Jaded No More

Some of the behaviour is, absolutely. But of course not all. I imagine you don't know a whole lot about the impact of mental health or neurodivergence on impulse control, substance dependence or unstable behaviour. But unfortunately the impact is a significant one. That doesn't excuse poor behaviour, but it does explain some of it, especially during times of low moods. I wish Clarry would open up about his struggles the way Bailey Smith has, but of course everyone's journey is different.

I literally said above that both of these guys deserve a lot of credit for overcoming what they have. I am not holding a grudge against anyone. I just happen to have a great amount of sympathy and respect for what Clarry has been through, but I also completely recognise that Trac had a very traumatic injury, and while many here have been calling out his fear of body contact this year, I have defended him for it. I also defended him when he was being called out for not posting on his social media about the club, because I know he doesn't manage his own social media and it was unfair to accuse him of not caring about the club. I think you are being very unfair to suggest that I have cut Trac no slack. This is not a Trac vs Clarry debate, it shouldn't be. But somehow it always becomes one. They are two separate people who both made mistakes that I am sure they would take back if they could. I think that Clarry has been given very little leeway by some fans, and especially by the media, but the same can't be said for Trac. I've seen Clarry called out for everything from being fat, to ruining our club and culture, to screwing us with his contract on this site. And by the way, Clarry has always been the same. The club, the playing group and the fans were very happy to turn a blind eye to it when he was dominating the competition. If he returns to his best again, I bet nobody will discuss his indiscretions again, nor his contract. That's the nature of the beast isn't it? Peatling is another player who pulled out although we were very heavily into him. And player managers were flat out refusing to speak to Tim Lamb last year. That is not all on Trac of course, but the overall club perception that we were/are a mess.

I totally agree, but that's the benefit of hindsight isn't it? By the way we would have still got Langford, as he wouldn't have traded pick 6, but we would have definitely missed out on Lindsay. So thank god he went to waste the Pies' money instead. Lindsay will be a star. He isn't the only players who pulled out or flat out refused to talk to us last year tho. People have a go at Tim Lamb, but Tim Lamb can only do so much when nobody returns his calls.

I am not, that was not the point of my post. I was responding to the remark about one being a good guy and one being a bad guy. Neither are good or bad, both have had to deal with circumstances that were in part beyond their control. And both deserve grace and respect for overcoming some serious challenges, both physical and mental. But let's not pretend like what went on with Trac post season last year was not extremely damaging to the club. We had multiple players pull out of coming to the club as a result. Rightly or wrongly, it was very poorly handled by Trac/ his team.

Rowan Marshall too. Imagine English and Marshall making more than our selfish 'won't play with any other ruckman and only wants his AA jackets' captain 🙃

I understand this view, but likewise Clarry's mental health issues were no more in his control than Trac's post injury trauma. Clarry did silly things, so did Trac. The way Trac carried on last year was very damaging to the club, and the group. Clarry's behaviour was likewise very damaging. Both can and should take responsibility for their part as grown adults. But if we can cut Trac slack for his behaviour, why can't we do the same for Clarry? You think he chose to have mental health issues anymore than Trac chose to have that horrific injury? You only had to listen to Bailey Smith open up about his battles to understand that as fans few of us have any idea of what a player is truly going through. That doesn't mean Clarry shouldn't be held accountable for his mistakes, but likewise some grace wouldn't go astray. Clarry has never not admitted fault. He is acutely aware of what he's done, and where he's at. I am not so sure that Trac is there yet.

Pickett is on over a million with his new deal. And Trac and Clarry's deals are back ended, hence their salary has gone up as the cap has increased.

Sorry but what a load of absolute garbage. During Gawn's peak, he has only ever had 2 quality rucks on the list to 'compete with'. He won a flag with one, famously pushing Goody to leave Jackson in the ruck in the third quarter as we gained ascendancy. You think Jackson would want to come back to the club right now if he felt Gawn was not someone he could work with? And with Grundy it didn't work out, but it takes two to tango. Grundy was as much to blame, as was the club. We tried turning Grundy into Jackson, and Grundy was not having it. It made no sense to have two elite rucks on your list who both have no forward craft, and trying to turn them into forwards in their late 20s / early 30s. Let's stop talking absolute nonsense about our captain.

Buckley wants to win a flag. That won't happen with Tassie, unless he is keen to coach until he's 70.

The salary cap is less of an issue than having nothing to satisfy Freo with in a trade. Kosi was the ace, now he's staying put (thank god), you would need 3 first round picks, or 2 and a good quality player. If we trade say Trac to Hawthorn for their 1st round pick tied to Carlton, we would need to find another first round pick, or give up a future 1st and a good player, say McVee or Rivers. It seems very unlikely Freo will let Jackson go, unless he's telling them that he HAS to get back to Melbourne. He would need to really force their hand. Otherwise they'll tell him to jump, literally.

Anyone who thinks Clarry doesn’t want that more than anything, is crazy. Clarry has never intentionally done anything to hurt the club. He is very aware of how much the club has done for him. A new coach and another full pre season with hopefully no interruptions and I truly believe we will see the best of Oliver again. As the season went on and he got fitter you could see glimpses of his brilliance return. It would be heartbreaking to see Clarry dominate for another club. Even worse if we pay for him to do it.

It's a soft push to replace Richardson. Plus from my understanding if the role sits above the FD it doesn't fall into the soft cap? Either way, Richardson has 12 months left on his contract, and we can't afford to pay him out and replace him. This is the way to get around that.

Poster 16 (who shall remain anonymous): "This never would have happened if he just played Jeffo"

Kelly was a lot younger back then. I assume he’s matured a lot since. I can’t stand anyone associated with Geelong, but results speak for themselves. If Kelly impresses more than the experienced Buckley, then he will be a worthy selection. He is not the only player who showed our club no respect back then. We were a joke.

I can categorically tell you that this happens, as I happen to know a very well known Geelong player who shall remain nameless who is getting paid well below market worth, but has a parcel of land worth millions. Geelong is very clever in the way they do it, it makes it almost impossible to prove, as the land does not belong to Geelong or anyone officially employed by them. The investigation into them was a total sham, conducted by a former Geelong employee.

If you're going to take a risk on a trainwreck, take it on JUH who has at least shown that he can be a star. Why you'd risk anything for Holland is beyond me. A very average footballer.

On face value sure, but lets not kid ourselves. Curnow will more than make up the hundreds of thousands he forgoes in payment, with the parcel of land worth far more that he will get. I will be worried as a Carlton fan if he says he wants to take a paycut to move to Sydney...

And why would Trac want to go to Carlton?

A coach desperate for a flag? Oh no! I personally rather a coach desperate for wooden spoons 🙄

Finlayson, even if we had interest in him, is highly unlikely to relocate out of SA given his wife’s cancer battle

For the right price I think this could be a win win. I just can’t see his body holding up, and Disco has shown enough to suggest he will be a great third intercept defender.

If we can get Sestan to AFL level he can take Bowey’s role and it’ll allow us to get Bowey up the field kicking the ball inside 50

I imagine today wouldn’t be compulsory as anyone not eligible for Casey is technically in their off season period and that time is pretty well controlled by the AFLPA. They can’t be made to do anything club related in this time. So anyone who did turn up did that obligation free which is really nice to see. Especially the older players who I’m sure are very keen for time off and to spend time with their neglected families.

Adams been great. The debut did him a world of good in terms of confidence

Kolt looks a serious player when he’s in the midfield