‘The Chokers’: Controversial paper under fire again

by Admin
August 20, 2024

The West Australian has again come under fire for a controversial back page that has Fremantle and football fans alike fuming.

After a nine-point loss to the Giants in round 23, which saw the Dockers slip to ninth on the ladder with just one home-and-away round left, the WA-based newspaper decided to hit them where it hurt.

The paper photoshopped players, including star midfielder Caleb Serong, with clown makeup, using the headline “the chokers”, followed by “historic record Freo will break if they miss finals”.

It left former AFL player Daniel Gorringe fuming.

“West Australia will never not amaze me anymore. It’s a two-team town in Perth,” Gorringe said on Instagram on Tuesday.

Dan Gorringe was unhappy with The West Australian’s back page, calling out Fremantle after their round 23 loss to the Giants. The West Australian

“One of those teams have been stinky this year and we know when Simmo (former West Coast coach Adam Simpson) got sacked they did that gross back page spread that got lots of backlash.

“Now they’ve got one team left who can represent the city (in the finals). Who maybe they can throw their arms around and support them for one round of footy left where they can still make finals.

“But what do they do? They go, ‘f— it’, call them the chokers.”

This isn’t the first time an act from the West Australian has been met with criticism – and not even the first this season.

After West Coast axed premiership coach Adam Simpson just weeks before the end of the season, the Perth-based newspaper took aim.

Their back page read “See ya Simmo”, under a graphic detailing the team’s win-loss record over the past year.

It also used the headline, “the rise and fall of Simmo” with a photo montage of the coach.

The West Australian's controversial bacl page after Adam Simpson was sacked as Eagles coach. — The West Australian’s controversial bacl page after Adam Simpson was sacked as Eagles coach. The West Australian

It drew serious backlash from key Eagles figures, including 2018 premiership player, Will Schofield, at the time.

“Your quintessential almanac for embarrassing performances … never seen such a butt-hurt reaction to a coach clipping them on their way out,” Schofield said on X, back in July.

“Show more respect. This should read… ‘thank you Simmo’. This paper is run by children.”