The Jamarra Thread

[The White Mouse]

Sounds like his management are gonna leave Vic themselves and leave him behind lol

 

[The White Mouse]

Also, in his defence, I haven't actually seen him post anything himself that's ''dumb'' for at least two weeks now. The stuff that was shown recently throughout the media was weeks old and wasn't even posted by him.
Yes, he was stupid for being out with these people and being in that space where he could have videos of himself taken whilst intoxicated and yes, he isn't still showing up to training, but it has been several weeks since posting himself about being out and doing dumb shit, so at least the ''relax on posting dumb stuff to social media'' side is starting to slowly sink in?

Or, or.... he's too p1ssed to operate a phone

 

[Dogs_R_Us]

Or, or.... he's too p1ssed to operate a phone

Or he (finally) thinks people will leave him alone if they can't see what he's doing. Nothing to talk about.

 

[threenewpadlocks]

Also, in his defence, I haven't actually seen him post anything himself that's ''dumb'' for at least two weeks now. The stuff that was shown recently throughout the media was weeks old and wasn't even posted by him.
Yes, he was stupid for being out with these people and being in that space where he could have videos of himself taken whilst intoxicated and yes, he isn't still showing up to training, but it has been several weeks since posting himself about being out and doing dumb shit, so at least the ''relax on posting dumb stuff to social media'' side is starting to slowly sink in?

Agreed, but that's the literal barest minimum.

At some point to be an AFL player you still have to train though.

For argument's sake let's just say that overnight he turns it around and starts rocking up to training tomorrow and is a chior boy.

How many weeks until he regains the confidence and trust of his teammates, irons out the cobwebs skill wise, and gets up to date with all the tactics/strategy homework for the team in video sessions etc. that he's missed?

I would argue that we won't even get to that stage before the end of the season, even if he in theory started doing everything perfectly and to plan re training, which is why Bevo is able to be so certain to say he's not in selection contention at all.

 

[_Mike_]

- Marra cannot be forced to play, even if physically and mentally fit. No persons can be forced to work, the Fair Work Act & common law does not allow this. A player can be restrained from competing at a rival club if still under contract. See Buckenarra v Hawthorn 1989 (VIC).

- Even though a player is on a standard AFL playing contract, certain terms of the FWA covering specific areas will be implied into all employment contracts & this also happens with EBA

- In the event that Marra refuses to play, the club will be forced to resolve any disputes through the AFL's standard terms & conditions for a player in breach of their contract.

- Not sure on how this is going to play out, but would prefer to have Marra set himself straight and be the player for the Dogs that we drafted him for.

 

[W W Biscuit]

I am not suggesting for a second here that it's not a good thing that modern society is a lot more understanding with modern health, and I'm not ignoring the nature of being an Indigenous man from a rural community nor the good power than a union naturally has....

but you do wonder in what circumstance and if it's procedurally fair to still be earning that money when you're not fundamentally doing his job. The AFLPA and AFL don't want him not to be paid for the precedent etc. it creates but it must grate for him to be spending that money without maintaining the wording of his contract.

If they are really thinking this through, I'd be more worried about the precedent that a player can barely show up for work - or not at all - and still be paid in full. I mean, let's be candid. It's a bit of a rort, isn't it.

 

[dergert]

Feels like we are destined to never have a functional key forward set up.

 

[threenewpadlocks]

If they are really thinking this through, I'd be more worried about the precedent that a player can barely show up for work - or not at all - and still be paid in full. I mean, let's be candid. It's a bit of a rort, isn't it.

I understand the need for it, and I'm also very far away from being a cultural righty politically, but that's the world we live in with strong mental health considerations, strong Indigenous considerations, and a union that has. A lot of power and 100% membership. It's also more grating when it comes up against a non-profit, member run entity, rather than if we in theory had private owners who wanted to make a profit out of the Dogs and it was the private owner that signed Jamarra's paycheque and not us members.

But anyone who has any sense of general fairness would agree with you - it is a worrying sign but the AFL and AFLPA have their reasons and are obviously not in the Western Bulldogs' corner for this.

 

[Struggle]

If they are really thinking this through, I'd be more worried about the precedent that a player can barely show up for work - or not at all - and still be paid in full. I mean, let's be candid. It's a bit of a rort, isn't it.

Didn't a similar thing happen when Beams retired early?
There was a negotiated payout, but it was never clarified on if it was all included in the cap or not

 

[W W Biscuit]

I understand the need for it, and I'm also very far away from being a cultural righty politically, but that's the world we live in with strong mental health considerations, strong Indigenous considerations, and a union that has. A lot of power and 100% membership. It's also more grating when it comes up against a non-profit, member run entity, rather than if we in theory had private owners who wanted to make a profit out of the Dogs and it was the private owner that signed Jamarra's paycheque and not us members.

But anyone who has any sense of general fairness would agree with you - it is a worrying sign but the AFL and AFLPA have their reasons and are obviously not in the Western Bulldogs' corner for this.

I am certainly left of centre politically, and pro-union. This scenario is very interesting, in that I bemoan how toothless, disempowered or simply complicit modern unions have become in the degradation of pay and conditions in this country - not to mention where I used to live (the UK), where Thatcherism basically destroyed the movement. And I juxtapose this with what is happening between the AFL and the AFLPA, which is extremely anamolous to the bigger picture. I dare say, if I could have the AFLPA in my corner in my own industry, I would. Having said that, prima facie, the balance of power in the AFL has shifted to its employees to an extraordinary degree. So, yes...fairness. I think that we'd all like a piece of what AFL players are afforded in terms of workplace conditions, because for the rest of us, it just seems like footy players are living in some sort of anachronistic bubble that we will never understand.

 

[The White Mouse]

How many weeks until he regains the confidence and trust of his teammates,

He can't/won't. His position is untennable. The ship has sailed. He is never considered for selection let alone plays for the Dogs again.

 

[threenewpadlocks]

He can't/won't. His position is untennable. The ship has sailed. He is never considered for selection let alone plays for the Dogs again.

Agreed but I'm posing the hypothetical of even if tomorrow he turned around and did everything perfectly - how many weeks would he have to do it for until his teammates trust that it was permanent, is the point I'm making - it would happen eventually but not before the end of the season imo

 

[The White Mouse]

Agreed but I'm posing the hypothetical of even if tomorrow he turned around and did everything perfectly - how many weeks would he have to do it for until his teammates trust that it was permanent, is the point I'm making - it would happen eventually but not before the end of the season imo

I don't think it would happen. Not only that but I don't think the coach will put the players in a position to find out if they will or won't trust him.

I'd speculate that a return to training is possibly off the table now. Best he is absolutely nowhere near the place.

 

[ptrg]

As an outsider with no knowledge of what the hell is going on here, do the club have a right to be upfront and factual with the reasons as to why he’s “not playing anytime soon”?

Does anyone (on here) actually know and can say why he isn’t allowed to play? Is it as simple as not turning up to any trainings?
Recently followed him on IG, and he is still doing private gym work (along with hitting nightclubs) - is that all the issues?

 

[adogsfan5]

Seek.com, if you are not prepared to head interstate Marra.

 

[Philthy1]

As an outsider with no knowledge of what the hell is going on here, do the club have a right to be upfront and factual with the reasons as to why he’s “not playing anytime soon”?

Does anyone (on here) actually know and can say why he isn’t allowed to play? Is it as simple as not turning up to any trainings?
Recently followed him on IG, and he is still doing private gym work (along with hitting nightclubs) - is that all the issues?

At the very least his fitness is probably not where it needs to be to get through a game. This might be an assumption, but we know he is only going to the club once a week / fortnight.

From a selection integrity point of view there is no way any club can pick a player who is not at the club doing what everyone else is doing during the week.

 

[Sharkey66]

It sounds more complex than that.

I know in my workplace if you go on Work Cover due to mental health reasons, you still get paid. Most work places including the AFL would be similar, I'd have thought?

You are also obligated to abide by your certificate of capacity and your return to work plan though.

 

[Norm De Guerre]

As an outsider with no knowledge of what the hell is going on here, do the club have a right to be upfront and factual with the reasons as to why he’s “not playing anytime soon”?

Its not in the clubs or Jamarra's interests to publicly broadcast the reasons behind his absence.

What is certain from the clubs public statements on the matter is that they've done everything in their control to bring him back into the fold. And its for the most part fallen on deaf ears.

Does anyone (on here) actually know and can say why he isn’t allowed to play? Is it as simple as not turning up to any trainings?
Recently followed him on IG, and he is still doing private gym work (along with hitting nightclubs) - is that all the issues?

He is only training sporadically so there is no way that the club could consider selecting him.

Others on this board claim to have the inside knowledge as to the actual reasons for his absence. It'd be up to them to reply but I wouldn't expect those rumours to be discussed on this open forum.

 

[doggiesin08]

He isnt, his management is though.

Crazy the media isn’t asking any questions of his management, or if they are and not getting anything then even reporting the non response. This story should have Connors name attached to it as much as the clubs name.

 

[doggiesin08]

I hope there's compo. It's not as though (as other fans seem to think) we got him for free.

Just incredible how quickly and easily someone can p*** their career down the drain and for what?

Bottom line is he's being paid and he's not turning up to work and seemingly doing as he pleases.

I don’t like the idea of getting compensation and the precedent it sets. Why should we get compensation picks for Jamarra but other clubs not for medical retirements? Just gives too much discretion to the AFL and typically that doesn’t benefit the smaller clubs.

What would be closer to fair is getting his salary excluded from the cap for both 2025 (we can front load others) and next year. It still sucks for us, but it’s closer.

 

[The White Mouse]

I don’t like the idea of getting compensation and the precedent it sets. Why should we get compensation picks for Jamarra but other clubs not for medical retirements? Just gives too much discretion to the AFL and typically that doesn’t benefit the smaller clubs.

What would be closer to fair is getting his salary excluded from the cap for both 2025 (we can front load others) and next year. It still sucks for us, but it’s closer.

The degree to which that is possible might depend on how much the AFL knew and we didn't at the time of his re-signing.

It's a very flawed system that I expect to come into sharp focus during and post this episode. The clubs must be allowed every avenue to due diligence when they're putting these offers up.

 

[Dogs Rule]

Feels like we are destined to never have a functional key forward set up.

You could argue it wasn't functional either with Jamarra, Darcy and Naughton.

 

[threenewpadlocks]

You could argue it wasn't functional either with Jamarra, Darcy and Naughton.

Apart from the fact that we were top 2 for points for, it wasn't functional?

I would argue it was completely functional and arguably the only weakness was Jamarra's inaccurate goalkicking

 

[TiAn_]

Apart from the fact that we were top 2 for points for, it wasn't functional?

I would argue it was completely functional and arguably the only weakness was Jamarra's inaccurate goalkicking

3rd for points for so far this year. Decent even spread of goal kickers with Sanders, Kennedy, Freijah, McNeil, Vandermeer and West all averaging around a goal a game. Plus Bont with 2 in his first game back. It’s probably not sustainable for all of them, but it’s a good array of players that can all do their bit in front of goal.

Treloar, Harmes and Gallagher are all decent goal kickers that are out of the side atm too (along with the aforementioned Vandermeer). Plus Weightman obviously. Plenty of front half options that are at least adequate around goal and not liabilities defensively.

Scoring isn’t a problem for us, our issue is how efficient we allow our opponents to be when they go inside their 50. That first 10 minutes against the Saints was awful in that regard. 5 I50s for 4.1 at one point, I think. Better teams will pile on goals without allowing us the same, as we’ve seen a few times already this year.

 

[_Cerberus_]

3rd for points for so far this year. Decent even spread of goal kickers with Sanders, Kennedy, Freijah, McNeil, Vandermeer and West all averaging around a goal a game. Plus Bont with 2 in his first game back. It’s probably not sustainable for all of them, but it’s a good array of players that can all do their bit in front of goal.

Treloar, Harmes and Gallagher are all decent goal kickers that are out of the side atm too (along with the aforementioned Vandermeer). Plus Weightman obviously. Plenty of front half options that are at least adequate around goal and not liabilities defensively.

Scoring isn’t a problem for us, our issue is how efficient we allow our opponents to be when they go inside their 50. That first 10 minutes against the Saints was awful in that regard. 5 I50s for 4.1 at one point, I think. Better teams will pile on goals without allowing us the same, as we’ve seen a few times already this year.

We play GWS and Geelong in the next month, both away. These two games will show where we are really at. Especially the defensive side of things. If we allow teams to score too easily once they get the ball inside, we will be belted. And those two opponents will be amongst the best at hurting you if down. Pretty mixed result vs Brisbane, depending which half you look at.