News Jobe Watson hands back Brownlow

[whiskeytown]

Reasonable decision I think. Would always be a question mark over it.

Hopefully it's the only the beginning with Wayne Harmes handing back the 1979 flag next week...

 

[Apex36]

So in other words the AFL said they would strip him of it and gave him the opportunity to hand it back first.

If he had any integrity he would have handed it back at the start of the year.

 

[mike123]

It reeks of last minute saving face. He really should have given it back earlier but I can't blame for wanting to hold onto it longer. Who wouldn't want to keep the most prestigious individual award in the game?

He done what was right and took his sweet time in doing it, he shouldn't be praised for it nor should he be bashed for it.

 

[doodles98]

He might've also come to the realization that keeping it was just going to cause him a lot of grief for a lot of years.

That pretty much wraps that whole saga up now doesn't it? Now they should turn their attention to Geelong's program around 2006-7. Might be a fun can of gummy worms to be had there!

 

[Rorzza]

What a champ! Apart from injecting substances unknown into his body, all class!

 

[whiskeytown]

How about other handovers? Statistics on why Judd's second Brownlow should've gone to Swanny?

 

[Horaceg]

I think it's the right way to go about it, does that make Cotchin a Brownlow medalist, that's cr@p

 

[adammania9]

AFL embarrassing themselves yet again

 

[The Dawes]

Kudos to him

 

[Black_White]

Absolute last minute save face decision.
No doubt the AFL have had a word in his ear about how they feel backed into a corner and will be stripping him of the award.
As for the runners up being awarded the medal, I'm happy for that to happen.
Had we known of the suspension on the night of the count, then the award would have been made to these players no matter the numbers.
Treat this like any player getting suspended during the season. No longer eligible, award goes to the next highest vote gatherer(s).

 

[eddiebankbalance]

He should keep it, as a momento for the times they tried to cheat the AFL.

Peace

☺

 

[Magpie Girl]

I feel for him.
I would have been happy for him to keep it.
I think he's an honourable young man and has made the decision in the best interests of his Club.
And I'd prefer the medal not to be passed onto anyone

 

[TW Sherrin]

A line needs to be put through that year.

It'd be a farce to give it to Mitchell and cotchin.

 

[ClaytonM]

How about other handovers? Statistics on why Judd's second Brownlow should've gone to Swanny?

Yeah but I think Swan's Brownlow should have gone to Judd. Think they got the results right, just not the years.

 

[Obese Arachnid]

Shouldn't have had the chance to hand it back, AFL should've stripped it.

 

[ClaytonM]

For me this finally puts an end to this saga.

All senior management at Bombers including Hird gone, club sanctioned (should have been more), players suspended, Brownlow rightly given back.

At the moment I have to barrack for Carlton when they are playing the Bombers. That makes me feel really dirty. Maybe now I can once again hate Carlton above all others.

 

[Heater39]

I feel for him.
I would have been happy for him to keep it.
I think he's an honourable young man and has made the decision in the best interests of his Club.
And I'd prefer the medal not to be passed onto anyone

Why?

It was proven that he took performance enhancing substances during the year he won it. Pretty clear cut that the AFL would have taken that medal off him.

It's not even up for debate imo, if you cheat then you cannot lay claims to being the fairest and best player of the year

 

[Toecrusher]

I feel for him.
I would have been happy for him to keep it.
I think he's an honourable young man and has made the decision in the best interests of his Club.
And I'd prefer the medal not to be passed onto anyone

Probably a decent guy, but giving the medal but just before they take it means nothing.

Must remember, the brownlow usually goes to a player in a high performing team. Take the drugs out of the team, he may not have attracted the votes to start with. Everything about that team was tainted, and his handing it back was probably recommended by his publicist or manager, and is far from honourable.

Good luck to him, but don't forget, he's a drug cheat.

 

[Prochard123]

That moment when Hackchin gets a brownlow and the clear best player in 2010/2011 Pendles still doesn't get one and probably will never get one...

 

[SpongePie]

A line needs to be put through that year.

It'd be a farce to give it to Mitchell and cotchin.

Agree.

Because why stop at the next winner? Why not go back to all the games that Jobe got votes and reassign the votes there... if he got 3, give 3 to the person who got 2. Ridiculous right?

 

[SpongePie]

The thing that annoys me most of the 2012 Brownlow, is Swan could have gone close to back to back had he not been suspended for a couple of games (thanks to Jolly dobbing him in...).

 

[doodles98]

I feel for him.
I would have been happy for him to keep it.
I think he's an honourable young man and has made the decision in the best interests of his Club.
And I'd prefer the medal not to be passed onto anyone

Do you think he was being duped and really thought all those injections were vitamins? Even though he publicly admitted he did know he was getting AOD9064 which he knew was a peptide. Why do you think the entire player group did not disclose once, as they were required to, about their harmless thymosin injections? Do you think Jobe and the rest of the boys were ignorant of the fact that the other peptides they were being injected with were likely to be banned performance enhancing substances?

I guess what I'm asking is ... Do you think Jobe's a moron?

this is what the judges thought:

Notably, one player recalled being told at the February 2012 meeting that it was like” being on a cliff and going right to the end but not going over it”. Clearly unimpressed, the Panel said that in its view, the Players must have appreciated that the regime to which they were being asked to submit was, if not over the edge, at any rate near to it and having been invited to go near the edge, in the event, went over it.

Further, the secrecy maintained by the Players was considered material: “their behaviour, keeping the club doctor out of the loop, and failing to record the injections on the doping control forms, clearly justifies such inference being drawn. This was, at its lowest, consistent with an appreciation of its controversial nature”: para 120(xv). This “veil of secrecy”, the Panel observed, would not be required in relation to something known positively to be lawful and innocent: para 164.

The consistency of their evidence was also relevant: “Several players insisted that Mr Dank was not present at away matches until confronted with a text message exchange that proved he was. This also undermines their credibility”: para 120(xvi).

The example was supplied of a player who suffered from cardiac arrhythmia who was only prepared to inform his doctor he was receiving “vitamin supplements” for the purpose of assessing how they might react to his medication: para 121.

The Panel was prepared to accept that the Players were “economical with the truth” in their interviews with ASADA: para 129(vi).

The Panel obviously found the “complete failure” of the vast majority of Players who had to fill in a doping control form during the season to reveal the receipt of injections to be compelling. The Panel stated that this “does not encourage confidence in their statements as to the limited or sporadic nature of what they were injected with”: para 129(vii).

The Players’ evidence as to why Thymosin injections were not disclosed in doping control forms was described by the Panel as a “calculated (but vain) attempt to justify the non-disclosures”: para 161. The suggestion that “you list the things that you feel you need to list”, made by one player, was clearly not regarded as an impressive piece of evidence.

In conclusion, the Panel stated that the Players’ failure to disclose supplements they would take before a game on their doping control forms was “indicative of the casual approach (at its best) to the secretive (at its worst) approach” adopted.

These breaches, in the Panel’s view, sprang from a single source, namely a group decision by the Players, albeit at the direction of others, to keep secret the nature of the new regime: para 163.

 

[pablo disco bar]

Whiskeytown wants to know how the **** do you get points!!?? Lok

 

[Black_White]

Agree.

Because why stop at the next winner? Why not go back to all the games that Jobe got votes and reassign the votes there... if he got 3, give 3 to the person who got 2. Ridiculous right?

Because evèn when a player is suspended in season the umpires still award that player votes for their performance in the day.
Check the Brownlow voting history to confirm this fact if you want.
The rules are the rules.
Jobe has been suspended retrospectively which opens up the chance to award the medal to the runner up. Or runners up in this case.
Follow the rules to reach the only decision that can be reached.
And the only decision that can save the medals reputation.

 

[Kappa]

I feel for him.
I would have been happy for him to keep it.
I think he's an honourable young man and has made the decision in the best interests of his Club.
And I'd prefer the medal not to be passed onto anyone

A medal for the "Best and Fairest" being won by a confirmed drug cheat

Happy for him to keep it

The media have done a strong brainwashing job on the masses, "poor brave Essendon"