Dogs mess is still on noseMark Stevens and Scott Gullan | June 05, 2009
AS A life member of the Western Bulldogs, Terry Wallace still receives the usual invitations in the mail. "His benefits remain unchanged - we have no problem at all with that," Bulldogs chief executive Campbell Rose said this week.
The Dogs have only ever struck one life member off the list - and it was for a far greater crime than Wallace's.
Even if some fans were ringing talkback stations in August, 2002, calling Wallace a "dog" and "traitor", no one could dispute his 14 years of service at the kennel.
But as Wallace prepares for his farewell game tonight, almost seven years after that acrimonious split with the Dogs, is he any closer to taking the club up on an invitation or two and returning to the fold?
Rose said he would welcome Wallace back, declaring: "I harbour no grudge or animosity towards Terry."
But for some time there was lingering bitterness at Whitten Oval after Wallace stepped away from the final two years of a four-year deal.
Players at the club at the time were peeved, depriving Wallace of a goodbye game with the Dogs.
Some quickly moved on. In fact one, Steve Kretiuk, will be in the Richmond rooms supporting Wallace tonight.
Others, such as champion Chris Grant, found it more difficult.
In an explosive interview in the Herald Sun in 2003, the former skipper lifted the lid on the rift with Wallace.
"You don't necessarily have to be best friends, but you certainly have to have a mutual respect for each other and maybe that wasn't there," Grant said.
Paul Dimattina, part of the leadership group that dramatically pulled the pin on "Plough", yesterday said: "No doubt a few harboured resentment."
"In the hierarchy as well, there's no doubt they harboured a grudge there.
"I'm probably different from a few others. I let things go pretty quickly - water under the bridge, very quickly as far as I was concerned."
Luke Darcy, outspoken at the time of the Wallace bust-up, still has vivid memories of an "interesting" week.
"At the time, I was probably diametrically opposed to the way it was handled," Darcy said.
"Terry recognises that and I think he probably did shortly afterwards.
"But I've seen Terry a lot since. No issue, there. He's a very easy person to be around. You move on. You have to."
Kretiuk, another member of the leadership group in 2002, said: "It didn't hurt me as much as other people. I know what footy is like, I know it is a business."
"I don't think he needed to apologise to the Western Bulldogs. It is a business . . . probably he would have liked it to happen a bit differently, but at the end of the day, it is a business and he has to look after himself."
In his own words, Rose knew he was in for a "herculean" challenge the moment he arrived at Whitten Oval in August, 2002.
But even he could not predict just how tough in the early stages.
After just 10 days in his cramped office, Rose was shocked to learn Wallace wanted to part ways just two years into a four-year deal.
"It was one of the most disappointing and disillusioning times in my career," Rose said.
"His public apology (this week) I think is a reflection of how much it has been weighing on Terry's conscience."
Wallace, as he publicly signed off as Richmond coach on Monday, delivered the AFL's version of Kevin Rudd's "sorry" message.
"I had 14 wonderful years at the Western Bulldogs and one horrible week," Wallace said.
The Dogs accepted the apology with president David Smorgon praising Wallace for having the courage - even if he said he hoped to send him off with a loss.
The feeling wasn't as warm and fuzzy when Wallace fronted the press next to Smorgon in the old Bulldogs social rooms mid-afternoon on Tuesday, August 27, 2002.
He quickly informed the outside world he had lost his passion for the job.
Wallace said he made his intentions clear in the days leading up to a Round 22 clash with Collingwood because he could not go into knowing it would be his last with others around him oblivious.
"This was undoubtedly the most difficult decision I've had to make," Wallace said at the time.
"The Western Bulldogs became my second home. "Over the duration of this season I've found it was becoming increasingly difficult to really invigorate myself and therefore it becomes very difficult to invigorate the group."
Smorgon at the time said he did not "buy" Wallace's reasons for leaving halfway through a contract.
There was rampaging speculation Wallace had already done a deal to coach Sydney (the job Paul Roos eventually won).
Smorgon said it was obvious another club had "whetted" Wallace's appetite, and admitted feeling betrayed.
Later that day, Wallace penned a column for the Herald Sun, defending his decision.
"It was one of the toughest days in my football career," Wallace wrote.
"I have faced massive disappointment with Grand Final losses, serious injuries, more than 14 operations, and heartache when your time comes to leave the club for which you play.
"But what unfolded was right up there."
He went on to thank several players, but made special mention of Nathan Brown and Simon Garlick.
Ironically, both will be looking on from different sides tonight - Brown as an injured Tiger and Garlick as the Bulldogs' football director.
"This decision is not based on money, nor have I locked into a contract before speaking to the Bulldogs," Wallace wrote.
"Over the duration of this season, I have tired and lost some of that zest and enthusiasm."
Like everyone else in the football world, the Bulldogs players were hanging off every word.
Once Wallace admitted he had lost his passion and zest, the rumblings started.
The leadership group - Grant, Matthew Croft, Brad Johnson, Ben Harrison, Rohan Smith, Garlick, Darcy, Dimattina, Kretiuk, Brown and Scott West - met Smorgon and football director Jim Edmond.
"There was a fair bit of animosity in the room," Dimattina recalled yesterday.
"What lost us more than anything was when he said he had lost the passion for the group and couldn't get any more out of us.
"That was a sticking point with a few us.
"I can't remember who started the ball rolling, but a few weren't happy playing under him on the Saturday."
Darcy said the decision to block Wallace's plans for a farewell was a simple one.
"He said he's lost his passion to coach. We thought, 'That's fair enough, but excludes you from coaching the last game and having a send-off'," Darcy said.
The leadership group voted unanimously to deny Wallace a send-off.
Wallace said he was "extremely disappointed" with the outcome.
In a statement released by his management, Wallace said: "I was hoping to end my relationship with the Western Bulldogs on a high note.
"Unfortunately the board has denied me this opportunity and it's a decision I'm just going to have to accept."
But Smorgon was adamant it was a decision driven more by the players than the board.
"He won't get the send-off he was hoping for now," Smorgon said.
The timing of the announcement was horribly wrong.
Wallace's manager Craig Kelly said the Bulldogs had made a push to announce it before the last game - a claim the Dogs denied.
Wallace himself would later say the Dogs forced him to be part of the early press conference.
"Personally, I think it would have been in everyone's interests if this was done next week," Kelly conceded.
Kretiuk said Wallace had clearly gone to school after the messy exit seven years ago.
"The way Richmond has handled it this time and the way Plough has handled it - he learnt from his mistakes," Kretiuk said.
"I think the way Richmond has done it this time, he has gone out gracefully as he should have and he deserves that - he has been a fantastic coach and probably one of the best coaches I've had.
"If he had to go out - it's possibly the best way - a fairytale end against the Western Bulldogs."
Kretiuk was a fan favourite at Whitten Oval. The diehards loved him.
We are sure those supporters, with long memories, will be hoping the fairytale ending isn't too sweet.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,25589136-19742,00.html
