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Akermanis fans the flames
By Tim Morrissey
September 19, 2003
THE Brisbane Broncos have Gorden Tallis. The Brisbane Lions have Jason Akermanis. They're the two
Queenslanders all of Sydney loves to hate.
Two brilliant but flawed players. No matter how great
their onfield deeds, Tallis and Akermanis somehow manage to get under people's skins south of the Queensland boarder.
Many would argue that the outspoken bottle-blond Akermanis is in a class of his own. He was inciting groans from NSW footy supporters again last Tuesday night on ABC's
The Fat when he labelled the Swans' run-with star Jared Crouch "the worst type of tagger you can get".
Even the cheeky grin the Brownlow medal-winning midfielder wore as he made the comment didn't take the sting out of his barb before the dual between Akermanis and Crouch in tomorrow night's preliminary final at Telstra Stadium.
Crouch got the better of Akermanis in the Swans' two upset wins over the Lions this year and is likely to get the assignment again on Brisbane's No.12.
When Akermanis was asked on The Fat, "Do you want to play on Jared Crouch this week", he answered "absolutely".
"The thing with Jared is he runs around and doesn't actually go anywhere near the ball," he continued.
"He just watches me. If you watch tapes, basically his whole negating role is that he doesn't even want to get a kick. It's just as long as I don't get a kick.
"That in one way can be a benefit [for the Lions] if we use it properly. It's probably the worst type of tagger you can get."
Akermanis obviously has forgotten about Crouch's crucial fourth-quarter goal from 50 metres on a tough angle, ending Brisbane's last-ditch fightback as the Lions went down
for the first time this season in round seven at the SCG.
But the explosive Lions star has a habit of shooting his mouth off and making brutally frank comments about opposition players.
Last year "Akermania" went into overdrive as he threatened to switch to rugby union if the Lions signed Wayne Carey, after the champion forward quit the Kangaroos when his
affair with the wife of close friend and Roos vice-captain Anthony Stevens was exposed.
Akermanis also publicly promised to exact "brutal" retribution against West Coast tagger Josh Wooden going into their round 20 clash in 2002.
During 2002 pre-season he blamed the controversial acne drug Roaccutane for his health problems, including fatigue and weight gain.
Akermanis said he took the drug for professional rather than aesthetic reasons. His mouth got him into trouble again this year when the AFL handed out a suspended
$5000 fine after Akermanis slammed the league's investigation into Brisbane's use of hypoxicator machines to improve the flow of red blood cells to determine whether that was against the spirit of sport.
Akermanis' latest outburst aimed at Crouch has left Swans officials less than impressed because of the way it tarnishes the reputation of Sydney's most respected run-with
player.
Not a great career move for someone coming out of contract and rumoured to be interested in playing for the Swans next year.
Akermanis has been linked with the Swans for 2004 but his controversial demeanour is likely to count against him in any deal.
Whatever the Swans might think about Akermanis, the speedy Crouch knows he is facing his toughest assignment of the year.
But it's one he's ready for.
"Some of the footy Aker played last weekend against Adelaide was sensational," said Crouch.
"He gets the likes of Simon Black and Michael Voss to feed him the ball and he is explosive. He runs hard and that goal he kicked on his left foot ...
"[But] if he does get a metre on me I certainly back myself to make that metre up."
The Daily Telegraph
By Tim Morrissey
September 19, 2003
THE Brisbane Broncos have Gorden Tallis. The Brisbane Lions have Jason Akermanis. They're the two
Queenslanders all of Sydney loves to hate.
Two brilliant but flawed players. No matter how great
their onfield deeds, Tallis and Akermanis somehow manage to get under people's skins south of the Queensland boarder.
Many would argue that the outspoken bottle-blond Akermanis is in a class of his own. He was inciting groans from NSW footy supporters again last Tuesday night on ABC's
The Fat when he labelled the Swans' run-with star Jared Crouch "the worst type of tagger you can get".
Even the cheeky grin the Brownlow medal-winning midfielder wore as he made the comment didn't take the sting out of his barb before the dual between Akermanis and Crouch in tomorrow night's preliminary final at Telstra Stadium.
Crouch got the better of Akermanis in the Swans' two upset wins over the Lions this year and is likely to get the assignment again on Brisbane's No.12.
When Akermanis was asked on The Fat, "Do you want to play on Jared Crouch this week", he answered "absolutely".
"The thing with Jared is he runs around and doesn't actually go anywhere near the ball," he continued.
"He just watches me. If you watch tapes, basically his whole negating role is that he doesn't even want to get a kick. It's just as long as I don't get a kick.
"That in one way can be a benefit [for the Lions] if we use it properly. It's probably the worst type of tagger you can get."
Akermanis obviously has forgotten about Crouch's crucial fourth-quarter goal from 50 metres on a tough angle, ending Brisbane's last-ditch fightback as the Lions went down
for the first time this season in round seven at the SCG.
But the explosive Lions star has a habit of shooting his mouth off and making brutally frank comments about opposition players.
Last year "Akermania" went into overdrive as he threatened to switch to rugby union if the Lions signed Wayne Carey, after the champion forward quit the Kangaroos when his
affair with the wife of close friend and Roos vice-captain Anthony Stevens was exposed.
Akermanis also publicly promised to exact "brutal" retribution against West Coast tagger Josh Wooden going into their round 20 clash in 2002.
During 2002 pre-season he blamed the controversial acne drug Roaccutane for his health problems, including fatigue and weight gain.
Akermanis said he took the drug for professional rather than aesthetic reasons. His mouth got him into trouble again this year when the AFL handed out a suspended
$5000 fine after Akermanis slammed the league's investigation into Brisbane's use of hypoxicator machines to improve the flow of red blood cells to determine whether that was against the spirit of sport.
Akermanis' latest outburst aimed at Crouch has left Swans officials less than impressed because of the way it tarnishes the reputation of Sydney's most respected run-with
player.
Not a great career move for someone coming out of contract and rumoured to be interested in playing for the Swans next year.
Akermanis has been linked with the Swans for 2004 but his controversial demeanour is likely to count against him in any deal.
Whatever the Swans might think about Akermanis, the speedy Crouch knows he is facing his toughest assignment of the year.
But it's one he's ready for.
"Some of the footy Aker played last weekend against Adelaide was sensational," said Crouch.
"He gets the likes of Simon Black and Michael Voss to feed him the ball and he is explosive. He runs hard and that goal he kicked on his left foot ...
"[But] if he does get a metre on me I certainly back myself to make that metre up."
The Daily Telegraph
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