Jump to content

Featured Replies

9 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

there's instagram direct messages going around of him asking for charlie back from before he was even drafted

the notion that this was a one-off is hilarious

It would be beyond stupid for him to go so full on 'it was a once off' if it wasn't true.  Their would be social media out there of other occasions. 

If it wasn't a once off best he just didn't say anything than risk being branded as a 'liar' spinner of the truth.

 
4 minutes ago, Lucifers Hero said:

It would be beyond stupid for him to go so full on 'it was a once off' if it wasn't true.  Their would be social media out there of other occasions. 

If it wasn't a once off best he just didn't say anything than risk being branded as a 'liar' spinner of the truth.

it's too late, there's already plenty of well-known instances of him hitting the bags

4 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

it's too late, there's already plenty of well-known instances of him hitting the bags

Well he is a fool for lying about it.  And the club is culpable if they knowingly let him do so.  They are risking his well being.

Unless the AFL activates its media ban of reporting events of players with mental health issues those instances will spread like wildfire.

He is 20 and with all the trauma of the last few days he needs protecting from the spin doctors around him.  Hope he has a decent manager as not sure he can rely on his club and the AFL to give him unbiased advice.

Edited by Lucifers Hero

 
20 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

there's instagram direct messages going around of him asking for charlie back from before he was even drafted

the notion that this was a one-off is hilarious

From the footage, the way he was so confidently and casually taking it, it didn’t exactly appear that it was his first experience. 

Just wait for Gill's spin after the "Integrity Commission" 😂 looks into it.

"We have determined that the Melbourne FootballClub, under the direction of its bullying coach, unfairly traumatised the Western Bulldogs in the 2021 Grand Final and effected their players' mental health, so they will be stripped of the Premiership, and all points for season 2022 will be null and void.  Further they will have no draft picks in 2022, and will have to donate 8 players, nominated by the AFL Commission, to the new Tasmanian team.  All remaining home games will be at 5pm Sundays and not televised."


27 minutes ago, Lucifers Hero said:

It would be beyond stupid for him to go so full on 'it was a once off' if it wasn't true. 

Not really, the sexy part of the story has already been told...it all dies down from here and most people won't care about any follow up unless he is caught out again.

Tell 'em it's a one off then get on with life.

11 minutes ago, rjay said:

Not really, the sexy part of the story has already been told...it all dies down from here and most people won't care about any follow up unless he is caught out again.

Tell 'em it's a one off then get on with life.

@whatwhat say whatis saying there is other evidence out there.

Unless the AFL gags mainstream media that evidence of other occasions will get out.

Anyway, as I said a few days ago I feel sorry for Smith; it could be any of our players going through this.  I wish him well.  Seems a decent guy.

Edited by Lucifers Hero

53 minutes ago, The heart beats true said:

I thought it was bizarre that Bevo said ‘…essentially any player with a clinically diagnosed mental health challenge will never be exposed to the policy anyway’ (from news.com.au)

So now we have someone on record saying that he knows where the loophole exists in the policy. The same coach whose had how many players take ‘mental health’ breaks in the last 6 years? It’s about 7 isn’t it?

Maybe a football journalist wants to report on this? Anyone?

Nathan Buckley said something very similar a few weeks ago in reference to this.    It's clearly enough of an issue at clubs for a former coach to mention this unprompted on a national telecast.  It begs the question whether players are using mental health as a smokescreen to avoid the three strikes policy?

 

Edited by grazman

 

.

Edited by Lucifers Hero

4 minutes ago, grazman said:

Nathan Buckley said something very similar a few weeks ago in reference to this.    It's clearly enough of an issue at clubs for a former coach to mention this unprompted on a national telecast.  It begs the question whether players are using mental health as a smokescreen to avoid the three strikes policy?

 

The way the policy has been set up it makes me wonder if the AFL are using mental heath as a smokescreen.

They would hardly want players suspended for illicit  drug taking.

They may have deliberately set the policy up to fail.


7 minutes ago, Lucifers Hero said:

Unless the AFL gags mainstream media that evidence of other occasions will get out.

Not sure on this. The tiptoeing is already in full force and I doubt most media outlets would want the potential backlash now that it's been framed around mental health and Bailey is both a victim and a hero. Even the usually reliable-for-gutter-reporting Herald Sun has already paid him to further that narrative too.

1 minute ago, rjay said:

The way the policy has been set up it makes me wonder if the AFL are using mental heath as a smokescreen.

They would hardly want players suspended for illicit  drug taking.

They may have deliberately set the policy up to fail.

Absolutely possible. This kind of thing is absolutely rife throughout the league, speaking from a number of first-hand encounters. 

1 hour ago, Lucifers Hero said:

Either the Bulldogs have a lot more than most or they aren't very good at keeping things in house.

We're struggling to keep things in house at the moment also...

I remember Eddie demanding that the club (at least the president) be told when a player is on 2 strikes I think it was.

Could you imagine how this would be now with us and someone with a lot of inside information from the top leaking like a sieve.

1 minute ago, Lord Nev said:

Not sure on this. The tiptoeing is already in full force and I doubt most media outlets would want the potential backlash now that it's been framed around mental health and Bailey is both a victim and a hero. Even the usually reliable-for-gutter-reporting Herald Sun has already paid him to further that narrative too.

That is what I was saying the AFL ban is:  no reporting of events around a player with mental health issues so new evidence won't get out.  Caroline Wilson discussed this 'ban' at the time of the Jack Stevens stabbing. 

1 minute ago, Scipio said:

Absolutely possible. This kind of thing is absolutely rife throughout the league, speaking from a number of first-hand encounters. 

Rife throughout young people, particularly young men, in general, which is why I find the 'mental health' narrative around this a bit unbelievable. If you're going to be legitimately honest just come out and say you got sucked into it just like so many young people do and then we can all have the REAL conversation about recreational drugs that needs to be had, instead of played off as something that people only get 'trapped into' when they have mental health problems.


31 minutes ago, grazman said:

Nathan Buckley said something very similar a few weeks ago in reference to this.    It's clearly enough of an issue at clubs for a former coach to mention this unprompted on a national telecast.  It begs the question whether players are using mental health as a smokescreen to avoid the three strikes policy?

 

begs the question whether players are using mental health as a smokescreen to avoid the three strikes policy?”

That is a theory that has been around for many years , and is quite likely correct. 

7 minutes ago, monoccular said:

begs the question whether players are using mental health as a smokescreen to avoid the three strikes policy?”

That is a theory that has been around for many years , and is quite likely correct. 

Bevo this morning says as much:  "And essentially any player with a clinically diagnosed mental health challenge will never be exposed to the policy anyway."  ie won't get a strike.  none-of-us-are-really-sure-it-works

And apparently, when a player admits to drug use they don't get a strike. 

It begs the question, if the drug taking is NOT performance enhancing, why is it any of the AFLs business..?

Young people have moved away from the socially allowed drugs in alcohol and cigarettes in droves, and now recreate with other drugs... society (as is common) is slowly catching up.

6 minutes ago, PaulRB said:

It begs the question, if the drug taking is NOT performance enhancing, why is it any of the AFLs business..?

Young people have moved away from the socially allowed drugs in alcohol and cigarettes in droves, and now recreate with other drugs... society (as is common) is slowly catching up.

It does beg the question.

The only answer can be brand protection, it's certainly not working as a deterrent.


31 minutes ago, PaulRB said:

It begs the question, if the drug taking is NOT performance enhancing, why is it any of the AFLs business..?

Young people have moved away from the socially allowed drugs in alcohol and cigarettes in droves, and now recreate with other drugs... society (as is common) is slowly catching up.

 

23 minutes ago, rjay said:

It does beg the question.

The only answer can be brand protection, it's certainly not working as a deterrent.

So you don't think that whatever a certain team were widely suspected of being on in the early / mid 2000s didn't enhance their performance on GF day?  

Edited by monoccular

33 minutes ago, PaulRB said:

t begs the question, if the drug taking is NOT performance enhancing, why is it any of the AFLs business..?

Some of them are banned by WADA/ASADA though - Amphetamines (including Meth) and Cocaine for example.   If you cast your mind back to the whole Essendrug gate scandal.  ASADA certainly had an issue with the AFLs drug policy. 

Edited by grazman

 
57 minutes ago, PaulRB said:

It begs the question, if the drug taking is NOT performance enhancing, why is it any of the AFLs business..?

Young people have moved away from the socially allowed drugs in alcohol and cigarettes in droves, and now recreate with other drugs... society (as is common) is slowly catching up.

young people are moving away from alcohol????????  yeah, right

Bevo wants to ditch the policy, yeah right, of course he does🤯


Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

Featured Content

  • GAMEDAY: Rd 16 vs Gold Coast

    It's Game Day and the Demons are back on the road again and this may be the last roll of the dice to get their 2025 season back on track as they take on the Gold Coast Suns at People First Stadium.

      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 546 replies
  • PREVIEW: Gold Coast

    The Gold Coast Suns find themselves outside of the top eight for the first time since Round 1 with pressure is mounting on the entire organisation. Their coach Damien Hardwick expressed his frustration at his team’s condition last week by making a middle-finger gesture on television that earned him a fine for his troubles. He showed his desperation by claiming that Fox should pick up the tab.  There’s little doubt the Suns have shown improvement in 2025, and their position on the ladder is influenced to some extent by having played fewer games than their rivals for a playoff role at the end of the season, courtesy of the disruption caused by Cyclone Alfred in March.  However, they are following the same trajectory that hindered the club in past years whenever they appeared to be nearing their potential. As a consequence, that Hardwick gesture should be considered as more than a mere behavioral lapse. It’s a distress signal that does not bode well for the Queenslanders. While the Suns are eager to remain in contention with the top eight, Melbourne faces its own crisis, which is similarly deep-seated but in a much different way. After recovering from a disappointing start to the season and nearing a return to respectability among its peer clubs, the Demons have experienced a decline in status, driven by the fact that while their form has been reasonable (see their performance against the ladder leader in the Kings Birthday match), their conversion in front of goal is poor enough to rank last in the competition. Furthermore, their opponents find them exceptionally easy to score against. As a result, they have effectively eliminated themselves from the finals race and are again positioned to finish in the bottom half of the ladder.

      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 4 replies
  • NON-MFC: Round 15

    As the Demons head into their Bye Round, it's time to turn our attention to the other matches being played. Which teams are you tipping this week? And which results would be most favourable for the Demons if we can manage to turn our season around? Follow all the non-Melbourne games here and join the conversation as the ladder continues to take shape.

      • Like
    • 287 replies
  • REPORT: Port Adelaide

    Of course, it’s not the backline, you might argue and you would probably be right. It’s the boot studder (do they still have them?), the midfield, the recruiting staff, the forward line, the kicking coach, the Board, the interchange bench, the supporters, the folk at Casey, the head coach and the club psychologist  It’s all of them and all of us for having expectations that were sufficiently high to have believed three weeks ago that a restoration of the Melbourne team to a position where we might still be in contention for a finals berth when the time for the midseason bye arrived. Now let’s look at what happened over the period of time since Melbourne overwhelmed the Sydney Swans at the MCG in late May when it kicked 8.2 to 5.3 in the final quarter (and that was after scoring 3.8 to two straight goals in the second term). 

      • Clap
      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 3 replies
  • CASEY: Essendon

    Casey’s unbeaten run was extended for at least another fortnight after the Demons overran a persistent Essendon line up by 29 points at ETU Stadium in Port Melbourne last night. After conceding the first goal of the evening, Casey went on a scoring spree from about ten minutes in, with five unanswered majors with its fleet of midsized runners headed by the much improved Paddy Cross who kicked two in quick succession and livewire Ricky Mentha who also kicked an early goal. Leading the charge was recruit of the year, Riley Bonner while Bailey Laurie continued his impressive vein of form. With Tom Campbell missing from the lineup, Will Verrall stepped up to the plate demonstrating his improvement under the veteran ruckman’s tutelage. The Demons were looking comfortable for much of the second quarter and held a 25-point lead until the Bombers struck back with two goals in the shadows of half time. On the other side of the main break their revival continued with first three goals of the half. Harry Sharp, who had been quiet scrambled in the Demons’ first score of the third term to bring the margin back to a single point at the 17 minute mark and the game became an arm-wrestle for the remainder of the quarter and into the final moments of the last.

      • Clap
    • 0 replies
  • PREGAME: Gold Coast

    The Demons have the Bye next week but then are on the road once again when they come up against the Gold Coast Suns on the Gold Coast in what could be a last ditch effort to salvage their season. Who comes in and who comes out?

      • Thanks
    • 372 replies