CR Journal

First the bushfires, then the ongoing global pandemic and resulting stringent lockdowns – 2020 has not been ‘the year’ for Victorian sport and sport coaches. Sports club communities have been affected emotionally and economically.

18 September 2020: Brian Phelan (BP) and Peter Robinson (Robbo) started working together at Melbourne Storm just over thirteen years ago. Melbourne Storm was in the process of setting up a player wellbeing program and figured the pair were just the right fit.

It is an unsettling time for sport clubs as we start to reimagine how our players will train and if they will play any competitive matches in 2020. It's also the perfect time to think about how our clubs might look when we start back up again.

The lycra-powered energy of Aerobics Oz Style dominated our free-to-air TV’s in the 90’s. A couple of decades on and the craze of home workouts have come back with a vengeance, with brand new ‘motivators’ urging us to flex-and-stretch our way to fitness.

19 March 2019: For the NRL it's been a disastrous off season, with allegations of violence against women reaching crisis levels. North Queensland's Ben Barba received a lifetime ban after a video emerged of him allegedly assaulting his partner at a Townsville casino during the Australia Day weekend.

Marina Go was staggered when she realised the sheer volume of sex videos of rugby league players doing the rounds on social media. The former chairwoman of the Wests Tigers remembers how the moment came in a casual conversation last year with one of the club's coaches.

24 October 2018: Club Respect co-founders Mary Crooks AO (Victorian Women's Trust) and Paul Zappa spoke to Guardian Australia about our latest initiative Club Respect and how it will equip clubs to become places of respect and fair play.

12 September 2018: Club Respect, a new website created by the Victorian Women’s Trust and NIRODAH, will help sporting clubs of all codes and levels hit the ground running when it comes to preventing violent or abusive behaviour.

5 September 2018: Club Respect is a practical website designed for sports clubs of all shapes and sizes to reduce violent and abusive behaviour. Whether you are a coach, a player, a spectator, club president or parent, Club Respect provides you with simple strategies to make a positive impact. Pass it on.

AFL is my thing – I’ve loved it as long as I can remember. Being a Hawthorn fan, it was easy to love what happened on the field and for years that was enough. But the longer I have lived, the more that love has been complicated, fraught and frequently challenged.