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I do agree with you. If it is just a disgruntled fringe player with gripes fair enough. Actions on the field are very important, but not the only part of being a professional sportsman, especially in a team environment, that gets its income by representing us as members and supporters. If there is more to it than that, then this is the forum over summer to hold the board, then footy department to account and hopefully they are asking themselves why Dunks wanted to leave and what are some of the players professional standards?

Would the AGM be appropriate for this question?
 
I don’t know whether coaches can help with this problem. We’ve all heard the rumours with our players in 2020 in the hub. I just caught up with a friend who was a player sponsor to one of our younger players who is in and out of the team. The young player is hanging on to his AFL dream by his fingernails and can’t just request a trade like a big name can. This youngster is hating life at the club, and says if you’re not in Libba’s clique you’re on the outer. And that clique votes in certain players to leadership roles and generally has a poor culture to be a success in a professional sport. It’s bringing down morale, and we all know how quickly that kills the spirit at a work place. And some of these guys are the ones on big money and get picked every week. And these guys that are doing the right things, are on a lot less money and are working their arses off but don’t have the talent and not always getting picked. That the club was happy to move on or discipline Dahlhaus and Stringer and the like, but finds it difficult to do so with sons of past champions.

Fair dinkum what a load of crap. Battler has a whinge to sponsor about how tough AFL is. What a shock.
 
If we start worrying about the feelings of guys who can’t perform consistently at the top level we are in a world of trouble.

I don’t give two shits about cliques or who a players father is. If they perform they should play.

Lachie Hunter and Tom Liberatore were two of our most consistent elite performers last year. We all know they both have had their off field issues but they leave everything on the field week in and week out for the club.

The sorts of players that fit in to the category of the person complaining would be, Monica, Roarke, Dale, Gardener, Hayes, Young and Dunkley. Honestly they can all go walk to another team if they want to winge about culture.

We need performers with a hard edge. Wallis, Libba, Hunter, Cordy, West, are all hard at it and consistent performers.

Read the last line, it must surely be Rhylee West.
 

Freshwater

Premiership Player
Oct 30, 2014
4,123
8,070
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Fair dinkum what a load of crap. Battler has a whinge to sponsor about how tough AFL is. What a shock.
It maybe? But they mentioned the issues about hub life and Dunks wanting out. It may be nothing we don’t know on this side of the fence. But Bevos words were very interesting in his last radio interview about Hunter. Now is the time to ask questions, if there is nothing to see, move on. If there is something we can’t be ‘ostriches’.
 

Boristown

Premiership Player
May 24, 2015
4,100
10,118
AFL Club
North Melbourne
I don’t know whether coaches can help with this problem. We’ve all heard the rumours with our players in 2020 in the hub. I just caught up with a friend who was a player sponsor to one of our younger players who is in and out of the team. The young player is hanging on to his AFL dream by his fingernails and can’t just request a trade like a big name can. This youngster is hating life at the club, and says if you’re not in Libba’s clique you’re on the outer. And that clique votes in certain players to leadership roles and generally has a poor culture to be a success in a professional sport. It’s bringing down morale, and we all know how quickly that kills the spirit at a work place. And some of these guys are the ones on big money and get picked every week. And these guys that are doing the right things, are on a lot less money and are working their arses off but don’t have the talent and not always getting picked. That the club was happy to move on or discipline Dahlhaus and Stringer and the like, but finds it difficult to do so with sons of past champions.

My advice to the kid? Harden up and become mates with Libba.
 
It maybe? But they mentioned the issues about hub life and Dunks wanting out. It may be nothing we don’t know on this side of the fence. But Bevos words were very interesting in his last radio interview about Hunter. Now is the time to ask questions, if there is nothing to see, move on. If there is something we can’t be ‘ostriches’.

Maybe but it all sounds like someone has added all the little spurious rumours floating round into one big pot and come out with a cool story.

Footy clubs have cliques. High level sport is ego driven. It’s what makes them competitive. Thrive or die.

Many kids are shocked entering the work force when they come up against a world that doesn’t fit what they think it should be based on their ideals taught at school or by well meaning parents.
 
Maybe but it all sounds like someone has added all the little spurious rumours floating round into one big pot and come out with a cool story.

Footy clubs have cliques. High level sport is ego driven. It’s what makes them competitive. Thrive or die.

Many kids are shocked entering the work force when they come up against a world that doesn’t fit what they think it should be based on their ideals taught at school or by well meaning parents.

Exactly what I thought - whoever it is should try working in an office environment.
 

Freshwater

Premiership Player
Oct 30, 2014
4,123
8,070
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Maybe but it all sounds like someone has added all the little spurious rumours floating round into one big pot and come out with a cool story.

Footy clubs have cliques. High level sport is ego driven. It’s what makes them competitive. Thrive or die.

Many kids are shocked entering the work force when they come up against a world that doesn’t fit what they think it should be based on their ideals taught at school or by well meaning parents.
Agree. But we have two premierships in this competition in nearly 100 years and of course one of those in 2016. I hate seeing Hamling, Roughhead, Stringer and Dahlhaus running around finishing their careers at other clubs. There are a few reasons why Josh Dunkley, a young premiership star, wants out? No one who follows us, wants to see this. When I heard what I did the other day, I knew it wasn’t bs, but could well be a disgruntled fringe player using what he is seeing as an excuse. But he linked it back to what was rumoured and what Dunks had implied and what Bevo has stated.
 
Agree. But we have two premierships in this competition in nearly 100 years and of course one of those in 2016. I hate seeing Hamling, Roughhead, Stringer and Dahlhaus running around finishing their careers at other clubs. There are a few reasons why Josh Dunkley, a young premiership star, wants out? No one who follows us, wants to see this. When I heard what I did the other day, I knew it wasn’t bs, but could well be a disgruntled fringe player using what he is seeing as an excuse. But he linked it back to what was rumoured and what Dunks had implied and what Bevo has stated.

It also provides the perfect excuse for their personal failures. Ie; it’s not my fault.

This is also a trait that rears its head when people don’t achieve what they feel they are entitled to.
 

Freshwater

Premiership Player
Oct 30, 2014
4,123
8,070
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
A player sponsor? That's a new 1. I doubt a player will give info about what life is like in the club to their sponsor.
He tells him heaps and all seems to happen as he says. I know this fella well and believe the story 100%. But also believe that it could well be disgruntlement and wrong expectations that Maddog is mentioning to be his major cause of complaint.
 
He tells him heaps and all seems to happen as he says. I know this fella well and believe the story 100%. But also believe that it could well be disgruntlement and wrong expectations that Maddog is mentioning to be his major cause of complaint.

I’m just guessing mate but I feel that most clubs would have players that feel on the outer at times.
 

ScottyDogg

Club Legend
Oct 17, 2015
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Western Bulldogs
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Footscray
My advice to the kid? Harden up and become mates with Libba.
I for one am not surprised that Libba is the cultural center of the team. I would love to be his mate and teammate. The guy is one of the great characters of the modern game. He’s had two knee recos, a child and watched his best mates be shipped out of the club. He’s come back on a minimum chips two year contract and showed the game he is still an elite inside player.

On the topic of Hunter, the club is doing the right thing. They are sending a stern message through Bevo, but let’s be honest, despite his supposed off field issues, he has played some outrageously good games in 2020.
 

D Mitchell

Premiership Player
Jul 28, 2006
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Footscray Football Club
Thankyou, Freshwater, most illuminating, if true, then most depressing. A touted element of the 2016 campaign was the unity of the playing group. Organisations work at their best when members are united, houses divided fail. This and the Hub rumours recall the 2004 Mike Sheahan article on David Thorpe, reproduced at the beginning of a now closed thread

https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/former-star-thorpe-slams-selfish-bulldogs-culture.124543/

10 Brownlows, 2 Premierships. It’s great that Libber is an elite inside player and Hunter plays outrageously good games, it’s not great that we get bundled out of finals, 2 years in a row, after missing out 2 years in a row. I hope ScottyDogg, maddog37, NBates and Ash1337 are right, I fear they aren’t.
 
If we start worrying about the feelings of guys who can’t perform consistently at the top level we are in a world of trouble.

I don’t give two shits about cliques or who a players father is. If they perform they should play.

Lachie Hunter and Tom Liberatore were two of our most consistent elite performers last year. We all know they both have had their off field issues but they leave everything on the field week in and week out for the club.

The sorts of players that fit in to the category of the person complaining would be, Monica, Roarke, Dale, Gardener, Hayes, Young and Dunkley. Honestly they can all go walk to another team if they want to winge about culture.

We need performers with a hard edge. Wallis, Libba, Hunter, Cordy, West, are all hard at it and consistent performers.
Young is more 'out' than 'in and out'
 
Ever fringe player always has an excuse as to why they aren't in the main team. It generally involves an internal conspiracy that is either instigated by the captain, a clique within the playing group or the coach who is failing to see and reward all of the hard work that they are doing in favour of bigger payoff that can be seen when clearly more talented players are given extra opportunities. They rarely place their middling talent at the centre of discussions as to why they aren't getting selected on a regular basis.

In a team where any number of players might fit the profile, its hard to think of one who is being deliberately kept out of the side for anything other than Beveridges recent disdain for ruckman and playing more than 2 key defensive talls. Even then I think an argument can be made that he has those beliefs because he would rather play undersized than under skilled. No matter how hard they work on the track.

Its a cut throat business where winning is everything, not a primary school sports carnival where participation is.
 

Philthy1

Club Legend
Sep 17, 2017
1,519
2,848
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Ever fringe player always has an excuse as to why they aren't in the main team. It generally involves an internal conspiracy that is either instigated by the captain, a clique within the playing group or the coach who is failing to see and reward all of the hard work that they are doing in favour of bigger payoff that can be seen when clearly more talented players are given extra opportunities. They rarely place their middling talent at the centre of discussions as to why they aren't getting selected on a regular basis.

In a team where any number of players might fit the profile, its hard to think of one who is being deliberately kept out of the side for anything other than Beveridges recent disdain for ruckman and playing more than 2 key defensive talls. Even then I think an argument can be made that he has those beliefs because he would rather play undersized than under skilled. No matter how hard they work on the track.

Its a cut throat business where winning is everything, not a primary school sports carnival where participation is.
And with 3 likely best 22 players traded in, along with a number 1 draft pick, competition is only going to get harder. Which is exactly how it should be.
 

Charlie Bucket

Norm Smith Medallist
Nov 16, 2015
5,407
8,838
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
What kind of player has a whinge to a player sponsor? Sounds like a pratty little *.
No wonder he’s not getting games.

Not convinced this stories isn’t 110% bullshit though.
 
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