710 Asbury St

Yeah, he is. I read an article today that said a decision was made that he could be picked up as a free agent or go into the rookie draft (I think those were the options anyway). I was surprised when I read he was eligible again.

That’ll go over well during their “Carlton Respects” round…

I hope so too—considering he’s more than likely not going anywhere. I noticed more towards the end of the season, and it must have been an away game because I was sitting right behind the goal with the Demon Army, that he definitely looked like he’s lost mobility and looked a bit cooked. When they told him to look for a new club, my first thought was that I wish he’d retired. Yes, he has had some issues, but when he was fit and on—-he was a huge factor in us winning. If I were him, I’d use this as a way to get me to my best. Spite is a great motivator as awful as that sounds. When someone tells me I can’t do something, or has no faith in me, I’ll put everything in it to prove them wrong. Regardless, hopefully at the end of the season if he’s in the shape he was this year, he retires. I’d imagine playing through injury shortens players careers, and listening to him talk about the Grand Final, I imagine that’s not the only game he played with an injury severe enough that he should’ve been managed.

Not to sound like an [censored], but Swans fans have much more to be in mourning about than Isaac Heeney getting engaged 😂. I agree about hating to sort through nonsense reporting to get to the actual footy bits though.

I’ll be the one in the middle. The oldest person to play AFL professionally and a woman to boot. Hoping you’ll all chant USA when I run out—especially when I fall over my own 2 feet and stop to catch my breath after running 5 meters—because it’s also a perfect metaphor for what my country is :).

You’re not alone. I’m waiting to see the end result before I pay the $700+ for my membership. I’ve expressed to the club my concern about administration and how things have been handled from top to bottom over the past few years. I’ve got no issue paying for the membership—what I do have an issue with is spending $ to support a club that has been mismanaged. I think they’re a bit delusional because they warned me that I’d have to go back on the list for a reserved seat again. Sorry, but I go to almost every game and the members section I’m in has plenty of seating available. It was a poor response in my view anyway. We are bleeding members, no one shows up, and if we take significant unders for Trac and Clarry—especially with no players nominating us to trade into— I’ve got some concerns at the administration level. I’m not an economist, I’m a social worker, but in senior management and watching the last few years unfold on that front has left me shaking my head on many occasions.

This comment is not in relation to Oliver/Trac, but I do think some responsibility should be taken by club administration. There’s been a ton of unrest and no consistency at the CEO/Board/President level for quite awhile. I know that this may seem unrelated to team performance, but without consistency at the highest level, the impact will flow down. I’m not excusing anything or attempting to shift blame at all, but I truly believe it plays a big role in things. It’s a collective effort. My job is in no way elite sports, but the level of chaos involved in a transition at the CEO/Board level does flow down significantly to people regardless of level.

I definitely won’t be booing him. And obviously when Giants play us, I’ll be all about us winning. But, I tend to watch a lot of footy—probably way too much for someone who never liked sports—so I’ll definitely be tuning into GWS and 100% barracking for them in those instances. In regard to Clarry the person, I’ll always be hoping he finds happiness in his life. It’s just the Social Worker in me. So you know, your posts in particular for some reason have given me some perspective and helped me move beyond the emotion of it all to a more logical approach. Initially, I wasn’t always sure how to take things you wrote, but after reading lots of them, I understood you to be balanced in your views. So, thank you for that.

This week, I’ve been reading on here but not commenting. I know you guys will laugh at me and all that—but I’m gutted by this whole situation. I agree he’s an adult and needs to make decisions and act like one. But I also feel like he’s been a media target—often for good reason—and I imagine that’s exhausting. I understand that it’s exactly what life as an AFL player on big $ will get. Doesn’t make it any easier. I also believe what actually occurred in that room is somewhere between the media version, the clubs version, and Clarry’s version (whatever that is). He was obviously hurt—in his mind, this was the first year (in the past 3) that he thought he wouldn’t be put up for trade—something caused him to think that. And then it changed very quickly. I’ll be honest, the Collingwood comment, I took it as a guy who’s hurt lashing out. I’m not going to read to much into it, because like the airport nonsense, we see what the media wants us to—definitely not the whole picture. And again—he’s been hounded by the media incessantly—they’ve speculated about his personal life, continuously brought up his issues outside footy—even without reporting anything new on that front for over a year. I left a job last year after changes of CEO and lots of other things. I know that angry feeling. Thankfully, no one in the press gives a [censored] how I feel—but catch me on a bad day and who knows what I might say. I’ve never been into sports-other than tennis. I moved to Australia in 2013 and got really into AFL in 2016 which was his first season. He’s been my favourite player and he was a gun for us. This hurts—because for me, it’s the first time I’ve given a [censored] about any kind of sports or any player. My family/friends in the US would be laughing at me if they saw how I’ve been—and I’m not young. My son is 29 and is a huge sports freak. I never understood when he got so upset about his teams (Patriots, Yankees, Bruins, and now Richmond) losing games/players. I get it now. I’m heartbroken and will always have a special place for Clarry. I well and truly hope that this move brings him the peace and recovery that settles him. I also want to see him back to his best. I believe he can get there. I know he wasn’t at his best the past couple of years, but come on, he did not “single handedly” cause us to not contend. That’s ludicrous. It’s been a strange week for me with lots of emotions. So, if you want to laugh at me and react with vomit emojis or whatever have at it.

Again, lots of this is based on speculation—we don’t know the facts, we know what’s reported. I said in another comment, I am happy to be proven wrong if that’s the case. None of us (that I know of) have direct knowledge of the situation. May have very well been happening all along, but his alleged reaction to the meeting is disproportionate if that’s the case.

No, it wouldn’t have been better at all. Whatever was said was what the club felt needed to be communicated. My concern is the way it was done. I realise I view this situation at this point primarily via my feelings and as I say all the time in real life, feelings aren’t facts. The thing is with this, whilst I have concerns about Clarry personally, respecting his mental health includes accountability, taking on feedback, and growing from it—so he does have a part to play. This doesn’t appear to be how it’s gone for the past however many years. Sensitivity to mental health isn’t not being upfront, it’s about doing it in a way that is conducive to engaging the person and not having them walk away feeling devalued. I’m not talking flowers and candles, but in this case adequate notice for a meeting, considering what they know about Clarry, etc. This could have led to a productive discussion. Instead, we have a player feeling blindsided, the media in a frenzy, and the club potentially worse off because a player’s trade value could be further diminished. It’s not about not treating him as an adult, it’s about considering how a message is delivered to minimise fall out. ETA: this is all based on assumptions from reporting. Happy if I am proven wrong.

Was wondering the same thing. Sorry, that sentence legitimately made me laugh out loud—not just the emoji :) I pictured it in my head and imagined the chaos that would have ensued.

TL;DR: the way this was handled is part of the problem, mental health is a real issue, but also requires accountability from the person, I’m butt hurt that this is happening. You guys can all laugh at me and mock me over what I’m about to say, but it’s my honest opinion. From reports, the way this was handled was awful. Think about it, we know Clarry has struggled both on and off field and is a bit fragile. He’s leaving on a planned trip to Sydney and America and gets called in to meet with King with very little notice—from what I read he was home in Echuca and was told the night before. We know he was upset last year at being dangled for trade 2 years running—and last year per reports, there was a decent deal from Geelong that the club put the kibosh on. I know I heard Guerra say that King listed both him and Trac in his best 22. Oliver later made a statement that he was committed to the Demons. Now, 2-3 weeks later things have changed—according to the media. Different statement from the club. So, in that, I understand why he’d be upset. All of my friends/family know I love Clarry, but at the same time, I have also worked in mental health type services for 25 years so also get that he’s a professional on a large salary who attended his workplace and met with essentially his boss and reportedly got a bit heated—I’m also giving a bit of the benefit of the doubt here. I wasn’t in that room, so I’m leaving it at that. But, if it did happen as reported, behaviour wise, having someone who sets standards and expects players to meet them may be the best thing for someone like Clarry. But, I am in no way insinuating that I have any idea what has actually transpired personally with him over the years or that he has a diagnosed mental health condition. This one hurts for me. Sorry, I’m a human being and he’s my favourite player. I don’t want to see him go. I have been backing him to get back to his best. I thought having time off prior to preseason without the distraction of the club wanting to trade him combined with a new coach would set the stage for him back to near his best in 2026. I am completely powerless over whether that’s at the Dees or not, but what I most hope for is that Clarry gets back to his best both personally and professionally. I am not a booer of past players so refuse to boo him—if anything, I’ll be cheering him personally.

I was lucky that I was off yesterday because I’d have had zero attention to things. Even not working, this thread is monstrously long to get through 😂

Ditto what all other posters have said. I’ve been a long time lurker on this forum, but didn’t have the guts to post anything or even have an account. I have been the same on Big Footy and other things for years and watch people get destroyed for their opinions. I appreciate that this forum has honest conversations and people have a range of views which has also shifted my thinking on some topics. So, thank you for creating this community and keeping it civil. I think in my real life I know maybe 1-2 other Melbourne supporters and none are close friends or anyone I’d have these discussions with. ❤️💙❤️💙