Engorged Onion

Fear, a deep-seated evolutionary emotion, often acts as a motivator by triggering the body's "fight or flight" response. This is marked by the release of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline from the adrenal glands. These hormones, while heightening our awareness and increasing heart rate for immediate threats, can be detrimental when experienced chronically, causing health concerns like suppressed thyroid function. From a familial perspective, when parents employ fear as a motivating tool, it can lead to immediate compliance and heightened caution in children. However, the darker side reveals chronic stress, eroded trust between parent and child, the development of avoidance behaviors, and diminished self-esteem in the child. Similarly, in sports like AFL, when coaches regularly resort to yelling, players might momentarily become more alert and responsive. Yet, the lingering effects can be detrimental: the players may develop performance anxiety, leading to more mistakes; they might constantly be under heightened stress; the coach-player relationship could deteriorate; and, over time, players could experience burnout, associating the sport with negative emotions rather than passion and enjoyment. In essence, while fear can be a powerful motivator in the short term, its prolonged use can have lasting negative impacts on individuals, be it in familial settings or sports environments. FEAR (YELLING, ANGER) IS A GREAT MOTIVATOR - SHORT TERM - > IT THEN BECOMES EXHAUSTING AND ATHLETES (ADULT HUMANS) - DISENGAGE EMOTIONALLY TO PROTECT THEMSELVES - THE TRUST BETWEEN TWO PEOPLE (I could get nerdy into inconsistency of a coach, and attachment styles of the player - uncertainty of how a coach responds, and what that brings out on the field when we make errors)...

Can you outline what that would even look like ?

Hee hee... once upon a time :) and with another club. 😵**don't know that I could be objective enough to work with the team that I love.

Title: "The Contractual Conundrum" INT. MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - FOOTBALL DEPARTMENT OFFICE - DAY Simon Goodwin, the head coach of the Melbourne Football Club, sits behind his desk, wearing a sardonic grin. Ben Brown and Tom Macdonald, two veteran forwards who played pivotal roles in the club's Grand Final win two years ago, sit on the other side, looking bewildered. SIMON GOODWIN (raising an eyebrow) G'day, fellas. I've called you in today because apparently, you've forgotten about a little thing called a "contract." BEN BROWN (confused) A contract, you say? Is that like a footy team subscription service? TOM MACDONALD (scratching his head) I thought we were still in the "free trial" period. Simon Goodwin takes a deep breath, his sardonic grin unwavering. SIMON GOODWIN (with a smirk) Yes, a contract, guys. It's that pesky document that says you're legally obligated to play for this club, whether you remember signing it or not. BEN BROWN (defensive) We didn't exactly throw a contract-signing party, Simon. It's not like we RSVP'd for this. TOM MACDONALD (agrees) Yeah, we're just a couple of accidental champions, apparently. Simon Goodwin exchanges a sarcastic look with the Football Department representatives, who are struggling to contain their amusement. FOOTBALL DEPARTMENT REP 1 (smiling) You know, contracts are these quaint little things that specify you're supposed to kick footies, not miss goals, and avoid falling apart like a house of cards in a storm. FOOTBALL DEPARTMENT REP 2 (nods) And, believe it or not, the supporters expect you to remember how to do all that. BEN BROWN (confused) But we've still got the moves, coach! We've accidentally pulled off some magic tricks on the field. TOM MACDONALD (enthusiastic) Yeah, remember that time I turned a fumble into a goal? The crowd went wild! Simon Goodwin can't help but roll his eyes before regaining his composure. SIMON GOODWIN (rolling his eyes) I appreciate your inadvertent showmanship, but we've got this minor issue called "team performance" to consider. It's not a comedy show out there. FOOTBALL DEPARTMENT REP 1 (sighs) And, by the way, the medical team thinks you're trying to set a record for time spent in the treatment room. BEN BROWN (defeated) So, what's the verdict, coach? TOM MACDONALD (nervous) Are we being sent to join the local circus, at least officially this time? SIMON GOODWIN (grinning) I'm not saying you're headed to the circus, but perhaps you could head the entertainment at our next fan event. Wink, wink. The room erupts into sarcastic laughter as Ben Brown and Tom Macdonald finally realize the point about their valid contracts. BEN BROWN (sarcastic) Oh, got it, coach. We'll make sure to honor our legally binding obligations as footballers. TOM MACDONALD (smiling) Absolutely, time to dust off those clauses and fine print. The Football Department representatives and Simon Goodwin join in the sarcastic laughter, relieved that the humorous take on the situation has lightened the mood. CUT TO BLACK. [End of Scene] In this revision, Ben Brown and Tom Macdonald, still under valid contracts, are reminded of their contractual obligations in a sarcastic and comical manner, highlighting the irony of their situation to the supporters.

I do wonder what the internal view of the club is vs supporters. Perhaps it’s not so black and white (good or bad). I also wondered about them, as the retirees were called out yesterday

Nice out of the box thinking. Even Cales brother Mitch is a discard and then premiership player. Anyway, if you were to think that Levi was the elixir for all your premiership contending ailments, at any time, you’d be deemed crazy. this thread is a great opportunity to whittle away some hours while your life is passing you by. And rather than take a pot shot, I’d rather the current incumbents than Levi. They know the system, they know their teammates and most importantly they probably won’t be playing unless there is an injury glut. Just like an instagram influencer, this thread is brave and stunning. 🤩

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Taj Wowoedin ‘likes’ this post 😇

🥹 Brilliant… curt response was, I got my hopes up and then shattered!

Holy hell that’s euphemistic! What’s the definition of an inside slider (in a football context, rather than urban dictionary)?

Why the [censored] would you bother posting that? was it a vanity project to show off your photoshopping skills?

But you weren’t an AFL umpire…. Or were you 🤷‍♂️😀

Newish jargon of a ‘cooler’, sounds naff. Question for those hipster football analysts, what’s the difference between a ‘tagger’? Harmesy will be good for depth - the game moves on quickly eh…

Was discussing this whilst watching the first quarter (Bris and Carlton), they’re professional AND they are part time. That’s an important distinction to be made On a side note, a good friend of mine was an umpire for 10 years or so with the AFL and post career (roughly 10 years) he has never run more than 2km since. The training is THAT effortful.

I agree with the sentiment, and that’s not really how it works in reality, is it? Anyway, tin foil hat time ,- I sat with 5 people last night, 1 Collingwood - 1 Freo and 2 Geelong supporters, and another Dees supporters, who all felt the game was umpired with a strong bias towards confecting to a particular outcome. 3 in particular had never previously harboured a sense that the AFL attempts to manipulate outcomes - although all agreed they do it off the field, be it tribunals, or Essendon, or the umpire that was charged with betting, or HR issues, or… They were gobsmacked about the first quarter and a bit.. about the non calls being made, and even the Collingwood supporter could reflect enough (female!) that GWS did not get the ‘rub; in the final quarter the night before. Anyway - your comment got me thinking about the Dogs - and how simultaneously in EPL there was also the fairytale story of Leicester in the same year… HOW Convenient! and then the Dees, winning in an already compromised (financially) Covid year… yep - I think I’ve gone off the deep end

Hey fellow Dees Devotees, The air is thick with reflections pondering, and aggressive drive bys on the forum dressed up as ‘asking the crucial questions that no one else has the cajoles to do so’. Anyway as we've witnessed our team maintain a consistent top 4 presence but not clinch the premiership. It’s a pivotal moment for our Football Department to reassess, strategically recalibrate, and capitalise on the strengths within our i list. With our list’s flexibilty, we have the opportunity to control the tempo, and as evidenced, we seemed to win in different ways throughout the year, suggesting flexibilty and composure. Not just wrestling it back to our method. Our squad boasts diverse talents allowing for a dynamic shift in roles. I’m interested in our teams adaptability and allowing us to exploit the identified weaknesses in other contenders strategies and setups. Given the strength of our midfield unit, there’s a decisive advantage to be gained in contested situations. By intensifying our focus on mastering contested ball skills, we can disrupt and dismantle opponent play in critical match scenarios. We will have a new coach with new ideas, I am excited about what strategies and analytics are brought in. Our forward line has the potential to elevate and intensify pressure, forcing critical turnovers and allowing us to capitalize on oppositions errors. We didn’t have the cattle at the right time of year - I think people genuinely forget it. With adept intercept markers, a strategic refinement in our defensive structures will help the ball carrying and ball movement out of the back to try to distrupt defensive structures of other teams… By leveraging our squad's fitness levels and endurance, which in my view was beyond most other teams, can we continue to secure a competitive edge and dominate even in the closing minutes of the game. Some thoughts around the trends of the game going forward. is the explosiveness and quick ball movement is fine when you have it, and how do you best counteract it - and where do you try to cut it off - particularly if we tend to have lots of repeat inside 50’s… and that seems problematic with the density of the forward line - sure media pundits keep suggesting we bomb it long - as that is the only strategy - but [censored] it, so does every other club - and when it comes off its a great pack mark (see Cox last night) and that could have easily been dropped and rebounded, and thus interpreted as ‘dumb play’. What strategies are there to employ considering the list that we have. I look forward to some good input over the summer lull.

Well done to Collingwood. They snuck through and took their chances. Seems to be the theme of the season for those teams in contention. The industry is so tight, it could have been Us, or GWS into the GF. Not to be… Game day moments matter - like us, GWS would reflect on a few and rue them. Bringing it back to us, overall though, our best is good enough, and to have been in the top 4 for 3 seasons, is an incredible feat, considering how tight the competition is and small the margins of error.

How is Don Pyke relevant these days? * Sorry if that was abrupt , Is he still in the industry?

I’ll be disengaging, mostly because there is an infinite loop of trying to convince each other that our opinion is the correct opinion, and the other layer of me being sensitive, and you being sensitive to me being sensitive and feeling a need to be a condescending [censored]… 😎❤️

Reread your posts - It’s not asking uncomfortable questions is it? It’s deriding choices made based on assumptions and things that you presumably have no direct knowledge about. Apologies if the previous post was passive aggressive - I’ll be more direct in the future.

What are your terms and conditions for acceptability in those given circumstances. Now unless you were there, and either a player agent, a list manager, or the player themselves, you’re entitled to an opinion no matter how articulate , but actually have no idea about what got things over the line. have Richmond made an unacceptable list management decision with T Lynch, considering there is a similar trajectory? contributed nothing? That’s in the eye of the beholder - if you think that football clubs only operate in a vacumn for 2 hours of game day…

Send in your resume @BaliDemon you seem to have all the answers retrospectively ❤️😎

A fire in the pit of my gut, or the FD’s gut or ‘shaming’ by media pundits or supporters, doesn’t help planning, training and game day outcomes in 2024. we lost 2 finals in 2022 because we were severely depleted by injury. Let’s not forget context and lump it all in together… sure it’s easy to do when you’re disappointed. Happy to be in the minority - just because a majority has a populist view doesn’t mean it’s accurate to the specific circumstance- see Trump. Let’s agree that we are both disappointed in the outcomes, and we see the factors contributing to it, and what it means about the club, and what to do about it - vastly different. 😎🙌🏼

I appreciate it’s different expectations for all clubs. if you win a premiership then the expectation is that you’ll win a few more - ie: Richmond etc. This sounds like your and a few others specific expectation - it’s not mine though. For me, it’s not nuanced enough analysis. I wonder If those hardcore supporters of the Dogs think they have wasted their generational opportunities - but from other supporters perspectives, has it been wasted? Probably not. Charges sticking like mud? Holy moly Man… different lenses I suppose 😎🙌🏼

17 teams are ‘broken’ every year. there is this weird supporters bollocks of the notion of using loses as fuel … it’s just a sense making tool as a post hoc analysis’s about our expectations. anyway lets hope Goodwin decide to review the Collingwood and Carlton matches eh 😆