After a very public betting scandal, ensuing player fines and a suspension dished out to the Collingwood Football Club of late, one would assume that this delivered a very strong message to AFL clubs, that betting on footy, by anyone involved in the game, will not be tolerated.
Obviously not. Last week, Essendon assistant coach Dean Wallis found himself the focus of an AFL investigation on claims that he placed a wager of $400 on a number of matches, including one in which Essendon was playing in. The former Bomber defender has copped a hefty fine and been suspended for 14 weeks, as it was proved he had bet on League matches in contravention to the AFL’s strict anti-betting regulations.
The suspended Bombers assistant coach may well cost his team another finals loss of his own making. It was Wallis who lost it for Essendon in the last seconds of the 1999 preliminary final against the Blues ,when he took on Fraser ‘Mad Dog’ Brown and found himself caught holding the ball in a ferocious tackle. Little did Essendon need Wallis mucking up again in 2011.
In another betting incident, last weekend saw a successful betting plunge on the Gold Coast’s Nathan Bock to kick the first goal against Hawthorn. This will be investigated by the AFL.
Bock, normally a defender, started in the forward line for the first time this year and was backed in from $101 to $21 pre-match, which raised suspicions at TAB Sportsbet that there may have been insider information available to punters to win as much as $20,000.