Gee the ox has come out swinging.  Maybe he couldn't hold it in anymore.

Very disappointing to hear about this.

I really thought after 21 we'd turned a corner.  

I thought our day of negative media was behind us

Ah Melbourne. Even a premiership can't change it. 

I think Max is burnt out from all this stuff to be honest. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he felt like stepping down from captaincy. 

12 months from hell

I read some comments before I heard Max speak and was expecting a trainwreck doorstop interview.

I should've guessed there was nothing in it.

1 hour ago, dazzledavey36 said:

From a different article..

North Melbourne has made a strong play for Viney, whose father, Todd, works at the Kangaroos as a highly-respected football manager.

The Kangaroos are believed to be preparing a lucrative offer and major leadership and onball roles in a bid to land Viney.

The Demons remain confident of signing Viney to a contract extension and on Tuesday shut down any prospect of trading Petracca.

Dad helping his son get a longer contract at Dees, methinks.

1 hour ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Ox goes wack..

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2024/08/13/up-to-no-good-how-pre-season-player-behaviour-highlighted-schwarz-dees/

 

Would explain Tracs frustration imo and I don’t blame him 

25 minutes ago, Jaded No More said:

I swear that if I hear a singular peep from this club between December 2024 and March 2025, I will burn the joint down. 
Go train in an underground bunker in Siberia. Make silence your friend. 

What an exhausting 12 months it’s been 

You know who you will hear from!

Schwartz sounds like he is on the money given what has occured on and off the field. 

I think a lot more to the story.

12 minutes ago, Sydee said:

Would explain Tracs frustration imo and I don’t blame him 

100%

1 hour ago, dazzledavey36 said:

 

This doesn’t fill me with confidence 1 iota.

25 minutes ago, Sydee said:

Would explain Tracs frustration imo and I don’t blame him 

And fair enough. Whoever this is about needs to sit down with Gawny, Trac and the rest of the leaders and talk about what they actually want out of their footy career. If it doesn’t align with the club then perhaps they should be moved on

If Pert has put that letter out without sitting down and having a conversation with Tracc about the fact he is staying and committed to working it all out, and he does leave, Pert’s job is done.. he’d be out the door…no way he could come back from it.

 

So, let’s hope he is a smart operator and we can all relax 

As per SEN  ..Melbourne great David Schwarz admits his worries about his old club’s 2024 campaign began in the pre-season, when he personally witnessed players “up to no good”.…. 
 

 

 

Edited August 13, 2024Aug 13 by Demonsone

1 hour ago, Demonland said:

I can't simply silence every discussion that makes people uncomfortable.

Earlier this year, we had to shut down discussions about Clarry, Joel, and the board issues for legal reasons. Those topics deserved attention, but some individuals either couldn't or wouldn't follow the rules, forcing us to close all discussion.

I don't want to take that route here for now but will monitor the situation.

Doesn't make me uncomfortable at all mate but the Petracca issue is over similar to the gameday thread is at the final siren. You say you're concerned about character assassinations? Close the thread! Petracca is staying. End of! Why let it fester? Some will over dramatise anything and before you know it there's meltdown. Move on.

38 minutes ago, Deelectable said:

Doesn't make me uncomfortable at all mate but the Petracca issue is over similar to the gameday thread is at the final siren. You say you're concerned about character assassinations? Close the thread! Petracca is staying. End of! Why let it fester? Some will over dramatise anything and before you know it there's meltdown. Move on.

You are kidding right? You cannot just wish away this problem. The letter changes Jack all. All it does is buy time. This issue is nowhere near settled and to think that is ridiculous. 

I’ll breath a sigh of relief if we get through trade period with Trac still on our list. There’s still the possibility albeit small, that he doesn’t return from this debacle at all and hangs up his boots, so my second sigh of relief is if he steps into the field in Round 1 2025. 

On 12/08/2024 at 20:05, WalkingCivilWar said:

From what I saw at training and from what I’ve recently been told chatting with the property stewards and one of the trainers and a couple of the boys re Tracc, this is very likely a huge bunch of BS, just like pretty much everything Morris says.

Of course Tracc is struggling with not being able to play and the extent and seriousness of his injuries, but that doesn’t mean he wants out.

 

I know it’s not what the soggy biscuit group wanna hear (NOT referring to you, Ollie fan. You’re one of my faves on here) but that’s my take on it anyways. 

Trac would want what is best for the club. Rattling the cage might be the best solution, puts everyone on notice. He is the ultimate professional as an AFL footballer and would want everyone on the same page.

On 12/08/2024 at 21:05, FreedFromDesire said:

Hi all. First time, long time.

I know this has caused a bit of a panic - But I reckon nearly everyone, the positives and the negatives here, would agree we needed significant change this offseason yeah? As much as this kind of news hurts us fans, this is absolutely the most certain thing you could imagine that would force that change. In that regard, I'm choosing to take it as a good thing for now. Trac won't be going anywhere - We didn't trade Petty while contracted, so imagine how much more of a grip we'll keep on Christian! 

We last had a year like this not long before we won a flag. We made the needed changes, trades and cleaned up at the draft. Unfortunately we've not done much since, which you could argue was either out of lack of opportunity or lack of will, but it's just the simple truth.

I feel we (the club that is) need to cop the punches from the media, listen to those with complaints (players and key stakeholders) and make the moves needed.

First stop, full, club-wide, external review please.

Thanks, Tom.

On 12/08/2024 at 21:08, Jaded No More said:

Why? We’ve won more H&A games in 2021-2023 than any other club. That usually results in getting more FTA games. 
Don’t worry it’s back to Sunday twilight next year. 

The 3:40pm time slot no doubt. Would prefer the 1:10pm.

2 hours ago, Jaded No More said:

Yeah that was not a polished performance. Gawn is usually quite straight down the bat, but his whole demeanor wasn’t great. 
He seems annoyed. Maybe he is just annoyed at having to deal with more fires. 

Looks as though he has been door stopped, I'll cut him some slack.

Contracted player in his twilight years.

Edited August 13, 2024Aug 13 by bluey

7 hours ago, Demonsone said:

As per SEN  ..Melbourne great David Schwarz admits his worries about his old club’s 2024 campaign began in the pre-season, when he personally witnessed players “up to no good”.…. 
 

 

 

The more I read and hear the more I sense that the club doesn’t have a no DH policy after all - or that it has been ignored for some time 

Either way I’m keen to see one reinstated immediately and deal with anyone who is too stupid to adhere to it 

35 minutes ago, Sydee said:

The more I read and hear the more I sense that the club doesn’t have a no DH policy after all - or that it has been ignored for some time 

Either way I’m keen to see one reinstated immediately and deal with anyone who is too stupid to adhere to it 

We have a no DH policy because we have enough of our own.

7 hours ago, Gawndy the Great said:

You are kidding right? You cannot just wish away this problem. The letter changes Jack all. All it does is buy time. This issue is nowhere near settled and to think that is ridiculous. 

I’ll breath a sigh of relief if we get through trade period with Trac still on our list. There’s still the possibility albeit small, that he doesn’t return from this debacle at all and hangs up his boots, so my second sigh of relief is if he steps into the field in Round 1 2025. 

You're kidding yourself if you think there's a snowflakes chance in hell that Petracca, and for that matter Oliver, leaves the club. Not sure if you quite know how the media works but it's sole intention is to stir up this sort of frenzy. Clearly succeeded on this issue. I don't mind Kane Cornes but I had to laugh when he used the phrase that Christian was ' possibly disgruntled '. Effin hilarious! That is code for we've made this up with no knowledge of the facts. Media Street 2024.

14 minutes ago, Deelectable said:

You're kidding yourself if you think there's a snowflakes chance in hell that Petracca, and for that matter Oliver, leaves the club. Not sure if you quite know how the media works but it's sole intention is to stir up this sort of frenzy. Clearly succeeded on this issue. I don't mind Kane Cornes but I had to laugh when he used the phrase that Christian was ' possibly disgruntled '. Effin hilarious! That is code for we've made this up with no knowledge of the facts. Media Street 2024.

If none of this was true, isn’t it reasonable for Trac to come out and use his platform to categorically deny it? Similar to Gawn electing to take the route of citing Tracs contractual situation as the only way to try and alay fears of his departure. There was none of his usual charisma to deny it - in fact his statements and attitude further add to the credibility of Tom Morris claims.

Whether you like it or not, (I don’t btw) this will remain an issue for quite some time. Every single club will have picked up the phone to Tracs manager had a convo and consequently will be preparing an offer to him and to the club. Think about that. They smell blood. 

Edited August 13, 2024Aug 13 by Gawndy the Great

4 minutes ago, Gawndy the Great said:

If none of this was true, isn’t it reasonable for Trac to come out and use his platform to categorically deny it? Similar to Gawn electing to take the route of his contract.

Whether you like it or not, (I don’t btw) this will remain an issue for quite some time. Every single club will have picked up the phone to Tracs manager had a convo and consequently will be preparing an offer to him and to the club. Think about that. They smell blood. 

Trac doesn't have to say anything if he so chooses. This media driven rubbish is over.

The silence from Trac is deafening... 😩

3 minutes ago, Gawndy the Great said:

If none of this was true, isn’t it reasonable for Trac to come out and use his platform to categorically deny it? Similar to Gawn electing to take the route of his contract.

Whether you like it or not, (I don’t btw) this will remain an issue for quite some time. Every single club will have picked up the phone to Tracs manager had a convo and consequently will be preparing an offer to him and to the club. Think about that. They smell blood. 

100%. It’s absolutely true. You just have to watch Gawn’s interview and the way he reacted. This discontentment has been bubbling under the surface but Morris just brought into the mainstream once he got enough evidence to corroborate it with his sources.

Just now, Deelectable said:

Trac doesn't have to say anything if he so chooses. This media driven rubbish is over.

You are right he doesn’t have to do anything. So when his commitment to the club is in question and the fan base are demoralised with all of the uncertainty this story is generating, he chooses to remain silent.

What does that tell you?