Does this make everyone feel a little bit better?

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/afl/more-news/collingwood-midfielder-marley-williams-faces-assault-charges-in-western-australia/story-e6frf9jf-1226544226090

If the club were going to take this seriously, the group would have had a tongue lashing already.

Then the new leadership group will sit down and hand out the punishment

My big problem is not that they got drunk on holidays, thats fine, its not that they chose to have fun at an iconic sporting event. If they had done these things in a more private setting, from a corporate box to simply a different stand then there would not have been a problem. But the fact that they chose to go to the most infamous Australian location for loutish behaviour in Bay 13, on the biggest day on the Cricket calender and then proceeded to act exactly the way that would draw attention to them in a negative way, from press, police etc, is incredibly stupid for them, the club and the AFL.

When you work for organisations that require public support to survive whether you like it or not you are culpable for the image of that organisation. The players involved weren't a good look for themselves, the MFC or the AFL.

Stupid and dissappointing thing to do especially in light of our clubs current predicament.

Does this make everyone feel a little bit better?

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/afl/more-news/collingwood-midfielder-marley-williams-faces-assault-charges-in-western-australia/story-e6frf9jf-1226544226090

Not really.

Weare not alone with this sort of thing. And on a scale of 1 to 10 this is probably worse.

But so what?

Our guys did something stupid.

It might not in reality be any worse than Sylvia and co being photographed in Vegas with that hood.

But theyare both timely lessons to these young guys, that in this day and age, there's not much which goes un noticed if you're a star...as our team has the potential to be.

The lesson to be learnt....THINK.

Edited December 27, 201212 yr by BangkokDemon

If the club were going to take this seriously, the group would have had a tongue lashing already.

Then the new leadership group will sit down and hand out the punishment

Neeld will deal with it on his terms at his timing. most lijely when club returns on the 2nd.

They are after all the tail. It no longer wags the dog.

There is a positive from this that we have all seemed to have forgotten - Col Sylvia was nowhere to be seen. Hallelujah

Neeld will deal with it on his terms at his timing. most lijely when club returns on the 2nd.

They are after all the tail. It no longer wags the dog.

Agree with that 'bub except that the main group returns on the 7th January.

No doubt that Neeld will not take it too lightly even though it's not in the same class as Heath Scotland or Marley Williams.

My big problem is not that they got drunk on holidays, thats fine, its not that they chose to have fun at an iconic sporting event. If they had done these things in a more private setting, from a corporate box to simply a different stand then there would not have been a problem. But the fact that they chose to go to the most infamous Australian location for loutish behaviour in Bay 13, on the biggest day on the Cricket calender and then proceeded to act exactly the way that would draw attention to them in a negative way, from press, police etc, is incredibly stupid for them, the club and the AFL.

When you work for organisations that require public support to survive whether you like it or not you are culpable for the image of that organisation. The players involved weren't a good look for themselves, the MFC or the AFL.

Stupid and dissappointing thing to do especially in light of our clubs current predicament.

As a member of the leadership group, Frawley in particular, should have shown more commonsense. If you are going to have a few beers at the cricket you don't set yourself up for negative publicity by doing it in Bay 13.

Good on them. They got moved on for being to rowdy. If they were too drunk they would have been locked up. They weren't so its fine.
Funny though. I was with a sydney player (in their leadership group) on the same day on the other side of the ground. He was a lot more mellow then our boys.....

The Age article, "Dees asked to explain antics" sets out a misleading impression that it is the league asking the club to explain the players' behaviour, then link this to their (ongoing) line about the dees dirty year. Should be asking The Age to explain their antics about our club.

On the other hand, we may have been experimenting with positions to see if the boys can perform better on a different side of the fence.

Edited December 27, 201212 yr by bush demon

What bothers me most is the fact that we've been virtually unwatchable for the last 6 years, that the club crap on about elite performance, that they decided to sit in bay 13 at the cricket, that they thought it would be "fun" to put together a beer cup boat, the fact that they were drunk in public and the fact that they were ejected in public.

The simple FACT is we won one meaningful game last year and I'm god damn tired of it. This sort of stuff makes me wonder if any of them give a shyte about us going to every single game and watching their sorry ar$es get handed to them every single week.

Ok, it sounds to me you are more worried about their public perception, then the fact that they were drinking. I'm curious, if this was all done in a box, away from prying eyes, would that make it ok? I don't see the link between elite performance and their perception in the media.

You wouldn't be a true Melbourne supporter if you weren't bothered by our recent performances. And we are all tired of it. But I wish football success was as simple as enforcing a no booze policy. Its not.

These guys are on their holidays from pre-season. This is not the AFL season, they do not have pre-season training to turn up to tomorrow. The detrimental effects of single sessions of binge drinking on their long-term physical condition is negligible. No one was arrested, no one [censored] on a police station wall, no one took drugs, no one sexually or physically assualted anyone.

These guys did what most kids their age do, have fun, and given the stressful nature of their jobs, i don't blame them. As long as they commit 100% in their efforts, and don't pull these sorts of stunts during the season, or in the preparation of it, then i won't judge them. I did the same sort of crap when i was that age, just like most normal kids.

Honestly, I think this is a bit of a storm in a teacup. They went to bay 13 to cheer on Matty Wade (Howe's cousin), had a bit of fun, probably didn't drink all that much and some [censored] complained about them taking part in a Beer Snake. It's not like they started a brawl or anything. Security at those events is a joke, they'll toss you out for anything.

Honestly, I think this is a bit of a storm in a teacup. They went to bay 13 to cheer on Matty Wade (Howe's cousin), had a bit of fun, probably didn't drink all that much and some [censored] complained about them taking part in a Beer Snake. It's not like they started a brawl or anything. Security at those events is a joke, they'll toss you out for anything.

I agree with the iron fisted approach by security at these venues. Family-friendly is what it's all about and by singling out a few yobbos who may or may not be looking at causing trouble and turfing them out before anything eventuates is the best option. You only need to look at the hooligans in the UK and other parts of Europe to see how quickly it can go pear shaped.

Zero-tolerance is the only way to avoid potential troublemakers.

Honestly, I think this is a bit of a storm in a teacup. They went to bay 13 to cheer on Matty Wade (Howe's cousin), had a bit of fun, probably didn't drink all that much and some [censored] complained about them taking part in a Beer Snake. It's not like they started a brawl or anything. Security at those events is a joke, they'll toss you out for anything.

I think you're correct in calling it a "storm in a teacup", but as has also been pointed out on this thread, it's not a "good look" and so the media will use it to further beat us up.

I do not agree that because they are on holidays they can do stupid things.

Since I was a young lad (and that was many years ago), Bay 13 was what it still is.

It is notorious because it attracts louts and bogans.

So, why would our boys go there ?

There is the entire BIG MCG for them to choose where to see Jeremy's cousin.

Winning the Mark of the Year has made him a "face".

Howe of all,should understand this.

But, so should the others.

These guys get recognized even when they go to buy the newspaper at the local shop - especially if they are on the front page.

They cannot avoid it.

So, going somewhere like Bay 13 is like throwing a match on a petrol spill.

They should know that.

As for the drinking, I hope they weren't trashing themselves.

Otherwise much of the good work they did in Darwin could have been compromised.

They went there to ensure this year they got fit not fat in the pre-season !

Edited December 27, 201212 yr by BangkokDemon

We just want to win games, and until we're regularly doing so every little thing hurts.

I think you're correct in calling it a "storm in a teacup", but as has also been pointed out on this thread, it's not a "good look" and so the media will use it to further beat us up.

So don't read / watch them. The football media is always looking to beat up on something or someone, and it might as well be us. It's better than wrapping ourselves in cotton wool and turning our players into robots.

If they are not fronting a judge over this then it is a nothing story.

They are either naive or stupid. Most likely the latter.

The disappointing thing is someone, probably Frawley being in the leadership group, should have thought about the consequences. Drinking copious amounts of beer, sitting in the notorious bay 13 with all the other bogans is just stupid. At some point someone had to say; this is not a good look. They know perception is everything when you are an AFL footballer. They would have been warned numerous times. The eyes of the world are the Boxing Day Test. It's one of the biggest events on the Australian sporting calendar. I'm amazed that that they thought this was a good idea.

7 pages devoted to this topic!

7 pages devoted to this topic!

It's the offseason and no one wants to hear we're flying....

We just want to win games, and until we're regularly doing so every little thing hurts.

You wouldn't be a true Melbourne supporter if you weren't bothered by our recent performances. And we are all tired of it. But I wish football success was as simple as enforcing a no booze policy. Its not.

These guys did what most kids their age do, have fun, and given the stressful nature of their jobs, i don't blame them. As long as they commit 100% in their efforts, and don't pull these sorts of stunts during the season, or in the preparation of it, then i won't judge them. I did the same sort of crap when i was that age, just like most normal kids.

The thing is, the team doesn't win. Normal for us has become embarrassingly bad. We don't want more normal. We want football success, and I keep thinking of Shane Woewodin and what he did to achieve football success. Opportunity was slipping by, year by year, and he wasn't getting what he wanted - so he got seriously serious: watched very carefully what he ate, stayed right clear of the booze, etc etc. His over-the-top efforts were rewarded. I wish our players had that level of commitment, because as a supporter, that's the level of success I'd love to see again. But it does sound like some of them don't get it. To me, this goes to the heart of what culture is, when guys join their mates in what is clearly ok stuff to do. Ordinary breeds ordinary. Culture can raise the individual's expectations of himself, his ambition and his sense of what is 100%.

Edited December 27, 201212 yr by robbiefrom13

Actually, folks, it is quite hard to get kicked out of the cricket. There were 70 something ejections in a crowd of 70,000.

There is nothing wrong with having a holiday, but cr@p - what a bunch of complete, total, morons.

And to everyone saying there were Geelong and Richmond players involved, come on! Seriously?

Was good to see our skipper Grimes having a quiet night with mates seeing the Hobbit on Boxing day...

Yeah yeah they'll be disciplined, as they should be, but does no one else welcome the return of the customary off-season atrocity compared to the horror of tanking allegations?

Having spent 12 years dealing with drunks at the G and other venues and locking up many I can say the following, they passed the attitude test and went quietly so my expert opinion is not drunk, just 'affected by alcohol', very smart decision to leave without trouble, and that is what I'd focus on as the coach. No fights, no drunk driving, no sexist behaviour reported just beers watching the cricket and then going peacefully when told... After a few shennanigans.. I have seen lawyers, politicians, senior civil servants, teachers, CEO's and others who would all make the news if someone chose to dob on them.

Could they have got drunk in private and kept up some sort of BS choir boy appearance, of course they could and it would have made people here happy obviously. I always found the people pouring out of the super boxes the most shabby after a long day.

Now we either have an extraordinary over representation of the temperance society amongst Demon supporters or a truck load of hypocrites everyone has been bent out of shape sometime and it's what happens at that point is key. Footballer player had a drink!!! don't make me laugh, more than a few premiership players who have done that.

I can also say that I found the security at the G to be cowards and snipers (up until 2006, so if they have improved since then i'm sorry) and that on more than one occasion they were either charged or close to being charged with assault, including a 14 year old girl getting pummelled by four 90kg+ blokes one time. I reckon they'd be nervous of the footy players as in their dreams they couldn't touch these guys and most of the guards are on our power trip, as bad as G4S guards at an airport.

And finally so what if its in the paper, can we stop being so frigging scared of the media and just stare them down at least once or twice. God our politics would be better if the pollies didn't live by every sound bite.

Does this make everyone feel a little bit better?

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/afl/more-news/collingwood-midfielder-marley-williams-faces-assault-charges-in-western-australia/story-e6frf9jf-1226544226090

Not really, it is more than unfortunate when these things happen but I found this bit of the article amusing. The language used to reinforce the story.

"But he was promoted to the senior list after the Magpies lost enforcer Luke Ball to a season-ending knee injury."

Is it possible the standard of journalism is getting worse over the summer break, Luke Ball an enforcer, good hard at it player, inside mid but enforcer???