Patrick Dangerfield wants clubs and players to be more open to the media

Patrick Dangerfield says the men can learn from their female counterparts when it comes to promoting the game and wants clubs to make players more accessible to the media.

Patrick Dangerfield and Fremantle’s Nat Fyfe promoting AFLX. Picture: AAP

Patrick Dangerfield says players and clubs must provide greater media access to sell the game in same manner female players spruik the AFLW.

Dangerfield is the game’s leading ambassador and head of the AFL Players’ Association.

The AFLPA promised a more open media strategy in exchange for significant pay rises in the last CBA deal.

But many clubs remain closed shops, with their high-profile players rarely available for interview, while the media has often been booted out of training sessions after only 15 minutes of filming.

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Dangerfield said the league cannot afford to be complacent and closed-minded after last year’s early-season ratings slumps.

He said players such as Adelaide’s Josh Jenkins, vocal on social media and as analyst across the NFL and harness racing, needed to be supported instead of criticised.

“It is on clubs as well as much as anything. There is that real protection of club intellectual property clubs are concerned about but we all have a role to play in the growth of the game,” Dangerfield said.

“What we have seen with AFLW is the girls want to win but there is an understanding they need to grow the game.

“They are investing so much into it because they know it’s more than just themselves, it is creating this new game young girls can aspire to.

“We need to take a leaf out of the girls’ book. We need to grow the game, we need to be a bit more open.”

Geelong star Patrick Dangerfield wants players to make themselves more accessible to the media. Picture: Alan Barber

North Melbourne coach Denis Pagan once pilloried players widely in the media as being on “Media Street” but Pagan says thoseviews are now anachronistic.

“That is a two way street because the first players that do it, they can be shut down hard. Josh Jenkins is a great example. I love what he does in the media but there are some that will tear into him,” Dangerfield said.

“For the most part most are understanding and realise how much he is putting it out there and think I am not going to tearhim down even if some things are not quite spot on, because he’s having a crack and putting himself out there.

“We are going to have to see more of it if we are to grow the game. Gone are the days of the media street philosophy.”