Commission chief kicked key goals

The football merry-go-round has been in full swing over the past few weeks.

It almost seems there is a fixed pool of capable people at the higher levels of the game. And they jump from job to job. The names are the same, only the colours of their polo shirts change.

Yet there will be a significant figure missing from the top of the code next season. Not surprisingly, there has been little fanfare around his departure. Maybe if he worked for a club, not a State organisation, his legacy might be more prominent.

But it hasn't been Wayne Bradshaw's style to seek the limelight. And it is a trait that has served the local game so well for a decade.

When Bradshaw took over the reins of the WA Football Commission at the turn of the century the local industry was in great turmoil.

Changes test Freo fans' faith

Change is supposed to be as good as a holiday.

Maybe not if the vacation is actually a one-way trip to the AFL scrapheap.

The throw-out pile belonging to Fremantle is currently the biggest in the league.

In the space of 12 months, the club's famous - or possibly infamous - anchor logo, something of great pride to true port footy supporters, has been pulled and turned into what looks like an out-of-shape paper clip.

The original jumper, coloured in maritime starboard and port, has been sunk.

The unique theme song is also about to be swamped.

And now the coach, who just 12 months earlier had guided a rebuilt team into the finals, has been sent "down below".

It is an extraordinary transformation for any club. It is even more remarkable for one that has been operating just 17 seasons.

Australian sport's happy homecoming

For every winner there has to be a loser.

So whenever Australia celebrates the graduation of a locally-produced talent to a top overseas league there is also the lament that the athlete won't be showcasing their skills at home.

For our soccer and basketball - the two biggest participation sports on the planet - it has been a pleasant unpleasantry. While wonderful for the sport to have Australians starring abroad, their absence has had a detrimental effect on the codes at home.

It is tough for FFA and Basketball Australia to make the A-League and NBL more appealing when they know the competitions aren't the best going around. That task becomes more difficult when parts of the sporting marketplace perceive that even Australia's best aren't involved.

But over the past week the winds - probably more like a zephyr but movement at least - of change have blown through both competitions.