What the heck? Melbourne draftee Interviews

[loki04]

Yeah, it's been happening - doesn't get to personal abuse levels as speculated here.

But if the guys have vision of a player doing something they're not happy with, they'll demand an answer as to why the player keeps doing that - and will show them vision of them repeatedly doing it.

They'll ask the player how good they are, who they're better then in the draft and where they should be picked.

Hardly harsh, just a bit of an edge to it.

You guys told Grundy he looked soft with his long hair and he replied well the whole Melbourne midfield is Soft so I wont be alone.

 

[pantskyle]

My brother attended the draft camp a couple of years ago and told me that neeld and Melbourne asked a kid to call a horse race as part of his interview.

Was he fapping to this?

Only reason I can come up with as to why he would do this.

 

[Hellgood]

Choco Williams had a big reputation for this kind of stuff:

- Got Tom Rockliff to take off his shirt in an interview to prove he wasn't fat
- Gave Matt Lobbe a grilling over why he might be percieved to be a "mummy's boy" - proceeded to draft him anyway and it seems it's worked out bloody well for us now, but for the few years it took for him to come on it seemed a bit of an odd call.
- Pat Veszpremi was a bit naive and put down his hotmail email address in his contact detail section... apparently Choco spent more than a few minutes enquiring why Veszpremi referred to himself as a horny_devil

Didn't just reserve this kind of stuff for prospective draftees, there was an interview in Matt Broadbent's first or second year where he was a bit miffed that Choco's policy was to only include those who he deemed to be in his "top 30" to be allowed to sit in on tactics meetings.

Definitely a polarising figure - it seemed that zaniness and "initiation" techniques worked pretty well for a while, but once they went stale the culture of the footy club turned bad very quickly.

 

[ziad]

obviously time for a change at melbourne

 

[Badesumofu]

If I was one of the best 50 17 year olds in the country and Melbourne interviewed me and started abusing me, I think my reaction would be to laugh at how s**t they are, tell them to get stuffed and ask that they please not draft me. Actually, I wouldn't even agree to be interviewed by them in the first place.

 

[Turbocat]

I think there should be a line that should not be crossed , and the AFL should monitor these tactics. Some of the stuff described here would cause issue if it happened of field. Imagine a interview that went down the path race or religion. There must be a line.

But to say I kid is going to stick your club etc is not professional either. There will be time when media are tough with players , the players will need to cope with above normal pressure.

All kids should be briefed on what is acceptable. They should have right of query if it go outside that. All interviews should be recorded for AFL reference.

 

[calyam]

Multi million dollar organisations with access to the best facilities, systems and people and the best they can come up with for a recruitment strategy is to through a few things at a draftee/insult and belittle them to what prove their manhood or whatever. Wonder if the same clubs are surprised when 2 years down the track trades are requested.

I get that footy is unlike other jobs and a fierce competitiveness is required to succeed. But alienating and bullying blokes on first go (remember first impressions last) hardly seems the way to go about it.

With free agency, 18 teams and big money and 5 cities to pick from clubs need to sell themselves as a cohesive place with a strong base who pull together for success and are an attractive proposition to play for and be a part of. Not some dictatorial organisation that then bleats about gen y when things inevitably turn to s**t.

Recruitment in general is still remarkably unsophisticated (for both football and non-football industries). Though rumours like this are so far removed from the US sports recruitment where it is all about showing how awesome they are, particularly at the college level.

 

[Pies12]

To be honest, if Choco Williams tried to call me gay I'd probably say "so what if I am mate? If you reckon that's an issue then you're club can get ******." If he was impressed, I wouldn't be and I'd tell him to get ****** again. And if I was drafted to that club I'd get a trade.

Money is irrelevant. Fame is irrelevant. This is a young kid jumping out of his skin at the chance to even see a guy with a club polo come ask him something. You don't need to be Freud to come up with some decent, revealing questions that peddle between "how are you a team-oriented person?" cliches and "so you're a f** hey?" brashness.

Stephen Hill is so quiet. He's really shy. You can hear it in the way he speaks, see it in his posture, and see the way he sticks his arse out when he goes for a tackle that he isn't a physically tough or an abrasive person. I'm sure he's a nice guy and how would he cope with being called gay? Or been made to have some college-dorm-like initiation to be shamed and embarrassed by calling a horse race in front of grown men slapping each other, laughing at you?

Just proves how much of a boys club the AFL really is. And drafting. It's all about you and your mates and outside of that, no one else means or is worth anything. Footy clubs can be s**t clubs at junior and ammo level and I have absolutely no doubt it creeps into AFL level.

You just need to see Nathan Buckley embarrassing Harry O'Brien for his beliefs and thoughts. Who gives a s**t if Harry O reckons being someone being gay isn't an issue? Or that his club's owner is racist, tactless prick? Nathan Buckley humiliated him for who he is in front of his colleagues and mates and people he spends every day with. Collingwood Football Club isn't a normal work environment, but it is a professional one.

They should all act like professionals.

What an extraordinary post, I wonder if you believe all that garbage you just spewed out.

What a idiotic comment

 

[F_therest]

If I was one of the best 50 17 year olds in the country and Melbourne interviewed me and started abusing me, I think my reaction would be to laugh at how s**t they are, tell them to get stuffed and ask that they please not draft me. Actually, I wouldn't even agree to be interviewed by them in the first place.

Why break your balls trying to impress these idiots when you know you'll be picked up by a better club anyway

 

[Suit]

I heard similar stories about Mark Williams. Like throwing things at the 'draftee' while being interviewed or insisting they are gay & continually badgering them. He used to like when a player would react aggressively to him rather than be intimidated. It's his way of testing their mental strength. Not sure it really proves much - except he's a jerk

Williams: Be honest, you're a homosexual.
Me: Ask Pauline.....
Me: She has first hand knowledge.
Williams: (choking on his chewy)

 

[Galileo9]

Thought Gold Coast made him do that.

They're harsh as in there. Allen Christensen got absolutely berated for being slightly overweight.

Wah wah they're a bit harsh on them. They are about to be drafted to an AFL club which will see them make more money than anyone else their age, they can handle 10 minutes of intense pressure and "bullying" I'm sure, nothing compared to what would be said/done to them out on the field. Better than saying "yeah look Melbourne FC is the best I swear! We'll be good next year real good! We need ya bad, you're great, we'll play you from round 1!"

I dont think just because you earn a bit more money that you should accept abuse. crock of shite.

If choco said something like some people have been saying on this board, i would tell him to shut his fat ass up.

confidence in being able to give a quick reply verbally has nothing to do with football ability. this isnt an interview to be a lawyer.

 

[manboob]

Why break your balls trying to impress these idiots when you know you'll be picked up by a better club anyway

I do everything to make sure they didn't wanna pick me.

 

[manboob]

All kids should be briefed on what is acceptable. They should have right of query if it go outside that. All interviews should be recorded for AFL reference.

This should be done from a player welfare stance, who knows it might have helped Brisbane...

 

[TedDougChris]

I think there should be a line that should not be crossed , and the AFL should monitor these tactics. Some of the stuff described here would cause issue if it happened of field. Imagine a interview that went down the path race or religion. There must be a line.

But to say I kid is going to stick your club etc is not professional either. There will be time when media are tough with players , the players will need to cope with above normal pressure.

All kids should be briefed on what is acceptable. They should have right of query if it go outside that. All interviews should be recorded for AFL reference.

Agreed. It's a massive risk in job interviews to ask about family/personal matters, as it exposes you to potential lawsuits if the candidate is not selected.

In a previous role in a remote mining town, we had to find out how family members were coming across with the potential candidate if selected, so we would know early if we had a housing issue (ie we only had X houses with 5 or 6 bedrooms in them). But you cannot ask if they are married, have kids etc. Bloody tough.

Going out and accusing someone of being gay to get a reaction is bloody idiotic and will come back to haunt someone if they continue to use this approach.

 

[C4[2]Yo`DooR]

Choco Williams had a big reputation for this kind of stuff:

- Got Tom Rockliff to take off his shirt in an interview to prove he wasn't fat
- Gave Matt Lobbe a grilling over why he might be percieved to be a "mummy's boy" - proceeded to draft him anyway and it seems it's worked out bloody well for us now, but for the few years it took for him to come on it seemed a bit of an odd call.
- Pat Veszpremi was a bit naive and put down his hotmail email address in his contact detail section... apparently Choco spent more than a few minutes enquiring why Veszpremi referred to himself as a horny_devil

Didn't just reserve this kind of stuff for prospective draftees, there was an interview in Matt Broadbent's first or second year where he was a bit miffed that Choco's policy was to only include those who he deemed to be in his "top 30" to be allowed to sit in on tactics meetings.

Definitely a polarising figure - it seemed that zaniness and "initiation" techniques worked pretty well for a while, but once they went stale the culture of the footy club turned bad very quickly.

When he was coach of Port, a certain draftee (who plays at Richmond) was asked by Chocco during the draft camp if he was the kind of person who just accepted every random friend request he received on Myspace (which was all of the hype back then).

 

[regpies]

Choco Williams had a big reputation for this kind of stuff:

- Got Tom Rockliff to take off his shirt in an interview to prove he wasn't fat
- Gave Matt Lobbe a grilling over why he might be percieved to be a "mummy's boy" - proceeded to draft him anyway and it seems it's worked out bloody well for us now, but for the few years it took for him to come on it seemed a bit of an odd call.
- Pat Veszpremi was a bit naive and put down his hotmail email address in his contact detail section... apparently Choco spent more than a few minutes enquiring why Veszpremi referred to himself as a horny_devil

Didn't just reserve this kind of stuff for prospective draftees, there was an interview in Matt Broadbent's first or second year where he was a bit miffed that Choco's policy was to only include those who he deemed to be in his "top 30" to be allowed to sit in on tactics meetings.

Definitely a polarising figure - it seemed that zaniness and "initiation" techniques worked pretty well for a while, but once they went stale the culture of the footy club turned bad very quickly.

No wonder GWS didn't make him head coach

 

[KingJ]

No wonder GWS didn't make him head coach

Yeah and we got him, brilliant

 

[HFF]

There was a "rumour" doing the rounds with Brodie Grundy being interviewed by Melbourne and Neeld basically stating to him that his hair cut made him look soft like a big girl in which Grundy replied with "well you've got the softest midfield so I'd fit right in" or something along those lines. Not sure how true this was but it certainly did the rounds and gained traction.

Grundy was also quite "infamous" with his line of questioning to SOS and GWS once they were all done with their questions.The boy sure isn't afraid to speak when it's his turn.

 

[Macca19]

Melbournes drafting the past couple of years has only been second to only Collingwood.
So whatever Melbourne are doing, keep doing it!

lol wat?

Every single player Melbourne drafted two years ago, whether that be National or Rookie draft has now been delisted. Every single one. How is that great?

 

[clipboardbinocs]

It's not just Melbourne.

It's used to assess the ability of a potential draftee to handle criticism and how they react under pressure.

It's an elite environment, no point presenting it as anything else but cut throat.

 

[telsor]

Not football related, but I've given a few technical interviews over the years.

Generally, I'll just ask more and more difficult questions until I get to one they don't know the answer to.

Beyond a certain level (depending on role), I don't really care what they do or don't know, but I really care how they react when they don't know...Lie and you're gone. Say you don't know, but you'll find out by doing X/Y/Z and you've done well.

Point is, often it's not the questions but the reaction to them that matters.

 

[nottenthagain]

Brodie Grundy... well played.

If someone had tried the Williams line to me I would have asked if he was serious, if he'd said yes, I'd have shook everyone else's hand in the room thanked them, wished them luck and walked out. If the other officials are happy with a representative of their club acting in that way then who'd want to be a part of that organisation?

 

[Tulip]

lol wat?

Every single player Melbourne drafted two years ago, whether that be National or Rookie draft has now been delisted. Every single one. How is that great?

Check that draft out tbf.

Five players over pick 20 who will make it at this stage. Pick 12 went to Clark.

 

[I am Jack]

lol wat?

Every single player Melbourne drafted two years ago, whether that be National or Rookie draft has now been delisted. Every single one. How is that great?

Terlich, Clisby, McDonald.
All nothing picks and all solid performers.

They managed to get Viney and Toumpas for 2 and 26.

Time will tell whether Hogan, Barry, Dawes and Clark are also masterstrokes.

Dees have bounced back the past couple of years.

 

[Macca19]

1 year. Singular.