Hard to know what the real story here is, but considering Petracca has not come out and denied any of it or said he's here for the long term makes you wonder. I've always thought there has been stuff bubbling away for a couple of years amongst our players, like most clubs.

I think Christian had the (c) in the bag but if what is reported is true, then he has done himself and the club a lot of damage IMO. Hard to see him being captain.

48 minutes ago, watchtheeyes said:

The tragedy is that his white-anting undermines the very improvement he is trying to drive.

ie. Dan Houston no longer wanting to come because of all the noise around the club 

I may have missed it.  But is that about Houston just a rumour / speculation or is there any real evidence?

5 minutes ago, sue said:

I may have missed it.  But is that about Houston just a rumour / speculation or is there any real evidence?

Houston heard we have a problem?

I hope I’m very wrong but I have an uncomfortable feeling we may have seen the last of Trac at MFC. It just feels like the club is running the clock down till his exit. That interview with Gawn yesterday gave me the impression Gawn was quite [censored] off with him and that he may have burned off a lot of trust within the playing group.

Can we please just have a normal end to 2024/offseason and 2025 preseason so we can focus on good footy?

We were in the wilderness forever. A burnt out shell of our former glory days. Then we built a seriously good side, won a flag, worked our way back into discussions and relevance again, and rebuilding a reputation... only to now find ourselves sliding down the ladder and heading back into murky territory.

A lot of this stuff is still mostly/likely rumour and like every other side, there will be stuff that needs to be resolved. But the other teams aren't being spoken about. It's us. Again.

Our leadership group needs to band together and put this [censored] to bed and commit to continuing our path to a new legacy of glory in the modern era. We can either be like Geelong and Sydney, and maintain success at the top - or drop off like the Bombers etc. 

Whatever the basis for all of this, I'd love to see the Club stand up at the end of the year and commit to us + one another to continue what we have been building. We are coming from a long way back, so there's still a lot to do. One flag will not erase a million years of drubbings. We can still return to where we belong, or we can return to irrelevance and wait another million years for success and respect.  

It's our choice. 

Edited August 15, 20241 yr by Red But Mostly Blue

Rehashing old ground but I thought it was time for a new captain to take the load off max.

Share the media duties.

Take a more proactive approach in the media /social media /communication full stop.

Doubt it would’ve changed our fortunes but could’ve made life a little easier and happier for everyone. 

All these posters pretending to know something but cannot reveal what they spells [censored] all. Nobody really knows what is what. Sources within the club my [censored].

5 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

Rehashing old ground but I thought it was time for a new captain to take the load off max.

Share the media duties.

Take a more proactive approach in the media /social media /communication full stop.

Doubt it would’ve changed our fortunes but could’ve made life a little easier and happier for everyone. 

Who? Lever?

1 minute ago, Ugottobekidding said:

All these posters pretending to know something but cannot reveal what they spells [censored] all. Nobody really knows what is what. Sources within the club my [censored].

I know why it's happening but I can't say anything.

Anyone care to post the Pete Ryan article? Paywall 

51 minutes ago, John Crow Batty said:

I hope I’m very wrong but I have an uncomfortable feeling we may have seen the last of Trac at MFC. It just feels like the club is running the clock down till his exit. That interview with Gawn yesterday gave me the impression Gawn was quite [censored] off with him and that he may have burned off a lot of trust within the playing group.

With every day that goes by, the more it appears to be heading in that direction. 
 

im not having him leave to a power house. He can go to GC in exchange for

Pick 7, 12 and Ben King/Mac Andrew 
 

 

Edited August 15, 20241 yr by Gawndy the Great

18 minutes ago, fr_ap said:

Anyone care to post the Pete Ryan article? Paywall 

Turn off Java Script in your browser settings and then you should be able to read the article.

Edited August 15, 20241 yr by John Crow Batty

8 minutes ago, Gawndy the Great said:

With every day that goes by, the more it appears to be heading in that direction. 
 

im not having him leave to a power house. He can go to GC in exchange for

Pick 7, 12 and Ben King/Mac Andrew 
 

 

Nice and close to Noosa!

Trying to get reliable info about Trac from my sources is like asking a fish for swimming lessons—plenty of splashing around, but no one's quite sure how to explain it.

51 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

Rehashing old ground but I thought it was time for a new captain to take the load off max.

Share the media duties.

Take a more proactive approach in the media /social media /communication full stop.

Doubt it would’ve changed our fortunes but could’ve made life a little easier and happier for everyone. 

Lever for mine now...

I think we have to keep Milkshake just for the sake of a leadership group.

Lever, JV, Gawn, Melksham form the senior players. I think we need to also bring in a fresh face in place of Trac (regardless of if he stays or goes) Rivers maybe? He seems to be a stand up bloke that gives everything.

14 minutes ago, Gawndy the Great said:

I think we have to keep Milkshake just for the sake of a leadership group.

Lever, JV, Gawn, Melksham form the senior players. I think we need to also bring in a fresh face in place of Trac (regardless of if he stays or goes) Rivers maybe? He seems to be a stand up bloke that gives everything.

Bit early for worrying about the 2025 leadership group 

1 hour ago, fr_ap said:

Anyone care to post the Pete Ryan article? Paywall 

Use 12ft.io

56 minutes ago, Gawndy the Great said:

With every day that goes by, the more it appears to be heading in that direction. 
 

im not having him leave to a power house. He can go to GC in exchange for

Pick 7, 12 and Ben King/Mac Andrew 
 

 

Same thinking. Now that is a trade I can get behind

1 hour ago, Binmans PA said:

Lever for mine now...

I too was in the Lever camp but he just makes far too many mistakes and brain fades, especially this year.

I then had ANB as my next option but we know that won't be the case :(

Having thought about this endlessly since the story broke, I have completely flipped my opinion. 
 

I reckon we need to trade him. There is no coming back from this. He has had days to make a statement and commit his allegiance to the club and he hasn’t said a thing. If he stays , it’s clearly against his will and will divide the playing group. 
 

The best course of action is to cash in for a  29 year old and build our future. It has to be a huge haul. Under no circumstances would I trade him to another rival Melbourne club, particularly Collingwood, who have nothing to give anyway. 
 

Trac has fractured the club’s image when it was at its most fragile. It’s really unforgivable. Allowed the circus to roll into our town and tear us apart in the media. What on earth led him to this, I’ll never know. Media running stories that Collingwood players cared more for him than our own. Gawn joking on radio tht he told him to “man up”. The Doctor sending him back on? The club’s 6-8 week post after the injury ? 
 

An inglorious way to exit your club Christian. 

11 minutes ago, Kick_It_To_Pickett said:

Having thought about this endlessly since the story broke, I have completely flipped my opinion. 
 

I reckon we need to trade him. There is no coming back from this. He has had days to make a statement and commit his allegiance to the club and he hasn’t said a thing. If he stays , it’s clearly against his will and will divide the playing group. 
 

The best course of action is to cash in for a  29 year old and build our future. It has to be a huge haul. Under no circumstances would I trade him to another rival Melbourne club, particularly Collingwood, who have nothing to give anyway. 
 

Trac has fractured the club’s image when it was at its most fragile. It’s really unforgivable. Allowed the circus to roll into our town and tear us apart in the media. What on earth led him to this, I’ll never know. Media running stories that Collingwood players cared more for him than our own. Gawn joking on radio tht he told him to “man up”. The Doctor sending him back on? The club’s 6-8 week post after the injury ? 
 

An inglorious way to exit your club Christian. 

Which clubs actually have the capacity to trade for him?

Freo springs to mind, they're entering their window and have 3 x first round picks. Odds of me winning tattslotto probably better than Trac being a dokkah in 2025 though.

Hawks would be keen. But sounds like they're committed to bringing Barrass in which'll swallow up their picks.

GCS - see Freo

Most of the other Vic clubs either don't have picks (Pies), or do have picks but are in rebuild mode (Richmond). Then you have the teams in no mans land like Saints and Essendon which wouldn't be too exciting. 

25 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

I too was in the Lever camp but he just makes far too many mistakes and brain fades, especially this year.

I then had ANB as my next option but we know that won't be the case :(

It might help if the midfield is half decent.

16 minutes ago, Kick_It_To_Pickett said:

Under no circumstances would I trade him to another rival Melbourne club, particularly Collingwood, who have nothing to give anyway. 
 

 

He wouldn’t leave Victoria and he won’t go to a cellar dweller. 
It’s not happening. 
Neale wanted out. Brisbane forced him to stay. It all worked out. 
 

17 minutes ago, Kick_It_To_Pickett said:

Having thought about this endlessly since the story broke, I have completely flipped my opinion. 
 

I reckon we need to trade him. There is no coming back from this. He has had days to make a statement and commit his allegiance to the club and he hasn’t said a thing. If he stays , it’s clearly against his will and will divide the playing group. 
 

The best course of action is to cash in for a  29 year old and build our future. It has to be a huge haul. Under no circumstances would I trade him to another rival Melbourne club, particularly Collingwood, who have nothing to give anyway. 
 

Trac has fractured the club’s image when it was at its most fragile. It’s really unforgivable. Allowed the circus to roll into our town and tear us apart in the media. What on earth led him to this, I’ll never know. Media running stories that Collingwood players cared more for him than our own. Gawn joking on radio tht he told him to “man up”. The Doctor sending him back on? The club’s 6-8 week post after the injury ? 
 

An inglorious way to exit your club Christian. 

The fact people are saying we should actually trade Petracca is wild.

Wild.