When people criticized Dessy in his time at Freo, for his kicking, his apparent lack of commitment and other "faults", (as they did for Danyle Pearce) my response was to the effect that those who played in the same team as him seemed to want him playing, and those playing against him always went hard to beat him, so he must be worth keeping.
This little paragraph at the end of the article sums him up, and the coda (in bold) sums up the AFL and media, I think.
It is through our caring for one another and our love of the game that two brother boys can help us start a new conversation and that old ideas about masculinity and toughness are understood through another prism.
A prism of mutual respect, healthy competitiveness and acknowledgment. Enjoy the game. It's ours to do so.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
I don't include all clubs in that last comment.
