Former AFL Saints player, Jason Gram. Picture: Tony Gough Source: Herald Sun
COACH Scott Watters maintains St Kilda made the right decision to sack Jason Gram, saying there was a "gravity" to his situation that could not be ignored.
Responding to Gram's interview in yesterday's Herald Sun, Watters said the club's decision to terminate the half-back's contract was tough but the right call.
Watters said the Saints had tried to work through Gram's off-field issues over a 16-month period.
"It's a tough decision on a player," he said.
"My preference is that he is still here and that he'd been able to work through some of the challenges he was facing and react to the guidelines that were set in front of him over 16 months.
"I don't want to grandstand on the disappointment of Jason and his position now. He gave a lot to this club over a long period of time. There is a level of disappointment he's not here.
"But the right decision was made for this football club. I rest pretty comfortably with what was ultimately a pretty tough decision."
Gram was sacked in October after police intervened in a relationship that had gone sour. The 28-year-old said he was still shattered and angry at being axed over a "private matter".
"We tried very hard to work through the situation that Gram was involved in," Watters said.
"But when it gets to the point when the Victoria Police were involved, there is a gravity to that sort of situation.
"We have got to protect the football club, we need to protect our players and we need to make tough decisions based on our values and I think we did that."
Gram will play at North Albury this year and said he had not given up hope of a return to the AFL.
"He is probably not the right fit for us," Watters said.
"But I would love to see Grammy turn it around, get back on track.
"If that turned around for him, no one would be more pleased than me."
Gram suggested he had been a scapegoat for previous off-field scandals at St Kilda, but Watters denied they had any bearing on the club's decision.
"This was a reaction based on our values and what we need to stand for as a group of players and as a club," he said.
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