Jason Akermanis backs Craig McRae
Finn Bradshaw | June 04, 2009 11:53am
JASON Akermanis says that 'hatred' still exists between the Western Bulldogs and Richmond, who meet tomorrow night.
The Bulldogs’ veteran said there would be plenty of feeling in tomorrow night’s game, which is Tigers' coach Terry Wallace's final game after he agreed to walk away from Richmond earlier this week.
Wallace walked out on the Bulldogs in 2002, before landing at the Tigers prior to the 2005 season and Akermanis said that adds to the feeling between the two teams.
“There’s a great deal of hatred (between) the two clubs and maybe (Terry’s departure from the Dogs) helped it,” Akermanis said on Nova 100 this morning.
“Liberatore hit Matthew Knights (in 2001) and that’s when the hatred started. And when he left and ended up joining the Tigers, I’m sure that added fuel to the fire.”
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Akermanis also called on the Tigers to appoint his former teammate Craig McRae as their caretaker coach.
McRae, who is development manager at Richmond, is one of the candidates to take over from Terry Wallace, who leaves the club after Friday night’s match against the Bulldogs.
The others in the running include the Tigers’ other assistant coaches Wayne Campbell, Jade Rawlings and David King.
Akermanis believes McRae’s time in charge of the Queensland under-18 team – when he took it to the Division Two title at the national championships – should give him the gig.
“Wayne Campbell was an assistant coach over with the Western Bulldogs … he would be a fine inclusion, David King knows his stuff. Craig McRae is a personal friend of mine, he would be my favourite, only because he’s had his own team. He’s done very, very well, he’s a very, very switched on man when it comes to footy,” Akermanis said on Nova 100 this morning.
The three-time premiership player said he thought the responsibility for the Tigers’ poor start to the season fell to both the players and the coach.
“With football, so much happens just down there on the ground, that players have to take some responsibility, which I’m sure they are. A coach can only do so much in some ways, but yet you see players do amazing things if they get the right coaching. “
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25585695-19742,00.html
