13 minutes ago, Dame Gaga said:

Making that remark to Howe in the change rooms (if that was indeed what happened) about one of his team mates costing him a multi, shows how Stephenson's betting wasn't just a bit of mucking around with his mates on the couch when he was bored and his mates were betting on their phones. His betting had ingrained itself into the way he looked at playing football. Instead of being a part of a TEAM with the objective of being as good as he could be to work within that team, the ultimate goal being part of a premiership team, the gambling made him selfish.

And another thing. I suspect Eddie has done a mountain of spin doctoring to convince everyone Stephenson's bets were only minor aberrations. We only heard recently how gambling is a problem for many AFL players. Yet Eddie reckons his player was a "clean skin" (his words) who picked up a multi for 30 bucks, self reported, and then got "clobbered". Now he says the decision to "clobber" Stephenson will in future drive players "underground" to bet with unregulated bookmakers and in turn this will lead to a gateway to organized crime!!

Cor blimey Eddie. You are lucky your player will get to play in finals. Take it and be quiet.

Really good perspective 

22 minutes ago, Dame Gaga said:

Yet Eddie reckons his player was a "clean skin" (his words) who picked up a multi for 30 bucks, self reported, and then got "clobbered". Now he says the decision to "clobber" Stephenson will in future drive players "underground" to bet with unregulated bookmakers and in turn this will lead to a gateway to organized crime!!

Eddie is off the mark of course & has a bit to deal with.

He didn't self report...he was found out then owned up.

...and he was smart enough not to bet through his own account, had a mate put on the bets.

Is that underground?

Here's an interesting question...does he have a betting account?

11 hours ago, Dame Gaga said:

 

And another thing. I suspect Eddie has done a mountain of spin doctoring to convince everyone Stephenson's bets were only minor aberrations. We only heard recently how gambling is a problem for many AFL players. Yet Eddie reckons his player was a "clean skin" (his words) who picked up a multi for 30 bucks, self reported, and then got "clobbered". Now he says the decision to "clobber" Stephenson will in future drive players "underground" to bet with unregulated bookmakers and in turn this will lead to a gateway to organized crime!!

Cor blimey Eddie. You are lucky your player will get to play in finals. Take it and be quiet.

Eddie's half-right. It's not the punishment that Stephenson received that will drive players "underground"; it's the rule that says they can't bet. The rule is there for a very good reason which is why any player who bets on football, whether legally or "underground", needs to be "clobbered".  In my view Stephenson got off lightly. He should have been penalised for the rest of the season, including finals.

There's an article in today's Age which argues that Stratton's suspension should have been more than 2 weeks because the offence was "not a good look" for the game and then seems to suggest that Stephenson's penalty was overkill. That's missing the point - while I agree that Stratton's offence was not a good look, Stephenson's goes to the heart of the integrity of the game. That's much more serious.

12 hours ago, Superunknown said:

How do you quantify its quantum

in relation to pokies. Interested to know

Pokies have  nothing much to recommend them, but the one thing in this context at least is that they can’t, as fast as I can see, have the potential to effect the, quaintly termed, integrity of the game.

Edited June 21, 20196 yr by monoccular

On 6/20/2019 at 3:18 PM, Ugottobekidding said:

At the end of the day he kicked a goal which would be the same result regardless of any bets. Guarantee there would be Demon players betting on games too.

Yes UGTBK i see your point buut,.... he kicked a goal from 65m that normally would have been a kick to inside 50, when your 40pts up and not necessarily a score. He also kicked 3 goals that day. Although he may not have been meaning to changing an outcome, you can argue that a higher score results in a higher %. WE did miss 2017 finals by 1/2 a %. Whilst its a fairly long bow, its still relevant i think.

You think there are Demon players backing themselves to kick 3 goals? I wish.

3 hours ago, Wadda We Sing said:

Yes UGTBK i see your point buut,.... he kicked a goal from 65m that normally would have been a kick to inside 50, when your 40pts up and not necessarily a score. He also kicked 3 goals that day. Although he may not have been meaning to changing an outcome, you can argue that a higher score results in a higher %. WE did miss 2017 finals by 1/2 a %. Whilst its a fairly long bow, its still relevant i think.

You think there are Demon players backing themselves to kick 3 goals? I wish.

Any player who places a bet on himself to do anything in a game, including kicking goals, is not being a team player. He is being selfish and looking to influence some part of the game, no matter how small it may be. What next, to pass it to another player who he backed to kick X number of goals? It can begin to be a bit murky when a player starts dabbling in this kind of betting. That is why the rules are there, and everyone is told what they are. As you pointed out, the little things may seem insignificant, but they could turn out to be the thin end of the wedge.

A lot of players get into gambling through horse ownership and spring racing. Then the multis start, and away they go. Its hard to curb gambling when you haven't got any coin, so I can imagine it would be ten fold harder when you have money to waste. In addition, many AFL players have too much time to spare after training, many of the younger players - without nagging wives who control their money - have no real urge to save money. The pressures of social media probably depress players who are then more likely to become problem gamblers. I think its a real issue for the AFL. Perhaps the AFL should survey the VFL players if they want a reasonably accurate read on the situation. 

Edited June 21, 20196 yr by KingDingAling