Ollie fan

We see this sort of comment quite often on DLand. Some players are very well paid - although out of the starting figure comes managers' and agents' fees etc.. The majority are not so well paid. in return, they take a life which has a very limited span - generally a maximum of 10-12 years; for players below the top echelon, less than that. Every aspect of their day Is focused around diet, exercise, and proper preparation. They live in an intrusive media spotlight and get harassed by members of the public, either well-meaning or not, on a regular basis. They generally don't have the time to get qualifications like a degree or an apprenticeship so at the end of their careers they have to start from scratch. When working, they face physical challenges that almost anyone would avoid, but the slightest flinch is scrutinised and criticised. [I for one would be terrified on an AFL footy field!] At any time they might get serious injury - eg poor McAdam - which often can persist for life (e.g. post-concussion issues, or lifelong arthritic knees, etc). In return, they provide all of us with something to fill our daily lives. I don't begrudge them their pay or conditions one bit.

Not smoke?

Cranky doesn't do support

And didn't McAdam look good in those highlights??!!!

Sure he says some things we don't like, but doesn't anyone read the bit where he says I'M HAVING FUN AND I LOVE IT AT THE CLUB

The poor b....r. He's obviously really trying and it just doesn't't work out. I feel for him

But he doesn't and he realises that. And judging from the training reports and video footage he has NOT checked out.

I agree. I think his list has some serious holes which he tried to plug but overall made the best of it. And he was not anodyne like some. Very much heart on his sleeve which I like.

I'm getting lost with all the joking etc on this (and other) threads. Is this genuinely the text that Jon Ralph was referring to? If so, then it is certainly equivocal and the situation is unnecessarily out of hand.

Before this short break the vibes from training were fantastic. But There have been a couple of issues over the break, and also our injury list seems to be swelling at an alarming pace. Is the feeling generally still good and super-enthusiastic?

The full article makes me feel a lot better. Just as a BTW, I see that the sisters' name is Cubillo - a very famous name in legal circles, from the Stolen Generations case ( which unfortunately failed).

Assuming that is true, it is very disappointing conduct indeed by Kozzy. There is just no need for it.

I love it that we do this stuff.

I disagree about Carlton. Cripps got 45 votes in the Brownlow. That says as clearly as anything that he has NO other midfielders taking votes from him.

I think he is probably right about Brisbane and GWS; don't know about Freo though. The fact is that Brisbane have been gifted two gun F/S recruits for the price of a packet of Life Savers. However, I think that our fitness and yes, our coaching lifts us above both of those teams.

He may have. As I said, i was just wondering... It is also possible that the rumours about Geelong are true.

No, but the land would not have come cheap. And the players do make a lot of money but then pay agents, managers, tax....

Me too. Great player. And in that highlights reel, looking at the scoreboard in a number of the shots gives the lie to the comment that he only kicked junk-time goals.

... how it is that, I see in this morning's Age, Bailey Smith has a six hectare property near Bells Beach?

Could he be a KPD? - other than Petty, our players are aging.

I hate this discussion about what we could trade him for. He is a Melbourne player, a great player and only going to get better. He is fantastic to watch and a fan favourite. There is NOTHING that I would trade him for. The speculation is largely based on him liking certain Freo posts. I don't do social media, but I wonder what other posts he likes. Eg, does he "like" all posts by First Nations players, whatever their team? Because if he does, that takes a lot of the sting out of the discussion!

I think they make a good burger.

Loving this thread!!!

It is very disappointing that Spargo has obviously not progressed as hoped - not for lack of trying, I'm sure! He is very valuable for his pressure, tackling and terrific ball use, and particularly with Kozzy unavailable (grrrr!!) it would have been great to have him ready for week one.

A pretty reasonable summary IMO