The Jamarra Thread

[MaxiBont]

Can’t imagine many teams who could lose a KPF of the calibre of Jamarra for the whole season and still be #1 in scoring.

Our forward depth is insane and looks even better after the Croft debut.

 

[Mofra]

The worst case scenario is clearly that he remains on the list next year without playing and his salary is part of our cap.

I suspect what may happen is that the AFL allows us to terminate his spot on the list, and his salary from the cap - but that we must still honor the salary outside the cap.

Depends on the mechanism. If he hasn't fulfilled his contact we should be able to terminate it without payment.

Otherwise, hello "negotiated settlement".

 

[Mofra]

Can’t imagine many teams who could lose a KPF of the calibre of Jamarra for the whole season and still be #1 in scoring.

Our forward depth is insane and looks even better after the Croft debut.

Weightman to come back, Dolan and Hynes after a pre-season.

And to think of those decades of not having KPP depth.

 

[Bald]

Weightman to come back, Dolan and Hynes after a pre-season.

And to think of those decades of not having KPP depth.

What are you talking about Ayce Cordy was wonderful.

 

[Mofra]

What are you talking about Ayce Cordy was wonderful.

Tim Walsh. Pick 4.
Career stats: 1 game, 1 mark, 1 kick.

 

[Bald]

Tim Walsh. Pick 4.
Career stats: 1 game, 1 mark, 1 kick.

And number 1 in our hearts.

 

[Spiritof82]

How do we address this without any distraction to our (potential) finals campaign?

I'd assume internally the leadership group will tell the players he is fired, done, not welcome anymore.

Hopefully this gives some confidence or energy, as opposed to a dragging on distraction.

Or maybe none of JUH's antics effect anything at all regardless.

He's been missing that long that the leadership group may have to hold up a photo of him so that the players know who he is.

 

[_Cerberus_]

I understand and sympathize he has lost family members and it has affected him, I really do. And I understand his people still face difficulty and stigma in society in general, with lack of support networks etc.

But in the end, all the other stuff are the result of his own decisions and there is little excuse and sympathy for them. I know a few elders out there spend countless hours trying to help many of those in their community who face difficulties, or have gone off the rails, to try and get them on the right track. But even they have publicly expressed some frustration, as some behaviors are normalized or met with some people unwilling to change.

And its hard for Jamarra because even if he sets himself right personally, he still has some family, and more so friends, who have their own personal issues. So really the only way to escape it fully, is to move interstate, and find himself again and refocus on his career. But everyone knows the importance of family to Aboriginal people, and many struggle to adapt to life away. So moving away could also brings some hardships. So he really is stuck in the middle.

I am not surprised at all things are where they are now. Unfortunately I am in the know on a couple of things, and have seen things personally thanks to a couple of extended family members on this side, who have had associations with some of the people around him. Last time I hinted at any of that, the mods got angry, when I was actually there in person. Kept some receipts in case anyone ever threatened or harmed my own family. Trust me, a couple of them are frighteningly dangerous people.

In the end, it is HE who has made the choices to be where things are now. He has access to a wide range of support networks, from the club, to the AFL, to his elders. More than anyone else could possibly wish for. Despite all that, if none of those can bring in one sense of change, then he may be a lost cause. You can only do so much for someone, but in the end it is they who have to be 100% willing to commit to change.

It sucks as a club, because we threw a lot of money, time, resources and draft capital into him. And will see nothing in return. Both on the field, and in terms of lost draft capital. If the club makes the decision to part ways, then I can totally understand the need to move on without distractions.

But the saddest thing, is for him. He was on the right track for so long, and in the end he is only hurting himself and those close to him. He was a very humble kid, who idolized good people, and knew what he wanted to be. And how much he wants to be the next Franklin, and the next idol for Aboriginal kids growing up, where the likes of Franklin and Betts were for him. Makes you wonder how he ended up surrounded by questionable people? (this is why I tell people to avoid private gyms, as they are recruiting grounds and hangouts for gangs, underground, nazi groups, to recruit vulnerable young men.) Not to say that was the case here mind you, but at some point somewhere, he went off the rails.

This is the third shooting where his name has popped up, that is way to many to not be ringing some alarm bells, and just be a case of wrong place wrong time/stolen cars etc. He needs to ditch those mates before he finds himself in jail or something because of something his mates do.

I still hold some hope that he can turn things around. For a moment it seemed like it had been the case before he stopped training again. And sometimes changes are not always instantaneous, but move up and down like a wave, and it takes a few tries and people need patience here. Some people can change in days, some people it takes years and a few tries.

I don't hold any hard will towards him either. I don't like seeing people struggle in any way, and want nothing but the best for him.

But it's all up to him.

 

[Dogs_R_Us]

CH7 news at 4 pm said that he was involved in a fight outside the night club prior to the incident occurring, sounded like a lot more involvement on his part than just being in the wrong place at the wrong time (as indicated each time he's involved in something). Sure the 6 pm news will have more details and the Ch7 footy show will have it as their main story

Geelong will be buying him a house next door to Baz and arranging some sponsorships as we speak.

 

[BrisDog]

He was just passing his way to buy a loaf of bread, officer.

It was a very slippery tile you see. He slipped on the said tile, fell in to the car mentioned, and stabilised himself with the metal object to gather his balance. The most unfortunate thing was that the metal object was a shotgun, an unexpected shotgun.

 

[BrisDog]

He needs to get away from his dropkick wannabe gangsta mates.

Purely from an AFL view, he’s done. No club in their right mind would touch him. This is getting to Michael Gardiner in Perth levels.

Well past Gardiner in Perth. Even the Saints won’t touch this bloke.

 

[Cudi]

Him being at a night club on Sunday morning is unacceptable. That's before you consider all the shit he's getting up to.

Exactly.

Some saying we don't know any details yet like that matters. The fact that he is out at nightclub (Love Machine of all places) on a Saturday when he's meant to be gaining the trust of his club and working hard to get back says it all.

I thought the penny might have finally dropped after the retreat visit but it obviosuly hasn't. Just a sad situation all round.

 

[Del203211]

If he was fair dinkum in turning things around, he wouldn’t be at a night club in general, let alone early hours on Sunday morning.
And poor Gardiner cops shit in here and actually works hard Monday to Friday.
Fu** off Marra.

 

[threenewpadlocks]

So what happens now if we shop him around for free just to get rid of him and no one bites ? Are we left to have him sitting around another year dragging the clubs name through the mud ?

Safe to say that we can justify to the AFL he is not adhering to the terms of his contract (obligations to turn up to training), but also even 100% meeting the obligations of the mental health and cultural care elements of his contract. Then at this point of his career it's just a matter of tearing up the contract, and we are in entirely safe legal grounds to do so if he and his manager believes that it's unfair.

Some in the know posters on this thread are certain that we wanted to so so this year and we had the correct legal position to do so, just that we were blocked by the AFL. The AFL wanted to block it, both for how it would make the wider industry look, and that they also (maybe fairly, maybe unfairly) believed that we didn't exercise our mental health/cultural/rehab care for him to the fullness of our obligations.

If another team recruits him it'll be for a nothing pick so in the grand scheme of things if he's going as a DFA or for a swap of future 4th round picks who really cares. Even if he gets his off-field act together from tomorrow onward (no guarantee) purely from a footballing perspective the expectation of his future output far reduced than it was 12 months ago, by no other virtue of the fact the more you miss training, the worse of a footballer you become.

There is also the possibility of the AFL retroactively reimbursing us for what we paid him this year or opening up future salary cap room, though they'd sort of be making rules up on the fly.

 

[threenewpadlocks]

I understand and sympathize he has lost family members and it has affected him, I really do. And I understand his people still face difficulty and stigma in society in general, with lack of support networks etc.

But in the end, all the other stuff are the result of his own decisions and there is little excuse and sympathy for them. I know a few elders out there spend countless hours trying to help many of those in their community who face difficulties, or have gone off the rails, to try and get them on the right track. But even they have publicly expressed some frustration, as some behaviors are normalized or met with some people unwilling to change.

And its hard for Jamarra because even if he sets himself right personally, he still has some family, and more so friends, who have their own personal issues. So really the only way to escape it fully, is to move interstate, and find himself again and refocus on his career. But everyone knows the importance of family to Aboriginal people, and many struggle to adapt to life away. So moving away could also brings some hardships. So he really is stuck in the middle.

I am not surprised at all things are where they are now. Unfortunately I am in the know on a couple of things, and have seen things personally thanks to a couple of extended family members on this side, who have had associations with some of the people around him. Last time I hinted at any of that, the mods got angry, when I was actually there in person. Kept some receipts in case anyone ever threatened or harmed my own family. Trust me, a couple of them are frighteningly dangerous people.

In the end, it is HE who has made the choices to be where things are now. He has access to a wide range of support networks, from the club, to the AFL, to his elders. More than anyone else could possibly wish for. Despite all that, if none of those can bring in one sense of change, then he may be a lost cause. You can only do so much for someone, but in the end it is they who have to be 100% willing to commit to change.

It sucks as a club, because we threw a lot of money, time, resources and draft capital into him. And will see nothing in return. Both on the field, and in terms of lost draft capital. If the club makes the decision to part ways, then I can totally understand the need to move on without distractions.

But the saddest thing, is for him. He was on the right track for so long, and in the end he is only hurting himself and those close to him. He was a very humble kid, who idolized good people, and knew what he wanted to be. And how much he wants to be the next Franklin, and the next idol for Aboriginal kids growing up, where the likes of Franklin and Betts were for him. Makes you wonder how he ended up surrounded by questionable people? (this is why I tell people to avoid private gyms, as they are recruiting grounds and hangouts for gangs, underground, nazi groups, to recruit vulnerable young men.) Not to say that was the case here mind you, but at some point somewhere, he went off the rails.

This is the third shooting where his name has popped up, that is way to many to not be ringing some alarm bells, and just be a case of wrong place wrong time/stolen cars etc. He needs to ditch those mates before he finds himself in jail or something because of something his mates do.

I still hold some hope that he can turn things around. For a moment it seemed like it had been the case before he stopped training again. And sometimes changes are not always instantaneous, but move up and down like a wave, and it takes a few tries and people need patience here. Some people can change in days, some people it takes years and a few tries.

I don't hold any hard will towards him either. I don't like seeing people struggle in any way, and want nothing but the best for him.

But it's all up to him.

Very excellent post _Cerberus_ and all of this is valid and we can understand this on a personal level.

I think it's missing discussion of the logical next step: how do we factor in the Western Bulldogs as an institution's obligation to interact with all of what you have discussed?

I'm of the view that even fully understanding all of the above, and the fact that the Western Bulldogs has some duty of care obligation to the players we elect to draft, that we have done above and beyond what can be considered reasonable and ethical for us as a club to anyone in this situation. At some point, it is not the institutional duty of the Western Bulldogs to solve all of society's problems, even if some of those problems are more proximate to us as a club.

We can continue to support Jamarra in a more limited sense but surely the time has come from the start of the next pre-season to move on from him?

 

[Pencil case]

If he was fair dinkum in turning things around, he wouldn’t be at a night club in general, let alone early hours on Sunday morning.
And poor Gardiner cops shit in here for actually working hard Monday to Friday.
Fu** of Marra.

This. Idgaf that he was there when a gun was shot, that’s just media click bait. It’s the fact he’s out clubbing at 3am during the season, playing or not.

 

[bresker]

And poor Gardiner cops shit in here for actually working hard Monday to Friday.

Actually I'd be happy for Gards to get on the nangs and Chapel St dandruff if he clunks a few more

 

[Werewolf]

Tim Walsh. Pick 4.
Career stats: 1 game, 1 mark, 1 kick.

That one kick was a goal though!

 

[Libbaaaa]

And number 1 in our hearts.

Was a gun basketballer.

 

[oldfaithfuldog]

If he was fair dinkum in turning things around, he wouldn’t be at a night club in general, let alone early hours on Sunday morning.
And poor Gardiner cops shit in here for actually working hard Monday to Friday.
Fu** of Marra.

Agree so sick of JUH now.
Seemed like a Cinderella story when he came out of rehab & was back at the club. But this recent stuff is well beyond the pale.

 

[Dogs_R_Us]

The mourning and the mental health are getting a bit old now. If you can’t get past these things at our club, which could not be more nurturing and supportive, but suddenly another club has all the answers to your “problems”, we are being PLAYED FOR FOOLS.

 

[BrisDog]

 

[BigFloppa]

The mourning and the mental health are getting a bit old now. If you can’t get past these things at our club, which could not be more nurturing and supportive, but suddenly another club has all the answers to your “problems”, we are being PLAYED FOR FOOLS.

I don't recall Jamarra ever suggesting he wanted to go to another club.

 

[Dogs_R_Us]

I don't recall Jamarra ever suggesting he wanted to go to another club.

No, he hasn’t. It’s been suggested here repeatedly that Geelong/Sydney blah blah were already lining him up and we’d get no compensation.

 

[iambrilliant]

That one kick was a goal though!

Imagine him telling he’s kids he played afl and then them YouTubing he’s name to see “the biggest bust of all time”