When this story broke I was dismayed at the thought of the AFL commissioning the work and then planning to 'bury' it on the other side of the country from where the act occurred... it seemed to me that Winmar's act should be celebrated on the spot, so to speak.
Since then I've had a change of heart. Victoria Park is a memory for AFL supporters and putting it there would consign Nicky's statue to forever entertaining and being entertained by a bunch of passing Collingwood goblin types, which would be a shame and a bit sad. Then I thought maybe it should take pride of place somewhere significant to Aussie Rules within Melbourne somewhere, being the self declared centre of the universe of sport. The trouble with that idea is that no sooner you get something built or installed and they'd do a deal, change the name and shift everything down the road to the next major commercial development opportunity, so that all felt a bit craptaculous.
Then I heard that Nicky is happy to have it here, at Optus and after a bit of thought (half a coffee's worth) it struck me as perfect. Not only because it's closer to 'home' for Nicky WInmar the Noongar footballer and totally appropriate for WA in that sense, but also because there's more than enough dumb **** in WA who need that message whanging around their heads like a piece of feral 4x2 in a mating frenzy.
It's a good thing and I'd like to see more WA Indigenous players honoured in similar style.
