News Vale John McCarthy

[Shaxx Attaxx]

They didn't have to say the players had been drinking heavily in that article. Just leave it FFS, we all got the picture he was pissed and fell but don't go on about it. Hopefully the family finds out and no one else.

 

[Forzaport]

None of the other players were with him anywhere near that hotel?

True and I really hope I'm wrong. I'm just finding it hard to believe he would've jumped from a roof to a palm tree on his own volition.

 

[RonSon]

It is very likely a few of the players from the Bulldgos knew John reasonably well.

I know from reading the main board that John was definitely friends with some of the bulldogs players and some of the bulldogs players spent time with the Port boys in the hours after they heard the bad news.

Not sure I'd really feel like holidaying much after that either.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

With all due respect the REH, I think as I have explained in my previous post, I have been in a very similar situation to what the players now find themselves in. I understand the port players coming home and I have no issue with that, in fact if my suspicions are right, apart from the grief which is no doubt huge, I have a feeling there may be other issues arising. But that is a different story.

Just questioning whether everybody else's world has to stop because of it and whether being seen to be doing the right thing is the primary motivation.

Many people here obviously don't agree with me and think I'm a silly for bringing it up, but so be it.

I was asking you to put yourself in the shoes of the Bulldog players, where you are on the side not in the middle, like you experienced with your mate. That's why I talked about the brotherhood before the Mockingbird quote. And yes there probably are other issues. But the Bulldog players world didn't stop - it was adjusted. Unfortunately McCarthy's world stopped! Some of them would have have know McCarthy thru junior footy and rep sides.

Bob Murphy is with the Bulldogs players, he is an AFLPA representative and comes across as a pretty sensitive worldly individual, especially if you have watched AFL 360 this year. He would have talked to both the Port and Bulldogs player and the AFLPA CEO Matt Finnis. A few players who were drinking with McCarthy may have had that guilty concsience feeling - why didn't I stop him from going, why didn't I get him to come along with me etc?? There is a lack of logic to it but that's how most of us think rewinding the night before when something goes wrong.

Vegas is a party town you go there to party not really relax by the pool for a week. Some of the players would have felt sick in the guts and may have had a close call themselves and thought I'm not in the mood to party. I suspect a vote was taken by the bulldogs players and it probably wasn't unanimous to leave Vegas. As I said before, if it was me I would have said I need a break, I agree we gotta get out of here but I'm going to see some mates in Vancouver or Calagary. But I'm mid 40's not early 20's stronger willed and know other parts of North America and have good friends there. Some of the younger players would not have been like me and would have just done what the older guys thought was best.

 

[Geoffa32]

Cold Chisel. No. Yes. I would be saddend to a certain extent, but i've never met them personally, so i don't think it will be the same, i've lost mates in car crashes that hurts. THis is a lot lesser feeling

When Chisel paid tribute to Steve Prestwhich in their concert last year there were tears from many in the audience.

 

[Jonts]

When Chisel paid tribute to Steve Prestwhich in their concert last year there were tears from many in the audience.

Thats great

everyone deals with grief differently

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Cold Chisel. No. Yes. I would be saddend to a certain extent, but i've never met them personally, so i don't think it will be the same, i've lost mates in car crashes that hurts. THis is a lot lesser feeling

Of course this is less than your mates. If my mates died you wouldn't see me on big footy for probably a week, maybe longer.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Cold Chisel. No. Yes. I would be saddend to a certain extent, but i've never met them personally, so i don't think it will be the same, i've lost mates in car crashes that hurts. THis is a lot lesser feeling

If the No was a Yes, then your answer may have been different.

 

[Amstaff_]

the thread is being derailed. This is a thread to come and talk about John not argue about which way you should grieve or what you should or shouldnt have in your sig.

 

[Macca19]

Jarrad Grant played with McCarthy at Dandenong so they would have been close. He also probably would have played with Ashley Smith, Shane Savage, Tom Gillies, Jared Boumann, Andrejs Everitt at Dandenong. I cant recall if McCarthy played in the U18 champs but if he did no doubt he would have been close with those lads. He went to the Draft Camp so no doubt he would have been close to those lads. He played at Collingwood so would have been obviously close to people there. He would have partied with Collingwood teammates who would have gone through the same process (junior club friends, U18 friends, draft camp friends) and been mates with their mates at other clubs.

I know for me, I've had the perception in the past of tribal warfare, they have mates at their own club but dont cross boundaries - maybe the Ramsgate incident helped with that - but in reality, a lot of these blokes would be 'mates' with each other. See each other out and say gday etc. You look at who they converse with on twitter and you think 'I wonder how he knows them' etc.

Also, given that every club goes on these boozefest end of season trips where things would get very messy I think its more of a shock of 'this could have been me' type thing as well. By all accounts, Chad Fletcher had to be brought back to life in Vegas after a premiership. It happens.

 

[Hodges 153!]

All the other boys are back in Adelaide.

Thinking of what they are going through right now.

 

[Macca19]

Allright I'm gonna sound like a prick here, but firstly what is with this side by side shit and secondly, why did the Bulldogs players cut off their holiday and return home?

The Side by Side stuff is just annoying but on the second point about the Bulldogs, I am truley perplexed. I'm sure hardly any of their players actually knew McCarthy personally so was this done under some misguided sense of doing the right thing or showing Respect? People die every day, life does go on, do people have to put their lives on hold for someone they barely know??

<snip>

Youre well entitled to air your thoughts such as this, but I disagree with what youve written.

 

[Deliverance]

Also, given that every club goes on these boozefest end of season trips where things would get very messy I think its more of a shock of 'this could have been me' type thing as well. By all accounts, Chad Fletcher had to be brought back to life in Vegas after a premiership. It happens.

This is the saddest part. No one ever learns from it and a massive amount of damage is continually done to the lives of young people and their families through alcohol induced accidents and deaths.

 

[dbcrow]

Just wanted to say full credit to the Port Adelaide Football Club for the way this entire situation has been handled.

In what must be incredibly trying and emotional times, the way the Keith Thomas, Peter Rohde and everybody else involved in the club have handled this has been truly admirable.

I've read comments similiar to this on the thread, but I thought I would say, from an outsider's point of view, how proud I am of the Port Adelaide Football Club.

We obviously have our differences, but it's times like these that bring us together.

I wish you all the best.

 

[Eddie Dingle]

And that Ladies and Gentlemen is how an opposition supporter pays their respects.

Thank you dbcrow.

 

[TheGreatGrundy]

With all due respect the REH, I think as I have explained in my previous post, I have been in a very similar situation to what the players now find themselves in. I understand the port players coming home and I have no issue with that, in fact if my suspicions are right, apart from the grief which is no doubt huge, I have a feeling there may be other issues arising. But that is a different story.

Just questioning whether everybody else's world has to stop because of it and whether being seen to be doing the right thing is the primary motivation.

Many people here obviously don't agree with me and think I'm a silly for bringing it up, but so be it.

I don't think 'being seen to be doing the right thing' is the primary motivation for people's reaction in this and other vale threads. Tears don't happen simply because you think you should cry, and 'side by side' comments aren't forced out of posters to indicate that a correct grieving process is being observed. .

Collingwood and the Bulldogs play for the Robert Rose cup each year. Robert was a better cricketer than footballer, but he played some games for each club. A precedent has already been set for a yearly memorial match in which the deceased player is remembered once a year by players of the clubs for which he played.

I imagine that Port posters are aware that the close friends of John from Collingwood are going to find it difficult to get up for this week's match. The support of Port fans on BF for our remaining games is actually very moving for Collingwood BF posters. I hope our players are aware of this support when they take to the field against WC.

Our 'world has not stopped', but because of JMac's death we have reached out in sadness to each other. I appreciate the 'side by side' attitude of so many supporters from both clubs.

 

[Hodges 153!]

In what must be incredibly trying and emotional times, the way the Keith Thomas, Peter Rohde and everybody else involved in the club have handled this has been truly admirable.

I listened to KT on 5AA.

G Cornes asked him "Can you ever plan for something like this?", which I initially thought was in poor taste.

But I found the answer enlightening.

In KT's regular, steady demeanour, he said yes, actually we do have 'Crisis Management' Plans in place, and that every item of those plans had been put into effect on Monday.

He also acclaimed the Player Welfare team for their efforts, in particular Stewy Cochrane and his wife Rachael.

 

[Eddie Dingle]

Personally i don't understand how you can act like you lost someone you knew if you didn't actually know them, but i'm not going to sledge guys that do

I don't understand how people still put messages in the paper 35 odd years after Elvis' death but there you go....

 

[PJ Power]

Really nice tribute through photos here. Apologies to the mods, if I've linked this wrong.

http://www.portadelaidefc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/6038/newsid/147512/default.aspx

 

[Honeyboy Wilson]

True and I really hope I'm wrong. I'm just finding it hard to believe he would've jumped from a roof to a palm tree on his own volition.

I've passed out on a country road that allows 100km/h. A woman almost hit me in her car.

I've had a mate try and stop his friend from drink driving by lying down behind his car. In his drunken state, he thought he was being hilarious - but he hadn't actually notified any of his friends of his plans and almost got himself killed.

I can definitely see the drunken thought pattern of someone getting lost, finding themselves locked on a roof in Vegas and thinking that getting down "the Tarzan way" or similar, would be a brilliant story to tell his mates the next day.

Young men, under the influence of alcohol, especially around Johnny Mac's age, have a tendency to think they are invincible. This tragedy is a shocking reminder that no one is.

 

[Hodgepodge]

Twitter update continues to suggest the likely cause of death was an accident as McCarthy tried to get down off the roof of the hotel, which was the initial thought.

I guess that continues to be the story until the toxicology reports come through in a few weeks.

 

[Janey]

Twitter update continues to suggest the likely cause of death was an accident as McCarthy tried to get down off the roof of the hotel, which was the initial thought.

I guess that continues to be the story until the toxicology reports come through in a few weeks.

We won't see the tox report unless the family decides to make them public. Either way it's unlikely to change the account of what actually happened (they have eye witness accounts), but may just explain better why he took the actions he did.

 

[eastcoastcrow]

Youre well entitled to air your thoughts such as this, but I disagree with what youve written.

This is definitely a tragedy for the AFL world and PAFC, however I agree with the poster that people do die every day in all walks of life.

I think because he played with the Pies so he has affected several clubs plus his local community too.

Sadly I am surprised of the few players that have died (just two and hopefully only two) while being on the playing list.

Didnt a Magpie players (Collingwood) die in a car accident in 1990????

 

[dbcrow]

This is definitely a tragedy for the AFL world and PPFC, however I agree with the poster that people do die every day in all walks of life.

I think because he played with the Pies so he has affected several clubs plus his local community too.

Sadly I am surprised of the few players that have died (just two and hopefully only two) while being on the playing list.

Didnt a Magpie players (Collingwood) die in a car accident in 1990????

Darren Millane

 

[edgie]

I have a girl on facebook who inbloxed me saying that she is Westhoff's partner's cousin and westhoff seen the whole thing happen. BS?