Demons shut door on Garlett
Perth would have to sack several players to recruit the troubled Dayle Garlett whose only WAFL lifeline appears to be with his original club Swan Districts.
As Perth celebrated their comeback win over South Fremantle on Friday night to remain undefeated after two rounds, the Demons made it clear Garlett was not part of their plans in 2014.
Perth are at the maximum 130 points for their squad and would have to de-list at least one player to recruit the 10-point Garlett.
"Now is the worst time to include new players in your club because you would have to end the careers of other players," Perth chief executive Marty Atkins said.
"He is a 10-pointer so we would either have to make a hard decision on a player we have recruited to the club or get rid of four or five blokes. We have no room to budge."
Atkins predicted Garlett would play only at Swans but questioned whether his commitment to football was strong enough for him to return to the field this season.
Garlett walked out of Hawthorn last week and has returned to WA.
He has been de-listed by the Hawks and is eligible to play in any State competition.
"He has made the decision not to be involved at his club so you wonder about his chances at another club," Atkins said.
"If he can't commit to AFL footy which is just footy, how could he commit to the WAFL where he would have to work or do other things during the day and then come to footy."
While Garlett's future is clouded, an array of exceptional Aboriginal talent sparkled at Fremantle Oval on Friday night.
The focus was on Bulldogs veteran Kris Miller in his 300th senior match but the game highlights were provided by his teammate Marlon Pickett and Perth opponents Clem Smith, Callum Collard, Gerard Ugle and Brennan Stack.
"It can be pretty special if you can get them all on song in the one game," Perth coach Damien McMahon said after the five-point win, 19.9 (123) to 18.10 (118).
"Pickett looked as though he was going to open the game up while Collard and Smith showed plenty.
"Both clubs have a proud history of indigenous players.
"Some of our greatest players at this club who have played AFL have been Aboriginal boys. The same at South.
"It is nice to have some flowing through our colts and to have a Ugle come back is good too."
The silky Pickett was South's best as the Bulldogs built a 44-point lead in the second term before being overrun.
Two controversial frees hurt South, with Craig White penalised for rushing a behind and Brock Higgins deemed to have deliberately spoilt the ball over the boundary beside the behind post.
