Following our exes...................

[Mitcha]

Re: Following our exes...................

I had heard Matthew Boyd advised Collingwood not to touch Stringer when Boyd started his coaching career with the filth when he finished playing with us. Now as Boyd returns to Collingwood I reckon he may have warned Collingwood again not to go near him.

[Axe Man]

Re: Following our exes...................

I have zero medical qualifications and have never met Aker but I reckon I could have come up with the same diagnosis.

Jason Akermanis on life-changing ADHD diagnosis: How he could have stemmed antics

Across a 300-game career, Jason Akermanis was always chasing attention, on and off the field. He?s now discovered the driving force behind his antics, and reveals how a life-changing diagnosis could have stemmed his outbursts if he had it while playing.

Brisbane Lions triple premiership star Jason Akermanis has revealed a lifelong battle with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), adamant he would have avoided many of the great controversies of his decorated career with an early diagnosis.

Akermanis? 16-year-old daughter Sienna was diagnosed last year and his speech-pathologist wife Megan suggested at the same time that he might have the same condition.

Now well-medicated, he says it has been a life-changing decision given he is no longer chasing those dopamine hits that followed some of the big controversies that invariably followed his career. The 46-year-old was one of football?s most dynamic players, but through his regular media interviews and print columns was a lightning rod for controversy, eventually sacked by Lions coach Leigh Matthews.

He will never regret the post-match handstands that drew the adoration of Brisbane fans, but says they were exactly the kind of attention-seeking acts that his brain craved because of the disorder.

Now working in real estate in Brisbane, the Brownlow Medallist said all of the symptoms of ADHD ? hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity ? were features of his life until he sought expert medical care.

?The typical ADHD brain won?t make dopamine normally. It really needs to be stimulated. Nearly all of it occurs in sport ? kicking a big goal in front of a big crowd or any kind of exertion is the only way to do it.

?When I look back (had I been diagnosed), I could have done better at school because if your brain doesn?t concentrate that?s clearly an issue.

?But the other part that got me in the most trouble was talking to get myself going.

?I would write stuff and stay stuff against my opponents. I would pick my targets and it got my brain going and my brain loved it, but I was the only one who loved it. Everyone at the club, particularly the coach, didn?t like it.

?Put it this way, there would be no question I would have avoided all of (the controversies).

?It?s all about reacting quickly and poorly. I would have had a brain that would have allowed me to say, ?Let?s take stock, let?s have a look at this, how can I say it well??. That is the difference.?

Akermanis believes those Gabba handstands were the perfect example of his need for attention ? with the desire to avoid rejection a key element of the condition.

?For me that was the best thing outside kicking goals. You would go around and get that roar and it was brilliant. My brain would have loved it and I loved it. There is nothing I would change, but maybe a non-ADHD brain would think it?s a good idea because you didn?t need it. My brain obviously did need it.?

The 325-game star still believes Matthews would have traded him for revealing the extent of teammate Nigel Lappin?s rib injury leading into the 2003 Grand Final had he not kicked five goals. But he was eventually moved on by the legendary Lions coach ? who described him as a football ?consultant? ? with his Bulldogs tenure also ending in acrimony as he warred with a well-entrenched leadership group in 2010.

Akermanis said the best way to describe ADHD was like having 12 tabs open on your computer compared to a single screen.

?Once I started taking Ritalin, my whole life changed forever,? he said.

?Those meds for normal people would be a stimulant, but for us it just calms the mind down and gets it to work beautifully. And that is worth every single doctors? appointment.

?For the first time I could sit down and do contracts, I could do Form 6s, which in Queensland are the legal documents for selling and leasing properties. I could sit down and do 1000 emails. Before that if there was one error I would get so frustrated I would have to walk away. Those hard things went from being so hard to mundane.

?If I was in the media now I would be a completely different Jason Akermanis compared to the one who years ago was getting in trouble for all kinds of shit.?

Akermanis said he would still have left the Lions in search of another premiership even if not for his controversies, but remains steadfast he did little wrong in the Lappin episode.

?No, that wasn?t one I regretted because I was telling the truth. That was the one that was going to get me sacked. You ask Leigh ? and he never admits it ? but he said to Gubby (football boss Graeme Allan), ?at the end of this Grand Final you get rid of him. Just do anything. Get him out of the team?.

?Both of them have never denied it. I ask them and they never say no, they just shrug their shoulders with a smile. But after I kicked five goals (in that Grand Final), apparently Gubby said, ?What do you reckon about trade week?? and Leigh said, ?He?s got a job for life?.?

[mjp]

Re: Following our exes...................

I have zero medical qualifications and have never met Aker but I reckon I could have come up with the same diagnosis.

Same.

[Grantysghost]

Re: Following our exes...................

Aker on ritalin

That would be something.

[jazzadogs]

Re: Following our exes...................

Steven King collapsed at Cats training this afternoon.

Reported to have been awake and stable at the ground, but taken to hospital as a precaution/for further investigation. Hope he is okay, especially when it sounds like he's just about to get his chance at a head coach role with the Eagles.

[Grantysghost]

Re: Following our exes...................

Hope it doesn't affect his chances with the Eagles.

[whythelongface]

Re: Following our exes...................

Jeepers that ain?t good. Hope he is ok.

[Bornadog]

Re: Following our exes...................

Melbourne may pick up Tom Campbell

[angelopetraglia]

Re: Following our exes...................

Melbourne may pick up Tom Campbell

If that happens. He would move from hall of fame to legend status.

[GVGjr]

Re: Following our exes...................

if that happens. He would move from hall of fame to legend status.

The GOAT

[comrade]

Re: Following our exes...................

The GOAT

The GEOAT

[Axe Man]

Re: Following our exes...................

Apparently Darcy would rather quit than work with Kane and Caro.

Media Street: Channel 7 and Triple M commentator Luke Darcy walking away from the media

The football media landscape is changing dramatically with an AFL great to walk out the door completely, following the defections of Kane Cornes and Caroline Wilson.

Channel 7 and Triple M commentator Luke Darcy is walking away from the media.

The former Western Bulldogs captain is set to pull up stumps following the Grand Final to focus on his family?s flourishing business empire.

Darcy has been one of the most versatile and respected media figures over the past 15 years, holding a number of different gigs including hosting the Hot Breakfast on Triple M with Eddie McGuire for 11 years.

The 49-year-old has been one of Seven?s stars since 2011 whether in the commentary box or hosting roles on Talking Footy and the 2020 Olympics. He has also worked on some of the network?s lifestyle offerings, co-hosting on the House of Wellness.

Darcy?s shock exit comes as a huge shake-up of the football media landscape with a number of big names switching networks.

Seven needs to clear some space in the coffers after new sport boss Chris Jones? audacious poaching raid on rival Channel 9, signing Footy Classified panellists Kane Cornes and Caroline Wilson.

Ironically, Darcy made headlines last year when he clashed on-air with Cornes, calling the SEN shock jock out for his style saying he had no friends in the industry.

And last week Darcy let on Triple M that veteran sports anchor Tim Watson was set to vacate his position at the end of the year.

Darcy, who played 226 games with the Dogs between 1994-2007, is also a board member at the Western Bulldogs and is keen to spend more time watching his son Sam who is a rising star of the competition.

He also has plenty of business ventures to fall back on.

Darcy?s Bali wellness spa, Sukhavati Ayurvedic Retreat and Spa, situated in a rural village near hotspot Canggu, is popular among AFL types with Nathan Buckley and his partner, Brodie Ryan, recently returning from a self-discovering detox.

The Darcy family has long been involved in the Melbourne pub scene and owned a number of city venues including Melbourne Public on South Wharf.

Darcy is also the co-founder of the Aleda Collective, a consultancy business working with business leaders, coaches and educators. He also has a podcast called ?Empowering Leaders?.

The former ruckman has previously been mooted for politics and reportedly introduced leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton to meditation.

[chef]

Re: Following our exes...................

Now he gets to be a full time footy dad and not miss a game, no more working others. Lucky guy.

[Rocco Jones]

Re: Following our exes...................

We have no friends in the media.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

Re: Following our exes...................

Footy is going to become even more sufferable to watch on free to air.