medal and an AFL Premiership by snorting a bucket load of cocaine up his nose but is now a recovering drug addict – is actually a role model for kids thinking about following him on his drug-crazed, sex-filled, stoned-out, off-field and on-field pursuits.

But butter my bread on both sides, Ben has made a doco ‘Such is Life: The Troubled Times of Ben Cousins’ to be shown on TV soon, that he, his new club Ricmond and the AFL reckon will “serve as a warning” to young people and is “all good”.

Richmond has given its blessing to the explosive Ben Cousins documentary …  The Tigers have seen the documentary and this morning the club issued a statement saying they continued to support their star midfielder.

“This is a confronting story and one we sincerely hope has a positive impact on those that watch it,” Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale said. “If what Ben and his family have been through serves as an important lesson to others then it has been worth doing.”

[...]

Such is Life: The Troubled Times of Ben Cousins has been seen by AFL boss Andrew Demetriou … An AFL spokesman last night said the league hoped the documentary would help others.

This should be riveting TV and compulsory viewing for all kids and other drug addicts.

I can hardly wait to see the footage of Cousins:

• DANCING in his underpants with a glass of red wine and a scantily-clad female in the background.
• CRYING while under the influence of an unknown substance.
• LEANING on a kitchen table covered in beer bottles after a heavy night.
• STARING into a camera and declaring: “My name is Ben Cousins. I’m a drug addict”.

Yeah .. I mean, if Ben can do all that and have that much fun yet still recover and earn mega bucks playing footy then so can they!

Sheez … I think I agree with ex-Brisbane & sacked Bulldogs player Jason Akermanis who said it could actually encourage kids to take drugs.

Appearing on the Today Show, he said there was a risk of young people seeing the doco and thinking “maybe this is an interesting thing, maybe I’m a bit curious”.

“Should I as a young person look and Ben Cousins and say, ‘No don’t do it’, or, ‘Maybe it’s not so bad’ – that’s the only question mark we have before we see it,” Akermanis said.

Yep. You see, not everyone (well hardly anyone) is fortunate enough to have (1) the sporting talent (2) the money, and (3) the support network that Cousins had to get him through his crisis.

And actually, there’s still no guarantee he won’t relapse and end up in the gutter.

Like a lot of kids who get into drugs.

Helping others! Bullshit – this is self serving crap.

As all of you would be aware, Ben Cousins is a recovering drug addict, his poison of choice being Ice. After a game for the Richmond Football Club, Cousins made a silly error and mixed caffeine with a Sleeping Tablet that has been prescribed by his Richmond Club Doctor. As a matter of some concern, here was a distinct lack of concern shown for Cousins’ welfare. The man was unconscious and possibly comatose, yet many people’s first instinct was “Is he back on the Gear again?”. Whilst I have little sympathy for Cousins’ drug addiction, this was NOT an overdose, he had nothing even slightly illegal and his well-being should have been paramount.

Brownlow Medallist James Hird, speaking on Fox Sports’ “On The Couch” stated that the use of prescribed Sleeping Tablets wide widespread amongst the AFL playing community, particularly after night games, where players may hit the bed by 12.30-1.00am and are still wide awake at 4.00am, with their body still winding down.

Then, a veritable Tidal Wave of Press followed, focussing on the use of No Doz, Red Bull, Coffee and other caffeine-based stimulants by players before games and Sleeping Tablets after games. This issue has most certainly put the spotlight on the AFL, with seemingly every man and his dog having a point of view on the matter.

If a player is prescribed Sleeping Tablets by a properly-qualified Medical Professional, then it is nobody else’s business. How do we know if the player has a medical issue that prevents sleep (Insomnia, anyone) and that, in conjunction with said Medical Professional, the best course of action is a controlled dosage of sleeping pills?

As for the use of stimulants before games, this is a completely different matter. Working as a shift worker at a large University, I see students at all times of the =day and night, madly cramming for exams or major assignments. Many of these students use No Doz or Red Bull in order to stay awake. Seeing these students after the effects of these caffeine-based have worn off is not a pretty sight. You really worry about what effect long-term use/or abuse of these stimulants by AFL players are having on their general health.

There is no question that, at this time, caffeine is not on the list of banned substances. The use of No Doz raised its head some years ago when Wallaby captain George Gregan and AFL legend Dermott Brereton were quite open in admitting they used No Doz (Gregan) and granulated coffee (Brereton) as stimulants before games.

I certainly would never encourage anyone I was coaching to use stimulants before games. A careful diet, proper hydration, a good breakfast or lunch inclusive of a good carbohydrate loading and some fresh fruit is an example of a good pre-match preparation.

In the case of AFL players or any professional athlete, there is a massive difference between what the general public feels is setting the right example and staying within ASDA and WADA drug guidelines. Use of caffeine as a match-day stimulant is bound to continue as long as caffeine remains a legal substance. If footy clubs feel that caffeine can give players even a 1% improvement, and that 1% is the difference between finals and oblivion, it is a certainty that nothing will change anytime soon.

That AFL players are used as Role Models by society, particularly in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, is pivotal to this discussion. AFL as Role Models, yeah, right. That is bollocks. Footballers are footballers, great athletes, well paid, yes, but Role Models? Does the fact that a man is an exceptional footballer and earns $600,000 a year from his profession mean that the Press and the wider community has the right to make these men bastions of society? No, I strongly believe not.

The people who should be role models in our Society are Parents, Teachers, Doctors, Religious Leaders and Law Enforcement Personnel. These are the people the community needs to be upstanding and setting the right example. Many parents in today’s society are not up to the task and use the downfalls of others to make their own massive inadequacies. Permit me a small personal observation here, whilst I do not play the Role Model game, I will openly admit that I am an inadequate parent; I wish I was capable of better.

You have to understand how much the AFL means to those Australians in our South and West to fully appreciate why so many journalists, AFL officials and the wider community put AFL players on such a pedestal. It is not uncommon for a by-line in the Age or Herald-Sun to state that player X was spotted having a latte at 10.30 in the morning in Lygon St. Talk about living in a goldfish bowl. Collingwood’s Alan Didak was put through the wringer when he caught a cab after having a few drinks and the cab-driver refused to take his fare. Thankfully, Collingwood President Eddie McGuire came out strongly in support of Didak (who, to be fair, has transgressed at other times) and the truth eventually came out.

In summary, hopefully Ben Cousins will return to good health. It is sincerely hoped that Club Doctors are putting player interests before those of Club interests when prescribing any and all medications. Until caffeine is made illegal, the use of legal stimulants, whilst not a good look, is bound to continue. The southern Australian Press, indeed society as a whole, should take a deep breath and have a cold hard look at whom it really wants as Role Models in our country.

That's right kids, drugs are... umm... they're really bad for... see... they aren't good for the human... jeez... would you look at those arms? Sorry, what was I saying?

Infamous AFL star Ben Cousins remains in Intensive Care at the Epworth Hospital this morning, after being found yesterday suffering what Richmond club officials described as an adverse reaction to a sleeping tablet.

OK.

For those unawares, Cousins is Australian Football’s most notorious reformed drug addict, having spent time out of the game after being banned for cocaine abuse in 2008.

I sincerely wish Cousins the best of health and a swift recovery – he’s had a shitty few years. But sleeping tablets? I find it strange that no one has even made mention of this possibly tangentially linked story from last year, linking NRL players with Sleeping Tablet / Red Bull benders.

Any chance a recovering cocaine and alcohol addict might be interested in a “euphoric high” from legal prescription medication that is undetectable in elite athlete drug testing?

All speculation on my part, I’ll grant you, and probably 100% wrong. But still…

I will say that the AFL’s reaction to this situation will be interesting. Reading between the lines, Richmond has long been aware that Cousins habitually takes sleeping tablets and still enjoys a drink or three. Add that to the fact they’ve admitted to giving him No-Doz caffeine tablets on match days, and you’ve got quite the chemical cocktail…

A solid message to send to the ‘children’ that the AFL always spends so much time tip-toeing around:

So long as you obtain your miscellaneous uppers and downers legally, then it’s allllllll good.

Get well soon, Ben.

BPM

Since then, reporters have rushed to get Daniel Kowalski’s thoughts on the matter. However, he did not come out until after he had retired from competitive swimming. He “clearly suppressed these thoughts of being gay … because it was ‘wrong’, as a male it’s ‘wrong’ but even more as an elite athlete.” (The Age, 18 April 2010)

Sadly, this culture still exists.

Want proof? Former NSW Transport Minister has just had to resign from his position because Channel 7 thought it was ‘news’ to broadcast footage of him leaving a gay sex club. He is hardly an elite athlete, but he is a public figure.

Imagine the hysteria if that was an AFL footballer leaving that same club.

Too hard to picture? Well it wasn’t that long ago that journalist Dylan Howard paid for the stolen medical records of AFL players and tried to turn it into ‘news’.

Whoever is the first AFL player to come out will have the honour of joining the now well used list of the three other high profile gay sportsmen; Ian Roberts, Matthew Mitcham and Daniel Kowalski.

That’s three. Out of all the sports we play in Australia, there are only three. Include Welsh rugby international Gareth Thomas, and it leaps to four. Worldwide.

Perhaps that’s the point Jason was trying to make. As a high profile sportsperson, it would be much easier to keep your private life private.

It is inevitable that someone will come out soon. But it will take a person who is willing to sacrifice the private life of themselves and their partner. That partner may not live a high profile life. It wouldn’t take long for that to change.

This couple would have to welcome onto themselves a media hysteria that would rival that of Ben Cousins. Drinking coffee, walking the dog and going out for dinner would become ‘news’.

It will take a person of great courage to wish this upon himself. Someone like Michael Long, who decided that racism was not tolerated anywhere else in society, except on a football field.

Or conversely, it would take someone who would happily welcome and revel in the media and public attention. Funnily enough, someone exactly like Jason Akermanis.

One day, a gay AFL player will come forward. We can only hope that it is on their terms and not as a result of being caught out by a journalist, photographer or TV station and being deemed ‘news’.

The last time Gamasutra spoke to Ben Cousins, general manager of Electronic Arts’ new free-to-play team, was a little over two years ago. At that time he was a producer at the company’s DICE studio and was working on the then-yet-to-be-released free-to-play title Battlefield Heroes.

It appears the experiment paid off — enough so that Cousins is now the general manager of EA’s free-to-play division, which has recently released Lord of Ultima, the first new game in the Ultima series in many years. Unlike its forebears, it’s a strategy title, and very much in the mold of popular German browser games.

Here, Cousins explains why the company is going this route — both specifically with this game and more generally its goal with the free-to-play division. He also discusses his thoughts on the market at large, how the company hopes to win back gamers who may have strayed from playing PC titles, and how multiple entry points into a franchise can foster active engagement.

As the two least successful clubs in VFL/AFL history to date, it’s not all-important clashes between competition juggernauts that this rivalry has been based on.

Rather, it has been a mixture of the unique, incredible and questionable, with occasional flashes of both genuinely brilliant and sadly woeful football being played.

It began immediately – although inconspicuously – in 1995, when Fremantle played their debut AFL match in the Ansett Australia Cup against the Saints at East Fremantle Oval. Whilst the match itself was normal enough (St Kilda would win by 35 points), this would be the only time (to date) the Dockers would actually play in Fremantle in a competitive AFL match.

In Round 14 of the following season, St Kilda would break through for its first win at Subiaco, and in Western Australia – of course, against Fremantle – in a game which produced great goals from both sides.

The next clash between the two came on ANZAC Day of 1997, with Fremantle – in 10th place and the Saints in 16th – weathering a late St Kilda challenge to win by a straight kick. The return bout was played on a ridiculously blustery day at Waverley in Round 20 of that year, with Fremantle in 10th place (again) going into the match whilst St Kilda was second on percentage, on its way to a second minor premiership. The Saints that time won a scrappy game by 13 points after the Dockers got within a point in the final term.

St Kilda co-captain Stewart Loewe would be stretchered off in Round 9 of 1998 at the WACA after an awkward fall in which his head ended up making contact with his knee. Despite a thrilling running goal from ruckman Peter Everitt, the 4th-placed Saints were overrun by the 13th-placed Dockers in the final term.

After several years of minor quirks, things were about to get really weird.

Round 15 of 1999 will be remembered for the mark that was taken by umpire Peter Carey. Early in the match, Docker (and former Saint) Adrian Fletcher centred a short pass to Brad Wira on the wing, only for the experienced Carey, who was in the path of the ball’s trajectory, to take the mark and call for a ball-up. Needless to say, the incident was a massive talking point in football circles, though ultimately it would take its place in VFL/AFL history as a wonderfully unique and humourous moment in a game that has a habit of throwing those up from time to time. The Dockers would go on to win the game by 23 points, and send St Kilda’s season into a further downward spiral.

By the time the two teams met in Round 12 of 2001, both teams had new coaches and were sharing 14th (St Kilda) and 16th (Fremantle) places on the ladder; by season’s end they would be 15th and 16th respectively. On this Saturday night at Subiaco, the Saints won their third game of the year after a young Stephen Milne sprang to life in the final term, on his way to kicking three goals and giving the Saints a 10-point win. However, captain Robert Harvey would seriously injure his knee in a gang tackle that continued well past its use-by date; with the ball locked up amongst the scrum, the umpire inexplicably chose to let play continue, long enough for the Dockers players to force Harvey to the turf as his knee buckled under him.

It would also be Malcolm Blight’s last victory as coach for the Saints, with his brief tenure at Moorabbin ending just three weeks later.

The next season threw up a couple more notable matches – in Round 2, the fast-finishing Dockers would roll the Saints by three points at home after trailing for much of the day, and in Round 17 St Kilda played a rare home match at Princes Park and defeat the Dockers in a dead-rubber in front of just 8,078 fans.

A skip to 2004 would find Brent Guerra breaking Docker Byran Schammer’s arm in a devastating bump as a barnstorming St Kilda extended their winning streak to seven to begin the season, as well as Fremantle wearing their predominantly white away/clash jumper for the first time in the return match in Round 22 at Docklands.

A trio of thrilling matches followed. Strange, thrilling matches.

In round 2 of 2005, St Kilda won their first match of the season by a solitary point at York Park in Tasmania. The Saints would overhaul the Dockers in trying conditions, with Aaron Hamill earning a free kick for holding the ball and scoring the winning point – but not before a final Fremantle charge into their forward line, with defender Luke Penny expertly safely punching the ball out of bounds in the final seconds from a marking contest.

The infamous “Whispers in the Sky” clash was a dire battle in Round 21 at Subiaco. St Kilda were pushing to solidify a top four spot after being outside of the 8 after Round 13, though tipped by many to win the premiership on the eve of the season. Skipper Nick Riewoldt has broken his collarbone in Round 14, and stand-in captain Justin Koschitzke had powered his way to stunning form and lead the Saints’ fight for redemption. He earned 11 Brownlow votes in just five matches, and with Riewoldt back, he was seen as a key component to St Kilda’s premiership hopes as September neared. Fremantle, meanwhile were hoping to return to finals action after St Kilda had knocked them out on the eve of the 2004 finals series.

What happened on that Friday night is now a part of St Kilda-Fremantle rivalry folklore. Awful and questionable umpiring decisions went Fremantle’s way all night, gifting the Dockers several goals and depriving the Saints of several chances of their own. Koschitzke would injure a quad muscle in the third quarter, and he would not be fit enough to return to the side, which bowed out in the preliminary final several weeks later (had St Kilda defeated Sydney in that match, he would have been a huge chance to return for the Grand Final).

The final term was an old-fashioned thriller. In the final minute, with the Saints up by a point, Justin Peckett was run down by Luke McPharlin just outside Fremantle’s 50-metre arc; the resulting kick forward saw Justin Longmuir take a spectacular mark over the top of the pack just 25 metres out from goal. His kick was straight, and the Dockers had won by five points, and were to face reigning premier Port Adelaide the following week in the final round for a spot in the finals.

Channel Nine reporter Tony Jones – travelling back to Melbourne from the game after Nine’s coverage – claimed that he heard umpire Matthew Head, who had made a number of the decisions that went Fremantle’s way remark, “Now I know what it feels like to have a victory”. Several other passengers made the same claim as Jones, but the AFL cleared Head of any wrongdoing after an investigation into the matter that week.

Though they would start strongly, Fremantle lost to Port Adelaide the following week and finish 10th as the Power clinched eighth spot. St Kilda would go on to record two amazing victories over the following two weeks – their biggest win in the club’s 132-year history over the Brisbane Lions, by 139 points, and a brave eight-point win over minor premiers Adelaide in the First Qualifying Final at AAMI Stadium, to secure a home Preliminary Final and a week’s rest.

But the centrepiece of this rivalry – so far, at least – came in Round 5, 2006; the final installment of this trilogy taking place where it started – at York Park (now Aurora Stadium) in Tasmania, referred to as “Sirengate”.

The Dockers were truly dangerous in 2006, and were only knocked out a week short of the Grand Final. Though notorious for poor interstate form, on this day they were all over an inept St Kilda, who were making another slow start to a season. Though the Saints would be in with a chance all day, that chance seemed to have disappeared as the clock counted down to zero as a desperate Dockers defence forced a stopped in the Saints forward line, with their team up by a point. The siren sounded, and Fremantle players around the ball began celebrating a hard-fought victory.

But the siren was quite faint, and umpire didn’t hear it – and play continued from the stoppage well after full-time. The Saints forced the ball to Steven Baker, whose flying shot at goal – a number of seconds after the siren – missed to the left, tying the scores. The umpire then awarded Baker a free kick for a hit he got as he kicked it, and so he was to take the kick again, with the first behind taken back, and the Saints again down by a point. As this was occurring, Fremantle officials had stormed on to the ground to remonstrate with the umpires, with coach Chris Connolly finding himself arguing with St Kilda player Lenny Hayes. Verbal stoushes were springing up between officials, umpires and players left, right and centre, and amongst it all, Baker missed again. The game was a draw.

St Kilda coach Grant Thomas declared the game “one for the blooper reel” in the post-match wash-up, whilst Connolly was understandably furious. Fremantle immediately took the issue to the AFL. Sensationally, the AFL overturned the result during the week, with final score officially at 13.15 (93) to 14.10 (94), the Dockers victorious by a point.

The sides would meet again at Subiaco in Round 20. To date, this match is the most important game the clubs have been involved in against each other, with a top four spot up for grabs. Fremantle trounced the Saints, with the only highlight for St Kilda being a goal kicked by Brendon Goddard from an enormous kick late in the match; from just inside the centre square, Goddard’s kick would go through the goals at post-height.

The Dockers would finish third on the ladder, with fellow Subiaco tenants West Coast in first place. Though they would lose the Second Qualifying Final to Adelaide away, they won their first final of any sort at home against Melbourne a week later. Sydney knocked them out a week later, otherwise the MCG would have been set for an all-Western Australian Grand Final.

Several things of note come out of this. Firstly, St Kilda would have finished third on superior percentage if the “Sirengate” result had stood, forcing eventual Grand Finalists Sydney out of the top four, and forcing a Western Derby as a First Qualifying Final. Instead, the Saints finished sixth and limped out of the finals series in the first week, losing to Melbourne in the Second Elimination Final. Of course, if the Saints had won that game – which was a good chance of happening through the final term – they would have faced Fremantle in a semi-final, bringing the two teams face-to-face in massive game; as it happened, Grant Thomas would be sacked just days after the loss to the Demons. The other point worth considering – albeit a hypothetical one – is if the AFL would have overturned the result the way it did had Baker actually kicked a goal from either of his shots, “winning” the game for St Kilda. It’s one thing to overturn a draw, but to  completely reverse the outcome of a match would have made this issue far, far greater, and a much more daunting prospect for the AFL.

The following season was a disappointment for both teams. When they squared off in Round 20, with the Saints hoping to snatch a finals spot under new coach Ross Lyon, a collision between Steven Baker and Jeff Farmer would be the talking point of the competition for the following week.

Farmer left the ground concussed, with blood pouring from his face, after evidently running into the back of Baker. No umpires nor cameras saw or captured the incident, but a Fremantle trainer said that Baker had been malicious in the collision, and this was influential in the seven-match suspension Baker received. The Saints appealed, but this fell on deaf ears from the AFL. The decision would prove costly for the Saints, who were now without their star tagger as they were coming up against West Coast the following week, a must-win game for the Saints. The Eagles’ midfield of Chris Judd, Ben Cousins and Daniel Kerr were able to run far more freely and eventually the Eagles would win by eight points; though St Kilda defeated Richmond in Round 22, they would finish the season in ninth position after Adelaide also won their final round match to knock St Kilda out of September calculations.

Round 13 of 2008 saw a spluttering Saints wielding the axe on senior players Nick Dal Santo and Stephen Milne after just three wins from the previous ten games of football. Ben McEvoy, Robert Eddy and Jarryd Allen would all debut for the Saints on a dogged Friday night, with the Saints prevailing by eight points. It would be the beginning of a remarkable turnaround for Ross Lyon and his men, who would win eight of their final ten matches in the home-and-away season to finish fourth, including the return game at Subiaco in Round 20 which Stephen Milne played out with a grotesquely swollen cheek. The Saints would fall one week short of the Grand Final.

The Saints would go one better in 2009, as Fremantle were again finding themselves at the wrong end of the ladder. In Round 4, the Saints crushed the Dockers by 83 points, and keeping the visitors to a scoreline of 4.4 (28), the joint-lowest score at Docklands. Of course, that record is shared with St Kilda, who could only manage 3.10 (28) against Collingwood in Round 6 of 2002.

Most recently, their 2010 NAB Cup semi-final match was nearly called off, after storms ravaged the Melbourne CBD, leaving Etihad Stadium with internal roofing damage. The players ran out for a later start to no crowd in attendance, and the 5,000+ fans were eventually let in over the first quarter, but only allowed to be seated on the bottom level. St Kilda would win a position in the Final easily, but would lose that to the Western Bulldogs, who were making their first Final appearance of any kind in 40 years.

And now on Sunday evening, the two teams will be squaring off, and coming into this round are occupying the top two positions on the ladder. It’s definitely the first time this has happened with these two clubs; Fremantle will be looking to be on top of the AFL ladder at the completion of any round for the first time in their history, whilst the Saints are going to be entering a lengthy period of time with injured captain Nick Riewoldt. The football world will be watching this intriguing clash, which will hopefully be remembered for some good football, promising individual performances and solid teamwork. As long as no umpires take marks or feel like “having a victory”, or the siren fails, or there are unseen and inconclusive clashes which result in massive suspensions, or storms unleash fury over Melbourne, then there’s a good chance that just might happen.

But who knows?

Links

Umpire Peter Carey takes a mark in Round 15, 1999

Justin Longmuir kicks a goal after the siren to win the game for the Dockers in the “Whispers in the Sky” match, in Round 21, 2005

“Sirengate” finish Part 1, Round 5, 2006

“Sirengate” finish Part 2

Brendon Goddard’s monster goal, Round 20, 2006