A FAMILY AFFAIR
Why Josh didn’t speak to his AFL list-manager father for a month
TRADE week is intense for AFL list managers but one deal in particular caused a temporary rift in the Clayton household.
Southport Sharks and former Brisbane AFL player Josh Clayton became an avid Brisbane fan while his father and former Fitzroy player Scott Clayton worked as a list manager at the Lions, then named the Bears, throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
He continued to support the Lions when Scott shifted to the Western Bulldogs.
When the Victorian team came knocking on the door of Brisbane’s triple premiership winner Jason Akermanis, it left Josh, then aged 10, grasping at straws to try to keep the star at his beloved Lions.
“I told Dad if he did the trade I wouldn’t speak to him for two weeks,” Josh said.
“But sure enough the deal went through and I didn’t speak to him for about a month. I was very upset.”
Scott said his son’s threat didn’t make him think twice about doing the deal.
“He (Akermanis) was someone who he clearly loved watching,” Scott Clayton said. “It was a bit different.” Josh was born in Brisbane and was around the football club from the outset, spending time in the creche “being a terror” before the family moved to Melbourne when he was three.
Although living in Melbourne, his love of the Lions grew as they won three straight flags from 2001-2003.
“That sparked my interest in footy,” Clayton said.
“I was a diehard Lions supporter. My room was a monument to the Lions.”
Josh went on to be drafted by Brisbane and played two games for the Lions between 2015-17 before being delisted.
Scott said he was immensely proud of his son’s achievements but conceded watching Josh play junior football was hard.
“As a parent, especially an ex-player, the hardest games of footy to watch are your child’s,” Scott said.
“You ride every bump and it’s not easy but Josh has had quite a ride.”
Josh and his father, who played 160 games for Fitzroy from 1981-90, would spend most afternoons after school kicking the ball in the park across the road from their Melbourne house.
“We would go for runs and we started to get competitive when I was about 11,” Josh said.
Scott was a tough inside midfielder who became known for his tagging ability but Josh said he was the polar opposite on the field.
“The only thing people say to me that we have in common is we are both decent runners,” Clayton said.
“He was a bit more inside and tough and would tag opposition midfielders.
“He would take their best player and shut them out of the game.
“I’m more of an outside player and a bit quicker.”
Scott agreed the assessment.
“I certainly didn’t have his athleticism or high-flying ability,” Scott said.