Former Waalitj Marawar (West Coast) and Collingwood player Sharrod Wellingham hits back at travel critics

Former Waalitj Marawar (West Coast) and Collingwood player Sharrod Wellingham has described the amount of interstate travel forced on WA’s two AFL teams as a “massive” disadvantage. “Anybody who has experienced like I have both sides of the country can definitely attest that being based in Melbourne is an easier scenario,” Wellingham told The West Australian. “Not only physically but mentally as well. The obvious physical strain is massive on the body, but there’s also the mental side, preparing to be away from your family, preparing to spend every other week travelling.” Wellingham’s comments follow the news Geelong is at the centre of extraordinary claims among eastern-states clubs that WA’s two AFL teams are not disadvantaged by excessive travel. The comical call is based on 12 business class seats Walyalup (Fremantle) and Waalitj Marawar are given for each road trip under the AFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Wellingham said that in itself was proof that the AFL concedes it’s a disadvantage. “The fact that the AFL in the bargaining agreement agrees to provide a minimum of 12 business class seats already suggests there is a clear disadvantage or they wouldn’t even think about providing that,” he said. The Dockers and Eagles play a combined 22 times interstate this season, compared to reigning premier Collingwood’s six. “A lot of Melbourne-based sides only travel six or seven times at the minimum,” Welllingham said. “And most of the time they are only travelling two hours for the most part, whereas the two WA sides are travelling at most six hours and a minimum three-and-a-half. “So it’s a completely different kettle of fish.” Wellingham, now a commentator with ABC Radio, played 92 games over six seasons with Collingwood, including the 2010 premiership, and another 79 with West Coast over five seasons. He said training a week after interstate travel was vastly different. “Your whole week changes in terms of what you can do in terms of loading,” he said. “You have to make sure you are able to get enough recovery in. “It is not only the physical, but the mental side of it as well. That is the main thing.” Waalitj Marawar and Walyalup charter flights to away games and do so at a loss. The Eagles sell tickets to fans on their flights in a bid to offset those expenses. The league funds teams to fly 50 people commercially, leaving a significant cost for the clubs to cover. Eastern states teams work with Virgin Australia to secure exit row seating or space two passengers per three seats. Waalitj Marawar and Walyalup have produced only three 300-game players in their history – David Mundy (376 games) and Matthew Pavlich (353) for the Dockers and Shannon Hurn (333) for the Eagles. Walyalup coach Justin Longmuir only last week said his team was limited to 2km of training load on Wednesday coming off a trip to Melbourne and a five-day break leading into their round nine clash with Sydney. The Dockers did not have time to practice their goalkicking and produced a lopsided 4.15 against the Swans. Waalitj Marawar and Walyalup addressed the “stark inequities” of their travel schedule with AFL CEO Andrew Dillon in the lead up to their round six western derby as they push for an extra home game each season. Garlick revealed he had joined forces with new Waalitj Marawar CEO Don Pyke to “chip away and find a solution that is fair and equitable and can help the competition become a bit more even”. “Last year we flew 62,000km and a couple of Victorian sides flew under 15,000. This year Don’s team will fly 58,000km and Carlton are at the other end of the spectrum, I think they are 13,000km,” Garlick told ABC Radio. Pyke said excessive travel was a reality, but they were looking at ways to lessen the impact. “The reality for us it is where we are because of the distance and where we are based as a club,” Pyke said. Waalitj Marawar forward Jack Petrucelle last month spoke about the tyranny of travel as they took on on a rested Essendon, coming off a nine-day break since Anzac Day, while having only six days to recover from their own trip to Queensland, the longest in the AFL. “The air pressure and the long flight can really blow you up,” Petruccelle told ABC Radio. “It is something I got wrong last year when we flew to Brisbane and I had a really bad corkie that probably blew up from not looking after it as good as I should have. “It is something we have got used to and we have got right now and all the boys are pretty diligent.” Walyalup ruckman Sean Darcy says eastern states clubs “don’t understand” the burden of travel. “I was talking to Lachie Schultz the other day and they have travelled five times for the year, two of them will be to go to Sydney to play Sydney and GWS. It’s a 40-minute flight, whereas we are travelling for a few hours,” Darcy said on Nova. “Every WA and probably Queensland team want fairer competition because we think it is really unfair because we have to travel, whereas the Victorians say ‘that’s the least you have to worry about’. “They don’t understand that once a year they have to get up to travel to WA. “I talk to Shoota or Blake (Acres) and they say months leading up to it we’re preparing for that one travel and we are like, we do that every second week. “