Grapeviney

Each year the AFLPA hands out an award for the ‘Most Courageous Player.’ This year I would love to see them award it to Mitch Clark or perhaps Simon Hogan (before him) – two guys who have walked away from what is a seemingly glamorous and highly-paid profession (which they no doubt worked hard to reach in the first place) to address their mental health issues away from the public eye and the high pressure environment at the club.

Mental Health/Suicide is one of the biggest killers among young men in Australia and I think that the actions of those two guys will inspire many other young guys to realise that it is not a sign of weakness to seek help.

To me, the decision that Mitch (and Simon) made required much more courage than any act that is possible on a football field and it is a credit to them and the clubs for handling it the way they have.

Interesting idea TSFKA, definitely has merit.

But to work it would really require the recipient (Mitch or Simon) to become the AFL's pin-up boy (for want of a better phrase) for mental health issues, which is a big ask, particularly if that person is still suffering at the time. You'd have to do interviews, talk about the battle etc.

I've had to take extended leave from work on two occasions due to mental illness. The second time, it struck right before a massive team project at work - I couldn't take part in it, and like Mitch, felt despair that I was letting my colleagues down. We've all moved on now, but when we catch up for a beer, I still feel guilty, almost ashamed, that I wasn't around when the heat was on.

I guess what I'm saying is, for most people, once the illness has subsided or passed, they're pretty keen just to get on with their lives and not have to relive the experience.

And as posters in this and other threads have demonstrated, there's still a massive stigma associated with mental health issues which deters people from openly speaking about it, but I suppose that what your suggestion is trying to overcome.

Their captain has promised a more aggressive effort this week and their president has basically said they need to come out breathing fire.

Remember when we used to play well when our backs were against the wall?

When the boys would get a roasting in the media and then come out and play their hearts out?

What happened to that team?

We lamented then that it took adversity to bring out our best, that we couldn't produce that form consistently... How I would kill for that now, the old one-week-on, one-week-off Melbourne.

A sad day for club and player.

We miss his on-field leadership as much as his scoring power.

Hope the dark clouds disappear soon.

Darcy also thinks it should be looked into as to what has happened with Trengove. Pick 2 to now playing in the VFL. He is absolutely right and I would have no issues for an independent commission to look into it.

Dude, you realise Darcy was joking when he said there should be a Royal Commission into it..

The MCC's current position is as it always has been - in the Northern / Olympic stand.

you're surprised?

No, not really.. I've seen enough limp-wristed, one-armed tackles, half-ar*ed chases and lack of urgency around the contest to know what to expect by now.

I guess I hoped / anticipated that Watts and others would - if nothing else - be willing to run through walls for Roos.

Instead, there's probably barely a dozen players who play with that desperation and intensity throughout the game. The rest seem as uninterested as ever.

I just wish he said I'm here to play AFL not at Casey. I hope that's his attitude.

I wouldn't pay too much attention to what he said in that interview (if we're talking about the same one?) His words were very similar to what Roos wrote about him in the pre-season pen-pics in that season guide Heartbeat or whatever it's called, the one put out by the club. Pretty sure he was just mimicking the coach's words, "develop good habits" etc etc

I would have loved to see him take that mark over Scully..

Fancy being out-bustled by an ant..

The only viable asset this club has left is the "Melbourne" brand name. It would be unpalatable for this great city to not have representative club to the AFL. Rather than persisting with a dead duck or relocation a scenario that could be likely is that the club is disenfranchised.

There's about 30,000 of us who are already disenfranchised ...

The bloke I think we need to keep an eye on is the Tasmanian Geoff Hayward.

I'd pass. He's been up his mum and his legless sister and he thinks he killed his dad!

Like others, I'm getting tired and bored of the constant turnovers, the wayward kicks, the handballs to players standing still.

It's the same nonsense, week in, week out.

What's more astonishing is that some players are not - to borrow a phrase Daniel Cross used in the week - hellbent on winning.

Absolute amateur hour.

I forgot to mention dropped marks, usually chest marks.

Highlight of the day was watching Jack Watts get pushed out of a marking contest by Tom Scully. Pfffffffffftttttt

Like others, I'm getting tired and bored of the constant turnovers, the wayward kicks, the handballs to players standing still.

It's the same nonsense, week in, week out.

What's more astonishing is that some players are not - to borrow a phrase Daniel Cross used in the week - hellbent on winning.

Absolute amateur hour.

You can't have the most influential figures of your club planning to get out before it's even started.

Bingo.

Sends a terrible signal to all.

I'm not sure if that's a slap in the face to most of our current players or it's because Cross has his finger on the pulse.

It's a damning indictment on some of his team-mates - fancy having to be told that you need to be hell-bent on winning; surely the most fundamental prerequisite for playing AFL football.

That it's even part of the discussion is more evidence of just how far away we are from being a competitive side.

Emma is reactive, she cares only about her reputation.

It is unfortunate, because back in the day I rated Emma right up there.

By going mainstream, Emma now cares more about getting the order right come draft day - than about evaluating with a focus on the long term.

Anyone can get the order right at night out, but not anyone can go out on a limb and declare Wines of the best few in the draft - knowing Port will take him at 7.

Lol, so you expect her to know not only the exact order of the draft - which 'anyone' can nail - but also which players will be champs and who will turn out to be chumps?

If she could do this, she would be the best recruiter in the country extremely rich from winning Tattslotto.

I have no idea what you mean when you say she is ''reactive" and has gone ''mainstream'', suggesting she used to be proactive and on the fringe?? Que?

Perhaps you missed this NSC, which would be odd because it's about the NSC

http://demonland.com/forums/index.php?/topic/36076-help-break-the-norm-smith-curse/

Actually it says 'mediation list'... those guys don't get along

Always liked this pearler from Jack Dyer: "He made a great debut last week and an even better one today."

And I think this one is from english football: "Somewhere along the road the ship ran off the rails."

"Retaliate first"

- Jack Dyer, instructing his players during a final series

"I only have two words for you men - believe in yourselves"

- Jack Dyer, instructing his players during a final series

"If you are not in bed by 12 o'clock, go home"

- Jack Dyer, instructing his players during a final series

"Tell him he is John Coleman and send him back on"

- Jack Dyer, when told by medical staff that a concussed player 'did not know who he is'

"Any time Carlton scores more than 100 points and holds the other team below 100 points they almost always win."

- Lou Richards

"Strangely, in slow motion replay, the ball seemed to sail through the air for even longer."

- Peter Landy

"I think everybody gets caught up in superstitions. But I don't put much stock in them ... knock on wood."

- Jason Akermanis, Brisbane

"If you can't stand the heat in the dressing-room, get out of the kitchen"

- Tony Shaw

"Apart from their goals, St Kilda was scoreless in that opening quarter"

- Eddie McGuire

"It may have been going wide, but nevertheless it was a great shot on target"

- Brian Taylor

"They didn't change positions, they just moved the players around"

- John (Sam) Newman

"More football later, but first let's see the first half highlights from the Essendon v Collingwood game"

- Peter Landy

"Kicked wide of the goal with such precision"

- Sandy Roberts

"Wakelin conceded five, you don't get many of those to the dozen"

- Rodney Eade

"He's a guy who gets up at six o'clock in the morning regardless of what time it is." Kevin Sheedy on James Hird

"It's basically the same, just darker."

Jonathan Brown, on night Grand Finals vs Day Games

"I told him, 'Son, what is it with you. Is it ignorance or apathy?' He said, Barass, I don't know and I don't care.'

Ron Barassi talking about Gary Cowton

"I want to kick 70 or 80 goals this season, whichever comes first."

Barry Hall (Sydney) when asked about the upcoming season

"Luke Hodge - the 21 year old, who turned 22 a few weeks ago"

Dermott Brereton

"Chad had done a bit of mental arithmetic with a calculator."

Mark Williams

"He scored that goal after only 22 seconds - totally against the run of play."

Dermott Brereton

"We actually got the winning goal three minutes from the end but then they scored."

Ben Cousins, West Coast Eagles

"I've never had major knee surgery on any other part of my body."

Luke Darcy

"That kick was absolutely unique, except for the one before it which was identical."

Dermott Brereton

"Sure there have been injuries and deaths in football - but none of them serious."

Adrian Anderson

"If history repeats itself, I should think we can expect the same thing again."

Andrew Demetriou

"I never comment on umpires and I'm not going to break the habit of a lifetime for that prat."

Terry Wallace

"Well, either side could win it, or it could be a draw."

Dermott Brereton

Sorry to burst the bubble but 90 per cent of these are fake.

If you have a look at the link I supplied on the first page to the soccer commentary, you will see that most of these have been lifted directly from the UK and re-attributed to local commentators.

http://www.footballs...emanballs01.htm

BT, talking about Jetta: "He has real dynacism."

Look forward to that being added to the Oxford Dictionary in the coming days.

Ian Robertson was the last commentator i called elite.

I liked Robbo too, but Tim Lane has always been a favourite (on radio, not TV).

Used to really enjoy listening to the combo of Lane, Peter 'Smooth' Booth and Graham 'Smokey' Dawson on the ABC

By the way, there are pages and pages of gems from the round ball game here:

http://www.footballsite.co.uk/Statistics/Articles/Colemanballs01.htm

BT was pretty comical the other night calling Warnock's shanked kick from straight in front: "He's kicked it with the bone on the outside of the ankle... (pause 5 seconds )... the ankle bone."

Can't stand the way he pronounces Vlaustin as Vlaustone. Not only incorrect, but he does that silly emphasis on the second syllable, as he used to do with Monfries.

And the other morons commentating alongside him just copied him, Darcy in particular flicked between the correct and incorrect pronunciations!

For the most part, our so-called commentators (most of whom now are just ex-footballers) are not a patch on their counterparts who call football in Europe

Remember the days when the night competition was sponsored by cig companies? The Escort Cup, and the Stirling Cup if I recall correctly

My issue is not with ONE bit of spin, not with ONE injury healing more slowly than expected but with what appears to be planned misinformation in relation to many many players.

Jamar, Gawn, Hogan, Dawes, Clark, Viney and Garland have all had injuries that have taken so much longer to heal than expected. Akram's razor suggests this is not bad luck but a policy by the MFC to misinform.

Now I believe it's better to be conservative and surprise on the positive side rather than be optimistic and under deliver. For stakeholders looking for hope having important players failing to play when anticipated only further damages the trust supporters have

Trust is precisely what Peter Jackson said he wants to build. Just at the moment it's difficult to believe.

Wasim Akram would like to inform you it's Occam's Razor (or Ockham)

Yes.

Barret suggested it was a stress fracture, implying it was pre existing problem, which seems to be true - though this is just a guess because apparently the sky would fall if the the truth was revealed.

Just to clarify, Hogan himself said it was sore before the Geelong game (this was on the footy show).