The relationship between the West Coast Eagles and Daniel Chick seems to have soured again after the former utility player made a public plea "begging for help" to cover his ongoing medical expenses, claiming the club had abandoned him.
The former premiership player on November 2 created a public fundraising page asking for donations to help fund a $20,000 mild hyperbaric chamber to help ease trauma suffered as a result of his playing days.
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Daniel Chick's iconic smother in AFL GF
Daniel Chick's crucial smother helped West Coast Eagles teammate Adam Hunter grab a vital goal during the 2006 AFL grand final.
"Chicky needs a mild hyperbaric chamber ASAP or he won't live very long or have the cognitive power to live normal life or get reemployed," he wrote on the page.
"I needed help years ago sadly but I been [sic] stalled help from WCE and been fighting for years just to get my medical records which is madness!"
It's not the first time Chick, who played for the Eagles from 2003 to 2007, has publicly slammed the club over claims he was neglected after his career ended.Â
Weeks before the West Coast Eagle's 2006 premiership 10-year reunion in June, Chick unleashed a scathing online attack on former teammate Andrew Embley after he made an appearance on The Footy Show.
"Good to see the club managed you very well and set you up for life and your family... I got the opposite but that's life," he wrote at the time.
"It's only a game okay, it's not real, it's entertainment... and I got hurt entertaining you all at work okay... simple, and I have rights and I'll use the law to get them rights working for me."
The rift between the Eagles and Chick, however, seemed to have since been mended by later that month, when Chick appeared alongside his former teammates at the 2006 Premiership ten-year reunion parade at Domain Stadium.
Repairing the relationship at the time was understood to have been due to a concerted effort by Eagles management.
By late afternoon on Monday, Chick had raised nearly $3000 for a "mild hyperbaric chamber", which he said would help with a raft of injuries, in particular, a neck injury he claimed to have suffered during a 2007 derby clash with then-Dockers player, Dean Solomon. Â
Chick was elbowed in the throat during the collision but said he was not taken to hospital until days later.
"Injuries suffered while playing AFL and the trauma from a severe elbow injury to my throat, +12 years in the AFL has taken its toll," he wrote. Â
"I'm suffering from neuro-inflammatory dramas - whiplash trauma and blunt force trauma to my neck and post traumatic injuries - painful conditions and nerve numbness dramas, vascular / venous trauma, brain lesions."Â
"I need to spend a lot of time in the hyperbaric chamber to get healthy."
Hyperbaric chambers stimulate healing by raising the level of oxygen in the body's plasma to increase the oxygen flow to tissues, organs and the brain.
The relationship between Chick and his former club was previously strained when the premiership player decided to publicly reveal what he claimed was a culture of prescription and illicit drug abuse at the club on the eve of the Eagles' grand final appearance in 2015.
In an interview with Newscorp at the time, Chick claimed he and former teammate Daniel Kerr and Ben Cousins took large doses of asthma drug prednisone during their playing days - a drug banned under the anti-doping rules.
Kerr denied the allegations.
"At those levels it's the same as being a full-on meth addict," said Chick, who was allowed to take the drug along with Cousins and Kerr because they were all asthmatic.
"I couldn't even sit still on the bench," he said.
"It smashes your system. I've since read a lot about it, we didn't know what was done to us. You feel bulletproof basically.
"The lack of sleep, the depression, it affects your mental health, coping mechanisms, metabolic rates and causes memory loss and sleep issues. It's not a coincidence the three of us have had issues with substance abuse."
WAtoday understands the AFL Players' Association has been supporting Chick over the past few years.Â
The West Coast Eagles have been contacted for comment in relation to Chick's latest allegations.
Attempts have also been made to contact Chick.
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