Player Watch Steele Sidebottom

[TW Sherrin]

Buckley is a soft 'you know what' these days. Needs to set the tone...

But he'll rather declare with a weeping heart... "Sidebottom is a young man on a journey and growth as a human being....blah blah".

CTB, that was Bucks 5 or 6 years ago and the place was in turmoil. Since he became touchy feely things have turned around.

 

[domus]

But apparently they didn't let us down. On the field, we won.

Oh. So you appear to judge an action retrospectively depending on the actual outcome of the match. Win, lose or draw, if my teammates went out and partied all night and attended training hungover during grand final week, I would be disgusted by their lack of discipline and selfishness regardless of the outcome. Crosisca badly bruised his thigh while drunk that night and hid it from Matthews all week. At one stage he thought he may not be fit enough to play. That is appalling behaviour. Would you feel differently if he had been unavailable due to injury suffered while heavily intoxicated? What a moral booster for the team days before the biggest game of their lives.

They did let us down. They got away with it.

 

[domus]

Its just stunning how many matches Collingwood players have missed over the past decade for reasons not related to football.

Heath Shaw, Swanny, Daisy Thomas, Didak, Cloke, Josh Thomas & Lachy Keeffe, Sam Murray, Howe, DeGoey, Sier, Stephenson, Sidebottom and Dunn. Its moronic. And that's on top of consistently having one of the worst injury tolls too.

Is it any wonder we don't win many premierships? Yet another own-goal conceded by the Pies.

Correct. Apparently you hate Collingwood if you mention these indiscretions.

 

[LuckyLee]

Correct. Apparently you hate Collingwood if you mention these indiscretions.

Yes, it’s hugely frustrating, isn’t it?

Players from the REALLY successful teams over the past 10-15 years (Hawks, Cats, Swans & Tigers) just don’t seem to put themselves in these positions. I can barely remember any off-field incidents among players from those four teams during their periods of greatest success that warranted suspension. They seemed much more united and single-minded in their collective pursuit of the ultimate prize than our players. They seem much more disciplined and more committed to not letting down their team-mates and themselves. They seem more willing to make big personal sacrifices for the good of the team. Until we get that same level of professionalism and buy-in across the entire group, we’ll continue to come up short in our pursuit of greatness. Sadly.


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[domus]

Yes, it’s hugely frustrating, isn’t it?

Players from the REALLY successful teams over the past 10-15 years (Hawks, Cats, Swans & Tigers) just don’t seem to put themselves in these positions. I can barely remember any off-field incidents among players from those four teams during their periods of greatest success that warranted suspension. They seemed much more united and single-minded in their collective pursuit of the ultimate prize than our players. They seem much more disciplined and more committed to not letting down their team-mates and themselves. They seem more willing to make big personal sacrifices for the good of the team. Until we get that same level of professionalism and buy-in across the entire group, we’ll continue to come up short in our pursuit of greatness. Sadly.


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I agree. I wrote a shopping list of indiscretions in an earlier post and others informed me of many others I overlooked. It is ridiculous. The mental health issue at Collingwood also seems to be more prominent than at most other clubs. There may be something in the water.

 

[LuckyLee]

I agree. I wrote a shopping list of indiscretions in an earlier post and others informed me of many others I overlooked. It is ridiculous. The mental health issue at Collingwood also seems to be more prominent than at most other clubs. There may be something in the water.

I reckon it’s probably very easy to get an inflated ego while playing for Collingwood. So much attention from fans and media seems to lead some of our players to think that they’re stars without actually contributing or achieving all that much. The likes of Luke Hodge, Tom Harley, Brett Kirk and even Trent Cotchin refused to allow that to happen in their teams.


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[Kappa]

I reckon it’s probably very easy to get an inflated ego while playing for Collingwood. So much attention from fans and media seems to lead some of our players to think that they’re stars without actually contributing or achieving all that much. The likes of Luke Hodge, Tom Harley, Brett Kirk and even Trent Cotchin refused to allow that to happen in their teams.


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We haven't had a real aggressive leader since Maxwell retired.

 

[jmac70]

We haven't had a real aggressive leader since Maxwell retired.

Adams?

 

[Vicky Park]

The likes of Luke Hodge, Tom Harley, Brett Kirk and even Trent Cotchin refused to allow that to happen in their teams.

Be careful who you put on a pedestal. Luke Hodge was captain of Hawthorn when he got caught drink driving on the eve of their 2015 finals campaign. When they were going for a famous three-peat. Which they won.

I post this because other teams make these mistakes too. And Hodge’s was a shocker.

But this is not to excuse Sidey and what I agree is our poor record. I also think we probably don’t know the half of what goes on in the AFL. Some clubs are better at hiding it than others.

 

[Billys Back]

Be careful who you put on a pedestal. Luke Hodge was captain of Hawthorn when he got caught drink driving on the eve of their 2015 finals campaign. When they were going for a famous three-peat. Which they won.

I post this because other teams make these mistakes too. And Hodge’s was a shocker.

But this is not to excuse Sidey and what I agree is our poor record. I also think we probably don’t know the half of what goes on in the AFL. Some clubs are better at hiding it than others.

Spot on. With so many young men in the AFL, there is no doubt there have and will be many more incidents. We just don’t hear about them. We can throw in Franklin when he was at the Hawks in that list as well.

 

[jackcass]

Yes, it’s hugely frustrating, isn’t it?

Players from the REALLY successful teams over the past 10-15 years (Hawks, Cats, Swans & Tigers) just don’t seem to put themselves in these positions. I can barely remember any off-field incidents among players from those four teams during their periods of greatest success that warranted suspension. They seemed much more united and single-minded in their collective pursuit of the ultimate prize than our players. They seem much more disciplined and more committed to not letting down their team-mates and themselves. They seem more willing to make big personal sacrifices for the good of the team. Until we get that same level of professionalism and buy-in across the entire group, we’ll continue to come up short in our pursuit of greatness. Sadly.


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I certainly don't follow these other teams with as much interest as the Pies but just off the top of my head...

Hawks - Hodge drink driving (2015 - glossed over by the club, fined and allowed to play in the 2015 QF; 2017 - suspended for 1 game)
Cats - Stevens stabbed, Motlop suspended for drinking before a game
Swans - Rampe broke his arm jumping over a chain fence
Tigers - An allegedly drunk Dusty chop-sticking a woman in a restaurant, Broad circulating pictures of a naked women

No club is immune to these incidents.

That doesn't make those the impact Pies players anymore palatable. Just the reality.

 

[60 Yards Out]

Oh. So you appear to judge an action retrospectively depending on the actual outcome of the match. Win, lose or draw, if my teammates went out and partied all night and attended training hungover during grand final week, I would be disgusted by their lack of discipline and selfishness regardless of the outcome. Crosisca badly bruised his thigh while drunk that night and hid it from Matthews all week. At one stage he thought he may not be fit enough to play. That is appalling behaviour. Would you feel differently if he had been unavailable due to injury suffered while heavily intoxicated? What a moral booster for the team days before the biggest game of their lives.

They did let us down. They got away with it.

Look, I respect the point of view you and others are putting forward, and I agree Steele’s behaviour was foolish and consequential. I’m not happy about it. But also, I think it’s distasteful the way some posters go all sanctimonious and righteous when things go wrong, condemning players as idiots, dickheads and worse. They want to hold players to standards they would not live up to themselves — and, importantly, I mean even if they were players themselves. It gets pretty hypocritical.
On the point you raise as to whether I judge the players’ observance of rules and regulations according to results on the field... Well, yes, to a pretty significant extent.

 

[TheGreatGrundy]

Buckley is a soft 'you know what' these days. Needs to set the tone...

But he'll rather declare with a weeping heart... "Sidebottom is a young man on a journey and growth as a human being....blah blah".

Did he say that? Or are you just extrapolating?

 

[Gabbo64]

What is wrong with all you people. Steele f*#ked up. He was given an appropriate penalty. Move on.

 

[sr36]

Steele needs to take some advice from this lady.

I think we can all agree that this is unlikely to happen again. As Bucks pointed out, Steele hadn't been drinking enough recently, so he ended up getting really pissed. He's now overcome not drinking enough. So we jsut need to keep him on the piss until the end of the season. What he does in the off season is up to him.

 

[doppleganger]

I reckon it’s probably very easy to get an inflated ego while playing for Collingwood. So much attention from fans and media seems to lead some of our players to think that they’re stars without actually contributing or achieving all that much. The likes of Luke Hodge, Tom Harley, Brett Kirk and even Trent Cotchin refused to allow that to happen in their teams.

First part I agree with, part of the problem with Collingwood is the exposure and adulation.
An average player at the Pies is basically the equivalent of a gun at North or Melbourne in terms of exposure etc.

Second bit is just crap.

Hodge himself was done for drink driving on the eve of the finals, and he was very much a play hard work hard footballer. Remember the Hawks ‘injunction’.

Harley and Geelong - Stokes was done for trafficking, Chapman accused of assaulting some girl after a drunken blow-out, Johnson broke his leg when drunk, Johnson arrested for public drunkenness in Wangaratta, Johnson then done for driving 120 in a 50 zone, D.Johnson arrested for assault on eve of 07 GF, B.Ottens done for drink driving, S.King done for drink driving etc...and Geelong are very much like a non-vic club, so much gets swept under the rug down the highway!

Even the great JOEL Selwood was done for speeding which meant Geelong lost TAC sponsorship.

Brett Kirk up in Sydney, part of the reason players go to Sydney is so they can get out of the Melbourne bubble and have freedom to getaway with stuff.

Players are all different, just like people are...for some they end up performing better if they are able to de-stress and have a blowout every now and then.

 

[LuckyLee]

I certainly don't follow these other teams with as much interest as the Pies but just off the top of my head...

Hawks - Hodge drink driving (2015 - glossed over by the club, fined and allowed to play in the 2015 QF; 2017 - suspended for 1 game)
Cats - Stevens stabbed, Motlop suspended for drinking before a game
Swans - Rampe broke his arm jumping over a chain fence
Tigers - An allegedly drunk Dusty chop-sticking a woman in a restaurant, Broad circulating pictures of a naked women

No club is immune to these incidents.

That doesn't make those the impact Pies players anymore palatable. Just the reality.

Yes, but you've (rightly) named one or two incidents at each of those clubs (and the Rampe one was a clumsy injury at training so doesn't count), whereas I rattled off 12-14 suspended Collingwood players off the top of my head. Its chalk and cheese. Our players seem to get caught doing dumb/irresponsible things with much greater frequency than any other club.

 

[Robroy22]

First part I agree with, part of the problem with Collingwood is the exposure and adulation.
An average player at the Pies is basically the equivalent of a gun at North or Melbourne in terms of exposure etc.

Second bit is just crap.

Hodge himself was done for drink driving on the eve of the finals, and he was very much a play hard work hard footballer. Remember the Hawks ‘injunction’.

Harley and Geelong - Stokes was done for trafficking, Chapman accused of assaulting some girl after a drunken blow-out, Johnson broke his leg when drunk, Johnson arrested for public drunkenness in Wangaratta, Johnson then done for driving 120 in a 50 zone, D.Johnson arrested for assault on eve of 07 GF, B.Ottens done for drink driving, S.King done for drink driving etc...and Geelong are very much like a non-vic club, so much gets swept under the rug down the highway!

Even the great JOEL Selwood was done for speeding which meant Geelong lost TAC sponsorship.

Brett Kirk up in Sydney, part of the reason players go to Sydney is so they can get out of the Melbourne bubble and have freedom to getaway with stuff.

Players are all different, just like people are...for some they end up performing better if they are able to de-stress and have a blowout every now and then.

Thanks for making all those "swept under the carpet" occurrences public again. It's always amazed me just how much more our mistakes get focussed on by the media.....and you only really concentrated on Geelong and Hodgey! The Swans, Carlton, West Coast for goodness sakes....Dusty and his mates, The Bombers, StKilda's "Ratpack" under Grant Thomas.....the list is endless but its only CFC that gets the FULL TREATMENT.

 

[Robroy22]

Yes, but you've (rightly) named one or two incidents at each of those clubs (and the Rampe one was a clumsy injury at training so doesn't count), whereas I rattled off 12-14 suspended Collingwood players off the top of my head. Its chalk and cheese. Our players seem to get caught doing dumb/irresponsible things with much greater frequency than any other club.

Oh please.....

 

[jackcass]

Yes, but you've (rightly) named one or two incidents at each of those clubs (and the Rampe one was a clumsy injury at training so doesn't count), whereas I rattled off 12-14 suspended Collingwood players off the top of my head. Its chalk and cheese. Our players seem to get caught doing dumb/irresponsible things with much greater frequency than any other club.

Not really, we just don't know those other clubs as intimately as our own. I'm sure supporters of those clubs could provide a much more comprehensive list of player indiscretions.

 

[LuckyLee]

Oh please.....

The "boys will be boys" and "everyone does it" defences are lame. They're not teenagers, they're grown men being paid a fortune to act professionally.

The bottom line, which is irrefutable, is that Collingwood players have been suspended for far more weeks by club/AFL over non-football transgressions than any club over the past decade. (excluding Essendon's peptide programme, which was club-sanctioned so in a different category). This is not my opinion, its quantifiable fact. Add up all the weeks missed - we "win" by miles. And if you think that those suspensions haven't cost us victories and possibly premierships, you're kidding yourself.

Our players need to demand higher standards of professionalism of themselves and their team-mates if they really want to win the premierships that we supporters all crave.

 

[doppleganger]

Thanks for making all those "swept under the carpet" occurrences public again. It's always amazed me just how much more our mistakes get focussed on by the media.....and you only really concentrated on Geelong and Hodgey! The Swans, Carlton, West Coast for goodness sakes....Dusty and his mates, The Bombers, StKilda's "Ratpack" under Grant Thomas.....the list is endless but its only CFC that gets the FULL TREATMENT.

The Geelong stuff was basically all in the period when Harley was there too, the supposed great leader.

No idea why supporters want our players to be robots.

Plenty do amazing things helping sick kids, volunteering time for people, and our club in particular is great at this aspect.

Who really gives a shit if an individual player went and had a skinful and embarrassed themselves!? You learn from your mistakes.

Voss the Boss and Simon Black, weren’t they both sued as a result of a drunken brawl? Lions players were accused of rape over in London in early 2000s...

North in the 90s, Eagles in 90s and then again in mid 2000s, Hawks injuction, Geelong 2007-2011

Many of the great teams and players actually have/had the work hard and play hard ethos.

 

[Linda_Lovelace]

This is absolutely correct excepting for the occasions on which it isn’t.

Like any illness. Young healthy people die of viruses on a regular basis. Every the flu kills plenty.

Its all a matter of perspective and reality.

 

[No SPIN]

Ironically I’m thinking that maybe our culture of openess and honesty is a contributing factor. I suspect if Stevo was a Hawk last year and went to Clarko, I suspect Clarko would have said “ Stevo leave it with me and promise me you will never discuss this with anyone” . Substitute Stevo for Sier, JDG etc - I have little doubt ruthlessly competitive Coaches like Clarkson take a very different approach to these problems, depending on the severity of course.

Further, Eddie being a media guy would have the view that releasing the story and thereby controlling the narrative is a proven strategy in managing the media.
That may well be true but that assumes that all stories will eventually go public - but I suspect Clarko has very different view believing that, IF it becomes public then the Club will act.

 

[Pistol Night]

Ironically I’m thinking that maybe our culture of openesd and honesty is a contributing factor. I suspect if Stevo was a Hawk last year and went to Clarko, I suspect Clarko would have said “ Stevo leave it with me and promise me you will never discuss this with anyone” . Substitute Stevo for Sier, JDG etc - I have little doubt ruthlessly competitive Coaches like Clarkson take a very different approach to these problems, depending on the severity of course.

Further, Eddie being a media guy would have the view that releasing the story and thereby controlling the narrative is a proven strategy in managing the media.
That may well be true but that assumes that all stories will eventually go public - but I suspect Clarko has very different view on both respects.

Clarko probably would of been clever enough to ask Stevo to go in on a multi with him and put him one out in the square so he kicked first goal