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Dayle Garlett
- Thread starter ozserpico66
- Start date
This Is Anfield said:
Learning to leave the party
Date
October 5, 2013
Emma Quayle
Dayle Garlett wasn't sure what to do. But he knew exactly how he felt, when he realised at the end of last year that not one AFL club wanted him. He felt ashamed, as though he had let people down. He was embarrassed, because everyone knew why he hadn't been picked up. He felt stupid, too, for having assumed it would happen.
''I wasn't one of those boys who were saying they would definitely be drafted. I was more hoping. But inside, I didn't think I would miss out,'' he said. ''I've remembered that this year as well. I hope I get drafted this year, but you can't just hope. You have to tell the clubs and show them why they should be picking you up.''
That wasn't on his mind this time last year. To Garlett, the 2012 draft combine feels like it happened just a few months ago. He can still remember how confident he felt, how well he had been playing, how certain he was that someone would want him. Then the clubs started asking him about his eating habits, how much he drank, why he went out so often, why he had missed recovery sessions, and by the time he got home to Perth he knew he was being judged on much more than his left-foot kick and 20-metre sprint time.
He didn't get invited to this year's combine until a few weeks ago, but he hadn't been sweating on it and he arrived knowing it was up to him to prove himself. ''You can say whatever you want to say to the clubs, but you have to show it as well,'' he said. ''Coming here, you want to say things to them and tell them you've changed, but you also have to back it up and shown them why it's different.''
Garlett had no idea what he would do next, when he was overlooked in the national draft last November. His head started spinning - was he meant to get a job? Start some sort of course? Work in the mines?
''I had no back-up plans,'' he said, ''because I hadn't even thought about it.''
He didn't need to figure anything out for a few more weeks, either, because Essendon asked him over to train almost immediately. Then the Bombers decided not to pick him - a decision to go out partying the night he flew home to Perth not helping convince the club he was ready to settle down - and he felt even more overwhelmed. For five or six weeks he quit football entirely, and when his family, teammates and coaches at Swan Districts talked him into coming back to the club it wasn't about trying to get to an AFL team again.
''In my head, the first thing I thought was, no one gets second chances,'' he said. ''I was thinking I had to focus on my life and get a job and look after myself. I needed some time to chill a bit, and relax, and work out what I wanted to do. Everyone was pressuring me and telling me I had to play, but I had to put that to the side and think about myself. When I went back, it was because I loved the club and because I loved playing football in general. I didn't think I would get another chance for the AFL, I just wanted to play because I loved it.''
Garlett was a late starter for pre-season, overweight and unfit, but enthusiastic again. He lost weight and dropped his skinfolds, listening to the people telling him what and when to eat. He did some extra training sessions and turned up early all season. He spent most of the year playing on the forward line, where he found out that he still needed to improve his endurance and work on his pressure skills, but showed everyone watching that his skills were ready to be tested at a new level.
''His football was exceptional for us,'' said Phil Smart, the Swan Districts football manager. ''We played him mostly as a high forward and I think he'll probably develop into a midfielder, but his skills are immaculate. That hasn't changed, and he's improved. I think he's a better player now than he was last year.''
The question then was whether he would do the right things off the ground. And that question is still there. If Garlett was to be drafted, said one recruiter, it would be in this draft: it's not a particularly strong one, and it's an even group, with not a huge number of eye-catching players. It takes only one club for someone to get picked, pointed out another. But many recruiters either have the exact same doubts they had this time last year, or think not enough has changed. A handful of clubs have travelled to Perth to visit Garlett at home and while that has encouraged him, he knows from experience such visits can rule players out as much as they can rule them in.
''I'm not getting my hopes up,'' he said. ''I'm not too stressed out about it. I've tried not to think about the draft this year, it's been more about my football and trying to get my body right and playing well and helping my family out. If I get drafted, then I'll only focus on my football, but I wanted to play because I liked it, not take it too seriously and get my hopes up in case I do get let down again. I still really want it, but I just tried to focus on other things so that if it happens, it just happens.''
What he can say is that he still likes to go out, but not as much as he used to. ''You have to pick the right times and that's not every weekend or even every second weekend.''
He has a girlfriend, Emma, who has helped him settle down. He's been studying a personal training course and since returning at the end of the pre-season hasn't missed a training run or a recovery session. He's broken away from some of his friends, tried to make better choices about who he hangs around with. He's not drinking or smoking, he's tried to be honest whenever the clubs have asked questions of him, and he hopes this is enough.
''Coming from last year into this year there's a big difference. I've definitely learnt to say no to some of my mates and to make my own choices. Giving them up was pretty hard, very hard actually, but I just asked myself how much I really wanted to play footy and make a name for myself and I moved on from there. I was disappointed in myself last year with the mistakes I made and I didn't want to build my hopes up, but I also didn't want to face the fear again of not being drafted,'' he said.
''My girlfriend's been a great influence, helping me cut back with how much I go out and finding no time for it any more. Now it's just footy training, playing games and going home to rest up with her, so she's been a big part of my life and that's what I've tried to get across.
''Everything the recruiters ask me, if it's true then I'll confront it and talk to them about it, but I've been more confident with them this year, more relaxed and more calm and all the meetings I've had have been good meetings.
''I don't know what's going to happen but I definitely think I could play for an AFL team if I got the chance. Even getting this far again and getting this much of a second chance has been the best thing that's happened to me. I just want to grab it with two hands now.''
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/learning-to-leave-the-party-20131004-2uzu6.html#ixzz2gpWES7j3
Word is we are not interested. I really can't understand why to be honest. For a late pick if he is still available why wouldn't we take the risk. This world has become too perfect!
Multi million dollar elite sports industry with a rabid media pack hovering over the top of it. Yep at this level near perfection isn't just expected it's demanded. Players like Buddy, Dusty, Swannie etc. wouldn't even be noticed at the next level down, just a few of the lads. But at AFL level it creates mass hysteria if they fart publicly. Same scenario for Dayle, footy talent is barely half the requirement nowadays.crackertiger said:
Dean MacDonald, Troy Taylor, Dusty... Just three names I can come up with in regards to why we wouldn't go down that road again.crackertiger said:
Guys run around in the states shooting off handguns at god knows what and still keep contracts worth millions. A guy gets on the turps here and it's full on media meltdown, handwringing and loss of sponsorship $. Different worlds.
Yeah but if you can get it right, Swannie, Buddy, Stevie J n Dusty as a work still in progress easily trumps your lot of dodgy nuffers. It's all a matter of risk, reward. Is Dayle a big enough reward to take a risk on him having his head sorted, or that we can manage his head into the required space.taraba said:
And one day it will be popular to be different again! The media drive this perfect world mentality while they are certainly not perfect themselves. Some of them have white line fever 
olice:
Some of the best footballers this competition has seen have had plenty of issues. It's just life and that doesn't mean we have to eliminate them because they have minor behaviour issues. As long as they don't break the law or hurt people if they are naturally brilliant footballers we should harness them.
Too many do gooders running this world!
olice:Some of the best footballers this competition has seen have had plenty of issues. It's just life and that doesn't mean we have to eliminate them because they have minor behaviour issues. As long as they don't break the law or hurt people if they are naturally brilliant footballers we should harness them.
Too many do gooders running this world!
taraba said:
Based on that we would only ever draft perfect private school upper class kids. Kids are kids, it's up to our club to create a culture and have strong leadership to harness talent. Not eliminate kids just because they arent perfect.
crackertiger said:
any employee, in any field of business, has the right to select people on how the think they'd fit into the team for whatever reason. i don't see why football should be any different. and that's not a reflection on garlett. i hope he is drafted and does well.
rosy23 said:
That is why we chose Tambling over Buddy....It is a good policy but not 100% certain to be right everytime.
tigertime2 said:
of course it's not 100% certain every time. my point was employees have the right to weigh up the pros and cons as they see them. cracker's nanny state and do gooder comments are a bit over the top imo. funny to say the world is becoming too perfect due to an impression we aren't interested in garlett.
Troy Taylor is probably the name that looms largest in our recruiters minds. He could have been brilliant, but for whatever reason didn't want it enough and burned us badly in the process.taraba said:
Martin Pike anyone .4 flags .I think its time the club backed it's self in to handle any recruit .as Brisbane found with Pike the rewards can be great .
