It sounded like Ugle wanted a break from efc/footy when she retired from VFL.
Imagine there is a open door if she wanted to come back and work in offield role with the club
Nova Peris - wouldn’t be adverse to offering her the indigenous board position. If she wanted it.
Lovet Murray
Retired from VFL?
One of the problems with the discussion on here is it is so ignorant and juvenile at times.
If we were looking for a player development manager to support the development and wellbeing of the “white” players I doubt we’d have people throwing ex footballer names at a whiteboard suggesting that because they can play footy they are somehow the best person to mentor footballers.
Yet, if they’re Aboriginal then let’s suggest every good footy player is qualified for the position to mentor young indigenous footballers. It’s condescending. If we were really mature, then we’d stop throwing darts and acknowledge that the best people to mentor young indigenous footballers is in all likelihood someone from outside of football whose name we haven’t heard of.
imagine your horror when you realise michael hurley is a development coach…
what a bizzare post
of course an ex-afl player will be well placed to coach and develop… young afl footballers… and that by being indigenous, they may have a unique insight into how to develop… indigenous AFL footballers
I believe so, there was a instagram story after the grand final loss from memory.
She left for the Bulldogs. Hasn’t retired, just left EFC.
It’s been raised quite a few times that the indigenous kids face unique challenges…probably smart to have someone who has experienced and overcome those challenges.
I think the main issue for indigenous afl players is where they are from. If you look at rugby, they have the same percentage of indigenous players as the afl (maybe more now), however their indigenous players mostly come from western sydney and north queensland, so they are already assimilated into the white world more. Indigenous afl players are more from n.t and remote w.a, which makes it more of a challenge to adapt.
The fact they face unique challenges is absolutely obvious and I 100% support the notion that resources should be allocated to support indigenous footballers who are making a transition into unfamiliar environments.
I 100% reject the notion that this resources should be football players and I’d suggest Aboriginal people who have dedicated their life and education to bettering the status of their people are far more qualified to support young aboriginal footballers than Paddy Ryder. People who can teach and share experiences about the bigger world out their who haven’t been living in the football bubble their entire life because most don’t make it and they need skills outside the football arena more than they need Paddy Ryder to tell them how to kick big benders.
Or…we could just feel good about ourselves by saying hiring Courtenay Dempsey and Courtney Ugle will fix everything because you know that worked out so awesome with Ryder, Rioli etc
I get what you’re saying and agree of course there needs to be support many things outside football. This is true for all young kids. But the truth is they are coming into an elite sport bubble, if in Melb, in a football mad city. Surely the best people to help them deal with that are those that have successfully done it?
If the main qualification for being a high quality player development and well-being mentor in the AFL is that you are a good footballer and you have the same skin colour… then that logic extends to Gary Moorcroft, Barry Young and Peter Cransberg being qualified to be suitable player development and well-being mentor candidates for white players because they forged an afl career and they are white.
When you put it like that it’s ludicrous…but…we do it for Aboriginal players which in my mind is actually disrespectful. Assuming Derek Kickett, Lovett Murray or Jarrod Atkinson would make suitable professional appointments to support Alwyn Davey Jnr and co on the basis of being Aboriginal is a disservice to Alwyn Davey, a disservice to the aboriginal people qualified and skilled in these roles and disservice to the aboriginal community.
Yes, its a silly notion that just because you are indigenous and have played football means you will be a good support person - you also needs skills in …well…being a support person.
Same goes for being the indigenous representative on the Board - you probably want someone who has a few smarts, can articulate the message and has experience in developing and implementing indigenous programs etc.
So can we stop just randomly naming every indigenous player who has ever played without knowing their capabilities and experience.
This topic is flaunted with emotion but what really needs to be pointed out is that there are systemic issues in player welfare within the AFL industry.
The working conditions for football department staff are disgraceful. What is expected vs the remuneration is outrageous. These conditions and soft cap spending etc extends to player welfare type roles which in itself is a disgrace. Then you have teams having their own player welfare resources, which are different per club, which makes no sense to me when the AFL is not a franchised competition. Proper duty of care would see consistent best practise applied for player welfare across all clubs and this should extend to staff.
Instead you have clubland pinching dollars here and there, applying basic level welfare for players, none for staff who work their ring off for ■■■■ money meanwhile AFL HQ have implemented mental health leave days for their staff.
The inequality of how player welfare is applied is appalling.
All player welfare should be equally funded by the afl across the teams. Best practise should be applied across all clubs, and it should not come under any football dept spending considerations.
And as a little mind blowing fact…football departments front end and back end coaching contracts as well…and when head coaching contracts are backended then to come under the soft cap as best as they can, guess what they do???
Crazy hey. That’s the real bullshit world we live in!
There appears to be some sort of discontent from a number of women’s players about the way the club is going about things.
To be fair, Nathan Lovett-Murray is doing an absolutely incredible job in his role at the saints, and their program is now thriving, so it can cut both ways if it’s the right person.
We are a far too soft a football club to get Natrat back though
He’s the guy we should have had running it all along, what makes you say ‘too soft’ to get him?
NLM wanted Essendon to keep fighting against the drug saga.
Didn’t he also try to sue Essendon as he felt it harmed his daughter?
I suspect he would have a different perspective of working at EFC regardless of how the club operates.
That’s right, forgot all that. Pity.
Dorothy , now the Board member responsible for indigenous support, will surely arrange for the correct staff appointment.