Harley Bennell pictured cutting lines of speed - Courier Mail

[Purple Suit]

How much influence do 'role models' have?

I don't see kids picking up bibles and following Abbletts faith.

Kids less than 12 are not going to be able to buy drugs or even likely to know the fav player used as they dont watch news.

Yet most of us have found out by not watching news. Why would a 10-18 year old be any different?

A lot of things influence kids. I just think going this far isn't necessary from the paper when the basic story is out there and the AFL / Suns would already know what was happening a few years ago by now.

 

[numchuks]

We all know footballers do drugs.

But any footballer who uses is stupid enough to allows themselves to have photos taken of them using drugs, deserves everything they get tbh.

Bennel is a deadshit.

 

[manboob]

What exactly did the Hun do to Buddy? I can't remember

Stitched him up with that nightclub thing in 2013 some chick alleged on Facebook that he was a bit mean to her and the HUN ran it as the back page story. They went after him pretty hard.

 

[slimdusty4]

I'd call what you're suggesting to be an enforced suspension, which you were explicitly stating it wasn't. And I'd hope the AFLPA comes down hard on any club that thinks such a course of action, given the circumstances, is fair and reasonable. It's hanging him out to dry, not improving his life.



What is the relevance? The AFL illicit drug policy treats them exactly the same.

This might come as a shock to you, but the 18/19 year olds at AFL clubs are regularly hitting the town with teammates in their mid-late 20s (and occasionally older). They also make many times more what their apprentice and uni student mates earn. Even the rookie listers would be on a relatively 'good wicket', compared to the average person in their late teens/early twenties. The opportunity is constantly there and they don't have to dig too hard to find whatever it is that they're after.

I'm now changing my stance, as in my new stance is: all you want to do is argue, I've already stated; do what is best for the human being.

as for your 'ideas' on what rookies make, it's peanuts, as little as 800 a week after tax. so when you have to live out of home and pay rent, buy appliances (even with the shitty relocation allowance), etc, its not good at all.
do you think its a coincidence that a whole footy club is found to have a social problem? when the club is brand new, with no onfield leaders, or good influences, and that same club is full of young impressionable teens, located on the gold coast?
gws don't have this issue.

wake the fcuk up lloyd.

 

[basil_zempilas]

I heard Hodge still uses and in 2013 GF was on meth.

I heard it was 2014, find another excuse for your teams performance.

 

[Underarm]

GCS must boot Bennell out. They need to send a no nonsense message to everyone. Bennell needs to be made an example of. Without proper punishment, how will they show to the rest of the squad that Illegal drugs will not be tolerated. And if the AFL and AFLPA don't back them up, how will any club be able to control it ever?

 

[The_Reaper]

GCS must boot Bennell out. They need to send a no nonsense message to everyone. Bennell needs to be made an example of. Without proper punishment, how will they show to the rest of the squad that Illegal drugs will not be tolerated. And if the AFL and AFLPA don't back them up, how will any club be able to control it ever?

Straight swap for Scott Selwood

 

[manboob]

GCS must boot Bennell out. They need to send a no nonsense message to everyone. Bennell needs to be made an example of. Without proper punishment, how will they show to the rest of the squad that Illegal drugs will not be tolerated. And if the AFL and AFLPA don't back them up, how will any club be able to control it ever?

Why Bennell? There are allegedly 11 others. Just because he was stupid enough to have a photo taken. I dare say it's not the last photo we'll see either...

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

I'm now changing my stance, as in my new stance is: all you want to do is argue, I've already stated; do what is best for the human being.

as for your 'ideas' on what rookies make, it's peanuts, as little as 800 a week after tax. so when you have to live out of home and pay rent, buy appliances (even with the shitty relocation allowance), etc, its not good at all.

As far as I'm aware, any young player that has to relocate has a host family made available to them. That's certainly how it works at Geelong. And when that's not available, an older teammate will take them in, or a group of young teammates will live together and probably pay about $150-250 a week for rent. If first year uni students can manage it working part time for 15 hours a week, AFL players shouldn't have the slightest problem.

do you think its a coincidence that a whole footy club is found to have a social problem? when the club is brand new, with no onfield leaders, or good influences, and that same club is full of young impressionable teens, located on the gold coast?
gws don't have this issue.

wake the fcuk up lloyd.

I don't think the club has a social problem. I think its on field results have been poor, due to circumstances that have nothing to do with the players partying too much and the footy media is looking for something that's a bit less boring than 'half a dozen of its top ten players have been injured for most of the season.'

Gold Coast was absolutely flying, in terms of results, as recently as twelve months ago. I should know: I went up to watch Geelong v Gold Coast in June last year and watched Bennell kick a lazy 6.3. He seemed to be going ok then, from my vantage point, and so were the Suns. My mob got belted. Then Ablett went down (and has barely played since) and other valuable players continued to drop like flies and the Suns have gone down the toilet.

If you think Gold Coast has any problems off the field that are contributing to its poor win/loss record, then those same problems either didn't exist twelve months ago, or they pretty clearly didn't cause the same issues with on-field performance.

 

[Keys]

GCS must boot Bennell out. They need to send a no nonsense message to everyone. Bennell needs to be made an example of. Without proper punishment, how will they show to the rest of the squad that Illegal drugs will not be tolerated. And if the AFL and AFLPA don't back them up, how will any club be able to control it ever?

Why?

They would have known about this before the picture appeared, so what has changed in terms of what the club and the playing group knew

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

s**t form by the media to print these pics.

He's doing nothing different to any number of players at any number of clubs, but he's hung out to dry.

 

[BEEG]

What a waste, seriously f*** this arsehole.

Glad he went to a soulless manufactured franchise.

Rofl it's a massive amount of AFL players doing it

weekend on the gear will lose weight weekend on the piss put weight on

 

[Biggy_Boy]

Why?

They would have known about this before the picture appeared, so what has changed in terms of what the club and the playing group knew

The picture will just generate far more severe public scrutiny on the individual and the club. Sometimes that can affect how a club operates and the course of action it chooses to take.

He is by no means the only player in that team, let alone the competition, taking illicit substances. He was just dumb enough to let someone take photos of him doing it. Unfortunately, we live in a society where everyone has a camera in their pocket, so you need to be careful about what you're doing and who you're around when doing it.

 

[BORK]

Stitched him up with that nightclub thing in 2013 some chick alleged on Facebook that he was a bit mean to her and the HUN ran it as the back page story. They went after him pretty hard.

I remember an admin on this site backing the female version of events pretty hard even though there was obvious missing parts of the story and it was something not worthy of being printed(hats more interesting).

 

[peppy la pew]

s**t form by the media to print these pics.

He's doing nothing different to any number of players at any number of clubs, but he's hung out to dry.

Nor the journos either

scumbags

Watch Slobbo act so conflicted tomorrow

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

GCS must boot Bennell out. They need to send a no nonsense message to everyone. Bennell needs to be made an example of. Without proper punishment, how will they show to the rest of the squad that Illegal drugs will not be tolerated. And if the AFL and AFLPA don't back them up, how will any club be able to control it ever?

If clubs booted every player that was caught or suspected of using drugs, you'd be running out with your beloved Tiges this weekend.

As an "AA" told a work colleague of mine a few years back "everyone is on it".

 

[Crankyhawk]

I reckon I could count the number of people within the heriachy of the AFL that didn't know Harley Bennell was doing illicit drugs on one hand after all my fingers had been cut off so this photo doesn't alert them to something they didn't already know.

The question now is how will the AFL react to something they already knew about but hadn't acted on because proof of what they knew has entered the public domain - they can say bennell has brought the game into disrepute but he wasn't the one that published the photo. So if they weren't going to punish him yesterday why should he be punished now

AFL should be shooting the media for choosing to publish the photo. Not sure how it is newsworthy that someone has used drugs.

 

[Crankyhawk]

LOL if robbo or caro saw that they would laugh at you , I get what you mean though it shouldn't be this way but this is life . Journos will do anything for a story . Legit the way they break a horrible story they almost seem sadisitc. They love it , it rakes in the $$$$ . They don't give a s**t about the player or others concerned

All afl clubs should deny herald sun any press access. F**k them over big time.

 

[YippeeYiYeo]

How much influence do 'role models' have?

I don't see kids picking up bibles and following Abbletts faith..

that's because despite Abletts nickname, most kids know he isn't really god.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

All afl clubs should deny herald sun any press access. F**k them over big time.

This is exactly what happened during the "injunction", with all AFL players refusing to answer or acknowledge questions from Channel 7 journos.

 

[Keys]

The picture will just generate far more severe public scrutiny on the individual and the club. Sometimes that can affect how a club operates and the course of action it chooses to take.

He is by no means the only player in that team, let alone the competition, taking illicit substances. He was just dumb enough to let someone take photos of him doing it. Unfortunately, we live in a society where everyone has a camera in their pocket, so you need to be careful about what you're doing and who you're around when doing it.

This is the problem - the AFL will act because of the photo and the damage it does to their brand - not because its the right thing to do, not because they only just learnt that Benell was using drugs, not because they want to make an example of him to other players but because it became public.

Always the AFL are behind on these things they know but don't act until it becomes public - it happened with West Coast and their drug issues, it happened with Essendon and the supplements and now its happening with Gold Coast. They sit on it hoping it goes away, try to bury it until it blows up in their face and they feign surprise

 

[Underarm]

If clubs booted every player that was caught or suspected of using drugs, you'd be running out with your beloved Tiges this weekend.

As an "AA" told a work colleague of mine a few years back "everyone is on it".

the 'everyone else does it' defence?
I know there are players at every club using, but I'm not sure that makes it okay. From what the media have been saying there is a bit of an epidemic up on the Coast, IMO the club needs to take a harder line.

 

[Shoota Welsh]

Scum. Suspend him immediately.

oh shut up you are daft if you dont think A LOT of the afl are on hard drugs. yes, those at port adelaide as well.... it is actually very common the afl just cover it all up

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

the 'everyone else does it' defence?
I know there are players at every club using, but I'm not sure that makes it okay. From what the media have been saying there is a bit of an epidemic up on the Coast, IMO the club needs to take a harder line.

It's not a defence, but more a reality.

Why should Bennell be hung out to dry while numerous others get strikes, and no media attention whatsoever?

 

[jc12]

If clubs booted every player that was caught or suspected of using drugs, you'd be running out with your beloved Tiges this weekend.

As an "AA" told a work colleague of mine a few years back "everyone is on it".

Yep , young , rich , can do more things than the average man , drugs will always come into it