News Jack Steven retires

[Partridge]

So you’re suggesting he should have walked away with nothing after voluntarily retiring to help the club out with a year to go on his contract?

The AFL is brutal but it’s not that brutal yet, fortunately.

In any other contract job you get paid for the work you do. Not an extra year on top. I'd love to have that deal.

Pretty sure he wasn't paid in goodwill this year either.

 

[Stocks_go_Up]

In any other contract job you get paid for the work you do. Not an extra year on top. I'd love to have that deal.

Pretty sure he wasn't paid in goodwill this year either.

Exactly lol.. Our club wasn't the smartest for giving him 2 years given his history. It looks like he chose to walk away - we didn't kick him out. Taking a salary for work you haven't actually done is not something I would be willing to do. Anyway hopefully it's not a lot of money - with the way things are we can't afford to be pissing away much at all if we wan't to compete for the premiership again... Cameron needs to get paid

 

[Vdubs]

What anybody seen in him after his first run with the Cats to justify him playing 9 games in 2020 astounds me, so obvious he was finished,those that kept selecting him should have walked the plank as well IMHO.It's almost never the players fault being selected with a few exceptions,we pay people to make that call and I don't believe they could justify their decision.Sad end to a very decent career,I'd be lying if I said I wasn't pleased he pulled the pin though.

His games were not ALL that bad. Selective memories. But, no, he never looked that fit.
I hoped he had it in him to get through a whole preseason and...



next year, but not to be.

 

[dazbroncos]

Ffs just let one f***ing thread be, please.

they cant.

if there is a knife already sticking from the body, they'll have to twist. They cant not.... and thats a really bad example lol

GO Catters

 

[dazbroncos]

Best of luck to him on his future.

Hope he finds the peace he is looking for.

And im sure as he retired there was a comprimised pay out for the payout of the second year given he's not playing. Also helps our list management, allows another younger player ( Narkle?) to stay and brings our overall list age profile down a little which im sure will please some people.

Go Catters

 

[Mad_Hatter]

In any other contract job you get paid for the work you do. Not an extra year on top. I'd love to have that deal.

Pretty sure he wasn't paid in goodwill this year either.

What are you on about?
Any contract I've ever known, if the employer terminates the contract early you get paid out.
Pretty simple.
Sure he "retired" but it was at worst a 50/50 club decision.

Truth is the club and Steven negotiated a fair pay out, less than he was due to be paid if he played, but enough to warrant walking away.

 

[Partridge]

An important comment and it really had to be made.....

Fmd this place is embarrassing sometimes

It also happens to be true. That seems to bother people more than anything else.

 

[PhatBoy]

It also happens to be true. That seems to bother people more than anything else.

Guy with mental health issues gets stabbed but football fitness should be his main priority and he obviously picked and assessed himself for selection.

Yeah great points.

 

[feelinfeline]

In any other contract job you get paid for the work you do. Not an extra year on top. I'd love to have that deal.

Pretty sure he wasn't paid in goodwill this year either.

The alternative would have been that he played on for another year with his heart not in it, just for the money. Players have done that plenty of times.

He helped the club out and they gave him something in return. Seems you'd tell him to 'fu** off' instead.

 

[Biggy_Boy]

Whats the deal with payout for the second year.. I hope it isn't on our books.

He was contracted for two years. The salaries of players who finish contracts with time to run still get counted towards your cap. Otherwise there would be no penalty to Sydney for luring Franklin to them with a 9-year deal, which everyone knew would hurt them at the back end. We have to hope he was set to receive little in the second year.

 

[Biggy_Boy]

Guy with mental health issues gets stabbed but football fitness should be his main priority and he obviously picked and assessed himself for selection.

Yeah great points.

If his mental health issues were so severe that he was unable to uphold the primary responsibility of his employment - keeping himself physically fit and in touch - then he should have been put on/taken leave and not eligible for AFL selection.

 

[Partridge]

The alternative would have been that he played on for another year with his heart not in it, just for the money. Players have done that plenty of times.

He helped the club out and they gave him something in return. Seems you'd tell him to 'fu** off' instead.

No, I actually would have said what I did say 12 months ago.

Which was, no thanks. Far too much risk. Too old, too much baggage, both mental and physical. Not worth and risk and extremely unlikely to work.

 

[Partridge]

Guy with mental health issues gets stabbed but football fitness should be his main priority and he obviously picked and assessed himself for selection.

Yeah great points.

He would have been the only one who thought he deserved it. Aside from yourself and others on this board of course.

 

[feelinfeline]

No, I actually would have said what I did say 12 months ago.

Which was, no thanks. Far too much risk. Too old, too much baggage, both mental and physical. Not worth and risk and extremely unlikely to work.

No, you wouldn't have said that because, unlike 12 months ago, he had a contract with a year to go, which couldn't be wished away.

The club had to find a way to negotiate. They did it appropriately in my view.

 

[Biggy_Boy]

No, I actually would have said what I did say 12 months ago.

Which was, no thanks. Far too much risk. Too old, too much baggage, both mental and physical. Not worth and risk and extremely unlikely to work.

Such punts so often do work for us though... don't they?

 

[PhatBoy]

If his mental health issues were so severe that he was unable to uphold the primary responsibility of his employment - keeping himself physically fit and in touch - then he should have been put on/taken leave and not eligible for AFL selection.

Should have been removed from the medical and match committees too.

I bet there were no fitness tests he had to do before his first game either. I bet as an AFL club, Geelong has no testing or assessment process they go through before selecting someone for a game. Essentially if you walked in with an enema kit still hanging out your backside and a missing eye they’d just ask you if you were fit to play and if you say yes you get picked.

 

[PhatBoy]

He would have been the only one who thought he deserved it. Aside from yourself and others on this board of course.

Yes I’m sure the selection committee all sat around and said ‘we don’t think he deserves a game’ and then picked him.

That’s what usually happens when no one who has a say thinks someone should be picked to play. They pick them to play.

 

[PhatBoy]

Such punts so often do work for us though... don't they?

Wow we are 0/2.

Experiment has to end there then.

 

[Pollywaffle]

Essentially if you walked in with an enema kit still hanging out your backside and a missing eye they’d just ask you if you were fit to play and if you say yes you get picked.

Only if you are an umpire.

 

[Partridge]

Should have been removed from the medical and match committees too.

I bet there were no fitness tests he had to do before his first game either. I bet as an AFL club, Geelong has no testing or assessment process they go through before selecting someone for a game. Essentially if you walked in with an enema kit still hanging out your backside and a missing eye they’d just ask you if you were fit to play and if you say yes you get picked.

The problem is it either wasn't done well or the results were ignored.

His first game against Carlton was the worst game I've ever seen from a name recruit for Geelong. Ever. And easily too. There is no way he should have been in that side and the evidence - how he performed - underlined it emphatically.

You can ignore it of course, and pretend there was nothing wrong. Or just maybe they were a bit too keen with one recruit and should have made him earn selection.

I know, it's revolutionary stuff.

 

[PhatBoy]

The problem is it either wasn't done well or the results were ignored.

His first game against Carlton was the worst game I've ever seen from a name recruit for Geelong. Ever. And easily too. There is no way he should have been in that side and the evidence - how he performed - underlined it emphatically.

You can ignore it of course, and pretend there was nothing wrong. Or just maybe they were a bit too keen with one recruit and should have made him earn selection.

I know, it's revolutionary stuff.

So I'll say again. Did he pick himself?

You take the piss with a phrase like 'revolutionary stuff' but you're the one who's actually criticising the guy as though HE picked himself, tested himself, assessed himself, and passed himself - which would, indeed, be revolutionary stuff.

He did none of those things. Yes the club erred in picking him. That is not his fault.

 

[Hamingja]

The alternative would have been that he played on for another year with his heart not in it, just for the money. Players have done that plenty of times.

Or one current example at another club, where they haven't played on and are still taking the money.

With Jack's decision it allows someone else to be on the list and have a crack at an AFL career.

Hopefully we don't repeat the selection mistake for half the season next year if Smith for example is clearly underperforming.

 

[Partridge]

they cant.

if there is a knife already sticking from the body, they'll have to twist. They cant not.... and thats a really bad example lol

GO Catters

Let's reassess.

1. Mature player becomes available and decides Geelong is where he wants to go.
2. Player has existing physical and mental concerns so there is already some risk.
3. Player will be turning 30 before the season starts.
4. Player gets stabbed before the season starts, and initially refuses to speak to Police about it (no alarm bells here at all).
5. Player gets shoved into the senior team after the restart in Round 2, looking slow, unfit, and nowhere near the level needed (no alarms bells here either).
6. Despite never showing the form from previous club, the player gets 9 underwhelming games, is dropped then injured and misses all the finals.
7. Despite having another year to run on his contract, first the club is in discussions about paying him out (!!!) and then he retires.

But daring to point out that this may not have been the best recruiting decision ever made, and more importantly, that it was very predictable to anyone who bothered to open their eyes, that's twisting the knife? Yeah right. It's not like we'd prefer that players be as prepared as possible to contribute if they are fortunate enough to get recruited. Like say Menegola, who was a mature recruit, and had struggles initially (on field), but has actually worked hard and gotten better.

One question. What did the club learned from McIntosh and Clark?

 

[Partridge]

So I'll say again. Did he pick himself?

You take the piss with a phrase like 'revolutionary stuff' but you're the one who's actually criticising the guy as though HE picked himself, tested himself, assessed himself, and passed himself - which would, indeed, be revolutionary stuff.

He did none of those things. Yes the club erred in picking him. That is not his fault.

That's exactly the entire point. That the club should take off the rose-coloured glasses and be a bit more realistic about how good some of these guys are in the real world.

It isn't his fault he got selected. It is his fault he was nowhere near in shape.

 

[PhatBoy]

That's exactly the entire point. That the club should take off the rose-coloured glasses and be a bit more realistic about how good some of these guys are in the real world.

It isn't his fault he got selected. It is his fault he was nowhere near in shape.

Well no, I'm not a doctor but I would guess that a stabbing would impact your pre-season somewhat.

And for all the jokes about him being fat, unfit, whatever - he'd still be about 300 per cent fitter than most normal people, but when you are an elite athlete, if you're 10 per cent behind everyone else, it looks a hell of a lot worse because of what you're being compared to.