A great has fired back at Giants chief’s “disrespectful” and “arrogant” comments.

Plus Essendon has been urged to make a hard captain call. More below in AFL Daily!

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‘DISRESPECTFUL, ARROGANT’: GREAT FIRES BACK AT GIANTS CHIEF’S TASSIE DIG

Outgoing Giants chief executive Dave Matthews has certainly caused a stir among the Tasmanian contingent.

Matthews over the weekend said Tasmania was “not a super attractive proposition” for players to join and the state was “a nice place to visit, but I don’t think it’s an unbelievable place to have a career and live.”

The comments came as GWS faces a battle to retain Tom Green, who’s out of contract next season and thought to be one of the Devils’ top targets.

New Tassie coach Ken Hinkley and Devils CEO Brendon Gale already hit back at Matthews’ remarks.

And Tigers champion and proud Tasmanian Jack Riewoldt also got riled up over it.

“Obviously I’m Tasmanian, but but I found these comments completely in poor taste,” Riewoldt said on Fox Footy’s On The Couch.

“I think they’re disrespectful, and I think they’re actually quite arrogant the comments that have been made by the outgoing CEO at the GWS Giants.

“The incoming (Giants) CEO (James Avery) is the ex-CEO of Stadiums Tasmania, a Tasmanian, and it feels like it’s a it’s a hand grenade that’s been lobbed into the GWS camp now that he will walk away from in the not too distant future and leave them to pick up the pieces of what is a pretty alarming comment.”

Hawthorn legend Jordan Lewis agreed it was a “really arrogant comment to make” and was surprised Matthews, as the CEO of an expansion club and former AFL head of game development, went there.

BOMBERS URGED TO MAKE ‘TOUGH DECISION’ ON SKIPPER

Essendon has been urged to make a “tough decision” and change captains from Andy McGrath to Sam Durham under its new coach for 2027.

Durham has been the AFL’s No. 13 rated player since Round 13 in a brilliant run of form despite the Bombers’ woes.

The 25-year old was among Essendon’s best last Sunday to lead the team’s upset win over GWS, gathering 25 disposals (13 contested) with seven clearances.

Buckley reacts to Tassie job heartbreak | 05:21

It spurred Hawks great Jordan Lewis to suggest Durham should take over the captaincy from McGrath, who just replaced Zach Merrett in the role this season.

“The coach that comes in has got a difficult decision on who he thinks will be captain of this football club,” Lewis said on Fox Footy’s On the Couch.

“I don’t think it’s a lay down misère that McGrath will be captain.

“The clear choice for me would be Durham. The way he played yesterday, the inspirational stuff he does on the field, the contest, the unwillingness to give up the ball.

“I just think from the outside looking in, and yes, I don’t know how he conducts himself inside the football club. But for me, if you want to change the identity of your football club and you want to get back to week in, week out, ‘gritty not pretty’, he is your man to lead this club forward.”

While removing McGrath after one year would be ruthless, Lewis says the Bombers need to make hard calls in the club’s best interests.

“You’ve got make tough decisions. They made what I thought was tough decisions with selection,” he added.

“Why would you go another one year, two years, maybe three years potentially and have a captain who is well liked and performs a role in defence, but not in and around the ball like Sam Durham?

“He is the one for me who is the obvious choice to lead this club forward.”