1 minute ago, Greg Schneider said:

Steven King’s press conference is being streamed on you tube, said that Kozzy may have to go to Darwin once a month, doesn’t sound good

Legend has it that some Demonland posters will still say it's a rumour.

17 minutes ago, Greg Schneider said:

It’s not a rumour Gary’s news was a statement from the club

Well that changes everything.

Koz is 100% gone. If you think otherwise you not only have your head in the sand, you are in total denial.

I think we should start a Koz is 100% gone thread and hyperventilate and panic all season.

Pass me the lighter fluid so I can set my hair on fire, and perhaps a hard hard too to protect me from the falling sky.

Darwin isn't any closer to Adelaide, Perth in terms of travel....

2 minutes ago, binman said:

Well that changes everything.

Koz is 100% gone. If you think otherwise you not only have your head in the sand, you are in total denial.

I think we should start a Koz is 100% gone thread and hyperventilate and panic all season.

Pass me the lighter fluid so I can set my hair on fire, and perhaps a hard hard too to protect me from the falling sky.

i love the smell of mfcss in the morning

Ah nuts. The season hasn't already started yet.

20 minutes ago, adonski said:

Wouldn't it be significantly worse not the have him tied up long term in these sort of situations?

Not if we end up paying half his salary to play elsewhere

Everything was going so well and then we are hit with some complicated news.

Hope all parties are OK.

It’ll be fine let’s give Koz the time and space he needs to work it out which he will — no team in Darwin, so can’t see how this ruins his MFC Career it’ll just be an adjustment and the club will help him make it — Kings live presser was brilliant and the club will support Koz and mange the situ closely to ensure minimal impact.

6 minutes ago, binman said:

Well that changes everything.

Koz is 100% gone. If you think otherwise you not only have your head in the sand, you are in total denial.

I think we should start a Koz is 100% gone thread and hyperventilate and panic all season.

Pass me the lighter fluid so I can set my hair on fire, and perhaps a hard hard too to protect me from the falling sky.

I don't see anyone panicking, but feel free to continue pontificating. How dare anyone hold an opposing viewpoint to thy hallowed Binman.

Don't worry about the snarky and triggered reply, you've had your fair share this morning and it's not even 10AM.

2 minutes ago, BLWNBA said:

I don't see anyone panicking, but feel free to continue pontificating. How dare anyone hold an opposing viewpoint to thy hallowed Binman.

Don't worry about the snarky and triggered reply, you've had your fair share this morning and it's not even 10AM.

Fear not - I reset at 10am

In all seriousness the deal isn't the first thing on my mind right now, it's his headspace.

This is an awful lot to go through and I wouldn't blame him one iota if his mind ends up all over the place as a result of it for a while. Hope gets through it all ok.

Edited March 10Mar 10 by layzie

31 minutes ago, sisso said:

Darwin isn't any closer to Adelaide, Perth in terms of travel....

4.5hr direct flight from Melb, just under 4hrs from Adelaide and 3.5hrs from Perth

The issue may be around being near family during a rough time

43 minutes ago, Demonland said:

Please respect Kozzy’s and his family’s privacy and avoid speculating about the reasons behind the split. It is a personal matter and not our business. A statement has been made confirming the separation, and that should be left at that. Discussion about any football-related ramifications for Kozzy’s future is fine, but personal details and private matters should not be discussed here.

Was just typing a request for this, thanks for saving me the time.

@BLWNBA @GawnOfTheDead

47 minutes ago, Demonland said:

Please respect Kozzy’s and his family’s privacy and avoid speculating about the reasons behind the split. It is a personal matter and not our business. A statement has been made confirming the separation, and that should be left at that. Discussion about any football-related ramifications for Kozzy’s future is fine, but personal details and private matters should not be discussed here.

Not ideal. at all.

nothing to be done but give him the time he needs to sort things out

8 minutes ago, Demonland said:

@BLWNBA @GawnOfTheDead

Noted; would not typically interpret an undisputed statement of fact would be in breach, but happy to take that interpretation and application forth.

Carry on.

57 minutes ago, The Cult of Disco Turner said:

So we shouldn’t have signed a generational talent to a long term deal on the basis that he might potentially have issues in his relationship at some point…?

You’re making it sound like the choice was between letting him walk or extending him for 7 years when he had 2 years left.

20 minutes ago, Demonland said:

@BLWNBA @GawnOfTheDead

Noted also;

My intention was to support Koz and the club.

Apologies if appeared as anything else.

Edited March 10Mar 10 by GawnOfTheDead

STEVEN King says Kozzy Pickett is expected to play in the club's season-opening clash, during his first game-week press conference as head coach of the Melbourne Football Club.

He shared news that star Demon Kysaiah Pickett has travelled to Darwin to deal with personal issues ahead of the club's season-opening clash with St Kilda.

Kozzy Pickett

"We were pretty proactive with it, Kozzy needed to get back for family reasons and I fully support any father at our club to make sure they get to support their family," King said.

"Kozzy will be back tomorrow, he'll do our T2 (main training session two) and play.

"That's something I want to provide flexibility for our staff and players that family is equally or more important than just the game of footy.

"We'll give Kozzy all the time he needs to take care of his family and his daughter and he'll be fine. We'll work that with him throughout the season as it progresses but he'll play."

MORE TO COME

53 minutes ago, binman said:

Fear not - I reset at 10am

Gee you're regular. I occassionally get a reboot from the Mrs....

22 minutes ago, BLWNBA said:

Noted; would not typically interpret an undisputed statement of fact would be in breach, but happy to take that interpretation and application forth.

Carry on.

The issue is not so much any one individual post stating a fact, but that once that aspect of the matter is opened up for discussion it can quickly lead to further commentary and speculation, which is exactly what we are trying to avoid. The relevant facts have already been presented, so from here we are asking posters to leave the personal side of it there and keep any discussion to football-related implications only.

Horrendous news for both him and for us. Our most important player but a fair margin.

2 minutes ago, Demonland said:

STEVEN King says Kozzy Pickett is expected to play in the club's season-opening clash, during his first game-week press conference as head coach of the Melbourne Football Club.

He shared news that star Demon Kysaiah Pickett has travelled to Darwin to deal with personal issues ahead of the club's season-opening clash with St Kilda.

Kozzy Pickett

"We were pretty proactive with it, Kozzy needed to get back for family reasons and I fully support any father at our club to make sure they get to support their family," King said.

"Kozzy will be back tomorrow, he'll do our T2 (main training session two) and play.

"That's something I want to provide flexibility for our staff and players that family is equally or more important than just the game of footy.

"We'll give Kozzy all the time he needs to take care of his family and his daughter and he'll be fine. We'll work that with him throughout the season as it progresses but he'll play."

MORE TO COME

Somewhat speculation, but relationship issues of this magnitude usually doesn't happen out of a vacuum and likely may have been bubbling away for months out of the public eye and during that time Kozzie's form on the track and in match like situations has been exceptional, which suggests to me that both he and the club have been managing things in a highly professional way.

Well done to all parties for the open and clear communications from the club regarding the situation. Having a strong well managed response from the club should go a fair way in taking off some of the pressure from Kozzie, giving him the space to get on with what he needs to off the field with less noise and speculation.

I think the media (including social media) also have a role here to shut down the speculation, innuendo and rumour mongering in order to let private matters remain private and let one of the generational talents of our time do what he does best and play great footy. Credit to Demonland for the moderating approach in this regards.

Edited March 11Mar 11 by Rodney (Balls) Grinter

25 minutes ago, Bowserpower said:

You’re making it sound like the choice was between letting him walk or extending him for 7 years when he had 2 years left.

I think that kind of was the choice, no?

We now know he didn’t want to stay in Melbourne, so if we didn’t lock in a big, long term contract, he’s probably requesting a trade…