Oppo Camp Non-Eagles Discussion 2025 Part 2

[MrKK]

Reports former Kangaroos player Phoenix Spicer has passed away, aged 23

Played 12 games for them

Is true, very sad. I know a few players from Morphy Parks where he played juniors before moving on to higher levels.

 

[Monocle]

When I finished high school I got a job with a medium sized accounting firm - around 60-70 staff all up. Worked there for about 6 years and the social interaction there was brilliant.

Beers after work most Fridays - sometimes just a couple, often well beyond that. They also had a social club that you paid $4 a month and they organised a subsidised function every couple of months including the end of year Xmas party. Legends were made at some events, albeit these days some behaviours would see people fired/the firm sued as things have changed - for better and worse but I think workplaces then were happier

Met my wife there along with some of my best friends so it’s a shame that the camaraderie that was common doesn’t seem to exist as much anymore

Yea it’s one of those things that is a shame that time has phased out.

When I left school I worked for a big insurer. $2 a week social club, sundowners every 3 months where they booked somewhere and you paid $10-20 bucks and it was open slather drinking for 2 or 3 hours.. no spirits generally but we all go by.

Team building sessions were spent over the bar, not some sit in a circle kumbiya tell us your feelings or build a boat out of matchsticks..

Like you Keys my best friends from then are still my best friends, the old stories get brought up everytime we meet , most of them including me got married to someone else from the office.

It was dating before there were dating apps.

Always reminiscing at this time of year, last Xmas work day we would have a boat cruise at 6am on the swan where you would get drunk before you went to work and just had runners going back and forth bringing in cans to the office… good times

Have been through similar with two companies that I have worked with, but that was all some time ago.
And like you two gents, I have made life long friends with workmates even after we left the company, we have maintained the close friendships.

But that was all a long time ago when the workers actually gave a fu(k about the companies that they worked for and the people they worked with.

Current firm that I am now with, very generous with the bi annual off-site social events, company even pays the Uber / taxi fares home.

Sadly as of seven years ago, no more drinks at work celebrations after having made the monthly budget, or landing a big new contract, the Drug and Alcohol Policy killed that in its tracks, as now it's a completely dry site.

The D&A Policy simultaneously killed off any interest in the Social Club, with one deadly swipe as Policy was duly implemented.

I'm not saying that work places are now toxic or lack any empathy, but what I will say is this, that they were in my experience much happier and close knit places to work in, 10, 20 and 30 years ago.

Note to self, when ever you start saying remember when ....... it's probably a good sign that that you are very much yesterdays man.... um ... time to fully retire... oh thats happening in June 2026 .... but who's counting.

 

[Goroyals22]

Have been through similar with two companies that I have worked with, but that was all some time ago.
And like you two gents, I have made life long friends with workmates even after we left the company, we have maintained the close friendships.

But that was all a long time ago when the workers actually gave a fu(k about the companies that they worked for and the people they worked with.

Current firm that I am now with, very generous with the bi annual off-site social events, company even pays the Uber / taxi fares home.

Sadly as of seven years ago, no more drinks at work celebrations after having made the monthly budget, or landing a big new contract, the Drug and Alcohol Policy killed that in its tracks, as now it's a completely dry site.

The D&A Policy simultaneously killed off any interest in the Social Club, with one deadly swipe as Policy was duly implemented.

I'm not saying that work places are now toxic or lack any empathy, but what I will say is this, that they were in my experience much happier and close knit places to work in, 10, 20 and 30 years ago.

Note to self, when ever you start saying remember when ....... it's probably a good sign that that you are very much yesterdays man.... um ... time to fully retire... oh thats happening in June 2026 .... but who's counting.

My final point on something like this was that even if the work absolutely sucked nuts people didn’t leave there job because they loved being around the people that they worked with.

Fun and friendships were enough. Funnily enough when I eventually moved on from my first employer 12 others of us also went…. To the same place of course…. And then the Sgio chapter started lol

 

[Cuzz09]

Looking up if Phoenix Spencer (RIP) played v us in his 12 game career (he didnt) and saw Derek Kickett played for NM before joining Essendon, never knew... random.