Have heard that Paul Bower is incredibly home sick and the blues have allowed him to go home to WA for a week or two.

Source could be about 80% reliable.

Did he play for the bullants on the weekend?

Has he been at training this week?

Maybe the talking carlton website should be cooking him some homestyle meals and showing him the delights of melbourne.

The same source spoke to Walker who said he realises he needs to really perform this year, which is maybe obvious, but still nice to hear!

hope everything works out for young paul and the club if true.

wonder if there is any possibility of some family perhaps moving over?

We need to look after our boy.

Maybe we should organise a TC get together and invite him along.

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Might help him if super coach Mitch didn't give him a savage dressing down in front of the team in the last Bullants game. There's mollycoddling, being tough and getting the best out of each player. They are not mutually exclusive. Bowers is a young kid a long way from home with a lot of potential. He and all the young players need a multidimensional coach who can adjust his style to suit and get the best from different personalities. Dull, humourless, stereotypical Mitchell appears to me to be about as inspiring as a block of cement. Hopefully TD is working a lot with Bowers, he's the only guy on the coaching panel that seems to connect with the young players.

He has probably been reading this website and got depressed.

Gerry why wouldn't you post something like this prior to some unfounded report being post on TC. Mitchell is far and away one of the best coaches these kids will ever see if they want to make the AFL. Make no mistake about that.

Paul is about to move into a brand new Unit with a few of the younger lads. He is happily spending $6000 of the AFL's money on new furniture. The money is part of his 'relocation expenses'.

As for the 'spray' he got from Mitchell I think it has been blown WAY out of proportion. Mitchell asked him to play on his man and he had been zoning off. He got asked WHY? Nothing to it. Mitchell demands they follow the team rules. If a player doesn't, he gets asked Why? What do you want Mitchell to do....pat them on the back and say..'Better luck next time old chap.'

These kids are on a very steep learning curve and the occassional minor spray is all part of it. They are suppose to be professional footballers now. So if they can't take a few home truths (And I'm sure Paul can) then perhaps the game isn't for them.

Regards Cazzesman

PS. He trained Monday arvo.

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Ricky Gervais - “Everyone has the right to hold whatever beliefs they want. And everyone else has the right to find those beliefs f***ing ridiculous.”

Severe dressing down if that was the case isnt the way to go with any kid....especially one a long way from home.
Players are individuals and the new way of coaching in most junior sports is to treat them as such...to me Bower is fresh out of junior sport and entitled to a stay of execution
Meant to be professional footballers?...its an apprenticeship..the boy hasnt played a game yet....the emphasis has to be on the lad enjoying his footy to get the best out of him...

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"When you have the attitude of a champion, you see adversity as your
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- Conor Gillen

That's actually a really good idea (in theory - in practice it'd probably be a messy night )

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#DonTheStash

good to hear...... who is he bunking with now

You...that's why he wants out

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#DonTheStash

I managed to get a photo of the new place he is moving into.










Try the veal

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What a great week!
GO YOU LOCAL SPORTS TEAM

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Green Shooter

Cazz 5046 - Rumour mill 0

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29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

Mitchell is the Dr Phil of AFL, makes Pagan look like a master man manager.

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Green Shooter

Could be worse, could be a "Dikshit" ...bit the I guess he'ld be involved in the Comm games...

Mitchell did very well last year, and the blast from a coach is part of the swings and round abouts...We see the dressing down at the 3/4 time huddle, but these guys are being spoken to (in some cases) every day....

If performance is a judge (and it is) I think Mitchell got a lot out of a team last year that wasn't expected to do much

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“Every single element of the Club has to be the best in the league, meticulously and methodically, and only by doing this will we be elite and challenge for number 17.”
Greg Lee

like i said im up for meeting anyone for a drink at any game...... easy to throw cheap shots behind a screen

Elwood it wasn't severe.......Severe sounds like Barassi and the Melb guy you always see on Fox Footy archives.

Mitchcell asked him....."Is there any chance you can play on your man?. No real answer from Bower......."Really, is there any chance you can stick on you man like I asked?"

Yes it was in a strong tone and Bower got the point. No big deal. Mitchell puts demands on players. He demands they look him in the eye when he is addressing them. He demands they pay attention to the game plan. He demands they play to team rules. That's what a good coach does. He puts demands on players to perform. If they don't follow the rules he has one simple question of them...WHY? It's not THE under 11's or under 13's.

Regards Cazzesman

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Ricky Gervais - “Everyone has the right to hold whatever beliefs they want. And everyone else has the right to find those beliefs f***ing ridiculous.”

mate if you cant take a spray then go home.......... honestly i cant beleive some of you 'oh he is only a little boy' we want men not boys....... gee

He's not a man yet. We want people of strong character and I'm sure that's the case with Bower. This is just someone blowing smoke up your ass either because they enjoy doing it or they are genuinely paranoid on anything the see or hear.

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29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

i can understand both sides of the fence on this one. Whether or not mitchells words were a dressing down or not, Bower has to learn at least to be able to take some criticism from a coach, whether or not that is the best coaching strategy to take. I am sure there is also encouragement being provided to him on some level. (i hope!)

The issue of homesickness is a major issue in afl, especially where huge distances are involved like vic to WA. I'm sure the blues are trying to manage it the best they can, but it is just not natural in australia for people to leave their home states, like it is in the USA. This is the reason why we ended up with MM. It is always a risk to draft someone away from their home state, and hopefully bower gets over his homesickness to a certain extent.

We just need to hook him up with a melbourne girl. It is a proven fact that nothing beats the power of the p*ssy to overcome homesickness. hehe

sorry to all those i offended with the last statement - just a joke. sort of