Prof Google revelas this where SFebes refers to it in a post. Can't see his source:

 

@Wells 11and @Lord Nev  I've heard her say the 'tanking' saga was as bad as the Ess drug sage.  I was angry but it passed.  For some reason the 'tanking' hit a nerve with her and it has clouded her judgement about those events. 

I don't warm to her as a person but on the whole I find her articles well researched and reasonable.  She is one of the best non-football calling reporters in the industry. 

Edited May 30, 20213 yr by Lucifer's Hero

  On 29/05/2021 at 22:11, Baghdad Bob said:

Each to their own, best footy journo there is for mine.

Sorry, I just don't get this narrative of CW the elite footy journalist.

Yeah, sure unlike Slobo, she can actually put a few words together which make meaningful sense in the English language, but that's hardly a high benchmark to overcome.

I couldn't help opening her most recient article just to see what it was all about, but really it was just like lancing a boil.  Full of puss about behind the scenes administration types that no one knows or gives much of a crap about. 

Her material would be better off in the politics section of the newspaper than sports.  I enjoy my footy to get away from all that stuff and she contributes pretty much nothing that I want as a sports journalism consumer.  Time that she goes the way of Mike Sheean and retires.

  On 06/05/2021 at 22:29, demonstone said:

When Caroline was growing up her father, the powerful and fearsome Ian "Octa" Wilson, was President of Richmond at a time when they were a very strong team and winning premierships (late 60s/early 70s) under Tommy Hafey.

She has always had excellent contacts in the footy world.  My only criticism of her is that I think she tends to overlook or downplay bad news stories concerning her beloved Tigers.

In that case what about the AFL.com.au. They regulate the competition then deploy their website to speculate on what lower-team lists and players can be raided by the power clubs. All in a day's work.

  On 29/05/2021 at 22:11, Baghdad Bob said:

And I’m not ashamed of our past and don’t want to cancel it. 
 

I’m proud of what we are achieving and where we came from just makes it all the more meritorious. 

Agree with you here 100% BB

 

  On 29/05/2021 at 22:31, Wells 11 said:

let’s remember that she wasn’t speaking without “fear or favour” she was absolutely doing the bidding of the AFL. so many clubs including the big clubs ie hawks, pies, blues and others had done it, and the afl needed to stamp it out. this was mainly because there had been the entrance of big gambling sponsorship money into the game. So scapegoat was needed to a./ make it look like it was just ONE club and protect the AFL and b./ to scare all clubs away from the action. 

Yep

Hey and hasn't that gambling industry made a great contribution to the AFL and society in general.

  On 29/05/2021 at 23:52, Lucifer's Hero said:

Going on the comments lots of people don't want to lose SWYL, as annoying as he can be.

At the risk of being banned myself, I might start a thread to get him back (after whatever suitable penance Andy and co deem appropriate.)

Well sywl PMd CH....ha..sounds like code.....and CH published the pm which was although nasty, was misinterpreted as tear you apart physically (when he meant with words on the forum) after the quote to the INXS song Never Tear Us Apart. It was a gut reaction after continual baiting if you ask me. But....

Silly thing to do and deserves some form of sanction. So maybe a season injury.?...i dont know its not my call and i feel for people who have to try and keep the place together.

The other person was not banned but i think he knows what he did.

  On 29/05/2021 at 23:52, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

Her material would be better off in the politics section of the newspaper than sports.  I enjoy my footy to get away from all that stuff and she contributes pretty much nothing that I want as a sports journalism consumer.

Hear, hear. She's a solid reporter and seems to have good contacts, but ultimately, she's not a sports reporter. She's a society reporter or gossip columnist. More interested in who hates whom and what happened in such-and-such a scandal, than in why MFC are on top or why Buckley can't get his troops firing.

The biggest story in the past 100 years in the AFL ( the Essendon saga) was broken and reported on by John Pierik and Michael Gleeson at the Age.  Caro was head of Age football reporting at the time, and didn't write a single line about it. 

Her source at the AFL was Demetriou and he was trying to push it under the carpet, so no mention from Caro. 

Journalist?  No...... Pierik and Gleeson are journalists. 

Took me a while but I learned the best way to abuse trolls is with silence. 

I'm an admirer of Caro. Plenty of grubs around taking advantage of the community's passion for the game - you need someone like Caro covering the political aspect. She's disliked by many because at some point or another she's nailed everyone's team.

  On 30/05/2021 at 00:17, george_on_the_outer said:

The biggest story in the past 100 years in the AFL ( the Essendon saga) was broken and reported on by John Pierik and Michael Gleeson at the Age.  Caro was head of Age football reporting at the time, and didn't write a single line about it.

This is just simply incorrect.

"Indeed, Wilson was so insistent on uncovering the drugs program at Essendon that Hird’s daughter, Stephanie, wrote her en email begging her to stop."

Fox Footy’s Open Mike: Caroline Wilson talks about James Hird, Essendon drugs scandal, The Footy Show

From The Age...

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/essendon-shuffle-deckchairs-as-damage-from-drug-scandal-continues-20150810-givmd2.html

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/essendon-cas-verdict-the-whatifs-that-haunt-the-bombers-20160112-gm3zu3.html

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/admission-may-have-saved-hirds-mates-20130814-2rwxr.html

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/essendon-drug-scandal-port-adelaide-to-ask-for-compensation-if-players-are-suspended-20150330-1mb6wp.html

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/jake-carlisle-links-drug-use-with-essendon-supplements-trauma-20160321-gnn574.html

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/james-hirds-distorted-thinking-evident-once-again-as-wada-appeals-essendon-decision-20150512-gh01xv.html

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/afl-warned-hird-against-peptides-20130716-2q2ih.html

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/bombers-injected-with-mystery-mexican-substance-20130814-2rx6m.html

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/worksafe-victoria-charge-essendon-football-club-20151109-gku1kv.html

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/essendon-continues-to-duck-for-cover-20140707-zsz9w.html

And of course:

"James Hird oversaw the most catastrophic period in Essendons history"

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/james-hird-oversaw-the-most-catastrophic-period-in-essendons-history-20150818-gj24bw.html

 

Edited May 30, 20213 yr by Lord Nev

People take football journalism so personally, and all it is is fluff. Unless you’re going through an avoidable crisis like the drug saga or...... *whispering* the tanking saga...... it’s fairly easy to avoid. I can imagine Dee supporters being annoyed at almost any AFL journalist considering they’ve been smashing us for 30 years (some would argue rightfully so, take the red and blue glasses off) but if you look at it subjectively, generally caro has sources, has references, has done research and generally doesn’t speak in wild sweeping platitudes.

I have a lot of respect for her, considering when she looks across the table she sometimes would have a club “champion” who has glassed his partner, a Coll president who sat and did nothing on a show where Sam Newman would regularly say crass, pretty disgusting things about her, and just the general disrespect for women in footy that they have been coping since the beginning of the game. Footy media is a boys club, and the circle jerks in the commentary and media are all about I played this, I won that, I kicked this many.
Sometimes she takes an angle which i didn’t hear the 400ex player mob of f**wits take at least that counts for something. Oh and she can laugh at herself which I can appreciate

 

 

IMO

Edited May 30, 20213 yr by Rigatoni Rigoni

  On 29/05/2021 at 23:52, Lucifer's Hero said:

Going on the comments lots of people don't want to lose SWYL, as annoying as he can be.

At the risk of being banned myself, I might start a thread to get him back (after whatever suitable penance Andy and co deem appropriate.)

He was banned for threatening other posters.  Give it up.

  On 30/05/2021 at 00:17, george_on_the_outer said:

The biggest story in the past 100 years in the AFL ( the Essendon saga) was broken and reported on by John Pierik and Michael Gleeson at the Age.  Caro was head of Age football reporting at the time, and didn't write a single line about it. 

Her source at the AFL was Demetriou and he was trying to push it under the carpet, so no mention from Caro. 

Journalist?  No...... Pierik and Gleeson are journalists. 

Sorry George, way off the mark here, as Lord Nev has pointed out. She was at the forefront of this, reporting fearlessly and unrelentingly on the subject, much to the chagrin of many Bomber supporters and Hird sycophants.

  On 30/05/2021 at 00:20, Lucifer's Hero said:

Not a good move on my part to plead SWYL's case publicly in a 'poll'.  Apologies to @Nasherand @Demonlandfor starting a thread.

A few years ago, unbeknown to SWYL I pleaded his case to lift a ban, directly with Andy and received a favourable response.  Think I have just used up all my credits so not sure I can plead his case again.  

Maybe the commentary in this thread will be enough.

Threatening harm on other posters is totally unacceptable and is not tolerated. I know I have been lenient in the past for some of SWYL's long list of other indiscretions but this was a step too far.

The SWYL topic has been answered and is closed. Further posts on that topic will be deleted.

I do not believe Caroline Wilson is a good journalist. She is far too biased. She is a one-eyed Richmond supporter and absolutely hates MFC. She has demonstrated these biases on multiple occasions. She also often appears to make stuff up and calls it “sources say xyz” or some such drivel.

Daisy Pearce is far, far better and not just because she’s one of ours. She’s smart and emotionally intelligent as well.

Sometimes, however I do agree with Caroline Wilson, and she was fair and correct in her assessment of the recent assault in a nightclub case. They should have walked away. 

caroline is a fantastic journalist but she also gets very 'set' in her opinions and is often super stubborn not prepared to change her mind

i say that as a massive fan of her work; she's an actual journalist, uncovering the machinations of what is happening behind the scenes at club level and hq

she can often be seen to be too supportive of her beloved tigers, but given her familial history it's hardly surprising

some of the things claimed about her in this thread are patently false or, at best, pure hyperbole

I have always found organisational politics fascinating.

CW was for years the only one who specialised in this area re the AFL. As she winds back it will be interesting to see who assumes the mantle.

Don't underestimate the desire of the AFL to completely control the message. 

And then there's her interactions with Eddie

  On 30/05/2021 at 00:17, george_on_the_outer said:

The biggest story in the past 100 years in the AFL ( the Essendon saga) was broken and reported on by John Pierik and Michael Gleeson at the Age.  Caro was head of Age football reporting at the time, and didn't write a single line about it. 

Her source at the AFL was Demetriou and he was trying to push it under the carpet, so no mention from Caro. 

Journalist?  No...... Pierik and Gleeson are journalists. 

You can dislike her if you want, but don't make [censored] up, she reported heavily and insistently on the drugs saga.

  On 30/05/2021 at 01:36, Antioch said:

I do not believe Caroline Wilson is a good journalist. She is far too biased. She is a one-eyed Richmond supporter and absolutely hates MFC. She has demonstrated these biases on multiple occasions. She also often appears to make stuff up and calls it “sources say xyz” or some such drivel.

Daisy Pearce is far, far better and not just because she’s one of ours. She’s smart and emotionally intelligent as well.

Sometimes, however I do agree with Caroline Wilson, and she was fair and correct in her assessment of the recent assault in a nightclub case. They should have walked away. 

Daisy isn't a journalist, she's a commentator.

Caro isn't a commentator, she's a journalist.

They're both excellent at what they do. Caro doesn't "hate" MFC, she's open about being a Richmond fan but she attacks them when she should (e.g. the Shai Bolton nightclub incident, Hardwick's anti-Marvel comments, Hardwick's violence-related comments last year, Stack's nightclub incident last year).

It's really remarkable how many MFC fans think that commentators "hate" us, or are out to get us, or actively want us to fail, or whatever.

  On 30/05/2021 at 12:48, titan_uranus said:

You can dislike her if you want, but don't make [censored] up, she reported heavily and insistently on the drugs saga.

Daisy isn't a journalist, she's a commentator.

Caro isn't a commentator, she's a journalist.

They're both excellent at what they do. Caro doesn't "hate" MFC, she's open about being a Richmond fan but she attacks them when she should (e.g. the Shai Bolton nightclub incident, Hardwick's anti-Marvel comments, Hardwick's violence-related comments last year, Stack's nightclub incident last year).

It's really remarkable how many MFC fans think that commentators "hate" us, or are out to get us, or actively want us to fail, or whatever.

They don't hate us, they just don't respect us.

  On 30/05/2021 at 12:48, titan_uranus said:

You can dislike her if you want, but don't make [censored] up, she reported heavily and insistently on the drugs saga.

Daisy isn't a journalist, she's a commentator.

Caro isn't a commentator, she's a journalist.

They're both excellent at what they do. Caro doesn't "hate" MFC, she's open about being a Richmond fan but she attacks them when she should (e.g. the Shai Bolton nightclub incident, Hardwick's anti-Marvel comments, Hardwick's violence-related comments last year, Stack's nightclub incident last year).

It's really remarkable how many MFC fans think that commentators "hate" us, or are out to get us, or actively want us to fail, or whatever.

Both are journalists. One is verbal mostly. The other writes more. The reason fans think commentators hate us is because they do. Watch how many times Caroline Wilson or Dermott Brereton tip Melbourne to win. Biased.

  On 30/05/2021 at 13:06, Dr. Gonzo said:

They don't hate us, they just don't respect us.

This times a bazillion. 

  On 04/06/2021 at 01:51, Antioch said:

Both are journalists. One is verbal mostly. The other writes more. The reason fans think commentators hate us is because they do. Watch how many times Caroline Wilson or Dermott Brereton tip Melbourne to win. Biased.

Daisy Pearce is definitely not a journalist. She's a midwife who commentates occasionally at football matches. Journalism is much more than that.

And I can't think of one journalist who "hates" Melbourne (or any other team). 

 

  On 04/06/2021 at 02:25, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

And I can't think of one journalist who "hates" Melbourne (or any other team). 

Greg Denham circa 2013 would be a decent candidate for this. While I admit that he was right about the Melbourne Bears stuff he was throwing at us,  there was a real tinge of malice in what he was writing and saying to KB.

As for Caro, I think many people lost sight that what she wrote was basically correct. I can understand the animosity shown towards her as, let's be blunt, if the worst possible scenario did play out, we would have been extinct. Where we were at at the time was literally life and death stuff as far as the club went.