Am happy with the Club's measured response.
Trying to change an organisation too radically leads to serious unanticipated problems.
e.g. the unavoidable radical change when Elliott was removed from office led to a period of instability.

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Bawditawaba

i think they received the perfect punishment. u guys dont know what it means not to train with your team mates.

are we not forgetting - what did Essendon* do with liz hurley? gee the media is quiet on that one. the little shit hit a cab driver.

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Alexander the Great was born in Greece!

Not training with their mates will sting, real bad.

Hope a lesson has been learnt.

Cant wait for the footy to start.

Bring on 2010!

WOOOOOOOOOO!

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When you're a Jet you're a Jet all the way!

Wheres the fun in that though, I want outrage now!

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BBBUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.

Anyone who thinks missing a month of training and the NAB matches is a slap on the wrist is fooling themselves ...................

The month of training away from the main group will do a couple of things

1) Show the players commitment to the team. If they come back out of shape then they obviously don't posses the commitment needed for success and will struggle to regain shape before the start of the season (how many players come back out of shape after their post-season break and then struggle in the preseason ???

2) The team is going through a restructure, esp in the forward line. Betts is a key small forward, and will miss out on a large chunk of the training regarding the restructured forward line. If he comes back out of shape, and not knowing the new game plan in the forward line, he will struggle to push his way back into the team for a couple of weeks (Yarran and Garletyt may hold him out for a while). Houlihan has also been played more up forward than in defence lately, and will be under pressure from Lucas and Robinson for the defensive forward spot. As for Walker, he hasn't had an injury free season in years (probably ever) and would have been dying to cement himself in the team next year. His most likely position would have been on a HFF/rotating through the midfield, and while his fitness is outstanding (won the time trial) he lacks match fitness, meaning no games before rd 1 will make it difficult to break back into the side right away

3) No preseason games = no match fitness for ANY of them. We saw last year that spots can be cermented in the side during the preseason comp (Armfield and Joseph are 2 prime candidates for the importance of preseason for for cementing a spot in the side) making it damn hard to break back into the side for rd 1. That said, the window is still open IF then show the discipline they lacked and work their arses off and show the side they are desprate to play.

4) Footballers need the team environment, so being taken away from that will hurt them.

5) ANY interuption to a players preseason has a ripple effect for the players season. Look at the Hawthorn team last year, they had opporations late due to the GF appearance, meaning players preseasons were cut short and they struggled in 2009. Sure the guys can still train with the Bullants, but it won't be ANYWHERE near the level of an AFL preseason (otherwise drafted players who have had a preseason with a VFL/WAFL/SAFL team wouldn't struggle during their first preseason). Saying that a 1 month suspension from training with the team = sleep ins shows a lack of knowledge of what is needed to play AFL level football. If they do treat it as an extended break then they will come back in crap shape, will take a month or 2 to get back into shape (let alone train properly with the squad) and there will be no way in hell they will be ready for rd 1 next year.

We showed last year with the dropping of Stevensand Scotland that if you are not in shape you don't play. It is up to these guys to now show that they are dedicated to the side and desprate to play. Words mean little, it will be their actions of the next couple of months which will tell us if they are likely to play early next year ..........

Hurley's matter is before the court, so in fairness, not much can be done until the matter has wound its way through the justice system. But seeing as how everyone has pretty much admitted he is guilty, I wonder if Knights is going to be as tough as he is on his less favoured lights of the team. Such as getting rid of champions such as Lucas and in particular Lloyd.

By the way Hulk, I see your tag states that Alexander the Great was born in Greece. I don't mean to get in to an ethnic argument, but I thought he was Macedonian?

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"Get ready, Teddy - you're on": Ron Barassi half time 1970 Grand Final

I'm happy with the clubs response.

Time to move on.

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There is no footy god

Macedonia is to Greece what Victoria is to Australia. Not saying anymore on this one...
As for Hurley and before the courts Lyon at the saints hasn't waited on any court decision on his Ex Bomber.

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I know a little secret. And i'm not sharing.

..in those days there was no such thing as 'greece'.. ..in fact, the idea of an actual country as we understand them today didn't really exist either.. ..instead, there were a bunch of hellenic city states, macedonia was one of many.. ..the slavs that make up most of modern day macedonia didn't arrive in europe til about a millenia after alexander..

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..if you can't be good, be good at it..

Think of all the midfielders we could recruit if we did that!







Sounds fair to me.

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Knew I shouldn't have started on Greece v Macedonia.

Quite right about Lovett and St.Kilda. I have an Essendon* mate who is wetting his pants he is so happy they traded him.

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"Get ready, Teddy - you're on": Ron Barassi half time 1970 Grand Final

Audio of today's presser...

http://sportal.com.au/mediaplayer/audio ... rence-7056

While Sticks motored through his statement he and Judd handled the questions pretty well. Certainly it seems as though Sticks has learnt a few things about dealing with the media at press conferences, haha.

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Those that don't think this is an appropriate response by the club are kidding themselves. If anything, it's actually more harsh than it could have been.

It is very unlikely that any of Betts, Houlihan and Walker, given that they will not play in the NAB Cup, will have the match-fitness to play in the early rounds of the season proper. So assuming that manifestly underdone players won't be picked once the season begins, this suspension part of the punishment is effectively serves as a double-whammy. The club itself realises this when Kernahan says in his statement that "We know this [the penalties] will impact on their preparation for the home & away season."

Being suspended from the club and having to train with the Bullants will, as others here have pointed out, sting the players more than some appear to realise. They will feel embarrassed, uncomfortable and awkward, but know that it is up to them if they are to turn things around.

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Formerly Blues-Back2003.

So what is this heinous crime Andy Walkz has committed?

It has been instilled in him from an early age to support family and mates,I have told him I am proud of him for going to help Ryan who was set upon by bouncers.

Walkz response in going to help a mate was instinctive.
Noone was killed ,no bones were broken,and no stiches were required, just a skirmish.

No charges were laid for assault,none for drunk and disorderly.
The Liberal Party newsletter(aka the Herald Sun)would have you believe it was a "booze fuelled brawl".
Club administrators who believe fines and suspensions would prevent a player from instinctively looking after mates, are at the very least,naive,the AFL's melee rule provides a clue.

As stated earlier,I support Andrew 100% in his actions.
Friends and family will remain long after a playing career is finished.
My advice to him? Avoid placing yourself in those situations.
I have no intention of revisiting this topic,and have been loathe to give this issue any more oxygen,moronic club administrators can fuel the media.

Oh,and for those who imagined a man to man verbal dressing down,the players were advised of their penalties via text message.

Piss weak stuff this. Seems to me that there might be a lack of leadership around the place and that certain administrators might not be as good as we thought.

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TC suffers from the social media illness - the death of respect and constructive discourse by keyboard.

QFMFT

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*(grow - fun - gah)

Yeah but whatabout your whataboutism.

If I was Walks, I'd pretend I'm Michael Jordan and believe that Sticks is Jerry Krause...

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We are on our way back...

The penalties are not harsh enough IMO. All 3 should have packed their bags and told to go away from the club till the end of April. They are still part of the club because they are training with our VFL side. IF you want to change the culture impose harsher penalties. For Houlihan and Betts who have been in trouble before its sends the wrong message. Walker should of been home not with an obvious halfwit like Houlihan so I have no sympathy for him either. He needs to get smarter.

Who was the bloke chained to the kid and who was involved in that. No mention of that in both statements.This is utterly pathetic by the club. The most serious incident and is not even mentioned in both statements. Unbelievable

And the fact that the penalties were relayed via text message. Havent mobile phones added a new dimension of avoidance to difficult situations. What about facing them sticks and @#$%&! telling them. NO because you havent got any balls if what DOA says is correct.

What about Ratten's role yesterday. Did he do anything.

What about Judd. He would have known what went on at WC when he was captain. Now he lets it all happen on the boat. He is a great player but a shit leader off field full stop. We now here him say via a rehearsed written statement that me and a few other senior players shouldnt have let it happen. Ah Chris a bit late for that now.



THis club is seriously [REDACTED] at the moment. The marshmellow response to what went on, how it came out via the media, the lack of presence of our coach in all this, how the message was relayed to the offending players, no mention and action taken by the club over the Levi incident, the lack of real leadership by Judd and the rest of the leadership group tells me that there is a culture at the club that stinks and it wont be addressed with the current President and Coach.


BOTTOM LINE IN THE LAND OF THE BLIND THE ONE EYED MAN IS KING

+1

Young blokes from all reports training well, then get on the piss going into their Christmas break. So what. No one injured (other than allegedly Robbo with black eye). What a beat up. So Betts got arrested for being drunk, big deal. Did he glass anyone, smash any innocent bystander? Punishing Walks standing up for his mate just totally sux IMO. Lesson for Carlton players - next time don't stand up for your mate. Let him cop it alone. Score: Herald Sun 3 - Carlton 0. Maybe introducing fines for going near Crown would be worth considering - Oh but hang on that might hurt sponsorship $ and we couldn't possibly have that.