John Fidge
Posted: Tue May 31, 2011 10:53 amWas going to put this in the "Where Are They Now" thread, but I thought it deserved a thread of its own. Sad story this morning in the Fairfax press about John Fidge. The link has a current pic.
http://www.smh.com.au/afl/afl-news/hard-knock-life-20110530-1fcsa.html
LIVING alone with his puppy in a unit near Glenelg in Adelaide, John Fidge is far from the dashing young forward he was with Melbourne and the inaugural Brisbane Bears team through the 1980s and a failed single season with Essendon in 1991.
Back then, Fidge, from East Bentleigh, was a major talent, but one who never quite blossomed because of a horrific run of injuries and a controversial sacking by the Bears in 1989 after a rift with officials over the struggling but highly paid full-forward Warwick Capper.
Fidge, dumped with three years remaining on his contract, attempted for years to recover the $300,000 he believed he was owed by the privately owned Bears — first by the late Christopher Skase and later Reuben Pelerman — but he has not seen a cent.
The younger brother of Ted, who also played with the Demons, Fidge would play 59 matches in the VFL-AFL. However, he would have more than 20 operations, including twice having his back fused.
Today, he lives with immense back, shoulder and foot pain, takes painkillers every two hours and cannot sit or stand in the same position for more than 30 minutes.
Unable to work, he is living off welfare payments of $250 a week, plus money borrowed from family. His weekly mortgage repayment is $300 and he has a credit card debt of $12,000.
Fidge, living apart from his wife and children, is uncomfortable detailing his woes, but last week felt he had little option but to email the AFL Players Association seeking help.
The Age also received a copy of his email before speaking with the 46-year-old, pictured yesterday in his unit surrounded by memories of a career that could have provided so much more.
"I hate talking about it. You feel you are not successful. It's not like I was a Brendan Fevola who was earning millions of dollars and blew it," Fidge says.
Fidge's tale is also being used by some in the AFL industry as a way for players to push for improved workers' compensations rights, such as industry insurance and a discretionary trust fund, as part of the new collective bargaining agreement.
AFLPA boss Matt Finnis has established a working party to investigate the plan. As revealed in The Age last month, the issue largely surrounds players who do not show any physical or mental problems at the time they are delisted or retire, but who require surgery or help later in life as a result of their playing career.
Fidge, like most former players, is out of pocket for his extensive medical expenses.
"They deserve everything they can get," Fidge says of today's stars.
"Not everybody gets into the media and continues to earn great money. I think the average career is five or six years. The opportunity for 90 per cent of blokes to make great money isn't there. Your Abletts and all these blokes, they are just a different kettle of fish. Your normal run-of-the-mill player, he has to make every cent count."
Fidge, dealing with chronic depression, also has to make every cent count.
"I am not angry because of all the injuries I had, that's football, that's luck," he said.
"I am not the only one who went through their football career and had horrific injuries. But you would go a long way to find somebody who got stiffed as badly as I did when Brisbane sacked me and I never got my contract honoured.
"I just think I should have been honoured for that contract. I feel like I am owed that money.
"I think the AFL should say, 'OK, you went up there in good faith, you were a part of a thing trying to spread the game nationally. It's not your fault things happened. We'll step in and honour your contract'.
"Let's face it, it's probably how much they spend on advertising in a month."
Melbourne's past player representative Ted Carroll has played an important role recently in helping Fidge, for instance, by organising welfare benefits.
Fidge's frustration at being unable to work is palpable.
"I have arthritis in my back where the fusion was, so that is constant pain. I have had that pain for as long as I can remember, since I was 18 years old. I have learnt to deal with that," Fidge said.
"In the past 18 months, it's a lot of the other injuries. The shoulders are probably just as bad as the back. They are constantly aching, so is my foot.
"I have to take 10 to 12 panadeine a day, every two hours. I can't take anything stronger because when I was playing footy, from under 16 when they first diagnosed my back, I was on anti-inflammatories.
"After taking them every day for 10 to 15 years, the lining in my stomach has been damaged."
Fidge knows he faces a tough fight to be financially compensated, even in some small way such as having much-needed dental work paid for.
As Fidge was sacked and the company he was technically contracted to through the Bears, Skase's Qintex, went bust, the disgraced tycoon was not obliged to stump up for the remaining years on his contract, something his former manager, Peter Jess, tried to overturn for years.
Fidge recently contacted Jess hoping something could now be done.
"If you go to the letter of the law, the AFL is not bound to pay the executor's debts," Fidge said.
"But, if they are now making all this money, and morally if this bloke really deserves what he is owed, I think [they] should."
http://www.smh.com.au/afl/afl-news/hard-knock-life-20110530-1fcsa.html
LIVING alone with his puppy in a unit near Glenelg in Adelaide, John Fidge is far from the dashing young forward he was with Melbourne and the inaugural Brisbane Bears team through the 1980s and a failed single season with Essendon in 1991.
Back then, Fidge, from East Bentleigh, was a major talent, but one who never quite blossomed because of a horrific run of injuries and a controversial sacking by the Bears in 1989 after a rift with officials over the struggling but highly paid full-forward Warwick Capper.
Fidge, dumped with three years remaining on his contract, attempted for years to recover the $300,000 he believed he was owed by the privately owned Bears — first by the late Christopher Skase and later Reuben Pelerman — but he has not seen a cent.
The younger brother of Ted, who also played with the Demons, Fidge would play 59 matches in the VFL-AFL. However, he would have more than 20 operations, including twice having his back fused.
Today, he lives with immense back, shoulder and foot pain, takes painkillers every two hours and cannot sit or stand in the same position for more than 30 minutes.
Unable to work, he is living off welfare payments of $250 a week, plus money borrowed from family. His weekly mortgage repayment is $300 and he has a credit card debt of $12,000.
Fidge, living apart from his wife and children, is uncomfortable detailing his woes, but last week felt he had little option but to email the AFL Players Association seeking help.
The Age also received a copy of his email before speaking with the 46-year-old, pictured yesterday in his unit surrounded by memories of a career that could have provided so much more.
"I hate talking about it. You feel you are not successful. It's not like I was a Brendan Fevola who was earning millions of dollars and blew it," Fidge says.
Fidge's tale is also being used by some in the AFL industry as a way for players to push for improved workers' compensations rights, such as industry insurance and a discretionary trust fund, as part of the new collective bargaining agreement.
AFLPA boss Matt Finnis has established a working party to investigate the plan. As revealed in The Age last month, the issue largely surrounds players who do not show any physical or mental problems at the time they are delisted or retire, but who require surgery or help later in life as a result of their playing career.
Fidge, like most former players, is out of pocket for his extensive medical expenses.
"They deserve everything they can get," Fidge says of today's stars.
"Not everybody gets into the media and continues to earn great money. I think the average career is five or six years. The opportunity for 90 per cent of blokes to make great money isn't there. Your Abletts and all these blokes, they are just a different kettle of fish. Your normal run-of-the-mill player, he has to make every cent count."
Fidge, dealing with chronic depression, also has to make every cent count.
"I am not angry because of all the injuries I had, that's football, that's luck," he said.
"I am not the only one who went through their football career and had horrific injuries. But you would go a long way to find somebody who got stiffed as badly as I did when Brisbane sacked me and I never got my contract honoured.
"I just think I should have been honoured for that contract. I feel like I am owed that money.
"I think the AFL should say, 'OK, you went up there in good faith, you were a part of a thing trying to spread the game nationally. It's not your fault things happened. We'll step in and honour your contract'.
"Let's face it, it's probably how much they spend on advertising in a month."
Melbourne's past player representative Ted Carroll has played an important role recently in helping Fidge, for instance, by organising welfare benefits.
Fidge's frustration at being unable to work is palpable.
"I have arthritis in my back where the fusion was, so that is constant pain. I have had that pain for as long as I can remember, since I was 18 years old. I have learnt to deal with that," Fidge said.
"In the past 18 months, it's a lot of the other injuries. The shoulders are probably just as bad as the back. They are constantly aching, so is my foot.
"I have to take 10 to 12 panadeine a day, every two hours. I can't take anything stronger because when I was playing footy, from under 16 when they first diagnosed my back, I was on anti-inflammatories.
"After taking them every day for 10 to 15 years, the lining in my stomach has been damaged."
Fidge knows he faces a tough fight to be financially compensated, even in some small way such as having much-needed dental work paid for.
As Fidge was sacked and the company he was technically contracted to through the Bears, Skase's Qintex, went bust, the disgraced tycoon was not obliged to stump up for the remaining years on his contract, something his former manager, Peter Jess, tried to overturn for years.
Fidge recently contacted Jess hoping something could now be done.
"If you go to the letter of the law, the AFL is not bound to pay the executor's debts," Fidge said.
"But, if they are now making all this money, and morally if this bloke really deserves what he is owed, I think [they] should."
