Alleged incident at hotel on Sunday night

[Merdo5555]

If, and this is a big if, no criminal charges laid can the players be reintegrated back into the team. This is an assumption/hypothetical scenario so I make no comment on whether it will happen.

If the conduct was not criminal it was still really stupid 2 weeks away from finals and not what teammates would expect/tolerate.

Is it redeemable from a teammates perspective?

I know individuals will respond differently, I dont think it will destroy the team but will we be looking at a very different team nest year under this hypothetical scenario?

What do people think?

[Merdo5555]

....and then get absolutely smashed by EVERYONE for not taking quick action by hiding behind a 'legal matter'.

You really don't seem to understand how society works these days.

Like it or loathe it, it's just the way things are. We don't live in the 80's anymore.

The club are looking at the big picture....rather than being myopic. Try it.

Should we just act to appease the mob because thats what society expects or should you try and take an unpopular principled stand. I said many posts ago, if its not deleted, that the punishment has baked into the entire episode and potential criminality. Im not saying it was necessarily deliberate but again if there was no inkling of criminality do with the suspension would still be rest of the season.

BTW I still think a suspension would be appropriate because their actions were stupid, immature and basically pathetic. If they wanted "entertainment" go and pay for it, its legal.

[liz]

If, and this is a big if, no criminal charges laid can the players be reintegrated back into the team. This is an assumption/hypothetical scenario so I make no comment on whether it will happen.

If the conduct was not criminal it was still really stupid 2 weeks away from finals and not what teammates would expect/tolerate.

Is it redeemable from a teammates perspective?

I know individuals will respond differently, I dont think it will destroy the team but will we be looking at a very different team nest year under this hypothetical scenario?

What do people think?

Far too early to know. Even the players won't have turned their minds to that question yet. Give it a few weeks (at the very least).

But I am sure the players involved - at least some of them - are very popular amongst their team mates (or were before Sunday night). For example, I've heard McLean state that Heeney is his best friend, not a combination I would necessarily have picked. But I expect Heeney has a happy-go-lucky charm about him that makes most people around the club warm to him.

For the older players, they will also be aware that their chances of securing a premiership before they retire are far stronger with Heeney, Warner and Blakey in the side than without. They may not rationalise it to themselves that explicitly, but there would be a huge amount of goodwill towards these players for what they've delivered on the ground.

If the Sunday events represent behaviour that has been going on for a while - just the late night partying, not any other aspects that may or may not have happened - rather than just a once off, it doesn't seem to have affected Heeney and Warner's (those two in particular) ability to deliver on field. And while they clearly enjoy the accolades, they don't play selfishly in a way that suggests they chase the glory ahead of the team.

I've probably written some of that in a clumsy fashion. Hopefully it makes some sense.

[Merdo5555]

I get very tired of reading comments like oh the players have let my kids down they were heroes.

I have to question why you would encourage your kids to idolize and worship footballers.

They have incredible athletic ability that allows them to earn alot of money. This makes them no better or worse than anyone else. I would suggest more realistic role models would be people they actually know so you have a chance to see whats beneath the slick PR campaigns.

[SwanSand]

Far too early to know. Even the players won't have turned their minds to that question yet. Give it a few weeks (at the very least).

But I am sure the players involved - at least some of them - are very popular amongst their team mates (or were before Sunday night). For example, I've heard McLean state that Heeney is his best friend, not a combination I would necessarily have picked. But I expect Heeney has a happy-go-lucky charm about him that makes most people around the club warm to him.

For the older players, they will also be aware that their chances of securing a premiership before they retire are far stronger with Heeney, Warner and Blakey in the side than without. They may not rationalise it to themselves that explicitly, but there would be a huge amount of goodwill towards these players for what they've delivered on the ground.

.

I think the issue would be how the players families and partners react to this. It adds a whole lot complexity to the relationships between players.
I think if the partying nature was well known by the players and no criminal charges are laid - it would be very easy to reintegrate.
If criminal charges are laid which I think to some degree the police are going to be under pressure too to look deep and hard at this, then maybe integration will be complicated.

[The Big Cat]

Caro has big news. Go to 3AW website.

[KSAS]

Find it sickening behaviour IF reports by AFL journos are true, that up to 8 clubs are making enquiries about our 5 suspended players whilst the police investigation is continuing. Blakey (contracted till 2031) apparently being the prime target.

Sickened not only by the opportunistic/vulturistic nature of it, but somewhat hypocritical when clubs (rightly) preaching sensitivity towards the alleged victims being the priority when questioned in media interviews.

Ch 7 have already decided to pull the "Unfiltered" interview Hamish McLachlan conducted with Isaac Heeney on the Saturday night before the Essendon game, ironically at the Pullman Hotel. Claiming it will never see the light of day.

Under the circumstances, i think the AFL should ban any club/agent approaches whilst the 5 players are suspended.

Heard Gerard Whately on radio yesterday mounting the case the AFL could the ban the 5 players for 12 months regardless the outcome of the police investigation, based on grounds they breached AFL behaviour codes in a work (AFL) environment and when they've previously done so.

Stressing Whately wasn't necessarily calling for the 12 month bans, but that the AFL may have grounds to do so. Makes it even more so absurd of reports of other clubs enquiries towards our 5 suspended players.