Mel Bourne

I wish I wasn’t old enough to get this gag. Nice, nonetheless.

I saw a news report a few pages back that said Trac is currently under instructions to keep his heart rate no higher than 100 bpm (have heard this a few times now). So is it possible that in light of this, his decision not to media last night was deemed too risky? And in a greater sense, are the club being widely respectful of the need for him to keep travel, engagement with the press and thoughts of his career in general at a minimum? The negative guy in me is listening to Goodwin’s presser and noticing that the only reassuring thing he can say is basically “he’s under contract”; hardly the words supporters want to hear. But what else can he say? My gut feeling is that Trac spoke to his manager about the possibility of quitting the club AND the game. I just can’t see the logic in someone having such a traumatic medical experience, then thinking all of the associated problems that come with that might be solved by playing for another team. You’d be far more likely to think these problems would be solved by never playing again. I think what Goodwin wanted to say was “IF Christian continues to play football it will be with us. But we have to respect the fact that - right now - he’s not sure if he will”. If he were to say that, Trac’s unwanted media attention would just double. And that heart rate just goes up.

Maybe he’ll even earn back your trust. God knows we’re all depending on the two of you to patch things up.

I’m pretty sure they do. The point they’re making is that we all have the same level of understanding here (basically none) so we should be hasty in our attempts to disparage one of the club’s greatest players.

Who should replace?

No doubt there will be some spicy comments on this thread. Thanks for 11 years of service Greg.

I’m assuming you’re a grown adult. Why then would you need it explained that throughout a person’s career they will have moments of doubt and instability? That blind and unwavering commitment to any professional organisation is unrealistic? That physical trauma can have severe impact on one’s mental outlook? This “trust” of yours - what is the worth of it if it’s so readily disposed, despite having no true knowledge of the situation? IF, Trac is desperate to leave the club now, do you think it’s because he’s got a new-found kink for disappointing thousands of people? Or could it possibly be that there is a serious issue between him and a person/people at the club? IF, the situation is similar to what “journalists” are describing, and IF somehow Trac does manage to leave the Demons, I have a feeling we’ll discover down the track that someone who is not CP is at fault here. It’s either that or he’s emerged from his ordeal with an entirely new, self-serving, wreckless, prima-donna personality. I’m having trouble believing this is what happened.

Whenever I read stories of Demons players touring other facilities I always imagine the comparisons they must draw between Casey Fields and (insert literally any other AFL training facility) and become immediately nervous. By the time this Caulfield feasibility study is done (and possibly viewed as “feasible”) and the building is complete, most of our current team will have retired. This must be a constant background (and often foreground) irritation for them. One that no other clubs are forced to contend with. Our department’s long-running ineptitude in sorting out this debacle is my biggest gripe with the club

It’s weird. You obviously find Zach Galafanskis amusing, but he’s….ah, never mind.

I mean, it’s a little unrealistic to expect people on this forum to remain quiet while it’s on several TV programs and the members have just received an email from the club. Sure, it’s mostly hearsay. But as long as it refrains from baseless disparaging of individuals, it’s otherwise completely expected. Gossip is an important part of a healthy society, don’t you know.

Was going to point out to that poster that Oliver did not attend the Anglesea camp. But your approach was far more effective.

Wasn’t too bad. Max saying “we’re all relatively unhappy at this point” seemed to me to be an effort to show camaraderie with Trac. And why shouldn’t there be camaraderie? After all it’s entirely possible (I say, likely) that Trac’s issues with the club are shared by several other players

Yowsers

To the folks who are suggesting we trade Clayton… I saw this post today on the MFC Reddit page, which I’ll paste below. Could be codswallop, could be true.., “When I get my coffee on a sunday morning | often run into a certain Melbourne player who will remain nameless out of courtesy. Our chats are super brief but this morning was quite interesting. I've been noticing that in almost every game Clayton Oliver has been getting in scraps and it happened again last night. I said to this Melbourne player this morning "what's going on with Clayton, seems like players keep targeting it to get him to react". They respond to the effect of "yeah everyone seems to have an issue with Clayton and just abuse the s**t out of him". "About the d***s stuff?" I said. They replied with "everything, d***s, his family, his mental health. The worst abuse imaginable, it's ridiculous". Let’s just assume for a second this is true (it doesn’t strike me as obvious malarkey). It tells you a couple of things. The first is that Clayton’s perceived “poor attitude” may not be down to an unwillingness to work hard for the club, but feeling mentally exhausted from dealing with what is described the above. The other thing it suggests - and you have to read a bit deeper into this one - is that his teammates feel an urge to defend him even when it’s just speaking to supporters in public. Something they are not at all obliged to do. If there was any ill-feeling between the players and Clarry right now, such an exchange would never take place. And sure, maybe it just didn’t. But it does tie in with how I’ve always viewed his year - as one that would test his absolute limits, not so much as a player, but as an individual. He’s had to overcome more than most - injury, a relationship breakdown, possible substance issues, depression, lack of fitness, more injuries and possibly on top of this, steady waves of scorn and ridicule from his peers. In light of all this, I think his progress as both a player and an individual has been highly admirable. And from what I can glean, his efforts to turn things around have not gone unnoticed by his teammates. Suggestions of trading him at this juncture not only display a lack of empathy and understanding, but are foolish in terms of our future success. For I cannot shake the feeling that he is going to come back next year with a point to prove, and very much the means to prove it. (Sorry about the big font. I do enjoy and appreciate DL, but dealing with it on an iPhone can be like time travelling to the early 2000s)

Rivers signed on till 2027 only just last year. I get the “every player is gettable” nature of AFL contracts these days, but how would a deal with a WA team play out in this scenario?

Yeah, I’d say a busted jaw and several dislodged teeth fits the description of “really ugly”.

Yep. Insane thing to do, and all the more nuts because he was an otherwise very reserved AA wingman. He might have even qualified for the AFL “Good Guy Pass™️” if it was seven years later. Bradshaw was 18 years old. Smashed jaw and dislodged teeth, in tears with so much pain he wouldn’t let them pull his mouth guard out. Poor Mrs. Brayshaw has had to deal with a lot watching her sons play footy. I read an interview with Andrew Brayshaw, who wanted it known that he’d forgiven Gaff (who incidentally grew up a Dees supporter). In a very eerie coincidence, Andrew Gaff arrived at Andrew Brayshaw’s house with an apology and a bunch of flowers. At least he wasn’t mentally-busted enough to bring wine though.

Great news. Four years is well and truly in order. Lingers is not going to lose that military-grade tank of his anytime soon.

Ok if that’s who you meant that is a MASSIVE fkup!

Do you need reminding of what he said about Jim Stynes after he died? Akermanis is roundly despised by the football community, not least of all the MFC, and is eking out a living as two-bit real estate agent these days, and somehow HE gives real estate agents a bad name.

Hurts watching Jesse Hogan playing such good footy these days.

Calling it: Bulldogs v Dockers GF.

The biggest failure of the club (since winning the premiership) has been the inability to secure a proper training base. Whoever we have in our recruiting department will always have the challenge of selling the commutes to Casey to any curious prospects.

https://www.afl.com.au/news/1180696 Can we shut this ridiculous thread down now?

ANB definitely didn’t have many options but getting pinged for HTB was surely the least desirable one.