Liam Jurrah: charged, on bail and discussion closed for now

[Slartibartfast 17,306]

Olisik and Benny you've had your say. Others have had a chance to respond. Please leave the personal stuff out of it. There is enough stuff on this issue that it needs no further comment. Use the "Like This" button if you want to add your support for a view.

As Whispering Jack has said this is a very sensitive issue and the mods will take a very hard line both to keep the discussion civil and avoid any legal implications.

Anyone stepping too far off course will be banned with a no tolerance policy.

Please respect the situation guys.

Fan

[BennytheJet 15]

Olisik and Benny you've had your say. Others have had a chance to respond. Please leave the personal stuff out of it. There is enough stuff on this issue that it needs no further comment. Use the "Like This" button if you want to add your support for a view.

As Whispering Jack has said this is a very sensitive issue and the mods will take a very hard line both to keep the discussion civil and avoid any legal implications.

Anyone stepping too far off course will be banned with a no tolerance policy.

Please respect the situation guys.

Fan

Fan, how about some impartiality? I was the first one criticised, much, much, more harshly then I have given back, yet you seek to reprimand me??

[btdemon 482]

Listen to this for some context and understanding - Charlie King: http://chirb.it/O1z82v

Everyone on this site and beyond needs to listen to this!

[Arrow 1,257]

Usual Pleasentries upon arrival..

Cam Schwab-

Liam has been charged we are trying to get him back to Melbourne asap.

- ultimately the court will decide what the result will be here but we will try and assist and support him as much as we can during this period understanding that we are dealing with incredibly complex, emotional and delicate situations.

- Liam has always in our estimations a person with great honour, against the odds been one of the great football stories who has dealt with everything he had to deal with, also with great maturity which we are hoping he can do so while dealing with this particular issue.

- How much and what can happen from onwards can only be speculation, how it unfolds with the courts will be dictated in the main, what happens from this point onwards is all in the future.

I will answer the questions as I can understand the sensitivities in this matter.

Q1.

Will Liam be going to court today?

Yeah hopefully that will be dealt in the courts this morning and he will be back on a plane this afternoon.

Q2.

Have you spoken to him?

No we haven’t.

Q3.

What was the going-ons with him heading back to his community. Was it under the supervision of the club?

He basically returned to the Alice Springs to be with his family. The sister of his partner passed away quite suddenly and he has been assisting her through that process. Obviously in between that a significant court process has been heard. We have come to realise that often Liam is torn between his responsibilities of being an elder and the responsibilities of his community and that of being an elite athlete and AFL footballer.

Q4

What sort of support is the club offering?

As much support as we possibly can.

I think everyone understands how much the club has supported Liam in the past 3 years that he has been here and we continue to provide that same support and attitude.

Q5

Cameron did you want him to come back a little sooner?

He communicated with the club fully; he had a complete understanding of where he was at and what he was doing. Obviously what happened yesterday came as complete shock and as a surprise like you guys we have tried to piece together what has happened in the past 24 hours.

[Nasher 33,616]

Fan, how about some impartiality? I was the first one criticised, much, much, more harshly then I have given back, yet you seek to reprimand me??

Benny, if we sought to reprimand you we'd have just tossed you out - that's not what this is about. It's about calling for calm, and I agree with Fan that having circular arguments that are only going to end in posts at each others throats without finding any common ground isn't helpful. That's all.

[BennytheJet 15]

Benny, if we sought to reprimand you we'd have just tossed you out - that's not what this is about. It's about calling for calm, and I agree with Fan that having circular arguments that are only going to end in posts at each others throats without finding any common ground isn't helpful. That's all.

It makes no difference - I've already chided myself at attempting to have some sort of sensible and thought-provoking discussion on a 'chat forum'. I was clearly misguided, and will not make the same mistake again.

Benny out

[timmy 29]

Another listen: interview with Bruce (aka Rudeboy): http://www.triplem.com.au/melbourne/shows/hot-breakfast-eddie-mcguire/blog/exclusive-interview-with-bruce-hearn-mackinnon-author-of-the-liam-jurrah-story/20120309-ft4k.html

[Demonland 72,216]

Please leave the personal attacks alone. I have just spent the last 10 minutes deleting those attacks. Next few posters to make personal attacks at a point of view will be banned for a month. That is how serious I am about this. If you want to have the opportunity to discuss the exciting times ahead for the footy club beyond this issue then keep your attacks to yourself.

[Slartibartfast 17,306]

It makes no difference - I've already chided myself at attempting to have some sort of sensible and thought-provoking discussion on a 'chat forum'. I was clearly misguided, and will not make the same mistake again.

Benny out

I've PM'd you Benny. Hope my explanation makes sense.

[Guest deedeedee]

The club allowed him to go back to a civil war where he is a main player without any supervision\minder, their negligence is mind boggling.

To get rid of Ian Flack was a disgrace and they are now paying for it.

We have now lost one the most naturally gifted talents the club has seen. He won't come back from this, no one could.

He should of been better protected instead of neglected, a bit too late to come to the rescue now MFC.

[timmy 29]

The club allowed him to go back to a civil war where he is a main player without any supervision\minder, their negligence is mind boggling.

To get rid of Ian Flack was a disgrace and they are now paying for it.

We have now lost one the most naturally gifted talents the club has seen. He won't come back from this, no one could.

He should of been better protected instead of neglected, a bit too late to come to the rescue now MFC.

Defitniley think you need to listen to this deedeedee: http://chirb.it/O1z82v

[DemonMuzza 16]

Think you guys need to chill and remember that we are all on the same side. I'm not taking sides and not attacking anyone for Thier oppinions because that's what they are and everyone has a right to thiers. The hysteria is causing some to read more into people's posts then are actually there and then retaliations from those defending their positions on both sides. At the end of the day we are a group of people after one thing, what's best for the club to move us forward. Let's not lose sight of the bigger picture and that we are all in this together.

[Arrow 1,257]

Usual Pleasentries upon arrival..

Cam Schwab-

Liam has been charged we are trying to get him back to Melbourne asap.

- ultimately the court will decide what the result will be here but we will try and assist and support him as much as we can during this period understanding that we are dealing with incredibly complex, emotional and delicate situations.

- Liam has always in our estimations a person with great honour, against the odds been one of the great football stories who has dealt with everything he had to deal with, also with great maturity which we are hoping he can do so while dealing with this particular issue.

- How much and what can happen from onwards can only be speculation, how it unfolds with the courts will be dictated in the main, what happens from this point onwards is all in the future.

I will answer the questions as I can understand the sensitivities in this matter.

Q1.

Will Liam be going to court today?

Yeah hopefully that will be dealt in the courts this morning and he will be back on a plane this afternoon.

Q2.

Have you spoken to him?

No we haven’t.

Q3.

What was the going-ons with him heading back to his community. Was it under the supervision of the club?

He basically returned to the Alice Springs to be with his family. The sister of his partner passed away quite suddenly and he has been assisting her through that process. Obviously in between that a significant court process has been heard. We have come to realise that often Liam is torn between his responsibilities of being an elder and the responsibilities of his community and that of being an elite athlete and AFL footballer.

Q4

What sort of support is the club offering?

As much support as we possibly can.

I think everyone understands how much the club has supported Liam in the past 3 years that he has been here and we continue to provide that same support and attitude.

Q5

Cameron did you want him to come back a little sooner?

He communicated with the club fully; he had a complete understanding of where he was at and what he was doing. Obviously what happened yesterday came as complete shock and as a surprise like you guys we have tried to piece together what has happened in the past 24 hours.

Q6

What are the charges and how much can you elaborate on them?

Really can’t elaborate anything.

Q7

And the charges are?

As per released.

Q8

Did you have some fears for his safety and that’s why you wanted him to come back?

I think there is always those fears. Anyone who understand the area and anyone who read Martin’s article in The Age this morning would understand the conflict Liam deals with. When he goes home obviously we do become a little fearful but he also goes back with our respect with us knowing everything he has to deal with and how he still is a leader within his family and his community.

Q9

Have you got guys flying up there?

Yes, as you can tell its not easy to get in and out of Alice Springs but we do have people going up there today to get him and bring him home.

Q10

When he comes back will he be in a different living situation? Will you have someone living with him?

He is already in a fantastic living situation and we have never had any issues with that whatsoever.

Q11

Will you be keen once he’s back to get him back into the flow of footy? (Presuming to get his mind off it)

Once he comes back we’ll be keen to sit him down and firstly see where he is at with everything. He’s obviously gone through a very traumatic situation and we’ll need to see how he is coping with all of that.

Q12.

When will you do that and will you be of assistance?

He will be back today and yes the club will be of assistance.

Q13

Are the players aware of the situation?

I think everyone has been aware of the situation its been well documentated. Liam has constantly been back and forth to home but this is literally a situation that has split his family and his community.

Q14

What verbs would you use to describe the situation?

Complex, emotional and having some empathy to understand the situation.

We’re learning as we go as well.

Q15

Has this raised issues with Indigenous footballers and whether we need to do more?

The AFL is doing some great things in allowing everyone an opportunity. The most important thing is we don’t deal in stereotypes, I think that’s important.

We provide support for any peson whos involved in our game. Liam is the centre this time and we will provide him the support the same as any other player.

Q16

As an elder does ti make it more difficult?

Not really we still feel empathy and we will work through it.

Q17

How are the club working through it?

Josh Mahoney and Neil Craig are both talking to the players as we speak and running them through it.

Q18

What support are you providing and is it sufficient?

That’s a great question we are providing great support and we’re learning as we go. We’ve been too his community on a number of occasions and it is something very different to what we are used to so we must have great empathy for it. But at the same time we would never be presumptuous to think we ever really understand it fully. I think the way the media has dealt with it today and the articles I have read reflect that and I really appreciate and respect that.

Q19.

Is this the most complex issue you’ve had the dealt with?

Absolutely it’s a complex one but lets not forget about the quality of individual here and what he has put up with throughout his career. Our expectation is he will continue to work through this with the maturity he has shown thus far.

Q20

After this latest episode is there a chance he may just say this is too hard?

Look we’d have to sit down and talk with him about that I think it’s important we just take it one step at a time. The first matter to deal with is obviously the matter at hand.

And the rest.

[Sir Why You Little 37,046]

What a lot of people are missing here is that Liam had to go home. If not he would have been ostracised from his family.

[Arsene Wenger 72]

Hard to express the sadness I feel at the prospect of losing Jurrah from the club and our game, then the realisation at how absurd that is when in comparison to the other challenges Jurrah faces are so much greater.

Either way, I feel pretty damn empty.

On the flip side, if he ever gets back to playing for MFC, I feel that we as supporters will appreciate his exploits on the field like never before (maybe as we should have from the start).

[BIG JIM 508]

Im not passing any personal, social or moral judgment on what has occurred with Liam - which you would see if you could progress past the opaque and obvious inclination of many here to attempt to imply some sort of barbaric or ignorant theme into what I have written, and then conveniently get 'up in arms' with a whole host of sanctimonious expressions.

To summarise my views:

- MFC is a business, and very recently a struggling one at that (some would say its by no means out of the woods)

- We are struggling for sponsorship and membership

- a player (not an aboriginal - that is incidental) has requested personal leave whilst injured and before the start of a very important season for the club

- this player has been arrested, and charged, with possession, intent, and causing serious injury with a machete

- being charged with a criminal offence, NOT PROVEN, is cause for summary dismissal in nearly all employment relationships

- accordingly, MFC should and I have no doubt will, one way or another, bring an end to its employment relationship with this player at the appropriate time. I support this.

- the financial ramifications for the MFC as a result of this could be catastrophic.

- I wish this player the best and hope he comes through it as best as can be hoped.

It will be interesting to see how the club handles this given its recent spouting of 'no-nonsense' and 'elite preparation and expectations of players' which is purported to be some sort of panacea to our listlessness and inconsequential existence in the league which has been the hallmark of recent eras.

This is a sad day for the MFC and liam i have not much of an idea of how life is were liam is from but this is a time when we as a club should stand as one and fully support liam. I also pray the person who is in hospital is going to be o.k.. I hope this does not end the magic liam has made for our game it would be a great shame for this young man to miss out on playing football after all the good work he has done till this point. I think the club should stand as one and give liam all the support he needs but he also must face the same set of rules that all melbourne players face. The only good thing that could come of this is that the country might have a chance to see what some of the issues that face the Yuendumu community and other communitiy's like it. Lets all wait and see what comes from this before we jump on anyone and just hope the club can get through this and not lose sight off all the hard work in the last 6 months.

[olisik 4,060]

if and when liam gets back to the field, i hope opposition players don't bring up issues like this to throw him off his game. It's sensitive, though i don't think there are any rules to stop it.

[Arsene Wenger 72]

if and when liam gets back to the field, i hope opposition players don't bring up issues like this to throw him off his game. It's sensitive, though i don't think there are any rules to stop it.

It's safe to say some idiot most likely will, but I'm not sure Liam is the type to come forward about it.

I recall the game against Brisbane last year, they were having a go at him at every opportunity, and targeting his clearly injured wrist - he just went about his business, kept kicking goals and let them know all about it with a little bit of finger pointing.

[diesel 420]

The club allowed him to go back to a civil war where he is a main player without any supervision\minder

Are you suggesting a minder would have steered him away from his family obligations? Paternalism doesn't work in Aboriginal communities. More than 200 years of dealing with their culture has told us this much.

[Jack Jack 415]

Usual Pleasentries upon arrival..

Cam Schwab-

And the rest.

Cheers DL7. Thanks for taking the time to transcribe the press conference.

[Tricky 341]

The club allowed him to go back to a civil war where he is a main player without any supervision\minder, their negligence is mind boggling.

To get rid of Ian Flack was a disgrace and they are now paying for it.

We have now lost one the most naturally gifted talents the club has seen. He won't come back from this, no one could.

He should of been better protected instead of neglected, a bit too late to come to the rescue now MFC.

Are you really in a position to make such judgements?

"

Jurrah had returned to central Australia to be with his partner, Shijara, whose sister died suddenly last week. He spent time in her township of Hermannsburg, and the Demons were expecting him to return to Melbourne tomorrow."

See the age article.

Edited March 8, 2012 by Tricky

[Jaded No More 68,944]

There is one thing that matters above all else, and that is, that we help ensure that this incident does not ruin Jurrah's life.

So many talented young people in those communities have had their life destroyed due to similar circumstances, and it would be a tragedy if Jurrah's life goes the same way.

I firmly believe that football has the ability to save Jurrah from a life of violence and struggle, and I also believe that the financial, emotional and legal support afforded to him as an AFL footballer would greatly benefit his family and community in the future. Already the amount of awareness that he's managed to raise is enormous.

Our main focus needs to be on getting his life back on the right path, and to not let one (ableit serious) incident dictate the rest of his very young life.

I have no doubt that we will provide the best legal support for him, and I just hope that this helps him recover and return to a life of success.

Regardless of what he has done, I think that deep down we all know that he is a good person, caught in a terrible situation. He has had to overcome a lot to make his way in life, and I am hoping that this inner strength allows him to do the same in this case.

The best thing we can do is to support him, because it's too easy to wipe your hands clean of people when they have done something wrong, but like it or not, Jurrah is one of our own now and it is our duty to protect and help him.

[Arrow 1,257]

On a side note, I can only be proud of the performance shown by the Melbourne Football Club in regards to Liam.

The support and backing they showed him today was absolutely fantastic and hopefully correlates to him opening up and trusting them when he gets back and has a chat with them.

Very glad Jim didn't have to cope with this as well. This will really band us together as a club I hope once Liam is back.

[timmy 29]

Another good interview with Bruce: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-03-09/bruce-hearn-mackinnon-speaks-with-jon-faine/3879338

[dees189227 12,394]

_{Interesting to listen to Tim WAtson this morning talk about when he went over there with Jim and they did that story for sunday night. He said when he got out of the car everyone ran to him and there were people behind a fence because there were restraining orders out on them. He said its basically like a 3rd worls country out there.}

_{They also said that Liam was booked on 2 flights to come back but stayed because of threats to his family. 100 of his family have had to move to adealide.}

_{Also why didnt anyone go with Liam. I know it was a personal family matter but surely the club should realise the issues over there.}

_{Apparently due to the nab game played in alice springs last weekend thats they all flocked into Alice and trouble began there.}

_{But would Liam be allowed to come back to melbourne. If I was charged in melbourne im pretty sure i wouldnt be able to leave the state. I know he has been charged but has it actually been confirmed that Liam was the one that hurt the guy.}

_{Mark Neeld and the young leadership group need to pull this team together and get them to focus back on the job ahead. I bet Needly thought the sylvia and Blease incident was the end of it.}