The Standard | RUSSELLS Creek will write to the Warrnambool and District league expressing its disappointment at a sarcastic article published in the match-day record.
League executive member Andrew Thomson yesterday came under fire for using his weekly column in the record to make light of the Kangaroos’ struggles this season.
Its opponent on Saturday, Deakin University, also featured heavily in the piece. The two sides were winless entering the round 11 contest at Mack Oval.
Russells Creek board of management chairman Rod Barker said “everyone at the club was pretty disappointed” at Thomson’s words.
Barker said members of the Kangaroos’ 2005 premiership-winning side had gathered at the ground for a reunion and to watch the match.
“It was a big day planned for Creek and talking to the Deakin guys. They were just as disappointed as we were, if not more,” he said.
“We had the reunion up there, a lot of past players were up there. The timing wasn’t real flash for something like that.
“I’m a big believer as a league executive you should be promoting the league and clubs and not kicking them while they’re down.”
Barker said the Russells Creek committee would send a letter to the league. He said the contents of that letter would remain between the two parties.
“What we do is between us and the district league,” he said.
“We should be talking about how good a day it was up there, which it was. We had a huge crowd up there,” he said.
“We had 18 premiership players back from 2005. It was probably the biggest crowd of any district league game (on the day).”
Deakin University president Dylan Walsh said he had received feedback from Sharks members who were “pissed off, to put it bluntly”.
“He’s come out and said all this stuff and he’s got no idea how our club works. The players are upset, I’m very upset, the coaches are upset,” he said.
“I don’t think he takes into consideration what our sponsors thought of being called nothing. He’s pretty much labelled our club nothing and the same for Creek.”
Walsh said he was drafting a letter to the club committee seeking insight into its response. “From my personal point of view, I will expect a letter of apology to the club, sponsors and players. That’s minimum. In my mind he’s bullied our club.”
But he stopped short of asking Thomson to resign, saying that would be “harsh”. “The work he does is quite valued, he’s very good at what he does,” he said.
“But the next time he’s going to write an article about the Sharks, give me a ring, come out and talk to the boys and see what we’re doing.”
Warrnambool and District league president Ken McSween said he had no comment on the issue until after he talked to Thomson, which could happen today.
Thomson was unable to be contacted for comment.
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