Football is constantly lurching from the sublime to the farcical and the execrable. The Sir Doug Nicholls Round was no exception. Like the man it honoured – a boxer, footballer, professional sprinter, Minister, social worker, Governor and leader of his people – the round contained multitudes. From the riveting (Collingwood), to the rickety (Carlton) and wretched (West Coast), this round had the lot.
You have to suspend disbelief as a football fan sometimes. An hour after a coach who denies an accusation of pressuring a First Nations couple to terminate a pregnancy stepped down, the league endorsed a voice to parliament. A few days later, the same coach was given a round of applause at the 23rd minute mark of the first quarter. A few hours later, his team was denied its tenth win in three years because of an interchange infringement.
