Take a look at the adorable dogs of AFL players
With three TV remotes destroyed, Richmond star Tom Lynch might be starting to wonder if his groodle doesn’t like to watch him play. Take a look at our roundup of AFL stars and their pooches, and enter our reader footy dog photo competition.
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Their footy skills get drilled and grilled by their coaches, but when it comes to learning some of life’s most valuable lessons it seems our top AFL stars have their four-legged friends to thank.
St Kilda’s Blake Acres says his miniature dachshunds Lola and Harley help him to relax.
“Having a dog has taught me the simplest things can mean a lot — just a little walk can make their day.”
Western Bulldogs defender Caleb Daniel, 22, says his six-month-old rottweiler pup has taught him “that I am definitely not ready for children”.
Roos star Shaun Atley’s biggest lesson from dog Tako has been patience, while Richmond’s Jack Graham said owning Wally had taught him to “leave nothing on the ground when you leave the house”.
DO YOU HAVE FOOTY’S GREATEST FOUR-LEGGED FAN?
ENTER YOUR FOOTY DOG PHOTO
Tiger teammate Tom Lynch has learnt the hard way to hide the TV control from one-year-old groodle Gryff.
“He’s chewed up about three Foxtel remotes, so that’s the most annoying thing he’s done,” Lynch said.
The Herald Sun is searching for Victoria’s best 50 four-legged footy fans, with one reader’s pooch to be crowned our ultimate top dog.
AFL STARS AND THEIR DOGS
From naughty and embarrassing antics to those with their own Instagram dog accounts, meet the four-legged friends of some of our leading AFL players.
RICHMOND: TOM LYNCH
Lynch’s one-year-old groodle Gryff has a smart side: “He can open the back door and get himself out but can’t get himself back in”; and a naughty side: “We don’t have cushions on the couch because he chews them all”.
CARLTON: TAYLA HARRIS
The AFLW star loves taking her almost two-year-old border collie Beans for winter beach swims and picking him up for hugs, and jokes on his Instagram page that “he loves me for my personality” while he’s clearly eyeing off her lunch.
ST KILDA: BLAKE ACRES
Acres says his favourite thing to do is lay on the couch with miniature dachshunds Lola, 3, and Harley, 5. The most embarrassing thing they do in public is scare children, and the funniest? “Lola refusing to go home from a walk so she just ran away”.
WESTERN BULLDOGS: CALEB DANIEL
Daniel enjoys “walks and cuddles” with his six-month-old rottweiler pup Hugo and spends “way too much on food, he’s a big boy”. Hugo loves watching The Simpsons and is “usually chilling out the back, or trying to eat through the door”.
MELBOURNE: JAMES HARMES
The midfielder named his one-year-old miniature dachshund Sunny, though says some people think she’s a boy because of the name. “She’s smart and she sleeps on my bed most nights.’’
HAWTHORN: TOM MITCHELL
The Brownlow medallist has been spending a lot of time with golden retriever puppies Nala and Macy this year, while recovering from his pre-season broken leg. “Even if you’ve had a bad day you get home and see them and they cheer you up because they’re happy no matter what.”
COLLINGWOOD: BRODIE GRUNDY
Star ruckman Grundy proudly tells fans on social media he’s the “father” of Ava, an almost three-year-old border collie who can be seen on her own Instagram page wearing a Pies jumper, doing tricks and going on family camping trips.
DO YOU HAVE FOOTY’S GREATEST FOUR-LEGGED FAN?
ENTER YOUR FOOTY DOG PHOTO
RICHMOND: JACK GRAHAM
Graham’s one-year-old miniature dachshund Wally can be a naughty boy, once chewing his way through three light cords and a PlayStation controller and once “decided to do his business in a cafe”, but still gets to sleep at the end of the Tiger’s bed.
MELBOURNE: JACK VINEY
The Demons star runs an Instagram page for his Bernese mountain dog Sebastian, who shows no concern for his huge size in thinking he’s still a lapdog, and has made appearances on last year’s Brownlow red carpet and at Viney’s wedding in January.
HAWTHORN: JAMES WORPEL
The tough midfielder loves taking his border collie Ash, aged 6, on bush walks; says his pooch gives the woof of approval to watching Bachelor in Paradise; and funniest moment was when she “stole a kid’s football and ran off”.
ESSENDON: DYSON HEPPELL
The Bombers skipper has a golden retriever named Ziggy who is described as an “avid fan of sticks, pine cones, food and belly scratches.” but she tells her Instagram fans: “I don’t like zebra statues or carrot”. Heppell and partner Kate Turner welcomed a second pup named Flip to their brood on the weekend.
WESTERN BULLDOGS: EASTON WOOD
Doggies captain Wood has been known to be caught watching the footy on his mobile while walking border collie Jagger at the beach.
NORTH MELBOURNE: SHAUN ATLEY
Atley says the most embarrassing thing his two-year-old English staffordshire terrier Tako has done was “knocked a girl off her bike trying to jump on her” and when it comes to dogs looking like their owners “my head isn’t that big”.
DO YOU HAVE FOOTY’S GREATEST FOUR-LEGGED FAN?
ENTER YOUR FOOTY DOG PHOTO
MELBOURNE: JAYDEN HUNT
Taking inspiration from The Lion King, the Demons defender named his blue staffy Simba, who he jokes likes to play for the Ultimate Animal Wrestling Championship against his four-legged friends.
GEELONG: MITCH DUNCAN
Cats star Duncan named his six-year-old staffy-Aussie bulldog cross Juce after a character from TV series Sons of Anarchy, and says having a pet taught him about “supporting something other than yourself”.
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY: JEREMY CAMERON
German short-haired pointer Billie, 3, gets to go fishing and hunting with the Giants forward, and loves watching TV if it has “anything with animals in it”. Does he look like his dog? “People say we are very similar — skinny, run lots, never stop”.
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