AFLW champion and Footy Talk host Kate McCarthy has hit back at critics of Essendon cult hero Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti being chaired off after his final game, explaining why he deserved the honour.
WHY ANTHONY MCDONALD-TIPUNGWUTI DESERVED TO BE CHAIRED OFF:
(from 6:14)
McDonald-Tipungwuti played 133 games and kicked 157 goals for Essendon from 2016-2023, but Kate explained that it wasn’t the raw numbers that saw him celebrated upon retirement.
“He was chaired off for his contribution to the game of AFL football,” Kate said on Monday’s Footy Talk Australian Australian Rules Daily.
“He was born in the Tiwi Islands, he comes over at 17, he can not speak of a word of English, does not read or write.
“[He] is taken to Gippsland, is taken in by a beautiful family, ends up taking their last name.
“Just what he has offered to people of the Tiwi Islands, to Indigenous Australians, even to Essendon fans… he was brought in at a time where that club on the brink of just disaster after the doping scandal.”
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Kate explained just how much McDonald-Tipungwuti meant to Essendon fans in a very dark period of the club’s history.
“Everything was wrong in that club at the time, and he gave their fans something to really appreciate and cheer about,” she said.
“So to me, there is absolutely no problem chairing him off and giving him a guard of honour, purely for his contribution.
“You can contribute to the game of AFL football without having 200, 250 games.”
MORE ON ESSENDON:
Tippa is also one of the very few players to have a punk song written for them:
Kate was joined by Daisy Thomas and Ryan Daniels on Monday’s Footy Talk, and discussed West Coast’s next move, why it’s all or nothing for Brisbane, the Bulldogs’ issues and more.
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