Here is the link:

http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/clubs/mel...4234424043.html

Best article i've read for the year

Hope he turns the corner. He could be anything.

Here is the link:

http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/clubs/mel...4234424043.html

Best article i've read for the year

I agree .

The title - Taming The Demon , is so apt .

It says on the last page that he still hasen't played his best footy! Can't wait to see better form than 37 possesions and 4 goals.

Glad to see he's finally making the right steps for his career and himself.

He won't get a kick on Monday now.

Undoubtedly a work in progress.

Pleasing to read the following quotes -

"I can see the direction we're going in, and I want to be a part of it. I don't want to scoot around different teams, I want to play for Melbourne," he said. "I've tarnished my name here, and it's important to me that I turn it around at this club and win people back. It will mean so much more to me if I'm able to repay people here. I want to be a one-club man, definitely."

and..."I haven't played anywhere near my best footy yet and I've got lot of work to do with other parts of my life,"

"Adam Cooney was the No. 1 pick in my year, I was No. 3, and he's won a Brownlow," he said. "I look at things like that and think: 'I expect more of myself than this'."

and finally..."I've made a few steps in the right direction, I think. I've got something to build on, and I'm just looking forward to the future. I think it could be really good."

While it's a terrific read because Colin has been so frank about the personal stuff and his self-assessment there's also some hints in there that the club has its act together.

The peer assessment, the commitment to giving the bloke the chance to turn it around - even DB plucking out Douglas Bader's biography - shows the club has some systems in place to try to draw the best out its members.

It also suggests there much more to come from Sylvia - his remarks about Cooney are especially apt. I've made that comparison myself and wondered just how much daylight is between the two of them in talent as opposed to application.

Massive publicity for the club this week. Hope to god we play a good game tomorrow and WIN.

Fantastic artcle.

I'm glad that it was finally communicated to him that no-one has any respect for him.

Sounds like his frontal lobe is finally developing.

About time. I remember the hype and the excitement surrounding him when he came to the club in 2004. Hopefully Col will take the next step and head towards Elite.

Raw and confronting. Courage doesn't always have to happen on the footy field and this article shows tremendous courage for Colin to expose himself as he has. Congratulations to Colin, Emma and whoever it was that suggested Colin was ready to put himself out there in the public ready to take the next step.

Here is the link:

http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/clubs/mel...4234424043.html

Best article i've read for the year

I agree.

A brutally honest and frank self-assessment there from Col. Definitely took a lot of courage to come out and reveal all that to the football world.

I really hope he can continue on turning it around for himself.

Quayle the best football journo going around?

A great read. You can't help but feel sorry for Colin, clearly he has been a very troubled young man. I don't think he's asking for remorsefullness but rather this is just another small step to take in getting his footy back on track and most importantly his life.

There are signs this year that he is turning the corner, let's hope that he continues to improve. The article, while reavealing the truth is probably not greatly surprising to alot of people, sylvia's ratbag reputation is pretty well known.

Wow, great read, very enlightening.

I don't think I've ever read AN article about him (aside from the troublesome ones), so this is quite amazing to read - sounds like he's getting it together.

Huge article. Fills most of a two-page spread in the print edition.

I think he's finally turned the corner off the field, and no doubt that's driving his improvement on the field.

Hopefully he's fully over the OP too.

Great article and hopefully the young man is turning his life around and it will show in the field. As I've always said he has the talent now he is maturing and he should now start to bloom

Raw and confronting. Courage doesn't always have to happen on the footy field and this article shows tremendous courage for Colin to expose himself as he has. Congratulations to Colin, Emma and whoever it was that suggested Colin was ready to put himself out there in the public ready to take the next step.

For a guy who really doesn't speak to the media and seems to want to keep very quiet very interesting read and interesting on the timing of it. Very public outing of himself.

Quayle the best football journo going around?

A great read. You can't help but feel sorry for Colin, clearly he has been a very troubled young man. I don't think he's asking for remorsefullness but rather this is just another small step to take in getting his footy back on track and most importantly his life.

Very troubled.... That is a bit of a stretch. He is just a normal person learning about life and himself.

There are signs this year that he is turning the corner, let's hope that he continues to improve. The article, while reavealing the truth is probably not greatly surprising to alot of people, sylvia's ratbag reputation is pretty well known.

Jarka - just had a glance at your profile montage...just overcoming the fits of laughter it brought on. Gold!

Maybe the footy club could engage your services to create a similar thing each week involving that week's opponent.

I will go on record saying earlier this that i was done waiting with Col. I wouldn't say i'd given up on him, but i no longer looked at him as someone who'll improve to add enough value to the side.

This article is very open and frank, imagine having all your friends or co-workers (all at once) saying they don't trust or respect you. As Colin said, i don't think he's turned a corner, the fact that he is now busting his gut to do that is great to see, and i can definitely see it out there.

Fantastic to here the alternative ways Bails is going about not just coaching, but teaching his players to be better people.

Great article, very interesting.

I think I maintained for a very long time, even though I do not know Col personally, that he had issues relating to expectations.

He himself admitted that everything was easy for him at Under 18 level. He was the star, he led the way, he did things on his terms. He simply didn't know how to cope with being on the bottom of the pecking order, and the more he tried to prove to himself that he was still a big star (not doing enough rehab, going out drinking and partying, picking up bar tabs, spending thousands of dollars at the casino and on clothes*), the worse it got.

Do I think he can mature into the star his talent can enable him to be? no. But I do have some respect for him now, understanding where his head was for the last 5 years and what he is doing to make things right. To come out and put that on public record means he is serious about following through, and if he doesn't, the fallout for him will be enormous and will no doubt end his career prematurely.

I hope he succeeds, because the talent is there, but more than anything I hope he gets himself right because to live a life full of regrets is not to live at all.

*We can both be seen at Shopaholics Annonymous these days

this really caught my eye

''At times, he spent up to $1000 in a single night, wanting all his friends to have a good time, and he has also binged in other way. For a while, Sylvia would gamble, win some money, feel good, then lose money and feel worse than he had to start out with. He'd go shopping, spend hundreds of dollars on clothes, and experience the exact same string of emotions.

i think he is finally maturing and hoping he continues his good form

this really caught my eye

''At times, he spent up to $1000 in a single night, wanting all his friends to have a good time, and he has also binged in other way. For a while, Sylvia would gamble, win some money, feel good, then lose money and feel worse than he had to start out with. He'd go shopping, spend hundreds of dollars on clothes, and experience the exact same string of emotions.

i think he is finally maturing and hoping he continues his good form

$1000 a night out?!!! Geeeebus where was my invite???

very exciting article. he has shown glimpses this year, and is starting to be more consistant. however it is great that he realises that he was wasting it and letting everyone down. its great that he has realised that drinking to excess is not on.

perhaps the most exciting part of this article is the culture that seems to be emerging at the mfc. the group seems more tight knit and honest than i can ever remember. this wouldn't have happened 5 years ago.