This is just ridiculous. Fair enough the guy misses his kids and wants to see them, but surely he must step down as captain of the Swans. How can you have a captain who is only in town for half a week.SMH wrote:Swans skipper to call Melbourne home
By Michael Cowley
May 3, 2005
http://www.smh.com.au/news/AFL/Swans-sk ... 15542.html
The Swans last night defended their decision to allow captain Stuart Maxfield to commute from Melbourne for the remainder of the season, and most likely the rest of his career.
Maxfield will spend the early part of the week in Melbourne and return to Sydney on Wednesday night or Thursday morning for the team's main training on Thursday afternoon.
The unusual move comes at the end of a trying week for the Swans, who have lost three matches in a row, are languishing in 12th spot on the ladder and were at the weekend castigated by the AFL's chief executive, Andrew Demetriou, for playing "ugly" football.
Sydney coach Paul Roos said he was completely comfortable with the new arrangement and had persuaded Maxfield, who split from his wife last year and whose two young children have returned with their mother to Melbourne, to see the merits of commuting.
Both Roos and Maxfield said football had changed in recent times and the early part of the week was now about recovery, something a player who is known for his professional attitude towards training would be able to do in Melbourne.
"Prior to us thinking through the issue two or three weeks ago, we had also talked to the medical staff and Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday was really, for him, just a little bit of running and not much of anything else," Roos said.
"It fits into the schedule perfectly so it doesn't affect his preparation at all. In a sense it makes no difference to what we are doing as a footy team. We know he's going to prepare well and we know he's going to be here for training on Thursday, and that was the only time he was going to train anyway.
"[Team doctor] Nathan Gibbs was the first one to come up with the idea. It grew from there and it made sense and I know the player group are supportive of it. We explored it with Stuart and he was a little bit reluctant, but once he was down there last week, being with [his children] for three days, I think he's really pleased about it, and we believe as a club it's the right thing to happen."
Roos said the Swans wanted players to understand that the club cared for their well-being. Still, the notion of a captain with only a part-time presence at the club may bring the Swans yet more criticism.
"What we stand for as a footy club is not just about winning and losing, it's about the human side … your kids have always got to be more important than the footy club," Roos said.
"And probably Stuey was putting the club ahead of his kids and felt that being captain … he couldn't see a way out of it. So we had to present him with an option … Stuart was certainly missing his kids and he was really struggling with that side of it."
It is not the first time a player has commuted. Chris Langford, who starred for Hawthorn in the 1990s, worked in Sydney and travelled between Sydney and Melbourne each week.
Last night, Maxfield said: "To cut a long story short, my wife and children are based in Melbourne now and it's been a bit awkward for the kids themselves and everyone involved and I wanted to spend a bit more time with my children. So it's been great to get the support from the club.
"It's obviously difficult during the footy season, and with the first half of the season you travel a lot and we don't play any games in Melbourne until round 10, so it's been pretty tough.
"At times it's been a week and a half, or two weeks between when you see your kids, and that wasn't good enough for my children or for me. It doesn't have anything to do with access, it's just what's better for all members of the family. The kids need to see their mother and father.
"It's obviously not a common practice. There have been examples in the past - Chris Langford and Andrew McKay [who commuted from Queensland to Carlton] did it - and for the club to do this is not surprising given the support I've had from the club over the whole 10 years I've been there. It's another example of them helping players out whatever way they can."
His form of this year and last doesn't warrant the captaincy in my opinion either. He's more a liability than a leader for the Swans. Obviously his separation has adversely affected him. With that in mind, why not step down. He certainly isn't making a worthwhile contribution on the field.
It seems we are back to the old days when the Swans formerly from South Melbourne thought it was acceptable to commute between Melbourne and Sydney for games, whilst living full time in Melbourne.
Maxfield clearly has issues that are distracting him from footy. How can his position in the team therefore be justified? Get out of the way Maxfield and let someone else at the club take over the captaincy.
