Yahoo Finance 'A shambles': Ex-AFL player lifts lid on dismal Kangaroos season
Former North Melbourne defender Marley Williams, one of 11 players de-listed in a surprisingly extensive process at the end of the 2020 season, has described the Kangaroos’ year as a ‘shambles’.
The Kangaroos raised eyebrows in the footy world by delisting so many players, with Williams revealing in an interview with SEN Radio’s Sam Edmund that he had found out about his delisting at the last possible moment.
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Williams, who played 60 matches for North Melbourne after playing 68 for Collingwood, said he and several other players who were also let go shed tears over their unceremonious exit while sharing beers soon afterwards.
“There was a lot of tears after, so I think everyone just held it in until we were on the beers – and the beers let it out of them,” Williams said.
“I think there could’ve been a lot more communication between the guys that weren’t going to get a contract, because I can guarantee (the club) would’ve known we weren’t going to be there earlier,” Williams told SEN’s Sam Edmund.
LISTEN | Marley Williams joined @Sammy__Edmund in the studio for an in-depth chat about his delisting at North, an honest assessment of hub life in Queensland, his future plans, interest at the Giants, thoughts on Rhyce Shaw and more.
Link: https://t.co/rf5cKw1jjs— Whateley (@WhateleySEN) December 2, 2020
“It would’ve been nice (for) some of the boys to have been worded up a bit earlier and had, not a two-minute, three-minute chat, they would’ve loved 45 minutes.”
Williams said the likes of Majak Daw, who made an emotional return to football this year just 20 months after sustaining serious injuries when he fell from Melbourne’s Bolte Bridge, was only afforded a five-minute conversation to inform him his services were no longer required.
The speedy defender added the tough situation was made worse with the knowledge of now former coach Rhcye Shaw’s mental health troubles.
Marley Williams: I'm definitely not happy with the delisting process, there definitely could have been a lot more communication with the guys who didn't get a contract. Some of the boys would've wanted 45 minutes instead of a 2-3 minute chat.
— Whateley (@WhateleySEN) December 2, 2020
The Kangaroos announced they had reached a mutual agreement to part ways with Shaw in late October.
“It was tough knowing that he wasn’t in the right mental state – I don’t think he was – to make a call like that. But I don’t think it was him making the calls. I think it was higher up making the calls.
“I think they were just using him as a voice to be the one to cut people.”
Virus-impacted season hurt Kangaroos: Williams
The Kangaroos endured a dismal 2020 campaign, winning only three matches and just on after the season restarted after the coronavirus-enforced hiatus.
Williams said the ‘fun went out of the game’ over the course of the season, admitting it was difficult to adjust to life in the AFL ‘hub’ on the Gold Coast, though he added perhaps winning a few games may have eased the burden.
“The fun went out of the game and it was tough for everyone,” he said.
“It’s hard to explain how hard it was unless you were up there. I guess it would’ve been a lot easier winning and I was playing, but we weren’t winning.
“You just told me before we won three games, which I didn’t know...I guess the year was just a shambles.”
The Kangaroos were relatively active throughout the trade period, though they were criticised for trading three-time leading goalkicker Ben Brown to Melbourne for a relatively minor return.
However they bounced back by landing unwanted Collingwood forward Jaidyn Stephenson, as well as GWS Giants defender Aiden Corr.
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