Demons: shock &awful by Caroline Wilson

"But even if Stynes' legacy is spared because we might never truly know how much he knew, the game must cast aside concerns about legacies and images and football myths and concentrate on repairing the collateral
damage.

Melbourne will be harshly punished. Cameron Schwab and Chris Connolly will be finished at the club. But football lives, young men who played no real active part in the treacherous football facade which took place at the
club in 2009 were ruined or at the very least tarnished by their association with it.

It is nonsense to suggest the AFL must carry the can for Melbourne because it created a system which encouraged tanking. That is rot. The AFL was not complicit in this. At best it was naive and at worst the commission and its chief executive incompetent in failing to see what was being unveiled in front of them."

"What Melbourne did in manipulating results was disgusting. The result of the fix was pathetic. To think that so many reputations could be destroyed and so many playing careers hurt all for one ambitious young footballer who began looking for a way out of the place after only one year.

If what some former players and coaches say is true, then the tanking was only the half of it. But to put in the fix for Tom Scully and not to create a training and development laboratory for all similarly-talented young men to improve and retain them is just so glaringly short-sighted."

hmm.

I dont think too many here have forgotten how she carried on.

Will be interesting to see what she writes if we have no case to answer.

Im hoping she will do the noble thing, and discover self immolation, like that monk did.

Wow...i just read that all again.

I really hope Garry Lyon takes her apart on Footy Classified....Could be the highlight of '13

Wow...i just read that all again.

I really hope Garry Lyon takes her apart on Footy Classified....Could be the highlight of '13

I bet he won't. But it could be the first time I'm disappointed Grant Thomas isn't on the show.

For God's sake what players reputations were ruined. No player has been associated with any of the allegations (sorry apart from their fumbling). Give me a break.

It is like the war "we should never forget".

I don't think Garry will lay into her until the Commission has met or if and when we are cleared prior. I wish Grant Thomas was still there - he would really hit home.

Wow...i just read that all again.

I really hope Garry Lyon takes her apart on Footy Classified....Could be the highlight of '13

Garry's too entrenched in 'the system' to take Caro on in any serious fashion.

Will there be a like-for-like replacement for Grant Thomas does anyone know? They need another non-establishment type who's comfortable asking the uncomfortable stuff. Otherwise FC will become an unwatchable borefest.

The slagging of Melbourne officials is one thing but the cheap shots at supporters seem completely out of line. No surprises seeing Caroline stooping to new lows

As an American all this tanking stuff is just weird to me. This season, I saw the first punishment handed out in American sports that I can remember for tanking. The San Antonio Spurs in the NBA were fined for resting their starters in two games. The fine? $250,000. Then, the story was dropped. There have been multiple instances of teams tanking in American sports but nothing big is really made of it here. It just happens sometimes. About 10 years ago, once again in the NBA the Boston Celtics (very solid and good team) were playing the Charlotte Bobcats. (amazingly horrible team. Think Port Adelaide, but maybe worse.) Anyway, at the end of the third quarter the Celts had like a 15 point lead or something. They ended up losing by eight. It is probably the clearest example of tanking I can think of (and IMO kind of impressive that they could screw up that badly).

It's just weird to me that the media in Australia is blowing this entire thing out of proportion.

As an American all this tanking stuff is just weird to me. This season, I saw the first punishment handed out in American sports that I can remember for tanking. The San Antonio Spurs in the NBA were fined for resting their starters in two games. The fine? $250,000. Then, the story was dropped. There have been multiple instances of teams tanking in American sports but nothing big is really made of it here. It just happens sometimes. About 10 years ago, once again in the NBA the Boston Celtics (very solid and good team) were playing the Charlotte Bobcats. (amazingly horrible team. Think Port Adelaide, but maybe worse.) Anyway, at the end of the third quarter the Celts had like a 15 point lead or something. They ended up losing by eight. It is probably the clearest example of tanking I can think of (and IMO kind of impressive that they could screw up that badly).

It's just weird to me that the media in Australia is blowing this entire thing out of proportion.

That fine was ridiculous - resting those players was pure list management. The Spurs are one of the oldest teams in the league, and they had 4 games in 5 days. The bigger problem was that they rested their stars against Miami, which would be kind of like Collingwood resting Thomas, Swan, Pendlebury and Cloke on Anzac Day. It destroyed the TV revenue stream for that game.

I'm not sure that was really tanking in its pure form.

That fine was ridiculous - resting those players was pure list management. The Spurs are one of the oldest teams in the league, and they had 4 games in 5 days. The bigger problem was that they rested their stars against Miami, which would be kind of like Collingwood resting Thomas, Swan, Pendlebury and Cloke on Anzac Day. It destroyed the TV revenue stream for that game.

I'm not sure that was really tanking in its pure form.

I agree with you. I think it was totally insane. But it's the ONLY incidence of tanking being punished in the US that I could think of.

It's an interesting one. The US media will look at a team tanking like Golden State last year but instead of 'what punishment?' It surrounds what can be done to minimise te occurrence in the future.

Frankly I think the sports media is pretty much driven by ESPN and they, as annoying as they can be (Skip Bayless??), they know their US sports and they discuss and dissect everything. We don't have that educated driver, so the inmates tend to run things...so to speak.

It's an interesting one. The US media will look at a team tanking like Golden State last year but instead of 'what punishment?' It surrounds what can be done to minimise te occurrence in the future.

Frankly I think the sports media is pretty much driven by ESPN and they, as annoying as they can be (Skip Bayless??), they know their US sports and they discuss and dissect everything. We don't have that educated driver, so the inmates tend to run things...so to speak.

That's actually a good point that I hadn't thought of. The focus here does seem to be more on what can be done to minimise the problem.

For a view on Tom Scully and his integrity (as mentioned above), Jim Stynes My Journey should be compulsory reading for all D'landers.

Alf - Thanks for reminding me - My God, that original article was a horrible piece

She's a nasty piece of work. If A Current Affair had a sport section, Caro would be the prime candidate. A team of her and Tracey Grimshaw makes the bile rise in my throat.

"The Demons and their more rabid supporters keep banging on about the fact that everyone was doing it. No other club seems to have done it quite like this, though, and if Carlton is guilty then the current mood of the AFL indicates that club, too, will be forensically examined and punished."

Demons: shock & awful

​I liked that she was able to work "rabid" into a description of Melbourne supporters. Who'd have thought we have passionate supporters? Even 3 months after she went on this rant I can't see on the evidencve presented how what Melbourne did was ANY different to what Carlton, Collingwood, West Coast, etc. did. Regardless of the Melbourne investigation Wilson MUST hold the AFL to account (and we her) to investigate those other teams or we will all know the AFL are a joke.

I can't help but think the $cullys had a whinge in her ear (RFC loyaties) and tipped her over the edge.

Will there be a like-for-like replacement for Grant Thomas does anyone know? They need another non-establishment type who's comfortable asking the uncomfortable stuff. Otherwise FC will become an unwatchable borefest.

I thought Matthew Lloyd had been confirmed as Thomas' replacement .. ?

But football lives, young men who played no real

active part in the treacherous football facade which took place at the

club in 2009 were ruined or at the very least tarnished by their

association with it.

One of the most absurd statements I've ever read.

It's just an overly emotive opinion piece. To call it rubbish would be giving it too much credit.

I'd clearly forgetten the venom of her first articles.

Fan, - still a fan ?

What a disgrace! She clearly doesn't like the MFC, has really dodgey sources and doesn't take her career very seriously to post such garbage, when we are found to have no case to answer for i can't imagine her being stupid enough to publish anything negative again.

I'd clearly forgetten the venom of her first articles.

Fan, - still a fan ?

have you been asleep? he's no longer a fan he's some sort of a iraqi robert. he's gone back to the future

What a disgrace! She clearly doesn't like the MFC, has really dodgey sources and doesn't take her career very seriously to post such garbage, when we are found to have no case to answer for i can't imagine her being stupid enough to publish anything negative again.

Water off a ducks back.....She is so arrorgant she will write what she wants to...whenever she wants to

I'd clearly forgetten the venom of her first articles.

Fan, - still a fan ?

Nut I've never been a fan of the emotive and editorial content when it's aimed at MFC. I don't like it. Yes she went overboard and she clearly thinks that "list management" for the purposes of gaining picks is inappropriate. I also think the game is better without it.

Whilst I don't like her venom I do like the fact that as a "political" football journo she publishes a lot of stuff that is on the ball and does so either uniquely or first. And while she continues to do that I'll continue to read her because I like the information she provides.

So yes, I'm still a fan. And I'll bet that if she starts publishing political stuff to the detriment of Collingwood everyone (well you know what I mean) here will read it and inwardly at least will applaud.

"The Demons and their more rabid supporters keep banging on about the fact that everyone was doing it. No other club seems to have done it quite like this, though, and if Carlton is guilty then the current mood of the AFL indicates that club, too, will be forensically examined and punished."Demons: shock & awful​I liked that she was able to work "rabid" into a description of Melbourne supporters. Who'd have thought we have passionate supporters? Even 3 months after she went on this rant I can't see on the evidence presented how what Melbourne did was ANY different to what Carlton, Collingwood, West Coast, etc. did. Regardless of the Melbourne investigation Wilson MUST hold the AFL to account (and we her) to investigate those other teams or we will all know the AFL are a joke.

We all owe you a great debt for reminding us about this quote because it clearly demonstrates the warped nature of Wilson's thinking and how moronic she and her apologists are on this subject.

She suggests that "if Carlton is guilty" then and only then would that club be investigated. But that is a ridiculous proposition because the whole idea of an investigation is to determine the guilt or otherwise of a party. It allows her to conclude as she tells her readers that Melbourne likewise is guilty (even before the completion of the investigation and before the MFC can defend itself) and that is why it is being investigated and moreover, she had decided on the penalties that should be applied. "Off with their heads and to hell with any principles of fairness and justice". On top of that if you disagree with her, you're a rabid supporter.

She truly is a piece and a rabid one at that!