Mega Thread 2017 Media Thread

[E Shed]

Your memory leaves a lot to be desired.

I am pleased my perception of things differs from yours.

 

[clivenator26]

2.50 of this, I suspect this still may not register with certain sycophants of this board that Harley at least once has partaken in drug use. Oh wait, they didn't name the actual drug so it could mean he snorted nurofen.

 

[E Shed]

2.50 of this, I suspect this still may not register with certain sycophants of this board that Harley at least once has partaken in drug use. Oh wait, they didn't name the actual drug so it could mean he snorted nurofen.

The issue under discussion (at least how it started off) was not whether Bennell has ever taken recreational drugs, that is not in doubt.

What is being discussed is that despite doing everything right & working his butt off and keeping a good attitude to rehab (according to Lyon) Bennell is still regularly subjected to innuendo and outright suggestion from the media that he is not injured and there is some darker explanation (read between the lines - he's still taking drugs).

Lyon has suggested there is an element of racism in this, i.e. that a white bloke (like say Carlisle) would no be subject to the same treatment.
You can believe it or not, personally I believe that there is an element of this particularly from some West Coast fans and their own sycophants in the media who take any opportunity to tar Freo with the same brush as WC has been completely painted over with.

 

[ydraw]

The issue under discussion (at least how it started off) was not whether Bennell has ever taken recreational drugs, that is not in doubt.

What is being discussed is that despite doing everything right & working his butt off and keeping a good attitude to rehab (according to Lyon) Bennell is still regularly subjected to innuendo and outright suggestion from the media that he is not injured and there is some darker explanation (read between the lines - he's still taking drugs).

Lyon has suggested there is an element of racism in this, i.e. that a white bloke (like say Carlisle) would no be subject to the same treatment.

Yes he has suggested this, but you seem to be missing why. He's done it to take the heat off the club. The rumours and innuendo have started because Bennell's been out for over 2 years with a calf injury. That's longer than most people are out with an ACL. Understandably, much of the general public don't understand why it's taking so long to fix a calf injury.

The reason's Lyon's comments are stupid is because they imply that this sort of situation is common and that usually no mention is made of drugs. Sorry, but someone missing close to 2 seasons with a calf injury is not common at all. I can't ever remember of it happening before. That person being someone who was traded by their last club for off-field behaviour issues makes this a fairly specific, isolated case. For Lyon to say it's a common situation and drugs are only mentioned because of race is perplexing to say the least.

Now personally I don't think it's got anything whatsoever to do with drugs. If Bennell had a drug problem so severe it kept him out for 2 years he'd be sacked already.

I do think though, that the injury is much more severe than the club is letting on. This means one of two things:

1. Our doctors completely failed when it came to testing Bennell before recruiting him. If they had known he'd be missing 18 months or more of footy then we would never have recruited him (or at least wouldn't have given up a 1st round pick)

OR

2. His injury has been badly mismanaged since he arrived at the club.

Now either way it looks pretty ordinary on our medical staff. Hence the wish to cover it up in-club. You certainly don't want to give the impression that your club's medico's aren't top notch, that is the sort of thing that would make it difficult to recruit players. But the facts are that we have the worst injury record in the league and nothing seems to be improving on that front.

Personally I'd like to see club officials directly address the issue of why our injury list is so long and has had so many examples of recurring injuries, rather than go around calling everyone racists in the media.

 

[E Shed]

1. Our doctors completely failed when it came to testing Bennell before recruiting him. If they had known he'd be missing 18 months or more of footy then we would never have recruited him (or at least wouldn't have given up a 1st round pick)

OR

2. His injury has been badly mismanaged since he arrived at the club.

Now either way it looks pretty ordinary on our medical staff. Hence the wish to cover it up in-club. You certainly don't want to give the impression that your club's medico's aren't top notch, that is the sort of thing that would make it difficult to recruit players. But the facts are that we have the worst injury record in the league and nothing seems to be improving on that front.

Personally I'd like to see club officials directly address the issue of why our injury list is so long and has had so many examples of recurring injuries, rather than go around calling everyone racists in the media.

You make some good points.
I think Bennell (like some other players there) was badly managed by GC and a few of them (notably Swallow and O'Meara) haven't played much footy over those 2 years either.

I would imagine our medical was thorough, the quality of the people doing it I can't speak to. I will say that I've heard directly from someone whose information is always spot on that Alex Pearce had been complaining of soreness for some time before he injured his leg, perhaps the amount of players already retired for the year and his youth made them think he should stay out there but its a terrible result especially given he has done it again so soon, I believe his enthusiasm is hard to curb when it comes to pushing himself but it shouldn't have happened, twice.

Having said all that I believe the club has taken an extremely conservative position with Bennell with the intention to get him right once and for all before putting him out there. Who knows what long term was done at GC playing him through it and lets face it, we could afford to give him the year off last year. I'm sure they thought that once he'd had a year off he would fly through pre-season but the latest setback saw them resort to drastic measures.

Lyon didn't try to palm it all off on racism, he specifically addressed the innuendo that continues to come and said he thought it was perhaps exacerbated by Harley being indigenous. I personally don't see that as an outrageous proposition.

 

[Deveraux]

Lyon is clearly responding to something specific that has been said or reported so it's not just "playing the race card". It is holding them, whoever they are, to be responsible for what they say.

Action and reaction. A far cry from what some are getting all excited about here.

About the whether it's his calves keeping him out or not.... have you seen them things they are almost non existant, I'm not surprised they're a serious issue. Which is a shame obviously as it may be ongoing

 

[Grandstan]

Yes he has suggested this, but you seem to be missing why. He's done it to take the heat off the club. The rumours and innuendo have started because Bennell's been out for over 2 years with a calf injury. That's longer than most people are out with an ACL. Understandably, much of the general public don't understand why it's taking so long to fix a calf injury.

The reason's Lyon's comments are stupid is because they imply that this sort of situation is common and that usually no mention is made of drugs. Sorry, but someone missing close to 2 seasons with a calf injury is not common at all. I can't ever remember of it happening before. That person being someone who was traded by their last club for off-field behaviour issues makes this a fairly specific, isolated case. For Lyon to say it's a common situation and drugs are only mentioned because of race is perplexing to say the least.

Now personally I don't think it's got anything whatsoever to do with drugs. If Bennell had a drug problem so severe it kept him out for 2 years he'd be sacked already.

I do think though, that the injury is much more severe than the club is letting on. This means one of two things:

1. Our doctors completely failed when it came to testing Bennell before recruiting him. If they had known he'd be missing 18 months or more of footy then we would never have recruited him (or at least wouldn't have given up a 1st round pick)

OR

2. His injury has been badly mismanaged since he arrived at the club.

Now either way it looks pretty ordinary on our medical staff. Hence the wish to cover it up in-club. You certainly don't want to give the impression that your club's medico's aren't top notch, that is the sort of thing that would make it difficult to recruit players. But the facts are that we have the worst injury record in the league and nothing seems to be improving on that front.

Personally I'd like to see club officials directly address the issue of why our injury list is so long and has had so many examples of recurring injuries, rather than go around calling everyone racists in the media.

I don't buy your options - either 1. doctors failed to recognise Bennell would be crippled by injury or 2. Freo caused it.
Did Freo fail to recognise that Morabito would be crippled by injury? Pitt too?
Recruiters can't predict the future, they just balance likelihoods.
So far Bennell hasn't worked out, but the deal's not a bust yet.

On the other issue, of drugs, it's simple - there are rumours flying about and Lyon is trying to stamp them out. He's staked a certain amount of his reputation on it. If Bennell was taking drugs and Lyon missed it, despite the warnings, his incompetence would be career-terminating.
Presumably he's looked into the matter, found the rumours to be based on little, and concluded that the ongoing talk is being fed by an unreasonably low expectation of Bennell due to the fact he's Aboriginal.

But this debate about perception is pointless - the real point is that people need to put up evidence of ongoing drug use, or shut up.

 

[ydraw]

I don't buy your options - either 1. doctors failed to recognise Bennell would be crippled by injury or 2. Freo caused it.
Did Freo fail to recognise that Morabito would be crippled by injury? Pitt too?
Recruiters can't predict the future, they just balance likelihoods.
So far Bennell hasn't worked out, but the deal's not a bust yet.

The difference here is that Bennell's injury was already known about when we recruited him. He came to the club already carrying that injury. He missed 6 games with it in 2015.

 

[ydraw]

and concluded that the ongoing talk is being fed by an unreasonably low expectation of Bennell due to the fact he's Aboriginal.

That's kind of the point though. The unreasonably low expectation of Bennell is probably less due to him being aboriginal and more due to him being traded away by his last club due to his drug and alcohol issues.

 

[SHill Shall]

That's kind of the point though. The unreasonably low expectation of Bennell is probably less due to him being aboriginal and more due to him being traded away by his last club due to his drug and alcohol issues.

From my reading of the coverage I think Lyon would agree with your last statement. He led off strongly with rebuttal of current speculation that Bennell has continuing drug and alcohol issues, referencing his total commitment to rehab and high training standards. He later introduced his personal concern that some of the speculation may be driven by racial overtones.

So just stop and consider whether your strong reaction is more due to the headlines and sensational media presentation of what was said, rather than what was actually said. Once you piece together the actual quotes, I think it was entirely reasonable in support of a high profile player

 

[Grandstan]

The difference here is that Bennell's injury was already known about when we recruited him. He came to the club already carrying that injury. He missed 6 games with it in 2015.

There's no difference at all. It's not unusual for recruits to have known issues. Do I need to mention what Hawthorn just gave up for a talented youngster with known injury issues? How's Freeman worked out for St Kilda so far?

 

[blue shark]

Funny how Murray Newman was kept on the Eagles list accused of GBH, yet we part ways straight away with Yarren. Both aboriginal,
so you tell me what is the difference?

 

[Harry Reems]

There was a discussion re Harley on SEN between Waldron and Bartlett. It was a true or false segment and Waldron asked true or false is Bennell one of the worst trades in AFL history with what Freo gave up and the minimal chance of him getting on the park thru injury or what ever . Bartletts answer was yes. They both obviously forgot about the Yarran trade to Richmond.

Or the Jetta trade to the Eagles.

 

[M_rash]

A well balanced article with a few new insights;
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...n/news-story/3ae6eab0eb3a2f97ae41a2f36893df47

Ross being guarded but giving some insight into the injury. Also, who would have thunk that there were elite athletes in this world that dont play AFL - weird
Coach Ross Lyon yesterday told The Australian that he would not be rushing with Bennell because of the complexity of the injuries, which are neither muscle nor tendon tears.

“Our medical advice is that what he’s got has taken other elite athletes a full 12 months to recover from. So we’re in no hurry.

Ross indicating a likely return early in the year - no specific round set just yet
“Harley will probably have to play for three weeks for Peel in the WAFL before he’s ready. Just when that will be I’m not sure but it should be early in the season.”

The journalist touches on Harley's off field issues but doesn't mention drugs or race - snore, sooooooo boring
Bennell was an exceptional talent as a forward/midfielder for the Suns after being picked with the second overall selection in the 2010 national draft, but his five-season, 81-game career was tarnished towards the end when he was stood down by Gold Coast over several off-field incidents.

The journalist provides facts and information about the trade details - but doesn't even mention how ripped off we got or how it is the worst trade eva!
His behaviour led to the Suns trading him to the Dockers, who gave up selection Nos 16 and 35 to Gold Coast and also received the Suns’ overall pick 22

 

[ydraw]

There's no difference at all. It's not unusual for recruits to have known issues.

No it's not unusual. But it's still different to comparing him to recruits that had no known issues at the time they were recruited. There is a lot more due diligence to due when you are talking about a recruit with an extensive history of injuries.

 

[ydraw]

Having said all that I believe the club has taken an extremely conservative position with Bennell with the intention to get him right once and for all before putting him out there.

I'm not sure this is the case? He was put back in the WAFL last season and reinjured himself without finishing a single game.

We have a very poor history with recurring injuries, and this is just another example. He obviously wasn't ready to resume playing, just like Fyfe, Alex Pearce and Zac Clarke were not ready to resume playing and all reinjured the same injury.

Personally if I was Ross Lyon I'd be more worried about that than I would be worried about what journalists in the media are saying.

 

[masai]

You have to be an Eagles supporter to work at 7 West Media. Just look who is on the board for a start, then look who the chairman is.

Low morals also helps.

Mmmmm, is Mr Buzzwell in line for a directorship ?!!!!!!!.

 

[Silent Alarm]

I'm not sure this is the case? He was put back in the WAFL last season and reinjured himself without finishing a single game.

We have a very poor history with recurring injuries, and this is just another example. He obviously wasn't ready to resume playing, just like Fyfe, Alex Pearce and Zac Clarke were not ready to resume playing and all reinjured the same injury.

Personally if I was Ross Lyon I'd be more worried about that than I would be worried about what journalists in the media are saying.

I don't agree with you on much, but we do rush players back. We've done the same thing with guys before. No idea why – it's dumb, and it's cost us some really good players and probably will in the future.

Bennell was obviously a shit, shit draft.

I agree in principle with Lyon.

Unfortunately he's just going through the motions of passing off his blame to someone else – as he always does, never wanting to cop it himself. The issues of drafting Bennell were there and when even Richmond pass, you know something is going on. It's easy to say this is the fault of the media and yeah it is easy to pick the victim, the bloke who got done for lines and not the bogan ****head who dogged his own club and smoked bongs, but at the same time Ross always loves saying it is someone else's issue.

 

[Demons09]

I don't agree with you on much, but we do rush players back. We've done the same thing with guys before. No idea why – it's dumb, and it's cost us some really good players and probably will in the future.

Bennell was obviously a shit, shit draft.

I agree in principle with Lyon.

Unfortunately he's just going through the motions of passing off his blame to someone else – as he always does, never wanting to cop it himself. The issues of drafting Bennell were there and when even Richmond pass, you know something is going on. It's easy to say this is the fault of the media and yeah it is easy to pick the victim, the bloke who got done for lines and not the bogan ****head who dogged his own club and smoked bongs, but at the same time Ross always loves saying it is someone else's issue.

I don't agree with you on much, but we do rush players back. We've done the same thing with guys before. No idea why – it's dumb, and it's cost us some really good players and probably will in the future.

Bennell was obviously a shit, shit draft.

I agree in principle with Lyon.

Unfortunately he's just going through the motions of passing off his blame to someone else – as he always does, never wanting to cop it himself. The issues of drafting Bennell were there and when even Richmond pass, you know something is going on. It's easy to say this is the fault of the media and yeah it is easy to pick the victim, the bloke who got done for lines and not the bogan ****head who dogged his own club and smoked bongs, but at the same time Ross always loves saying it is someone else's issue.

Lol I think some one slipped some thing in you're latte.

 

[Silent Alarm]

How many times do I have to say it? I don't drink flat whites!

 

[Scham]

Goosage having a crack on Twitter.

Someone posted that it was good to see Rosich get stuck into Hagdorn on PR, The Goose replied with "you guys seem happy when your club attacks Perth media. Great teams focus on footy."

 

[Kram]

Goosage is a peanut, probably has more teeth than brain cells.

 

[jedi mind tricks]

How many times do I have to say it? I don't drink flat whites!

You prefer short blacks

 

[Halfbaked]

Goosage is a peanut, probably has more teeth than brain cells.

Goosage.

A shit man who is lucky that crumpet face is around. The only reason he is not the worst presenter ( I refuse to use the word journalist.) in WA.

 

[FD2646]

Goosage having a crack on Twitter.

Someone posted that it was good to see Rosich get stuck into Hagdorn on PR, The Goose replied with "you guys seem happy when your club attacks Perth media. Great teams focus on footy."

I don't have twitter but if I did, would have replied that great journalists make arguments supported by facts and evidence, not rumour, innuendo and gossip.