Perfect prize for our Patty

FOOTBALL fans love to hate opposition players.

It doesn’t matter if they are the best player to grace the field, a Mother Teresastyle humanitarian or a Nobel Peace prize winner — if a given footballer is not wearing your team’s colours, you are predisposed to despise them.

Patrick Dangerfield seems to be the exception to that rule.

The Brownlow medallist’s genuine personality, down-to-earth approach and easygoing nature has seen him transcend the usual laws of football fandom.

Footballers who turn their backs on their clubs of origin rarely escape the wrath of the footy community. Yet, even after he broke Crows fans’ hearts by choosing to join the Cats this season, Dangerfield didn’t garner so much as a boo from Adelaide crowds.

Since his return to our local region, he has made himself available for a range of community and sporting groups, has mentored young footballers and been a vocal supporter of the women’s game.

He offers thoughtful and honest responses in media interviews and doesn’t take himself too seriously.

Michael Turner, talent manager at the Geelong Falcons where Dangerfield spent the preseason as a development coach, said yesterday Dangerfield had donated a car he won recently to the Anglesea Football Club.

In a sport that has become a mega business, Dangerfield is proof that footballers can maintain integrity and a healthy work-life balance without jeopardising on-field form or their sense of humour.

Dangerfield’s recordpolling Brownlow win on Monday night was just rewards for a stellar season on the field.

But few would disagree that the man is already a winner off it.