A different perspective...

[martyk]

Now that Lonegan is looking very likely to never play the game again, and players seem to be getting injured more than ever in the AFL, you have to ask yourself... Is it worth these guys putting their bodies on the line?? They have chosen AFL as their dedicated career, yet are forced by the 'macho' impressions placed by players, media, supporters etc, to constantly put their body / career on the line.

To use Lonegan as an example... If he had not backed into Miller / Egan, and chose to pull out, what would be the situation?? He played a very promising game in defence on Saturday, would have played next week for sure, has been best in VFL for last 2 months... good pre-season.. VERY promising '07. BUT the MEDIA would have gone to town on him for showing weakness and pulling out of the contest, which Egan would have spoiled anyway. What a bloody waste if you ask me...

I find it very interesting indeed that Cameron Mooney has the nerve to call Hunt's effort "**** house" on open radio, while the brainless idiot gets rubbed out 4 times in the one season. Which incident is accepted more by the masses?? Mooney's reports no less.... pfft!!

These guys are professional athletes and want lasting careers... but have to live with 'macho' bull**** coming from media / supporters who favour 4 suspensions over a player pulling out of one or two contests???

Thoughts??

 

[Jack-Packenham]

I had similar thoughts 10 years ago about cricketers who used to risk their careers by sliding into the fence to save 1 run.

 

[2691andrew]

These guys are professional athletes and want lasting careers... but have to live with 'macho' bull**** coming from media / supporters who favour 4 suspensions over a player pulling out of one or two contests???

Thoughts??

This is a great post. We drive players to be superhuman, knock them at every turn, and forget they are human. On the other side of that coin they are lauded far and wide, have supporters and fans hanging off them all the time, and get paid a ****load.

Corey pulled out in the last 1/4 in front of Jaymar, but maybe he thought King might have tried to contest the mark as he is captain. Honestly I get more ****ed off at laziness and uncompetitiveness like King's (and I have seen him do this lots this year) than an instinctive pulling out of the contest. Yeah, yeah king is injured blah blah blah. If he is not fit enough don't play him.

Maybe we can forgive the occassional pulling out if there is a fair dinkum dip all other times when it is required.

 

[Mooney_d'King]

Now that Lonegan is looking very likely to never play the game again, and players seem to be getting injured more than ever in the AFL, you have to ask yourself... Is it worth these guys putting their bodies on the line?? They have chosen AFL as their dedicated career, yet are forced by the 'macho' impressions placed by players, media, supporters etc, to constantly put their body / career on the line.

To use Lonegan as an example... If he had not backed into Miller / Egan, and chose to pull out, what would be the situation?? He played a very promising game in defence on Saturday, would have played next week for sure, has been best in VFL for last 2 months... good pre-season.. VERY promising '07. BUT the MEDIA would have gone to town on him for showing weakness and pulling out of the contest, which Egan would have spoiled anyway. What a bloody waste if you ask me...

I find it very interesting indeed that Cameron Mooney has the nerve to call Hunt's effort "**** house" on open radio, while the brainless idiot gets rubbed out 4 times in the one season. Which incident is accepted more by the masses?? Mooney's reports no less.... pfft!!

These guys are professional athletes and want lasting careers... but have to live with 'macho' bull**** coming from media / supporters who favour 4 suspensions over a player pulling out of one or two contests???

Thoughts??

I completely agree. You're damned if you do and damned if you don't...

 

[Budda 230]

Now that Lonegan is looking very likely to never play the game again, and players seem to be getting injured more than ever in the AFL, you have to ask yourself... Is it worth these guys putting their bodies on the line?? They have chosen AFL as their dedicated career, yet are forced by the 'macho' impressions placed by players, media, supporters etc, to constantly put their body / career on the line.

To use Lonegan as an example... If he had not backed into Miller / Egan, and chose to pull out, what would be the situation?? He played a very promising game in defence on Saturday, would have played next week for sure, has been best in VFL for last 2 months... good pre-season.. VERY promising '07. BUT the MEDIA would have gone to town on him for showing weakness and pulling out of the contest, which Egan would have spoiled anyway. What a bloody waste if you ask me...

I find it very interesting indeed that Cameron Mooney has the nerve to call Hunt's effort "**** house" on open radio, while the brainless idiot gets rubbed out 4 times in the one season. Which incident is accepted more by the masses?? Mooney's reports no less.... pfft!!

These guys are professional athletes and want lasting careers... but have to live with 'macho' bull**** coming from media / supporters who favour 4 suspensions over a player pulling out of one or two contests???

Thoughts??

Very good post.

For some reason, people think that they can judge a persons character from an incident like Josh Hunts. It almost gets to a point where they are judged a bad person or a good person! That is unfair. If somebody shirks a contest, people come to the conclusion that they are not commited to the club. Sensing danger is a part of life, its not a crime.

Cam Mooney shouldn't say that. Why state the obvious? Why point out a negative of one of your mates? OK, Josh Hunt will most likely now never shirk a contest. Peer pressure?

Imagine if Josh Hunt was Tom Lonergan in that incident and now in hospital fighting for his life? The media wouldn't be stating the fact that Hunt was pressured into a dangerous situation due to the public up roar of the St Kilda incident. They wouldn't because they would be too guilty due to the fact that they created the public up roar. Guilty in the way that fingers would be pointed at them!

No one has the right to put a human being in that state of mind! It will lead to fatalities in the future! I hope Tom Lonergan's injuries show that sometimes it is not worth it.

 

[TheTimeCometh]

..to make game matters worse, while down Yze got to push forward and grab an all im0portant goal......

 

[CatFan79]

Very good post.

Cam Mooney shouldn't say that. Why state the obvious? Why point out a negative of one of your mates?

Because Mooney has the brain the size of a pea and is a twit who thinks that biffing blokes makes a player tough.

 

[TheTimeCometh]

yeah mooney has really relinquished his right to comment on stoopid and 'sihthouse' acts.

 

[TGTOA]

The ironic thing is that if Lonergan had pulled out of the contest (allowing Miller to mark), he probably would have been able to get back and mark up on Yze, rather than leaving him free to sneak forward unattended and kick a goal while his opponent was out of action.

In this case, it might have been better to concede and worry about the next contest. Everybody might have bagged him for pulling out, but he could have saved a goal, and (more importantly) a kidney.

Good post, and I agree wholeheartedly. While we expect (and rightly so) that footballers will go in hard and not shirk solid contact, we shouldn't demonise them if they pull out of a potentially dangerous contest out of self preservation. Sometimes, the team may even be better off for them doing so.