Former Bomber Stewart Crameri reveals the stress of Essendon’s supplements saga

FORMER Bomber Stewart Crameri has moved on and is now a happy Cat, but the forward has revealed the full toll of the Essendon supplements saga. RECAP THE DAY’S FOOTY NEWS

ONE-TIME Bomber Stewart Crameri broke down as he recalled the stress of living through the club’s supplements saga.

Crameri, 29, was among 34 Essendon players banned for 12 months in the fallout of the club’s ill-fated program. The forward left the Bombers following the 2013 season to join the Western Bulldogs before landing at Geelong this year, where he has played the past two matches. TRIBUNAL: CONFUSION AS CURNOW BROTHERS CLEARED FAMILY SLEDGE: BOMBER BAGULEY HITS BACK BLOCKING: AFL SAYS THERE’S NO CRACKDOWN Speaking on Fox Footy’s On The Mark, Crameri told of the effects the saga had placed not only on himself and Essendon officials but those connected to the club. “It’s okay that it’s happened to me, it’s just the family and friends and all of the pressure that I’ve put on them,” Crameri said. “It’s all of the pressure that gets put on all of the people at the club. It was just really hard to see all of these great people going through this stuff. They were getting slagged through the media. They were my friends. “For someone to be guilty of something when they’re innocent, it’s just really hard to take. If you’re guilty, then that’s fair enough. But when you didn’t intentionally do anything wrong, I think that’s the hardest part to swallow.” Crameri also spoke of the heartache of not being able to get on the field during 2016, when Luke Beveridge’s side went all the way to an AFL premiership. “I got married on the Friday, it was a great day obviously, and then the next day I watched the Grand Final with all my friends and family,’ Crameri recalled. “About halfway through the last quarter I realised the boys were actually going to do it and it was quite hard to watch because I felt I should have been there, I should have been playing but I wasn’t. “I wasn’t angry as such, I was so happy for them but so sad that I couldn’t be a part of it. “I had to remove myself from my family ... I went out to the front and I sat there for five minutes. I said ‘I’ll give myself five minutes to reflect on it, be upset, whatever you have to be’ just to make sure I come back and not be upset about it and when I see the guys I’m really happy for them. “Watching that last bit was quite tough but there’s many a story of people missing out on Grand Finals, it is hard but that’s just part of the game.” Crameri said he had moved on in life and was now happy, but was critical of sports scientist Stephen Dank. “I can only speak for myself ... but I think he was clumsy with some of his dealings with us. I’m not sure what was going through his head, but a lot of people have been affected by it,” Crameri said. “We were hopeful that he would come out and actually help us out and say what he did and actually fix the issue that he created. “From that point of view, we were just waiting and waiting and he never came out and said anything. It was disappointing to see. “We put faith and trust into Dank and he led us down the wrong path, obviously.” LIVE stream every match of every round of the 2018 Toyota AFL Premiership Season on FOX SPORTS. Get your free 2-week trial & start watching in minutes. SIGN UP NOW >

Originally published as Former Bomber Stewart Crameri reveals the stress of Essendon’s supplements saga

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