Past #13: Jared Polec - delisted end '21 - redrafted w/ #1 in '21 RD - re-delisted end '22 - 42 NM games/20 NM goals

Jun 9, 2001
37,642
145,026
Fogarty Street
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Other Teams
St Johnstone

That's a really interesting dynamic there.

Selfishly I hope Jared can get some rapport with those lads and get firing on-field for us. But regardless hopefully he's getting some future friendships out of his time at North Melbourne.
 
It took our savior Sir Noble to acknowledge my angst, your angst and plenty of other NMFC peoples angst. He did they by way of getting rid of 19 players plus some rookies. And then the medical staff and a few other coaches and hangers-on
Noble absolutely did not get rid of 19 players. That direction was set 6 months before he was hired. Don't rewrite history.
 

franjon

Premiership Player
Oct 27, 2004
3,272
2,582
Altona
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Other Teams
none
There’s nothing damning about it at all, he’s committed to our rookie list. It’s also a misconception he’s free just because we’ve got money in on him, do you think he’s going to just walk to another club for minimum wage?

There’s plenty of players that have been shifted to clubs rookie lists, I don’t think it’s damning on any of them that other clubs are honouring clubs using the delist and rookie system.
Exactly. It was a joint decision. The club have said that if his selection is warranted, he will get it. It wouldnt bother me if Tom Lynch got a few games either. Obviously Adelaide have their path that they are going down, but I don't think he is finished.
 
Mar 16, 2001
23,964
55,788
Melbourne VIC
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Other Teams
Wales, Eastwood, West Ham
That's a really interesting dynamic there.

Selfishly I hope Jared can get some rapport with those lads and get firing on-field for us. But regardless hopefully he's getting some future friendships out of his time at North Melbourne.
So it may not be true that he’s a weird unit who doesn’t talk to anyone at the club? I’d hate to have to rethink my external snap judgements about him.
 
Mar 17, 2012
14,550
45,182
Caught in the web.
AFL Club
North Melbourne
That's a really interesting dynamic there.

Selfishly I hope Jared can get some rapport with those lads and get firing on-field for us. But regardless hopefully he's getting some future friendships out of his time at North Melbourne.

They're all got 1 thing in common and that's young kids.

They could hate each other's guts, but when you have a group of new mother's at a club they will congregate together and the blokes won't have any say in it.
 

The Anvil

Club Legend
Oct 5, 2004
2,299
5,993
AFL Club
North Melbourne
So it may not be true that he’s a weird unit who doesn’t talk to anyone at the club? I’d hate to have to rethink my external snap judgements about him.

I’ve never understood this talk of him not being one of the boys.

At my work, many of the best contributors are those that get in, work hard, get outcomes for the business, yet aim to keep their social and work lives with some degree of separation.

I suspect GAJ was similar and by all reports he went alright on the field.


On iPad using BigFooty.com mobile app
 

B4Bear

Norm Smith Medallist
Jul 6, 2011
8,215
16,492
Melbourne
AFL Club
North Melbourne
I’ve never understood this talk of him not being one of the boys.

At my work, many of the best contributors are those that get in, work hard, get outcomes for the business, yet aim to keep their social and work lives with some degree of separation.

I suspect GAJ was similar and by all reports he went alright on the field.


On iPad using BigFooty.com mobile app
Except that GAJ as the founding captain of the GC was an atrocious leader and captain.

The off-field issues and dysfunctional nature of that club for nearly a decade can be in large part blamed on the standards and level of leadership he provided.

And if the rumours are true, he and his 'religious brethren' were a distinct and separate group to a larger part of the playing group.

Great player, s**t leader.
 

franjon

Premiership Player
Oct 27, 2004
3,272
2,582
Altona
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Other Teams
none
So it may not be true that he’s a weird unit who doesn’t talk to anyone at the club? I’d hate to have to rethink my external snap judgements about him.
It may well be true, having worked in the music industry weird units are a common occurrence and different personalities even more common. But, it doesn't mean that he isn't buying into the club or its direction. I've always thought that the best coaches are the one's that can manage people, the football part should be a non-negotiable anyway, but I think dealing with different personalities should be regarded just as important. I'm very good at stating the obvious. :)
 

The Dingrel

Norm Smith Medallist
Jun 25, 2013
5,414
10,771
Brisbane
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Other Teams
Brisbane Bandits
Except that GAJ as the founding captain of the GC was an atrocious leader and captain.

The off-field issues and dysfunctional nature of that club for nearly a decade can be in large part blamed on the standards and level of leadership he provided.

And if the rumours are true, he and his 'religious brethren' were a distinct and separate group to a larger part of the playing group.

Great player, sh*t leader.

Hmmm I get what you're saying, but to be fair you can't attribute his religious persuasion for leadership shortcomings. Loads of fanatics are still following a bloke called Jesus a couple of thousand years on. I don't think you can blame GAJ for the AFL's stunt (rhymes with Hunt) of bringing in a league player prone to shoving substances up their snout. Yeah, strong leadership is required for any club particularly a fledgling one, but the Bears were an abject failure on the coast and don't see how time changes anything there. No disrespect to the residents of the Gold Coast, but its just not a place to assemble 40 odd young blokes mostly from interstate, and expect them to maintain a 100pct focused work ethic.
 
Last edited:

B4Bear

Norm Smith Medallist
Jul 6, 2011
8,215
16,492
Melbourne
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Hmmm I get what you're saying, but to be fair you can't attribute his religious persuasion for leadership shortcomings. Loads of fanatics are still following a bloke called Jesus a couple of thousand years on. I don't think you can blame GAJ for the AFL's stunt (rhymes with Hunt) of bringing in a league player prone to shoving substances up their snout. Yeah, strong leadership is required for any club particularly a fledgling one, but the Bears were an abject failure on the coast and don't see how time changes anything there. No disrespect to the residents of the Gold Coast, but its just not a place to assemble 40 odd young blokes mostly from interstate, and expect them to maintain a 100pct focused work ethic.

He endorsed their stunt by accepting the captain's position. As for the religious thing, like I said the 'rumour' is all I have to go on. But if true, it split the playing group and that is a poor leadership quality, regardless of cause.
 
He endorsed their stunt by accepting the captain's position. As for the religious thing, like I said the 'rumour' is all I have to go on. But if true, it split the playing group and that is a poor leadership quality, regardless of cause.
If you've got a strict Christian fundy on one hand and a highly paid League player with a reputation for partying on the other then there is a big potential for division right there. I dunno if you can blame one person or the other.

One of the problems with GAj at the Suns was he was too good and had a habit of carrying the side. All the younger players who should have been shouldering the load and learning seemed to step back and let Ablett do the work. That was bad for the development of those players. The GC would have been better off with Spitta than Ablett because he wasn't as good but did have a very strong work ethic and was courageous in the contest.
 

the flying ham

Cancelled
Dec 12, 2006
7,403
16,059
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Except that GAJ as the founding captain of the GC was an atrocious leader and captain.

The off-field issues and dysfunctional nature of that club for nearly a decade can be in large part blamed on the standards and level of leadership he provided.

And if the rumours are true, he and his 'religious brethren' were a distinct and separate group to a larger part of the playing group.

Great player, sh*t leader.
Good thing Polec isnt captain. The point of being a good player and perhaps also being a square peg is perfectly fine and GAJ a good analogy.
 

the flying ham

Cancelled
Dec 12, 2006
7,403
16,059
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Some over thinking on these past few pages re Jared

Simply needs to contest and win ball to rebuild confidence

Confidence player not dissimilar to our reigning B&F
Agreed. Limited pre season is probably the biggest indicator of poor form and he had a terrible one which was compounded by other soft tissue injuries. Which stemmed from his s**t pre season. If he gets a run at it he will be ok and playing senior footy
 
Oct 12, 2008
9,077
20,412
The North of Melbourne
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Except that GAJ as the founding captain of the GC was an atrocious leader and captain.

The off-field issues and dysfunctional nature of that club for nearly a decade can be in large part blamed on the standards and level of leadership he provided.

And if the rumours are true, he and his 'religious brethren' were a distinct and separate group to a larger part of the playing group.

Great player, sh*t leader.

I remember thinking at the time that GWS would fail and GC would succeed because GC got Gary Jr. and the best GWS could manage was Tom Scully. Turned out to be basically the opposite, GWS were able to build a much better culture with a solid leadership group that weren't necessarily the best players in the competition, but knew how to lead a group of young men. Probably weren't religious weirdos either.

Getting Gary Jr. seems like a complete mistake in hindsight. They appear to have been more concerned with attracting an audience in the extremely short term than building something that could stand the test of time, same deal with Karmichael Hunt. And it's honestly hard to see them turning it around. I could see the AFL just giving up and handing their license to Southport or something.
 
Back