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Sky News AU
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Sky News AU
'Bigger than one premiership team': North Melbourne greats furious over AFLW side's inclusion at centenary celebrations, as Wayne Carey tells Sam Kekovich to ‘bite the bullet'
AFL icons are at loggerheads over the North Melbourne's upcoming centenary celebration, with club legends slamming the decision to combine the commemoration of Kangaroo's 1975 VFL premiership with its 2024 AFLW success - all at a single cocktail function before a Thursday night match. Sam Kekovich, a key figure in North Melbourne's first-ever premiership, has publicly declared he will not attend, calling the event a 'token gesture' and a 'political stunt' that diminishes the significance of the club's greatest sporting milestone. 'You can't conflate a VFL premiership with an AFLW flag,' Kekovich said earlier this month. 'We were the trailblazers. We deserve more than a stand-up, finger food reception before a game.' Joining Kekovich in the boycott is former teammate John Burns, who booted four goals in the 1975 Grand Final and says the club should have staged a marquee weekend gala to mark the occasion. Adding fuel to the fire is club legend Wayne Carey, who says he, too, is disappointed with how the event is being handled - but has urged his former teammates to attend anyway. 'I love Keka, but sometimes you've got to bite the bullet,' Carey said on the You Cannot Be Serious podcast. 'You do it for the benefit of more than just yourself. 'There are many, many people who've made this club what it is. This is bigger than one premiership team.' But Carey's own place in the club's legacy was called into question just months ago, after North Melbourne omitted him from a promotional video marking the centenary - despite his role in delivering two premierships in 1996 and 1999. The centenary celebration, set for next Thursday at Marvel Stadium, has drawn criticism for its structure and timing. Instead of a sit-down gala, the club opted for a 500-person cocktail reception before its prime-time clash against the Western Bulldogs. The switch from a round 20 fixture against Geelong - the club's first VFL opponent in 1925 - to a midweek slot has only intensified player frustration. Former Roos coach and legend Malcolm Blight said many players had already booked holidays and were blindsided by the last-minute changes. 'We went from a gala dinner to sausage rolls and stood around in the cold,' Blight said. 'No wonder some of the boys are out.' Footy commentator Sam Newman was more blunt: 'It's a disgrace. You've got Malcolm Blight flying in from Queensland for a pissy stand-up function. If you'd done a proper dinner at Crown, you'd have had 1000 people through the door and filled the club's coffers.' Journalist Caroline Wilson suggested a key point of contention is the club's decision to honour both the men's and women's teams at the same event. 'This is largely about gender,' Wilson said on The Agenda Setters. 'Some of the old guard clearly don't like that the women are sharing the stage.' AFL 360's Lauren Wood also argues that the club's women's program is an essential part of its future - and deserves equal spotlight. 'The AFLW team is part of the club. This isn't a premiership reunion - it's a centenary celebration. Both milestones matter,' she said on Fox Footy's Midweek Tackle. North Melbourne maintains it has invested over $150,000 in the celebrations and is doing everything possible to include as many figures from its past as possible. Former CEO Eugene Arocca also weighed in, expressing surprise that only one of the club's seven living CEOs had been invited. 'It seems odd when clubs like Hawthorn invited all their ex-CEOs,' Arocca told the Herald Sun. 'A 100-year celebration only comes around once.' Despite the growing discontent, the club says more than 40 players will take part in the on-ground ceremony next week, including Brownlow medallist Keith Greig and Carey himself.
7NEWS
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- 7NEWS
Ugly feud explodes as Wayne Carey launches at Warwick Capper following AFL ban
The feud between AFL champion Wayne Carey and Warwick Capper has gone to a nuclear level with Carey re-stating his contempt for the former AFL high-flyer. Carey's outburst has come after 7NEWS chief AFL reporter Mitch Cleary revealed that Capper had been banned from all AFL venues for five years following 'vile behaviour' at the MCG during last year's grand final. Catering staff reported that Capper was heavily intoxicated, used derogatory language and intimidated a female staff member, allegedly calling her 'a nice looking girl' who could get a job at his brothel. Carey, whose own behaviour towards women in his life has been questioned over the years, said Capper's behaviour was inexcusable. 'To say something like that to a young girl … whether he says it or not … whether he was pissed, it's no excuse,'' Carey said on the You Cannot Be Serious. 'What he said was clearly wrong. I imagine that wouldn't have been the only thing. 'You don't get barred for five years for one comment like that. 'Does the punishment fit the crime, I've got no idea. I assume there would have been more than one comment. I officially would say that the AFL probably got this right.' In 2023, Capper purchased Westminster Secrets, a brothel based in the Melbourne suburb Oakleigh. Earlier this year he was in trouble for an incident at a sports club in Melbourne's western suburbs this year, where he allegedly exposed himself, allegedly simulated sex acts, made references to drug use, and claimed he got it on with the wife of the event organiser. Capper denied that he exposed himself but the event organiser said he had concerns for the former footballer and believed he was unwell. Capper recently spoke about his fears of brain trauma from his time in the game, and said his speech was often disjointed and his behaviour had become erratic. 'I write my whole day now in my phone so I don't forget,' he said in the recent interview. Carey said Capper's behaviour should not be attributed to head knocks. 'Don't you dare say or anyone for that matter say that (the behaviour is) because he's had a few knocks in footy,' Carey said. 'By the way, I can't ever remember him getting a knock. But he's joined the action against the AFL. 'He was boxing for a while so how he deciphers between boxing and the AFL and he's suing the AFL. 'Don't blame behaviour on that crap. I'm saying he shouldn't be blaming behaviour on it.' Carey said he's no fan of Capper and had made that abundantly clear the 61-year-old. 'I don't say anything about anyone I wouldn't say to them,'' Carey said. 'I have told Warwick this to his face, he's too attention seeking when he's in the public arena. 'That's why I call him 'vegemite' ... a little bit goes a long way.' Capper's manager Tony Marks has defended his client. 'No doubt there's a few inappropriate things said in the caricature that is Warwick Capper and playing the class clown, but five years from every AFL venue, including no cricket, concerts … that stinks,' Marks said. 'He knows he needs to pull his socks up with some of his jokes, but under no circumstances would he want anyone to be offended. 'He was making a joke and it was overheard and offence was taken.'
