Mega Thread Non-Freo AFL Discussion 2025

[freo_leo29]

I thought that the numbers to call if needed ie Beyond blue etc indicated that it was other than health related or suspicious. This is an awful week in football and feel for the families and friends impacted.


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They always put those numbers now for younger deaths


Deaths are a trigger event, Its better to have them and possibly help someone than not have them at all.

That's not to say that isn't what happened but you can't rely on them to mean that anymore.

 

[serial_thrilla]

Sounds like it could have been a heart attack. Reports that he was complaining of some chest pain last night at footy training.

"Bunbury detectives then seized an amount of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia from the Bunbury home."

Police seize drugs from scene of Adam Hunter’s death

A report is being prepared for the coroner but the former AFL player’s death is not considered suspicious.

7news.com.au

 

[james haish]

You should be careful with drugs at the best of times, but if you're a man over 40, heart palpitating stimulants are extremely inadvisable.

 

[Madas]

Saints offering $1.7m per season for Carltons De Koning is beyond laughable

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I love it
Wont make Saints any better and will cost them a tonne in cap but will definitely make Carlton worse
Win win for Freo

 

[mightymouse75]

They are a rough bunch, those early 2000 eagles.
Nisbet & Worsfold have some blood on their hands.

 

[gaskin]

They are a rough bunch, those early 2000 eagles.
Nisbet & Worsfold have some blood on their hands.

So do the AFL, tbh. Everyone knew what was going on and the AFL did nothing to stop it.

 

[Madas]

They are a rough bunch, those early 2000 eagles.
Nisbet & Worsfold have some blood on their hands.

Yeh that’s a lot of fallout from 1 club but I saw it all playing out first hand and I’m not one bit surprised.
Decadance and entitlement at its highest level

 

[Stinky Lomax]

They are a rough bunch, those early 2000 eagles.
Nisbet & Worsfold have some blood on their hands.

As a club they were incredibly focussed on getting the ultimate success with that group of players & in particular with Chris Judd at the club. There was a huge lack of care or interest in the players well-being as long as they were getting results.

The only way they will be held accountable is by the families of the players affected & this includes Cousins, Fletcher, Chick, Hunter etc to sue the club. Parents have the ultimate trust in the club these young players are shipped off too, almost placed into care with the club.

There has to be some accountability in clubs to ensure these young men come out better versions of themselves to the best of the clubs abilities. This is just an awful outcome & not everybody has the support Cousins did to get out the other side. It really is a distressing situation because Hunter tried to get out the other side but just couldn’t.

 

[Purple Suit]

As a club they were incredibly focussed on getting the ultimate success with that group of players & in particular with Chris Judd at the club. There was a huge lack of care or interest in the players well-being as long as they were getting results.

The only way they will be held accountable is by the families of the players affected & this includes Cousins, Fletcher, Chick, Hunter etc to sue the club. Parents have the ultimate trust in the club these young players are shipped off too, almost placed into care with the club.

There has to be some accountability in clubs to ensure these young men come out better versions of themselves to the best of the clubs abilities. This is just an awful outcome & not everybody has the support Cousins did to get out the other side. It really is a distressing situation because Hunter tried to get out the other side but just couldn’t.

While I think the stain of WC is terrible, we’re talking about what adults did outside of work. You can’t retrospectively add in rules and regs into an old system. AFL players are pampered enough these days, they need to take some responsibility & accountability for their own lives.

 

[Stinky Lomax]

While I think the stain of WC is terrible, we’re talking about what adults did outside of work. You can’t retrospectively add in rules and regs into an old system. AFL players are pampered enough these days, they need to take some responsibility & accountability for their own lives.

Absolutely if you’re talking about an individual, with some there is nothing you can do. But this is far larger than that & always has been. They could always use coincidence as a defence if it went that far.

 

[mightymouse75]

Absolutely if you’re talking about an individual, with some there is nothing you can do. But this is far larger than that & always has been. They could always use coincidence as a defence if it went that far.

You would be hard pressed to prove anything in court.
It was pretty disgusting watching it unfold.

Essendon the same.

The AFL & media doing their best to sweep everything under the carpet turned me off footy for a few years.

 

[Daddoo]

You and I need to have a frank and honest conversation.

View attachment 2218812

 

[freo1]

While I think the stain of WC is terrible, we’re talking about what adults did outside of work. You can’t retrospectively add in rules and regs into an old system. AFL players are pampered enough these days, they need to take some responsibility & accountability for their own lives.

Exactly. Just because you can kick a football well doesn't make you immortal, nor does it mean you should be treated extra special compared to us average joes. Having said that, they still do have access to a much larger range of support than we ever will, yet these guys still think they're bullet proof and above everyone else.

We can't just keep everyone in padded cells, at the end of the day people make their own choices.

Whilst i agree we can't retrospectively add in rules and assistance to an old system personally, I think the problem with some of these types is that serious mistakes they make during their prime are overlooked purely because they have a talent, which ultimately brings in money. If these guys were disciplined, early on it may actually break the cycle of their issues and give them the reality check they need before it's too late.

Exhibit A; WCE (2000's); because they were so talented, no one held them accountable for the drugs/crime etc. (as that would've mean no success on field). Ultimately there was no circuit breaker, which lead to heightened and further addiction and social and psychological issues in their post career lives.

 

[largebus]

Looks like Josh Carr will finally get his gig. Another year learning off Master Coach Kenny won't hurt.

 

[Dockeroo]

This is terribly sad. And a big reason why I don't go overboard with the vitriol anymore. Especially in light of the McCarthy situation These people are other humans.

Sport is just that, a sport. It isn't everything, no matter how hard you invest or will "your team" to be the one. Heartbreaking for family and friends, condolences go out to them

Good post and one I’ll try bear in mind during the season. Sometimes we get frustrated at what seem to be poor decisions or mistakes by players or coaches but as you say they are human and we don’t know what goes on behind the scenes.
I think criticism of a players footballing performances or a coaches tactics are warranted and part of being a fan but personal comments aren’t.
At the same time it’s bloody hard not to get fired up at stages during the season when there so much passion invested!
As a member if everyone at the club is getting close to their maximum potential performance we can’t ask for much more that that. Hasn’t always been the case at freo over the years though.

 

[theGav56]

Exactly. Just because you can kick a football well doesn't make you immortal, nor does it mean you should be treated extra special compared to us average joes. Having said that, they still do have access to a much larger range of support than we ever will, yet these guys still think they're bullet proof and above everyone else.

We can't just keep everyone in padded cells, at the end of the day people make their own choices.

Whilst i agree we can't retrospectively add in rules and assistance to an old system personally, I think the problem with some of these types is that serious mistakes they make during their prime are overlooked purely because they have a talent, which ultimately brings in money. If these guys were disciplined, early on it may actually break the cycle of their issues and give them the reality check they need before it's too late.

Exhibit A; WCE (2000's); because they were so talented, no one held them accountable for the drugs/crime etc. (as that would've mean no success on field). Ultimately there was no circuit breaker, which lead to heightened and further addiction and social and psychological issues in their post career lives.

I'm sure the incredibly high status and profile at a young age, and then the sudden cliff and comparative invisibility once it's over, creates significant problems for some ex players.

 

[BREATHLESS_987]

I'm sure the incredibly high status and profile at a young age, and then the sudden cliff and comparative invisibility once it's over, creates significant problems for some ex players.

Absolutely - I think the 2000’s WCE’s were a massive lesson to the AFL industry that there’s a responsibility with the clubs, while striving for success - to ensure that these young men walk out the door of the organisation as balanced, developed adults with a solid idea of what life after footy looks like.

Still massive work to be done in that regard, Freo alone have enough examples of that being the case.

 

[freo1]

I'm sure the incredibly high status and profile at a young age, and then the sudden cliff and comparative invisibility once it's over, creates significant problems for some ex players.

100%.


Specific to this team though, I strongly feel if they reprimanded and even helped the likes of cousins, Kerr, Chick etc in the early days, it’s likely their issues wouldn’t have spiralled to the lows of their post footy careers

 

[freo1]

I’d love to know if the admin and players of the WCEs from the 2000’s, heck even the supporters, think it was all worth it?

They turned such the blind eye to so much, for so long, purely because of the on field talent they had.

So much criminal behaviour and now a death, which I can only feel could’ve been prevented if they didn’t prioritise the on field success above all else.

Just from what worsfold and Nisbett say publicly it seems they still have no regrets which is saddening.

 

[gungho]

I’d love to know if the admin and players of the WCEs from the 2000’s, heck even the supporters, think it was all worth it?

They turned such the blind eye to so much, for so long, purely because of the on field talent they had.

So much criminal behaviour and now a death, which I can only feel could’ve been prevented if they didn’t prioritise the on field success above all else.

Just from what worsfold and Nisbett say publicly it seems they still have no regrets which is saddening.

I'm not sure if you can blame an organisation for the collective behaviour of a group of individuals that work within it. They weren't promoting recreational drug use.

 

[dont bowl there]

Not sure we should be throwing stones here, 3 of our ex players have recently committed suicide. All clubs and the AFL should be doing more.

 

[fleur]

Not sure we should be throwing stones here, 3 of our ex players have recently committed suicide. All clubs and the AFL should be doing more.

The AFLPA should be doing more I think

 

[dont bowl there]

The AFLPA should be doing more I think

Agree. It’s on everyone involved in the afl to do more. It’s been a horrible last few years in this space and we can’t just keep adding a lifeline number to the bottom of an article and a couple of check in with your mates tweets.

 

[theGav56]

I'm not sure if you can blame an organisation for the collective behaviour of a group of individuals that work within it. They weren't promoting recreational drug use.

Pretty common for organisations to have some level of focus on culture. Sports organisations perhaps moreso.

They don't need to be promoting drug use. They certainly were aware that there were issues and their management of it seems to be conceal it.

 

[gungho]

Pretty common for organisations to have some level of focus on culture. Sports organisations perhaps moreso.

They don't need to be promoting drug use. They certainly were aware that there were issues and their management of it seems to be conceal it.

Sure, they would have known what was going and they didn’t want the media to know? Can you blame them? The Dockers would have preferred to handle it internally too if in the same boat. (As would most clubs).
I just think this narrative of “Nisbett and Worsfold have blood on their hands” is a bit wrong to be honest.