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

So Albo donned a Hawthorn football scarf and went to the dressing rooms after the Hawks’ first-week finals win to celebrate, and he also got some free media attention.

Apparently the prime minister is a fervent supporter of the Hawks, according to his office, but that didn’t deter Richmond talent Nathan Brown, who lashed out at Albo for trying to use the Hawks’ victory for political gain.

“I feel like the Prime Minister, this was for his own good, to go into the Hawthorn rooms. This makes me sick,” Brown thundered.

‘Anthony Albanese, he’s been looking at the polls and he thinks Peter Dutton is closing in, he’s ahead… there’s a gap. He thinks I should look like an ordinary man. I’m going to the Hawthorn rooms.’

It wasn’t long before Albo was seen on social media wearing all sorts of different AFL team scarves: Collingwood, the Swans and Carlton – and perhaps more.

Albo was at an event in Collingwood wearing a Magpies scarf. He said: ‘I am a Hawthorn fan. But today I am very happy to be part of this great event here in Collingwood.’

The ‘any-way-Albo’ story quickly came to the fore, spread by traditional critics of the prime minister.

Are these criticisms valid and reasonable, and is Albo really a diehard Hawks fan, as his spin doctor team claims?

I have to admit I didn’t realise the PM was supporting the Hawks. Maybe I should have. I’m not a stalker, just a political commentator. I don’t follow his every move.

Now that I’ve looked into it, it does make sense. He’s been a Hawks supporter for years and this isn’t the first time he’s attended a game and partied with the team afterward.

I’m not sure I’d call him a diehard fan.

True Hawks supporters would never wear the colours of another team unless forced to do so, for example by losing a bet on the outcome of a game.

In Melbourne, football is a religion, and loyalty to your team is sacred. So while Albo may be a Hawks supporter, he’s clearly not a diehard, that’s for sure.

Not a diehard: here’s the Prime Minister with his Collingwood scarf last September…

…and here he is in his Sydney Swans uniform in April…

…but back in a Hawks scarf for a photo shoot in February

And it’s hard to deny that politics at least played a role when he entered the venues afterward and received some media attention, where he was pictured cheering on his winning team.

The Prime Minister is not the first politician to do so with politics in mind, however. Scott Morrison created a love of rugby league to support his political narrative of being a man of the people. He also coined the nickname ‘ScoMo’.

Albo has always been Albo, at least.

It is worth noting that South Sydney played their final regular season match in the NRL on the same night that Hawthorn played their first AFL final. The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a team that Albo is known to support. A diehard supporter at that.

But instead he was at the Hawks game, rather than cheering on his beloved South Sydney during their home derby against the Roosters.

Souths have had a terrible year in the NRL and are now embroiled in a white powder controversy, thanks to star player Latrell Mitchell.

These are certainly not parallels that fit the Prime Minister’s policies at that time.

Perhaps the difficult political climate has turned the Prime Minister into a fanatical supporter of the Souths, if there is such a thing.

Perhaps that’s unfair, as he’s likely been to many of the Souths’ losing home games this year, even though they’ve been bottom of the table for some time now.

If Albo is ultimately given the privilege of access to the Hawks dressing rooms after the game, I wish him the best of luck. One of the perks of being Prime Minister. If he can get some free political attention in the process, so much the better, his handlers would say.

He is not the first politician to do so, and he certainly will not be the last.

And Brown is hardly an impartial observer, bashing the PM for what he did. Brown has stood in front of the cameras touting Sportsbet’s betting products, and with Albo looking to crack down on some of their activities, that may have been a factor motivating his critical observations.

Ironically, the prime minister has recently been subjected to increased media condemnation for not going far enough in his anti-gambling crackdown, a glimpse into the competitive tensions that political leaders are regularly exposed to.

Another reason why politics is basically a game for suckers.

Where are we now?

In my opinion, Albo is just a politician who wants to secure some reflected glory from a winning sports team. A team he also happens to support, when he is not running around in other team colours because it suited him politically at the time.

Meanwhile, the Hawks go!