‘First ones out’: Ex-AFL coach slams Blues dobbers for ‘low’ act
AFL icon Justin Leppitsch has delivered a scathing message to Carlton players as reports emerge of fractures within the struggling club.
Former Richmond assistant coach Justin Leppitsch says the players at Carlton who have reportedly taken aim at coach David Teague under the guise of anonymity should be “the first ones out”.
The Blues this week confirmed they have launched an external review into their football department, as their win-loss record for 2021 slumped to 4-8 over the weekend.
A report in The Age said at least one player has talked about the lack of clarity in the side’s game plan, while another questioned elements of team selection.
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Speaking on SEN’s Whateley on Tuesday morning, Leppitsch referenced the report and delivered a scathing assessment of those who had reportedly taken issue with elements of the side’s coaching.
“I get disappointed when I hear even the rumours that may not even be true of players going to ... whether it be a board member and bad mouthing the coach,” he said.
“To me, I‘d be looking at that player straight away saying, ‘You’re the first one out’. If you are going to go down that path, you are untrustworthy in my opinion, I don’t care who you are.
“So I think if the board do hear stuff like that from players, they’re the first ones I’d be ringing and saying, ‘You’re not a part of what we want’, I don’t care who you are.”
Leppitsch, a highly lauded member of Richmond’s recent premiership-winning coaching staff and someone the Blues have tried to entice to the club, said “culture first” was the way forward for the struggling side.
“We’re all different as people, we’re all made up differently, we all have different strengths and different weaknesses. There’s no one out there deliberately trying to hurt your organisation,” he explained.
“So why speak poorly of David Teague? He looks like a guy who always tries his best to get the best out of his team.
“So to do that (complain), to me, I think is low. Those are the sorts of people to me that I’d be looking at straightaway.”
Originally published as ‘First ones out’: Ex-AFL coach slams Blues dobbers for ‘low’ act
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