Peter Motley

[Dirko]

An Interview with Motts down in the Carlton Rooms last week....

http://bigpondvideo.com/carltontv/125844

[Adelaide Hawk]

If you read Platten's autobiography, he tells the story of how he signed at Carlton and spent the sign on fee on a commodore.

Then went to Hawthorn. Kept the sign on fee too from memory.

The lead up to that story is Hawthorn had already signed Platten to an agreement to play for the Hawks (not sure if it was a Form 4 or some other agreement), and that agreement was legally binding.

Blues supporters may not like to read this, but Carlton were infamous in the 1980s for their shady business practices, especially when dealing with other clubs. In this instance, they waited until Hawthorn were on their end of season trip, and then pounced, offering Platten all sorts of things to join. They'd done this to other clubs, but this time they picked the wrong target.

What Platten had wanted all along was to play for the Hawks, but all of a sudden he had Carlton telling him he wasn't obligated to the Hawks and that he should sign for Carlton, knowing all along that was a bare faced lie.

You start flashing $20,000 cheques (big money in 1985) in front of an impressionable youth who just wanted to play footy, and you had a good chance of winning him over, and that's precisely what happened.

When Platten found out that he still had a chance of playing for the Hawks, the initial club of his choice, he took that option. Carlton kicked up a stink and it ended up in the Supreme Court.

Once it became obvious Carlton didn't have a legal leg to stand on, they backed down and allowed Platten to play for Hawthorn. I can't recall if this bit it true or not, so I'm happy to be corrected, but I think the reason Platten could keep the $20,000 was in order for Carlton to escape penalty, they had to declare the money was a "gift" to Platten, not a sign on fee. As it was a gift, Platten had every right to keep it. Once again, not sure on that bit.