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That's just a whole lot of incoherent indignation. Wilson clearly doesn't know the full set of the facts, so is throwing out a load of rehashed questions that have either been previously addressed or don't relate to us. The miscommunication between the various health transport services? May as well pin that on the MFC as well. The misdiagnosis of Petracca’s injury? Wilson's trying to make it sound like misdiagnosis equals malpractice, rather than an ordinary part of the diagnostic process where a medical practioner will come to an initial conclusion based on the information available at the time. The fact that he was taken to the Epworth hospital and waited there for hours? The reason he was there for hours was because he was being treated, and then his vital indications changed. I think Wilson should be very careful here if she is trying to insinuate sub-standard care at Epworth. Also, as another reminder, once the paramedics arrived, Petracca was no longer under the care of the MFC medical team, to the extent that we were also no longer privy to any new information. Why did he go to the Epworth? I don't know enough about how the healthcare system works in Victoria to properly respond, but I'm guessing you can't just ask for a patient to be admitted to the emergency trauma ward as a precautionary measure without evidence of significant-enough trauma. I imagine you would be directed to another facility for further checks and monitoring. Why was not all the information given to the medicos correct? This is potentially the most serious allegation. But does she mean we gave the paramedics information contrary to what we knew, or that his condition was not yet known, so 'not correct' in hindsight as to the true extent of his injury? There were two ambulances at the ground, but a third one was called? Wilson raises this point before immediately clarifying that as per protocol the two other ambulances must remain at the ground to cater to the public. What is she even trying to get at? She seems to be hinting at something that went down between the various ambulance teams or dispatch. Maybe we assumed one of the ambulances on-site could take him, and as such were delayed in calling another so bear some responsibility if the policy was clear? Otherwise, it's not related to us at all. If it transpires that anyone in a position of authority at the MFC encouraged Trac back out on the ground despite his own potential, evident, reluctance - then we should be in the gun, and perhaps it will shine a light on an industry-wide attitude. If not, we followed league protocols by all reports: if the protocols need to change, then Wilson can go after the AFL and stop using words like 'negligence' and 'wrongdoing' in relation to our football club thanks. Meanwhile, I would encourage the MFC to send her team a friendly reminder about defamation laws, and to be very, very careful about how she chooses her future words.

Stop Press: Christian Petracca and Brad Green have been sighted having coffee at Bruno & Co in High Street, Armadale proving that the President and the player are talking to each other.

All players from MCG games get taken to the Epworth, and the full vaccination is standard for spleen lacerations. This is totally about personalities and not process. I had major surgery a few months ago and an organ removed (wanna see my 20cm scar, CP, and compare stories??). Informed consent before all surgery requires a conversation about the probability of death during surgery. Phone calls to next of kin when surgery is finished is standard process. Glass half full vs glass half empty. You choose your perspective.

Every player who is taken to hospital from the MCG goes to the Epworth. It’s the closest private hospital. And of course players get taken to a private hospital so they can be seen to immediately. If the ambulance took him to the Alfred with nothing more than suspected broken ribs, he’d be in the waiting room for 4+ hours before anyone would even see him. At a level 1 trauma centre, broken ribs rate very low on the triage scale. Also a reminder that Melbourne has no say in his care the minute he gets into an ambulance. Another reminder is May being sent directly to hospital after breaking his ribs the first time, because he indicated trouble breathing (due to the lung puncture he sustained). If Trac at any point said he couldn’t breath, his pain was a 10, or he wasn’t willing to get back on the ground, does anyone really think we would have told him “well suck it up”? There is absolutely no evidence we would have done that.

Caro is on the wrong line here. She and the AFLPA think they know more than some of the most highly credentialled trauma doctors in the business. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story. Don't they believe the reports saying he got the best of care? What are the terrible stories emerging and where did they come from? I read the report and have no reason to doubt it. The closest hospital to the MCG is Epworth a highly reputable hospital and an AFL footballer gets immediate service to a private hospital. He is cared for and only later when his Haemoglobin levels drop they suspect internal bleeding. The Alfred Trauma centre and the Royal Melbourne are the only level 1 Trauma services in the state. Once the Epworth have him in their care he is no longer under the care of the MFC medical team. Just as when he is transferred from Epworth to the Alfred because his condition deteriorates having suffered the same a blunt force trauma a car accident victim endures. Again just down the road and given the very best medical care available. I worked at the Alfred for a long time in a support area for the Trauma service I trust their medical opinion over Carolines horror stories whispered to her. Trauma management isn't for the faint-hearted. A naive public may be shocked as they have no experience of what goes on behind the scenes. Everything that has been written publicly sounds textbook. Once the bleeding spleen was discovered it was acted on immediately and procedures to stem the bleeding were successful and his spleen saved. I wish journos would stick to writing facts and leave the innuendo and opinion to gossip columnists Maybe it was a shock to Trac and his family and their expectation unrealistic with how it was handled. But he got the very best medical care available

You know what quotation marks are used for, right? I'm pretty sure that you do, and that along with some others on here you're now being deliberately disingenuous to push a political agenda, or at least willfully ignorant by dismissing the many posts which highlight the context of her comment in full and what can be genuinely attributable to Roffey. Whately: "Does he (Petracca) have a preference to be elsewhere?" Roffey: "I haven't spoken directly to him about that". (own italics).

Slow, one paced player. The game is increasingly prioritising speed and spread, and that is where we need to focus our drafting and trading. A pass for mine.

Rack off Noddy. We're not here to talk about your stinking corrupt club.

Make it stop.

Footy Classified Segment 1. Trac AFLPA investigation, MFC failed Trac, segment 2. Butters soft by deciding to sub off with sore ribs. You cannot make this [censored] up.

Let's hope the Febeys can identify some positive steps forward for MFC.

Further to my earlier comments about Caro's ill-informed rant, she is either irresponsibly or deliberately ignorant of the facts. It really is quite poor the way the rest of the panel sit there wide-eyed and slack jawed as though she is saying anything revelatory and informative. For one thing, Caro tries to make it sinister that CP was first taken to the Epworth (the closest hospital to the G). And it is certainly not the fault of the MFC or the hospital that the initial scan did not reveal the extent of CP's injuries. We all know, because we have been paying attention, that it took two scans and then and only then a dash to the trauma unit at the Alfred. Now Michael Warner is having a go today, and describing MFC as a, and I quote, "****show". He is such a wordsmith isn't he, this trained journalist, such a wordsmith...Clive James must be spinning in his grave with envy. And on the SAME PAGE as Warner, Jon Ralph reports this: "Melbourne's treatment of CP's injury...was given a tick of approval by multiple reviews conducted by the AFL and the AFL Doctors' Association, despite his anger at the club's treatment of his incident. "The reviews found that while it was regrettable Petracca had been put back on the ground, the actual processes put in place by Melbourne's doctors had not been flawed. (my emphasis) "The Demons used the AFL's emergency physician at the MCG for a second opinion with the review finding initial consultation in hospital was unable to diagnose his spleen concern. "AFL Doctors' Association boss, and Gold Coast club doctor Barry Rigby is also an intensive care doctor. "We have looked at Christian's circumstances closely and done a constructive critique on what did nor did not happen. Hindsight is a wonderful gift...but there was an adequate assessment done. The decision in retrospect (to return him to the ground) was the wrong one, but we don't want to criticise the process." Now that is dealing with facts and findings in contrast to Caro who is all shadow and innuendo. And as for those gormless co panellists, they have no idea.

Brutal exit for Kate?? Voluntary and clean. Kate had met Smith the week prior to her interview with Whateley. Caro just flies by the seat of her pants. So many terrible stories still to come out? I'm calling it...[censored] and BS artist.

I am not one who believes in over censorship however I don't see that anything is now being achieved in this thread. It is time to close it.

A week ago, Christian Petracca confirmed his position as a contracted Melbourne player. He’s not wasting his time and money trying to overturn centuries of settled contract law. The only favourable outcome to be reached for him now is Melbourne’s 2025 premiership.

It happened a long time ago but today’s controversies pale in comparison …

This is true. However she went very close to alleging medical negligence by the club, AFL, ambos and/or hospitals. She even caught herself and said she wasn’t explicitly suggesting as much, which was a bit like trying to unring the bell.

I think you're a reasonable poster Adam, and I agree with you on many levels that the MFC board in some instances were stifling certain, reasonable democratic processes through their actions and by-laws. I would personally guess they did it in an attempt to exclude disruptive elements to maintain cohesion when some big agenda issues were in play, exactly the same things everyone is complaining about elsewhere, but that they also stepped over the line on several occasions. Still, my view is they did so in what they probably thought were the best interests of our club, rather than a blind attempt to hang onto power and an unpaid job, as is oft being portrayed. The thing is, they did ultimately agree to a number of revisions, but as far as my understanding goes, they didn't accept the most contentious challenge outside of the email list handover thing: that being the ability for board aspirants to make their case in the media and maybe disparage the club and incumbents while doing so. I think we can all agree that we're all pretty fed up with the media's current distortions: imagine that writ large with an all-out dirty-laundry fight. We are a small club, and can't easily withstand the negative press the same way that perhaps Collingwood or Carlton can. Some might agree and others might not, but that question also raises a whole bunch of other democratic issues, such as someone with the financial ability to wage a public campaign then having an upper-hand over others. What I'm getting at though: we have no clear idea if they went through the court process to defend against this one issue. The club may have agreed to some concessions pre-hearing, but were still forced to go court on that primary issue. Both parties ultimately painted the process as a win, and I think both bear some responsibility for the costs incurred by the club and not being able to sort it out through mitigation. I'm personally happier though that our constitution tries to prevent ugly public spats, but again, others may disagree. I take it you have met Lawrence and he has convinced you he is a great supporter of our club, but the white-anting isn't cool and he does have chips in the game beyond constitutional amendments.

I didn't rate him when he was good, I'm not going to be enthused about him now. It comes down to midfield spots, the contract etc. Right now our midfield is Viney, Oliver*, Tracc**, Rivers, Sparrow? and no one. Can make some case for Kolt, Laurie, Pickett, Kynan Brown I guess. That has to be at least 6 if not 7 names by the end of the trade/draft period. If it comes down to Macrae or no one then I'll choose Macrae, but he's far from my first choice.

only at princes park. no rangeys, only bentleys and pms need apply

Why hasn’t the Players Association spoken up on the Joel Smith case?

If Demonlanders stop feeding the troll it stops. Astounds me every year they fall for this stuff. GNF must be due soon to post some inside knowledge

The amount of players who have returned to play following a HEAD KNOCK, goes completely unnoticed yet this is news? Because Kozzie got suspended for 3 weeks for apparently concussing Moore, who somehow played 10 whole minutes following said head knock without a single assessment. How curious this didn’t make any news at all. Either install MRI machines at all AFL venues, or rule all players with rib pain out of games. Do not come after us because we are an easy target. Multiple doctors misdiagnosed him. Including in a hospital setting. But somehow it’s a story because the MFC is the punching bag of the media, and apparently of the Petracca brand too.

I think it’s been done

With the email about the reviews and the response already, it is completely clear what we can expect. Everyone who has been complaining will attack the outcome of the review unless it gives them exactly what they have been wanting. Otherwise it will be "sham "bias ", etc

This was fait accompli. There are people in the club and on the board who are well aware that we’ve plummeted down the ladder in many areas. This can only be seen as a positive. Shows that as a club we have some self awareness.

It might not be a direct swap, but i've seen other suggest a Tomlinson - Membrey swap, this seems to make some sense as to not dilute the Saints free agency compensation, i wonder if they'd go for that.

i hope uncle bitters gave you permission to publish that image

Hope we don’t deviate from our aim of landing a gun off half back. That’s our absolute priority in my eyes, back the current frwd line in to improve with another year under their belt and better method off half back. I know he is locked in for a few more years but I hope we’re poking around Lachie Ash. We’ve got the assets and cash to get something done.

I’m not sure if there is an agreement between the AFL and Epworth about players going there as a matter of course (although doctors and physios wear Epworth branded clothing on game day). Ultimately the call would be by the paramedics if they felt he had injuries requiring care in a trauma centre but the main cause of issues here (the spleen injury) is not easily diagnosed without CT scanning (which can show both the injury and evidence that active bleeding is occurring). No referral is needed to go to an emergency department. An analogy I would use here is having someone fall off a ladder at home and be taken to a local hospital where it is discovered the injuries are worse than realized and they are transferred to a bigger centre. Most tertiary centres in Melbourne would have capacity to perform embolization (causing the vessels to stop bleeding using a catheter in the atery) of a bleeding spleen after hours and this is probably the main reason he was transferred (he could have had his spleen removed at Epworth but would then have had a major surgery and need additional precautions to avoid infection in the future). Calling patients family members is an absolutely standard element of care after a procedure. This may have been scary for them to receive but to not call would have been poor in a communication sense.

To the discussion about our media department : we need to run a shadow set of accounts which does nothing but lampoon the hypocrisy in the media like this example. Whilst being self deprecating. Media Watch for the AFL media as it were. The more I think about it the more I like it. Paul Barry even lampooned himself last night in his homily to Tim Bowden (never more than now do we need a show like Backchat and Clarke/Dawe)

The only time I basically post on this site at present Old Dee is in an effort to defend against mistruths being spread about our club both in the media and repeated on here. Close the thread down? Is there nothing being potentially achieved by arguing for facts?

Seriously? He was cheap depth, traded for a future 3rd-rounder.

Pretty sure that everything bad this club will experience over the next 6 months will come under the heading 'Christian Petracca' - for all of our sanity, it's time to close this thread down.

Not sure what sort of "chips" you are referring to Skuit. Deemocracy has been banging away on proper governance for four years. I have read the judgment. You're not quite right about "one primary issue". You may be interested to know that the judge was forced to adjourn the hearing mid-stream (with very much a nudge nudge wink wink) to allow the Board to go away and hold a Board meeting to remove a provision in the Election Rules that prohibited Board candidates from accessing the register of members so as to communicate with other members. This provision clearly contravened the Corporations Act and the Supreme Court case Lawrence won in 2022. I get your point about the Club wanting to avoid media circuses (they're doing a good job in that regard, right?) but a Board which adopts a rule prohibiting members from communicating with other members when a Board election is on tells you everything you need to know about their true objectives. It seems Lawrence wanted members to be able to talk to members - no media circus there. Do you really believe we would have ended up with anything approaching reasonable election processes without the case running its full course? Effectively the judge stared the Club down and between Days 2 and 3 of the trial (11 days) the Board scuttled away to "fix up their rules").

What I am talking about is that there are certain posters whose only contribution to this forum is to bag the board and extol the virtues of Lawrence. It often feels like a ham fisted influence campaign.

Talk about money being burnt, meanwhile the airport link is nowhere to be seen. A project that is 100 times more necessary and 100 times cheaper than the stupid SRL.

All bought and paid for.

Not liking reporting doesn't make it libellous, unless your comfortable with the club acting as a vexatious litigant.

I'm wondering whether it would be worthwhile for the Club to pursue a number of defamation suits with the media following recent reporting. If we prioritise which cases to pursue where we have factual and procedural details documented, such as the handling of Tracc's injury, steering clear of anything involving culture and allegations re player behaviour, and engage external lawyers then I would think we could line our coffers while firing a warning shot to the media, while setting the record straight with members and the public.

Retired now but that’s my recollection of the law. Mainly speaking as a Demon fan which is basically what this site’s about.

I usually like Caro honestly, I know that’s not a popular opinion here. This all reads to me as fairly standard. Epworth is the closest and a highly rated hospital. He was then transferred to the Alfred for specialist care. The biggest issue appears to be the emotional impact a phone call from the hospital to his girlfriend that alarmed her. That seems to have escalated the emotional response tremendously. However, these calls are common and steer toward worst case. Ultimately, most people who have had this kind of experience understand that’s part of life and move on, for whatever reason that doesn’t seem to have been the case and the trauma increased. I would also say, without any medical insight, that the fact he was given a full vaccination has to be considered as a known factor for the appendicitis that followed. Not sure that’s avoidable in the situation, but a shame those events happened so close together.

Amen brother, but the media don't want it to stop. Every time this story gets a whiff of being snuffed out or moved on, they find a new way to add fuel to it. At this point the media and AFLPA are playing the role of Captain Hindsight. Despite actual experts in the field agreeing with the assessments and our doctors even requested the opinion of the AFL employed doctor, they know that if the decision was in their hands they would make 100% the right call. I do think there could be something to be said of reviewing the way assessments are made, but you can't walk back on the current processes and blame the medical staff for following the protocols that had been put in place. Also it's worth noting that the moment the doctors pass Christian over the the ambulance workers he was in their care. So all decisions made following that is not on Melbourne, and even then I would argue they weren't abject failures!

JJ played 22 games in 2022 mostly on the wing, got injured in round 23 and actually missed finals to Harmes on the wing. Gus was already moved in different roles in 2022 - half back and midfield. JJ finished 12th in the best and fairest after a strong start. Hunter didn't crack the top 10 in the B+F in 2023. JJ was relegated to Casey, the sub and various other roles. Bad list management and bad coaching too, because Hunter never had to earn his spot. Plenty of times in 2023 when JJ should've been backed in to get his spot back and keep it.

Stephen Newport?

In fact the AFL doctor at the ground was also involved and a later review has cleared both doctors and found they acted appropriately.

Still nothing on the Pies connecting all of the failed season, CEO allegations, Players wanting out, departing FD boss. [censored] the club do a number on the media.

If queried on this I'd love to hear the club respond that the AFLPA didn't seem too concerned when Essendon were injecting unknown substances into their players.

From the Herald Sun's Jon Ralph: Melbourne Demons in the clear over handling of Petracca injury on King’s Birthday Melbourne’s treatment of Christian Petracca’s MCG injury was given a tick of approval by multiple reviews conducted by the AFL and the AFL Doctors’ Association, despite his anger at the club’s treatment of his King’s Birthday accident. The reviews found that while it was regrettable Petracca had been put back on the ground, the actual processes put in place by Melbourne’s doctors had not been flawed. The Demons used the AFL’s emergency clinician at the MCG for a second opinion, with the review finding even initial consultation in hospital was unable to diagnose his spleen concern. It comes with confusion among AFL fans about whether players are able to return to the field while carrying rib injuries after the Petracca incident. The Demons champion was so ill upon his return to the ground even Collingwood players asked him if he should be on the field, with the 28-year-old nearly dying with a lacerated spleen and four broken ribs. AFL Doctors Association boss and Gold Coast club doctor Barry Rigby is also an intensive care doctor. He runs the yearly briefing over rib and internal injuries for AFL and AFLW doctors so they can better diagnose broken ribs or internal trauma. He said on Monday it was almost impossible for club doctors to diagnose whether ribs were bruised or broken without a complex CT scan, with even MRI scans or a simple chest X-ray often not detailed enough. Rigby said the AFL was satisfied with the current procedures for caring with patients with rib damage. “The priority is clinical assessment but it can be quite difficult with blunt force chest trauma. You can have significant pain, but you might not have fractured a rib,” he said. “Chest X-rays are often not that good at picking up chest fractures, and they can miss a small pneumothorax, which is a contusion which causes air to escape from the lungs. “To do a CT scan, which continues a significant amount of radiation, for every player who has a bump to the chest, isn’t a practical approach to the problem. It gets back to the clinical assessment for club doctors and it can be very difficult. “We need to be careful we don’t change the whole landscape which is working pretty well for 99 per cent of the issues. Safety is always our top priority. There is good support from an emergency physician who sits behind the bench if we need assistance,” he said. Rigby has run his emergency care course on assessing players with potential torso chest or abdominal trauma for over five seasons at AFL level. He says the general rule is that if a doctor suspects a player has broken his rib he will not be allowed to return to the field “We have looked at Christian’s circumstances closely and done a constructive critique on what did or didn’t happen. Hindsight is a wonderful gift in some respects. But there was an adequate assessment done. The decision in retrospect (for him to return to the ground) was the wrong one, but we don’t want to criticise the process,” he said. “There was a review done by the AFL and (chief medical officer) Michael Makdissi. The doctors collectively reviewed the whole situation as well. In our professional life we are always reviewing for things we can do better. “All of those boxes were ticked, the process was followed. The emergency physician was involved. The club doctor and hospital were involved. Even in hospital the (damage) wasn’t clear and obvious in the early stages. So I don’t think changing processes would have got us a different outcome.” “There are hundreds of games played every year and the number of people who end up in hospital with rib fractures, you could count on one hand.”