Play Nice Still no evidence against Melbourne re: tanking

Hard_to_Beat

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It may increase the chances of finding evidence - but if they're turning on each other, doesn't that increase the likelyhood that individuals, rather than the club itself, will cop the majority of punishment?

If individuals can be proven to have manipulated the system but no unified methodology was applied by the club then Melbourne would be cheering in some respects - the club's reputation emerges about as unscathed as could have been reasonably hoped for.
I think Connolly is sending messages that he won't go to the gallows quietly which thereby causes larger potential issues for Melbourne and the AFL.

My guess is that he has dirt up his sleeve that has so far not been revealed and he's threatening to unload if they hang him out to dry.

One things certain, there's fire in the smoke now.
 

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Wonder if Melbourne will officially respond well in advance of the deadline. If they are confident, they should get on the front foot with a "bring it on" attitude.
 

Hard_to_Beat

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Wonder if Melbourne will officially respond well in advance of the deadline. If they are confident, they should get on the front foot with a "bring it on" attitude.

What would you do in a room full of blokes that are (understandably) looking out for their own interests and holding their cards close?

I think all parties are hoping for the AFL to step in with some fines, minor penalties and a mid level smack to the club.
 

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I think Connolly is sending messages that he won't go to the gallows quietly which thereby causes larger potential issues for Melbourne and the AFL.

My guess is that he has dirt up his sleeve that has so far not been revealed and he's threatening to unload if they hang him out to dry.

One things certain, there's fire in the smoke now.
Ja, pretty hard to see how the original premise of this thread is still valid - when testimony starts to become laced with self-preservation, there will be some sort of material outcome from the AFL.
 

Baldur

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Did you actually read the article sunshine? Connolly has done no such thing, I suggest you go back and read the article again, this time carefully. Read who the actual quotes are from, here I'll help...



Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/connolly-claims-conspiracy-20130114-2cpwu.html#ixzz2Hzv5zzpU

The article even specificly states that Connolly refused to make any comments to the public.



This is just another example of a reporter getting one piece of information (Connolly denying the charge) and then creating some fanciful scenario that sounds juicy to get people talking about the article. The nuffies don't care if it's not based on any fact because they want to believe it. The only thing you can take out of that article is that Connolly denies that a meeting called the 'vault' took place to discuss tanking games, which we already know was wrong.

It's actually bloody hilarious watching everyone getting so excited and wet over this article :)
You where going ok until you invented your own fanciful scenario that sounded juicy.

"CHRIS Connolly has rejected claims the now infamous "vault" meeting even took place and has suggested he is the victim of a conspiracy within the Melbourne Football Club"

"He [Connolly] is saying there wasn't a vault meeting, there were so many meetings he can't remember," a legal representative with knowledge of the report said.
"He goes to quite an extent to say that, 'I have been lined up by certain people at the club, these are the same people who lined me up to move sideways from football manager', to what he is doing now.
"He talks about stuff being leaked to The Age. He goes to a fairly full length to say there is some conspiracy theory."

You have idea whatsoever if this was as you are suggesting some fanciful scenario invented by the journo or just what he says it is, a information provided to him by a legal representive who has knowledge of the report advising him what it says that Connolly has said in his interviews.
 

LBJ6

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Christ, and I get called delusional because I say stuff like "Kieran Harper has all the talents to be an elite fwd/mid, if he was at a big club you'd never hear rthe end of him".
You clearly do not understand why you get called delusional (amongst other things).
 

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You where going ok until you invented your own fanciful scenario that sounded juicy.

"CHRIS Connolly has rejected claims the now infamous "vault" meeting even took place and has suggested he is the victim of a conspiracy within the Melbourne Football Club"

"He [Connolly] is saying there wasn't a vault meeting, there were so many meetings he can't remember," a legal representative with knowledge of the report said.
"He goes to quite an extent to say that, 'I have been lined up by certain people at the club, these are the same people who lined me up to move sideways from football manager', to what he is doing now.
"He talks about stuff being leaked to The Age. He goes to a fairly full length to say there is some conspiracy theory."

You have idea whatsoever if this was as you are suggesting some fanciful scenario invented by the journo or just what he says it is, a information provided to him by a legal representive who has knowledge of the report advising him what it says that Connolly has said in his interviews.
DH inventing his own fanciful scenario, my dear Baldrick, is a subtle plan. Although you wouldn't see a subtle plan if it painted itself purple and danced naked on top of a harpsichord, singing "Subtle plans are here again!"
 

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Christ, and I get called delusional because I say stuff like "Kieran Harper has all the talents to be an elite fwd/mid, if he was at a big club you'd never hear rthe end of him".

Melbourne fans by and large living in bizzaroworld now.
Which fans are these? And what are we "all" being delusional about?

The only person I see in here replying all the time is Demonheart, while most other Demon fans seem more than capable of having a sensible discussion about this. A small selection of opposition fans aren't innocent from posting complete rubbish in this thread either.
 

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Seems to me the title should be Piles of evidence against Melbourne re: tanking.
Please summarise the 'pile of evidence'

So far the damning evidence we have are:

1) only giving an 18 year old kid 3 games in 2009 (who incidentally was still in school)
2) playing 3 ruckman in a game of football (no club including essendon would ever dream of doing that)
3) a 200 cm ruckman fumbling a ball
4) making a couple of positional moves en route to a 48 point loss to a 20-2 team.
 

LeverPuller

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Which fans are these? And what are we "all" being delusional about?

The only person I see in here replying all the time is Demonheart, while most other Demon fans seem more than capable of having a sensible discussion about this. A small selection of opposition fans aren't innocent from posting complete rubbish in this thread either.
I can't even be bothered. Every time I've tried to post reasonably the other way I've been hounded down.

The level of vitriol directed towards us - a group of people who are ultimately innocent parties and are stuck with this whole mess, regardless of the outcome, due to loyalty to the club is absolutely astounding. You'd think we'd committed genocide, but no, a bunch of dumbarses who work for the club may or may not have decided to make some dodgy decisions regarding a season.

From my perspective, it's simply not worth my time of day giving it a full and frank discussion.

And, FWIW, I don't believe it was dodgy, I truly believe we were just garbage. In terms of the Richmond game, the low interchanges happens when you're stuck with one on the bench. And wouldn't you think Melbourne supporters know the definition of a garbage football team? Christ knows it feels like I've wasted the better part of five years going to the footy to watch loss after loss.

Oh, and as a final point...I don't understand who wins by having Melbourne go down.
- Melbourne lose, being punished.
- AFL brand loses, due to their role in setting up the system.
- Other clubs probably lose as there will end up being other investigations based on similar 'evidence'.
- Adrian Anderson may have already lost.
- Vlad gets a massive stain on his damn good record as CEO.

It works for everyone for this to go under the carpet and for the AFL to meter out punishment in other ways (as I believe they have monetarily with the 2013 Melbourne draw) but no, instead it's continuing.
 

LBJ6

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'The Vault'.

Many club staff admitting tanking happened to investigators.
Can people please stop using those two words as if it's a codename for a secret meeting? The Vault was the nickname for the shed at Junction Oval. The meeting where the tanking comments were alleged to have occurred was in a regular match committee meeting following the win against Port Adelaide, in The Vault.
 

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I can't even be bothered. Every time I've tried to post reasonably the other way I've been hounded down.

The level of vitriol directed towards us - a group of people who are ultimately innocent parties and are stuck with this whole mess, regardless of the outcome, due to loyalty to the club is absolutely astounding. You'd think we'd committed genocide, but no, a bunch of dumbarses who work for the club may or may not have decided to make some dodgy decisions regarding a season.
I think this is a fair point. As you and I have discussed before, not every fan from your mob was waving their scarf, singing, and dancing at the game after the loss, and not every Dees poster was posting congratulations to the club for having the courage to tank deliberately.

A fair number of you hated the idea from the start, and have held that line since. You guys shouldn't be bagged for doing so.
 

coryne

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'The Vault'.

Many club staff admitting tanking happened to investigators.


Bragging to sponsors about "doing everything required" to net Scully and Trengove


Bragging to supporters about making 7-8 changes before the Sydney game


Openly talking about the need to secure the PP during a club meeting


Rotating players during wins but not losses


Laughable positional changes, primarily to more senior players, during the Richmond game






Sure everyone in a position to tank has tanked, but no-one else as blatantly and stupidly as Melbourne have (which is what will bite your team on the ass in the end)
 
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Bragging to sponsors about "doing everything required" to net Scully and Trengove


Bragging to supporters about making 7-8 changes before the Sydney game


Openly talking about the need to secure the PP during a club meeting


Rotating players during wins but not losses


Laughable positional changes, primarily to more senior players, during the Richmond game






Sure everyone in a position to tank has tanked, but no-one else as blatantly and stupidly as Melbourne have (which is what will bite your team on the arse in the end)
Here we go again. Feel like I've answered this 2,000 times.

The sponsor stuff is hearsay.

Club never, ever bragged to supporters about changes. Laughable that you would even think it happened.

Hearsay. Again. The need to get the PP has never been proven as being mentioned.

Rotating players is something every club does.

Positional changes for a young club at the end of the year is, again, something every club does.

Bite us on the arse? Maybe. But bringing up the same rubbish again and again doesn't make it true.
 
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I can't even be bothered. Every time I've tried to post reasonably the other way I've been hounded down.

The level of vitriol directed towards us - a group of people who are ultimately innocent parties and are stuck with this whole mess, regardless of the outcome, due to loyalty to the club is absolutely astounding. You'd think we'd committed genocide, but no, a bunch of dumbarses who work for the club may or may not have decided to make some dodgy decisions regarding a season.

From my perspective, it's simply not worth my time of day giving it a full and frank discussion.

And, FWIW, I don't believe it was dodgy, I truly believe we were just garbage. In terms of the Richmond game, the low interchanges happens when you're stuck with one on the bench. And wouldn't you think Melbourne supporters know the definition of a garbage football team? Christ knows it feels like I've wasted the better part of five years going to the footy to watch loss after loss.

Oh, and as a final point...I don't understand who wins by having Melbourne go down.
- Melbourne lose, being punished.
- AFL brand loses, due to their role in setting up the system.
- Other clubs probably lose as there will end up being other investigations based on similar 'evidence'.
- Adrian Anderson may have already lost.
- Vlad gets a massive stain on his damn good record as CEO.

It works for everyone for this to go under the carpet and for the AFL to meter out punishment in other ways (as I believe they have monetarily with the 2013 Melbourne draw) but no, instead it's continuing.
Absolutely mate.

There are some opposition supporters in this thread who can hold a discussion without it turning into a slanging match where they whine about the same stuff and pot the club. They can actually put forward a point of view and then back it up.

Then there are the rest who don't contribute, slam the club, claim that we have done everything and anything to tank based on nothing but flimsy "evidence" that's been leaked to the media and then say we are the delusional ones or that we don't know what we are talking about. It's par for the course.

Agree with that last part as well. There are no winners here.
 
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The level of vitriol directed towards us - a group of people who are ultimately innocent parties and are stuck with this whole mess, regardless of the outcome, due to loyalty to the club is absolutely astounding. You'd think we'd committed genocide, but no, a bunch of dumbarses who work for the club may or may not have decided to make some dodgy decisions regarding a season.
Who started threads at the time like: "I'm glad my team is tanking!"

People who still say stuff like "It was the right thing to do at the time, and anyway the AFL shouldn't have the rule up!"

North have never had a priority pick. Geelong haven't. Adelaide haven't.

Why does Melbourne get to CHEAT the system? Because that's what the club did, at a strategic and tactical level, it set out to cheat by not putting in 100 per cent to win each game week to week and thus GAIN ADVANTAGE over other clubs. And yeah, sure, some of those other clubs have probably gone the tank too. But others haven't.

You got caught, cop your whack.
 
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Please summarise the 'pile of evidence'

So far the damning evidence we have are:

1) only giving an 18 year old kid 3 games in 2009 (who incidentally was still in school)
2) playing 3 ruckman in a game of football (no club including essendon would ever dream of doing that)
3) a 200 cm ruckman fumbling a ball
4) making a couple of positional moves en route to a 48 point loss to a 20-2 team.
Fans like you starting threads at the time praising the tanking, because it was so obvious.

Your own former president saying he couldn't attend games because it was so obvious the onfield shenanigans and he hated seeing people wearing blue and red applauding it.

The fact that former players and coaches have very specifically gone out of their way to nudge nudge wink wink the whole thing when asked.
 

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Who started threads at the time like: "I'm glad my team is tanking!"

People who still say stuff like "It was the right thing to do at the time, and anyway the AFL shouldn't have the rule up!"

North have never had a priority pick. Geelong haven't. Adelaide haven't.

Why does Melbourne get to CHEAT the system? Because that's what the club did, at a strategic and tactical level, it set out to cheat by not putting in 100 per cent to win each game week to week and thus GAIN ADVANTAGE over other clubs. And yeah, sure, some of those other clubs have probably gone the tank too. But others haven't.

You got caught, cop your whack.
Why do I, on a personal level, deserve it?

Seriously?

It's just a game. Ultimately, sport is a competitive escape from our real lives. The actions may or may not have been proven. That's yet to be decided. But in the court of media opinion, it seems more that I'm a murderer rather than being stuck following a team that, let's be realistic, has had a pretty bloody rough trot lately - and yet us supporters put up with it, because that's what we do, for better or for worse.

And for doing so we're being labelled cheats, liars, defending the indefensible.

Sure, some muppets were enjoying the tank. A family member of mine is one of them - and he said specifically that the system is there to be exploited. I don't agree with him, and yet I am lumped in with him.

When North Melbourne were at risk of moving a few years back, I'm sure there were people on BigFooty claiming similar things about NMFC and their supporters. I know similar were claimed about Adelaide supporters as the Tippett saga unfolded.

Personally, I think it's a load of shit. You know how many wins I saw in 2012? One, plus the final quarter of the GWS game. You know how much control I had over those onfield events? Absolutely zero. You know how much control I had over the off-field events in 2009, whatever occurred? Zero. And yet I'm being told I'm responsible, to cop my whack because I deserved it for cheating. I did no such thing. I'll be pissed off at people who are mostly already gone from the club anyway if such a thing did occur, but once again my ability to influence affairs (because HURR VOTING MEMBER) comes very close to zero.

So honestly, piss off. I don't deserve one iota of it. I've put up with barely seeing a win for the last six years, and if I followed BigFooty's opinions I'd probably be stuck there forever and there'd be very little point in following my footy team. Instead sure. I'll turn up. I'll give them a bit of money for the privilege too. I'll follow, and support, and follow the highs and lows of sport. What I won't do is have that extra operative level of insinuation that I'm effectively a criminal copped from the likes of you because of events that I, as well as numerous other Melbourne supporters, had no control over.
 
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