Sad really, he has a lot of superficial similarities with Garry Ablett Jnr and could have been just as good if he was inclined to get his act together. That's why us and now Freo gave him too much benefit of the doubt. He was always threatening to turn the corner and unleash that enormous power game and become a star. What a waste.

Sylvia was servicable in his last few years at the club, I thought he was one of our better players.

He can bounce back from this minor setback. It is only Feb for christ sakes.

Sylvia was servicable in his last few years at the club, I thought he was one of our better players.

He can bounce back from this minor setback. It is only Feb for christ sakes.

You can't be serious

Sylvia was servicable in his last few years at the club, I thought he was one of our better players.

He can bounce back from this minor setback. It is only Feb for christ sakes.

The reason why he mightn't 'bounce back' is that he isn't receiving an MFC style Clayton's punishment this time. When he tooled around at our club (I am hoping that this was the MFC of the past and not of today), they would force him to miss one pre-season game. He is now at a club that won't put up with his bollocks as quite frankly, he isn't even in their top ten players. This to me seems the first step before he is sacked entirely.

For Col to bounce back from this, he will need a full personality transplant. The past shows that it's unlikely that he will learn from this.

I think he's finished. Read Lyon's comments in today's Age about "recruiting mistakes". It looks like Sylvia has been put into bad blunder won't happen again basket.

Freo should have done themselves a favour and read DL and our thoughts of Col. Then again maybe they did? "just needs a good pre season under his belt."

Care factor with me = zero. He is their problem now, I now believe we have a team of do'ers and goers.

From the first minute this bloke arrived at our club, he was full of talent with absolutely no brains. This latest episode shows that at AFL level, talent is a very small part of the package. It's more about application, dedication and effort, things which Col doesn't understand. The biggest difference between our club and Freo is that in the past, our leadership at every level has been so poor and soft that they have let people like Col get away with things that other clubs led by strong people like Ross Lyon would never tolerate. We have been so desperate for talent that we have tolerated character flaws. Col won't change until it's too late. He's gone.

Freo are really making it a public humiliation, doubt if Col would care or even realise, he is fairly laid back.

At least he is still on an AFL list, unlike treacle toes McLean.

I have a theory that Sylvia is the anti-Norm Smith. When Col walked out the door the 50 year curse went with him. Our Club last year was shaking off the past and this year will begin its inevitable rise

But I might be wrong

Almost exactly one year ago I posted on here about how we here on Demonland can't let things go.... I think the fact that this thread was dragged out of mothballs to celebrate Col's fall from grace is living proof...

http://demonland.com/forums/index.php?/topic/35873-colin-sylvia/?p=882161

I have a theory that Sylvia is the anti-Norm Smith. When Col walked out the door the 50 year curse went with him. Our Club last year was shaking off the past and this year will begin its inevitable rise

But I might be wrong

I first thought the curse might be lifted when McLean left. Then, when Scully walked out I was almost sure that cosmic forces were at play. Two years later, when Col moved to greener pastures I knew for certain we were clear. This time though, with the departures of both Frawley and Clark, I know that I'm not mistaken- we are on the dawn of a new era.

March on, fellow Demonlanders!

P.S. I knew that Rivers leaving would have no effect on the curse. It's one of those innate things; you either have it or you don't.

Sad really, he has a lot of superficial similarities with Garry Ablett Jnr and could have been just as good if he was inclined to get his act together. That's why us and now Freo gave him too much benefit of the doubt. He was always threatening to turn the corner and unleash that enormous power game and become a star. What a waste.

I heard David Parkin praise Col a few years ago as Melbourne's only A grade player. That surprised me because at the time we had a few good players in Yze, Bruce, jr McDonald etc. and the few minutes a game put in by Col was really getting on my goat!

I vividly remember his first game for us against North - one handball!

Unfulfilled talent is sad to see and so I'm glad when less talented but mentally stronger players succeed (James McDonald springs to mind).

(Parkin by the way has a soft spot for Melbourne and is a financial member).

.@Fremantle_FC will review their free agency recruiting after the saga of Colin Sylvia #AFL | http://yhoo.it/1uiijCJ

Almost exactly one year ago I posted on here about how we here on Demonland can't let things go.... I think the fact that this thread was dragged out of mothballs to celebrate Col's fall from grace is living proof...

http://demonland.com/forums/index.php?/topic/35873-colin-sylvia/?p=882161

who says we are celebrating? commiserating over another wasted high draft pick is more like it

You only have to look at his instagram and see he still enjoys the night life and pigs out at fancy resturants ever second night with his missus.

yep just had a peek. obviously still hangs around beamer a lot and obviously interesting the one of him and his dad. obviously both like a drink.

who says we are celebrating? commiserating over another wasted high draft pick is more like it

You may not be, but I think the fact this post has been dragged out again purely because Col has failed at Freo, I would consider a celebration of his failure more than commiseration over our poor drafting.

Freo are really making it a public humiliation,

Agree. It is rare for a Coach to slag off at a player the way Lyon has done on Col. They must be very upset and disappointed.

Lyon said he came to the first Pre Season completely unfit and has done it again.

Agree. It is rare for a Coach to slag off at a player the way Lyon has done on Col. They must be very upset and disappointed.

Lyon said he came to the first Pre Season completely unfit and has done it again.

One of the biggest baking in recent times. Reading between the lines, it sounds like Slyvia is prime for a sacking. I can't see him sticking around for another two seasons.

Almost exactly one year ago I posted on here about how we here on Demonland can't let things go.... I think the fact that this thread was dragged out of mothballs to celebrate Col's fall from grace is living proof...

http://demonland.com/forums/index.php?/topic/35873-colin-sylvia/?p=882161

The interest on here i think is completely understandable. Lets face it we all thought Col would finally pull it all together at Freo and turn out to be the consistently damaging/occasionally brilliant player we hoped he would become with us.

Bizarrely it now looks like we actually got the best out of him, let him go at the perfect time and got Vince as a almost direct replacement.

The interest on here i think is completely understandable. Lets face it we all thought Col would finally pull it all together at Freo and turn out to be the consistently damaging/occasionally brilliant player we hoped he would become with us.

I didn't...i have always thought it would be a miracle if Col played well at the Shockers. For 10 years he played in 2nd gear for us...10 years

He doesn't know how to improve, it's too late.

Col is just another in a long line of recent departees from the MFC who have done very little to nothing.

Almost exactly one year ago I posted on here about how we here on Demonland can't let things go.... I think the fact that this thread was dragged out of mothballs to celebrate Col's fall from grace is living proof...

http://demonland.com/forums/index.php?/topic/35873-colin-sylvia/?p=882161

I believe this thread is a lamentation of unfulfilled talent, a talent that, had it been realised would have greatly benefited the club.

We no longer tolerate softies. Mentally he was/is a minnow. Had more talent than some of our current listed players but remained at the rear of the "having a red hot go" line, during his tenure with us. Not worth a position on any AFL list now. Too many little indiscretions and not enough footy "animal" in him. Was excited when we got him but I was totally fooled by his apparent natural talent/consistency. What a very sad waste of effort on his behalf. I am absolutely not surprised by his current situation.

The interest on here i think is completely understandable. Lets face it we all thought Col would finally pull it all together at Freo and turn out to be the consistently damaging/occasionally brilliant player we hoped he would become with us.

Bizarrely it now looks like we actually got the best out of him, let him go at the perfect time and got Vince as a almost direct replacement.

No we didn't. I've consistently said that Col doesn't have the talent most seem to think he has. He's done at Freo exactly what I expected of him...nothing.

Forget all the pre season stuff and have a look at the games he played in 2014, he was a non performer, he's a bust.

As for the post before likening his talent to Ablett jnr, in raw talent to play AFL at the highest level he is light years away.

Sylvia is what he is ...

• For a start, ignore the draft number because that drafting system we use is a lottery.
• He was an excellent under 18 player ... all that proves is that he was an excellent under 18 player
• Once in the big league, after a few years, it was fairly obvious what sort of player he was going to be.

Face it, he didn't become the player that we wanted him to be. He is what he is and his DNA tells us that. Now, when he was viewed as a 17 year old, we didn't know about that DNA.

If he was pick 53 instead of pick 3, then how is he viewed?

If either Petracca or Brayshaw don't turn out to be the players that we want them to be, the same old story will unfurl ... it happened with Toumpas before he'd even completed 1 season at the club. Ridiculous.

I'm not making excuses for Sylvia - he was always going to turn out the way he did ... trouble is, our crystal ball (the draft) isn't at all accurate.