I'm lost.

How does Byron Pickett's club suspension work?

It seems like forever since he SMS'd the Reverend and told him he was too shickered to come to the Dome and fulfil his duties as an emergency v. The Bulldogs. Since then the VFL has had a bye and now the AFL is having a bye. He's been playing with Sandy for a while. Does his suspension end this week, next week, the week after or sometime later in the decade?

Let's have some certainty on the subject.

ND said in the interview after the game that he would be back under consideration for the tigers game.

The second half of the year meabs a finals assault for the MFC

And Byron will be a big part of that, so he should be back for the Tigers game and the best thing is that he will have a point to prove

The second half of the year meabs a finals assault for the MFC

And Byron will be a big part of that, so he should be back for the Tigers game and the best thing is that he will have a point to prove

Will be great to see Byron back, wonder how his match fitness is progressing and who he'll likely replace? Possibly trapper - does anyone know how long he's out for?

trapper was listed as 1- 2 weeks

Will be great to see Byron back, wonder how his match fitness is progressing and who he'll likely replace?

Would be good to see Byron back. Maybe Ward?

if we a re serious about having a tilt at the finals he will play a full game for sandy this week then come back into the dees side. he is one player who will help us win games.

if we have decided the season is a write off he will stay at sandy til he earns it fully...

this all goes out the window if he is not fit

if we a re serious about having a tilt at the finals he will play a full game for sandy this week then come back into the dees side. he is one player who will help us win games.

We need Byron to beat Richmond?

We need Byron to beat Richmond?

no not to beat richmond but we need him in the team and playing well- getting used to playing afl, not vfl again. there is no point just bringing him in for the big games, we need him to get some match fitness at afl level. find the groove, if you will.

he is a big game player, he knows how to win, something we are not great at (that sounds stupid, but what i mean is look at how we struggling in those recent close ones, byron is a seasoned winner), and he will perform if we play finals...

he is also one to have up and firing in the port game at aami, a must win game if we want to play finals and, we struggle there and his presence will only help our cause.

Will be great to see Byron back, wonder how his match fitness is progressing and who he'll likely replace? Possibly trapper - does anyone know how long he's out for?

I hear from reliable sources that Byron has lost a lot of weight and is coming along nicely for a comeback very soon.

That is good news ...

I hear from reliable sources that Byron has lost a lot of weight and is coming along nicely for a comeback very soon.

I heard the same Bobby...Byron's skin folds are the best they have been during his time at Melbourne currently.

Well I heard from a reliable sourse that I don't give a [censored] if he's 'fit' now. There is no way that the conditioning we failed to have after preseason he now has after a few weeks on the sidelines. Unless he's had an attitude transplant, there is nothing to gain from playing pickett - in fact there's nothing to gain even if he's had an attitude transplant.

We picked him up as an impact player for a finals team. We aint gunna get there and there's far more sense playing Buckley or weetra or Neaves or hayes than pickett (elevate one after bartrum's injury or river's injury). Pickett was a gamble wortrh taking - it hasn't really paid off so lets cut our losses.

Well I heard from a reliable sourse that I don't give a [censored] if he's 'fit' now. There is no way that the conditioning we failed to have after preseason he now has after a few weeks on the sidelines. Unless he's had an attitude transplant, there is nothing to gain from playing pickett - in fact there's nothing to gain even if he's had an attitude transplant.

We picked him up as an impact player for a finals team. We aint gunna get there and there's far more sense playing Buckley or weetra or Neaves or hayes than pickett (elevate one after bartrum's injury or river's injury). Pickett was a gamble wortrh taking - it hasn't really paid off so lets cut our losses.

Gutsy post that, but I disagree.

Excitment machines like Pickett don't grow on trees, and he's the sort of player that brings fans through the gate.

Plus we're not paying a bloke $300,000 a year to see him fade away in Suburban footy.

i think pickett might have 1 good season left in him if he gets fit and doesnt pile on the wait in the off season... if he shows the club he wants to really keep playing then we might get a real good year out fo him but that might be about it...

if he tackles one adelaide or port player so hard he sends them to hospital then i say theres his $300,000 dollars worth right there.

Well I heard from a reliable sourse that I don't give a [censored] if he's 'fit' now. There is no way that the conditioning we failed to have after preseason he now has after a few weeks on the sidelines. Unless he's had an attitude transplant, there is nothing to gain from playing pickett - in fact there's nothing to gain even if he's had an attitude transplant.

We picked him up as an impact player for a finals team. We aint gunna get there and there's far more sense playing Buckley or weetra or Neaves or hayes than pickett (elevate one after bartrum's injury or river's injury). Pickett was a gamble wortrh taking - it hasn't really paid off so lets cut our losses.

+1. Agree 100%.

Well I heard from a reliable sourse that I don't give a [censored] if he's 'fit' now. There is no way that the conditioning we failed to have after preseason he now has after a few weeks on the sidelines. Unless he's had an attitude transplant, there is nothing to gain from playing pickett - in fact there's nothing to gain even if he's had an attitude transplant.

Agree TimD, the whole scenario is schizen.

But still you have given an unjust assessment of Picketts attitude here. His preseason was flawed and riddled with personal issues. Yep, we all have em and still we all still have to perform. Thats what we get paid for and some more than others.

So what makes Byron so different. Nothing. Bur we all handle personal issues differently. I'm not privy to Byrons psyche so can't comment. Are you?

How should the Mfc handled it. IMO they could have handled the issue better than they did. Clearly he was not fit when selected. I know the club tried to play him into fitness (ala '06) but clearly his physical shape wasn't the only issue ..the club should not played him until he was physically & mentally prepared.

...His preseason was flawed and riddled with personal issues. Yep, we all have em and still we all still have to perform. Thats what we get paid for and some more than others...

interesting point you make. i think that when you think about the people you know and work with, a hard as nails, tough as guts footballer doesnt seem the likely type to need 'stress leave' or to break down at work etc like seems to happen to so many people these days. personally i know i have outside issues sometimes but that doesnt make my job go away so i do my job and deal with my issues at home. some people cant do this and they seem to crack at work. im not saying byron 'cracked' but do we expect things not to affect him because he is a footballer?

interesting point you make. i think that when you think about the people you know and work with, a hard as nails, tough as guts footballer doesnt seem the likely type to need 'stress leave' or to break down at work etc like seems to happen to so many people these days. personally i know i have outside issues sometimes but that doesnt make my job go away so i do my job and deal with my issues at home. some people cant do this and they seem to crack at work. im not saying byron 'cracked' but do we expect things not to affect him because he is a footballer?

Football isn't your standard 9 to 5 job, having to always be in the public spotlight isn't the best place when you have issues.

out of interest jarka, you seem to be saying that its not good enough from pickett, but you are keen to see more of hayes who has had reported personal issues also. if you think that people who can't cope with this shouldnt be in the business are you worried about us picking hayes, or do you think he can get over these issues and just play footy?

Yes, the parallels are there Deanox. A good question.

out of interest jarka, you seem to be saying that its not good enough from pickett, but you are keen to see more of hayes who has had reported personal issues also. if you think that people who can't cope with this shouldnt be in the business are you worried about us picking hayes, or do you think he can get over these issues and just play footy?

It's not that I think they shouldn't be in the business, I just realise that when you live under the public microscope personal issues can be alot harder to deal with, I've seen how much pressure it can add to people. It takes alot of character to work through it. Pickett is in his late 20's and he's made alot of mistakes, you'd hope that by now he'd eb able to get it right. Hayes on the other hand is still a kid who has probably never been taught the skills to deal with his issues (I have no idea what they are btw, none of my business), who knows what he is capable of.

It's not that I think they shouldn't be in the business, I just realise that when you live under the public microscope personal issues can be alot harder to deal with, I've seen how much pressure it can add to people. It takes alot of character to work through it. Pickett is in his late 20's and he's made alot of mistakes, you'd hope that by now he'd eb able to get it right.

Picketts personal troubles were due to an illness in the family. It obviously hit hard. Issues of this nature hit hard at the best of times, wouldn't you think?

For the record, I remind you this bloke is a highly decorated footballer. AFL Rising Star '98, pre-season premiership player '98

All Australian '99, '99 premiership player, '04 premiership player, Norm Smith Medallist '04 & 35+ career Brownlow votes.

For a bloke who is being accused of making ' a lot of mistakes', somehow he has still managed to deliver throughout his impressive career.

Picketts personal troubles were due to an illness in the family. It obviously hit hard. Issues of this nature hit hard at the best of times, wouldn't you think?

For the record, I remind you this bloke is a highly decorated footballer. AFL Rising Star '98, pre-season premiership player '98

All Australian '99, '99 premiership player, '04 premiership player, Norm Smith Medallist '04 & 35+ career Brownlow votes.

For a bloke who is being accused of making ' a lot of mistakes', somehow he has still managed to deliver throughout his impressive career.

Why do you need to remind me his achievements?