Mel Bourne

Tempting to go on a spiel about the merits (or lack of) of “homesickness”, but wherever you stand on it as a reason for leaving a club (and a successful, nurturing one at that) after three years, you would have to agree that it’s a syndrome that isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. In many ways, the MFC were extremely lucky to get what we got out of Jackson in the short time we had him. We were fortunate that 2023 wasn’t going to be the season where he was finally cherry-ripe and ready to help bring a club his first premiership, after three years of hard work with (and from) us. But many clubs will not be as lucky with their draft selections, and many will feel the sting of sending one home without the dividends of investment. I think the “go-home” factor though, is going to be more prevalent in the future than in past times. Younger folk in general these days are more autonomous than in past generations (some might prefer the more denigrating term “entitled”). The focus on individual needs has never been sharper. The mindset of “Hey man, at the end of the day, make sure that YOU are looking after YOURself” is a curiously virtuous vibe these days. On the one hand it has it’s merits, but taken too far and it can easily drift into good old fashioned selfishness. The NBA is a pretty strong example of the individualistic mindset seeping into team sports, and many of the current generation of AFL players look to the NBA with much admiration and aspiration. The “bleed for the club” mentality may very well become rarer than we would like. The solution can’t be to enforce young players to live away from their hometowns longer than they want to. That’s obviously just inhumane. But if this is something clubs genuinely want to avoid, then recruiters might want to prioritise looking for their future stars a little closer to home.

Negatives: we’ve been forced to hand over a great asset for very little compensation. Positives: this thread might close tomorrow

But you just did.

I see him as potentially becoming a Joe Daniher-type, but a version of Joe Daniher that is actually a good footballer.

Is it accepted fact that he doesn’t like living here?

Assuming he’d prefer to remain at the Dees than go to the PSD.

Yeah I believe the medics have him doing this weird 360° angry-spinning exercise which is supposed to help all that.

You can argue their one vs one merits all night but the stone cold fact is that Lever kicks more goals than May. Anyway, isn’t this the Luck Jackson thread/tome? Interesting to read on the neutral forums that a lot of non-Dees/Freo supporters are calling this as “overs”. Is it possible that our red and blue goggles are a little too-tightly fused to our heads?

Reddit AFL forum held this poll and there was an overwhelming amount of neutral supporters saying that Melbourne will come back strong in ‘23. Many also, tipping us for the flag. This is what life looks like without MFCSS

This was on social media today, with about fifty pies fans commenting below saying how shocked they are Meanwhile on Demonland we have over a thousand comments about it, dating back to July. Do these dopes live under a rock?

Supporters at fault? That would be absurd to suggest. But the club? Well it’s how you define “club” isn’t it. Where does “club” begin and end in this case? Anyway, I’m more talking about the betrayal of trust between club and supporter. There will absolutely be many people ditching their beloved team, for a while at least. I can already see it happening on various other forums.

So are you suggesting that the response to this report being made public should just be hundreds of thousands of people saying literally nothing until all the allegations are indisputably proven? Do you live on earth? As Binman pointed out, people have been careful to qualify their reactions to this with “If true”. What more do you want?

If I learned this happened at our club, I honestly don’t think I could continue supporting them. If true, it’s not only the horrific racism and misogyny involved in the acts that deserve punishment, it’s that those involved in these incidents have butchered the reputation of a 120 year-old club and shattered the trust of thousands upon thousands of supporters. Aside from the people directly affected by this, I genuinely feel sorry for Hawthorn supporters who have now been thrown into a maelstrom of immorality through no fault of their own.

Having just read the ABC article, I’m having a lot of trouble conceiving how such detailed and unusually harrowing accounts could possibly be concocted. The accounts of the women affected in particular seem so specific and shocking in their severity, that I’m at a loss as to how anybody could make such a thing up. There are obviously many more steps to be taken in this process, but man….. If true, this is the darkest day I’ve ever witnessed, not only for the Hawks, but for the entire sport. The Bombers’ scandal was one thing, but this is far worse. And if true, Clarkson/Fagan are done, and should never show their faces at a footy oval again. I’ve always thought Clarkson was a complete and utter xxxx (and have heard first-hand accounts that back that up), but the soft spot I have for Fagan has evaporated

I was on the Collingwood FC Reddit page last night (reading an article about Grundy) and noticed this exchange between two supporters…. Did anybody catch this on SEN? Seems absolutely ludicrous that we’d even consider giving up JVR for Grundy, but somebody at SEN obviously needed to flap their gums about something. TWO picks AND JVR?? Methinks these two are sharing the same crack pipe, right?

About four pages back, Chandler/Bedford taking over the ANB/Spargo roles. But you’re right, it’s off topic. It’s very tempting to start the “Pointless Spargo Jabber” thread for the title alone, though. By the way, can somebody check on Picket? He’s lost almost his entire body weight in vomit emojis.

The way FORWARDS is not to cut and run on a 22 year-old who vastly improved his game between ‘20 & ‘21. He’s got footy smarts, is a huge tackler for his size and brings pressure. He’s also one of our players who lets me relax when using the ball by foot. You’re right, he does need to get near it more often, hence why there’s room to improve. He deserves another season to do that.

Are we seriously discussing dumping Spargo at age 22? The kid will improve.

Love the ol’ onus-dump. “Here is a wheelbarrow full of two year-old potatoes. The onus is on you to peel them and tell me if they are rotten.”

And it’s ok to be cool with it, or not be. Times two 🙋🏻‍♂️

Not sure how that is relevant here. There are a lot of fiercely independent people who cut the apron strings, well below that age.

Lots of compelling reasons to stay, listed here. I guess though, when you weigh them up against some PlayStation 5 with your homies in a Cottesloe McMansion, they’re just not compelling enough.

“How do you feel about Lever ? I'm sure you loved that he came to us.” And I’m sure Adelaide fans didn’t. The discussion here is not about how Freo/WCE supporters feel about getting Luke Jackson. “And what do you know about Luke's situation. Nothing I imagine.” Is that really a prerequisite for feeling disappointed? Are we expected to know the personal goings-on of all players before being allowed to feel let-down? We pay our memberships, and the kids are paid untold amounts of money themselves, so we can skip the whole “getting to know you” process, and treat this for what is - mass entertainment. “Supporters get way too caught up in emotionality about an individual they know nothing about.” No, they do know about him. They know that he’s a guy we drafted three years ago, who we elevated to the heights of AFL glory and who collected a Rising Star for himself along the way, and now he wants to go home where he’ll get paid more than what we can afford, and that’s all they need to know in order to form an opinion about him. This is footy, not Oprah It’s perfectly acceptable to be ticked-off that this guy is leaving, for the exact same reasons we were so jubilant that Trac and Clarry signed on for life. Club loyalty is a quality which has become more and more unique to our game, and I for one see this decision - after merely three years - undeserving of any kind of admiration. Across the 215 pages (god help us) on this topic, there’s been a lot this “you don’t know his situation” lecturing towards people who dare suggest they’re unhappy about this. It’s not like anybody is planning to actually harass Luke Jackson or give him a piece of their mind beyond this forum. If I ever met the guy I’d express my gratitude for the ‘21 cup and happily leave it at that. But you’ve got to allow people express their frustration, disappointment and even anger (within reason) if the only reason not to is because “there might be something you don’t know”.

Putrid effort. Absolutely soulless and weak. See you next year, Landers.

I highlighted that line because you seemed to be pointing at DD saying “listen to this guy, he knows what’s up”. I think we all realise that the Demons aren’t looking likely to win a flag this year, and nobody deserves credit for pointing out the bleeding obvious. But the pre-emptive “I told you so” posts of late (beginning with that boring “We Won’t Win The Flag” thread) are just increasingly tedious to trawl through. I get that we’re all frustrated with how these finals have gone so far, and DD may very well be correct, but I’m choosing the foolish option of having some faith. At least this week.