Anthony Albanese has committed a cardinal sin in Melbourne that he would never even think of making in Sydney. And he just keeps doing it, writes PVO

Anthony Albanese has committed a cardinal sin in Melbourne that he would never even think of making in Sydney. And he just keeps doing it, writes PVO By Peter van Onselen, Political Editor for Daily Mail Australia Published: 03:09, 9 September 2024 | Updated: 03:18, 9 September 2024 e-mail 4 View comments So Albo donned a Hawthorn football scarf and entered the players' change rooms after the Hawks' first week finals win to celebrate, scoring some free media coverage while he was there. Apparently the PM is a diehard Hawks supporter , according to his office, but that didn't perturb Richmond great Nathan Brown who took aim at Albo for seeking to use the Hawks win for political advantage.

'I feel like the Prime Minister, this was for the good of himself going into the Hawthorn rooms. This sickens me,' Brown thundered. ' Anthony Albanese , he had a look at the polls and he thought Peter Dutton is closing, he's in front.



.. there's a gap.

He feels like I need to look like a common man. I'm going to go into the Hawthorn rooms.' It didn't take long for social media to reveal Albo wearing all manner of different AFL team scarfs: Collingwood, the Swans and Carlton - there might be more.

At a Collingwood event Albo attended wearing a Magpies scarf and said: 'I am a Hawthorn fan. But today, I am very pleased to be a part of this magnificent event here at Collingwood'. The narrative of 'each way Albo' quickly came to the fore, peddled by traditional critics of the PM.

So are these criticisms fair and reasonable, and is Albo really a diehard Hawks fan as his team of spin doctors claim? Anthony Albanese entered Hawthorn's change rooms at the weekend in the team's scarf. He's a Hawks fan but is clearly no diehard..

. I have to admit that I didn't realise the PM supported the Hawks. Perhaps I should have.

I'm not a stalker, just a political commentator. I don't watch his every move. Now that I have looked into it, it's true, he has been a longtime Hawks supporter, and this isn't the first time he's attended a game and celebrated with the team afterwards.

I'm not sure I would call him a diehard fan, however. Diehard Hawks supporters wouldn't wear another team's colours, unless forced to do so having lost a bet on the outcome of a game, for example. In Melbourne football is like a religion, and loyalty to one's team is sacrosanct.

So while Albo might be a Hawks supporter, he's clearly no diehard, that's for sure. No diehard: here's the Prime Minister in his Collingwood scarf in September last year..

. ..

.and here he is in his Sydney Swans regalia in April..

. ..

.but back in a Hawks' scarf for a photo-op in February And it is hard to disagree that politics was at least part of the equation when he entered the rooms afterwards and did some media, being pictured cheering on his winning team. However, the PM is hardly the first politician to do that with politics on his mind.

Scott Morrison manufactured a love of rugby league to suit his political narrative of being a man of the people. He also invented the nickname 'ScoMo'. At least Albo has always been Albo.

It's worth noting that South Sydney was playing its last season game in the NRL the same evening Hawthorn played its first AFL final. The South Sydney Rabbitohs is a team Albo is well known to support. A diehard supporter at that.

But he was at the Hawks game instead, rather than cheering on his beloved South Sydney at their homeground derby against the Roosters. Souths have had a miserable year to forget in the NRL, and are now immersed in a white powder controversy courtesy of star player Latrell Mitchell . Not parallels that suit the politics of the moment for the PM, that's for sure.

Perhaps a tough political environment has turned the PM into a fair-weather diehard Souths supporter, if there is such a thing. Maybe that's unfair - he's probably been to many losing Souths home games this year, including since they have been languishing at the bottom of the ladder. At the end of the day if Albo is privileged enough to get access to the Hawks change rooms after the game, good luck to him.

One of the perks of being PM. If he can score some free political coverage while doing so, all the better, his minders would say. He's not the first politician to do so and he certainly won't be the last.

And Brown is hardly an impartial observer letting fly at the PM for doing what he did. Brown fronts the cameras spruiking Sportsbet gambling products, and with Albo looking to clamp down on some of what they do, perhaps that was a factor motivating his critical observations. Ironically the PM has received more media lately condemning him for not going far enough in his anti-gambling clampdown.

A window into the competitive tensions political leaders are subjected to on a regular basis. Another reason why politics really is a mugs' game. So where does all of this leave us? In my estimate, Albo is just another politician looking to secure some reflected glory from a winning sports team.

One he also happens to support, when he's not off wearing other team colours because at those moments in time it politically suited him to do so. Meanwhile, go the Hawks! Peter Dutton Melbourne AFL Sydney Share or comment on this article: Anthony Albanese has committed a cardinal sin in Melbourne that he would never even think of making in Sydney. And he just keeps doing it, writes PVO e-mail Add comment.