from Herald Sun... very sad.. Goodluck Scotty West

Melbourne

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Herald Sun

Scott West's booze battle

FORMER Western Bulldogs champion Scott West has revealed his torment after ending his 324-game career last year.

West admitted he didn't cope with life after football, turning to alcohol to help deal with a life he described as lost, lonely and scary.

Now a part-time coach with Melbourne, with hopes of a senior job, West transformed his life after a month-long drinking binge.

"There comes a day where you say I'm going that way or I'm not going that way. Absolutely," he said.

"You knew you were stretching friendships, stretching relationships, going out all the time, not spending enough time with the kids because you weren't around."

"That's how I dealt with it. Leshelle (his wife) could probably see it was going to hurt me more than what I could see it was going to hurt me.

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"She was there for the journey. And I probably did avoid dealing with it.

"Going out every night with four kids at home probably put a bit of strain on it. But we went away for a month and sorted it out.

"We dealt with things and we moved on. It hurt her because I didn't turn to her, and I turned to the drink."

He wasn't aware of the hurt he was causing himself and others, and after 17 years in the spotlight didn't want to be judged for his behaviour.

"You probably get to the point where you don't care what other people think," he said. "I've been judged for 15 years, so who cares? They're going to keep judging me.

"I think when you can judge yourself realistically, that's when you know where you're going and what you can do."

West was not offered a new contract by the Bulldogs at the end of last season and almost immediately found adjusting to a "normal" life extremely difficult.

"Once you finish playing footy, you wake up and think, 'What am I going to do today'?" he said.

"To get involved in another club was the right move."

So he went on the [censored] for 1 month after finishing his career...I'm probably going to get flamed for this but is this for real?

When a 'good bloke' with four kids goes out drinking every night for a month... yeah, that's for real.

Could easily hae crashed out, burnt a few key relationships and not really gotten it back together. Ended up like Carey.

It's interesting that he's willingly put it in the open. I guess it's better than having it gossiped about later. Possibly also a cathartic process. Might even be doing it as a kind of public service announcement - sometimes you fall off, you've got to get back on.

I like that the Demons have been part of getting things back right for a champion of the game.

I also can't help wondering if this is another part of the 'out-in-the-open' club culture which is so actively being developed, and which I have huge respect for. It takes guts, that's for sure.

I got on the [censored] for ten years after I gave up playing, and I turned ou...

What was I saying?

Righto.

On a tangent.

Remember the two articles last weekend about Melbourne, the Dogs and Scotty West? Both the Hun and the Age reported how Melbourne were going to use Westy's inside oil to exploit the Bullies at the clearances.

That worked out well, didn't it. We were smashed at the clearances. He won't be putting that match on his CV.

Westy's a genuine decent fellow and great career, 324 games. I think what happened last year with the Bulldogs broke his heart. Glad MFC can be there to help him through this patch, and vice versa. Best wishes Scotty West!

Here I was thinking he was addicted to teammates' wives.

When a 'good bloke' with four kids goes out drinking every night for a month... yeah, that's for real.

Could easily hae crashed out, burnt a few key relationships and not really gotten it back together. Ended up like Carey.

It's interesting that he's willingly put it in the open. I guess it's better than having it gossiped about later. Possibly also a cathartic process. Might even be doing it as a kind of public service announcement - sometimes you fall off, you've got to get back on.

I like that the Demons have been part of getting things back right for a champion of the game.

I also can't help wondering if this is another part of the 'out-in-the-open' club culture which is so actively being developed, and which I have huge respect for. It takes guts, that's for sure.

It takes guts but eventually you realise the best policy is to be open and honest, about any problem you have.

People are willing to get behind you and give you support if they know whats going on.

I think he's come to this realisation, and he's a better man for it.

I really like the way he has come out and spoken about this. Shows a bit of character (not that I doubted he had it).

It does tie in quite well with the theme of developing good responsible young men, rather than just footballers.

Good to have him on board.