Club in ‘Bull’ fight

By Brad Kingsbury
DOVETON Football Club will fight an AFL Victoria decision to ban Clint “Bull” Wilson from coaching the club after he failed a police check.
The 27-year-old ruckman, who has captained the club for the past six seasons, underwent the check as part of AFL Victoria level 1 coaching requirements and his application was refused after it was revealed that he had a police record that included convictions for assault.
Wilson was informed of the decision by AFL Victoria coaching development manager Steve Teakel on 12 February.
Doveton president Mark Woolgar said that an appeal against the decision would be officially lodged this week and Wilson would be represented by leading AFL advocate Iain Findlay.
“They’ve got a little bit overzealous, I think,” Mr Woolgar said.
“Clint was open and honest when he went through the process, but AFL Victoria decided that he wasn’t the right type of person to be coaching a football team.
“We’ll lodge an appeal and are hoping that this will be over soon and he will be accredited to coach our club in the next week.”
Mr Woolgar admitted that Wilson was no angel but he had undertaken anger management and the opportunity to coach was seen as a positive move by both parties with the past misdemeanours of his youth well behind him.
Wilson said that he had made some mistakes in the past but had not been in any trouble since 2005 and had worked hard to successfully address his issues and move on.
He said he had been considering coaching for several seasons and thought that he was now ready for that responsibility.
“It’s a big disappointment, it really knocked me,” he said.
“I’ve completed all my community service and did the (anger management) courses.
“I went back to court and the judge was really good and said that was the end of it and I thought it was, until now.
“I’ve run my own business for the last eight years. It’s OK to do that but not to coach my footy club?”
Wilson addressed the players after training on Monday night and explained the situation.
Mr Teakel, who ironically coached Doveton in 1992, said that Wilson was not the first person to be refused accreditation after a police check, but would not elaborate on the reasons for the decision.
“He was not accredited as a level 1 coach after a police check was done,” he said.
“They can appeal and then it can be made public but I can’t give any reasons or specifics because of any pending appeal.
“These rules have been in for some time.
“Anyone who signs on to be a coach has to say whether they have a police record or been convicted and then that gets followed up and comes to AFL Victoria. AFL Victoria then makes a decision based on that information.” An independent appeals board set up by AFL Victoria will hear the case on a date yet to be confirmed, and Doveton must lodge a $5000 bond with the appeal documentation.
Mr Woolgar said the appeal would be pursued vigorously and include references from MPNFL officials along with significant character references.