Jake Stringer is available

[5 from the wing on debut]

According to the HS tonight. Stringer will not be pursued by Collingwood. Instead, Geelong and essendon will fight it out for him.

There must be a bit happening behind the scenes at Geelong. The Dogs are saying they at least want a top 20 pick for Stringer, and the Cats are after Ablett as well. Geelong don't have much in the way of high end selections so there will be players shopped around.

I heard Menzel to the Suns, and Motlop too the Pies, big rumour.

I hope we get the Motlop that played in Geelong's last final, not the one before.

[ronrat]

Stinger for Watts and a second rounder might work if Lever falls through. Essendon would have the money with Watson gone. Geelong will have no currency to play with if Ablett comes home.

You would think WCE would have room to move for say Watts and Motlop.

If I was the Pies I would stay away from both. Same with Schache. You want players with lack of opportunity not lack of commitment.

[Pies4shaw]

Well, doesn't it depend a little on why they've lacked opportunities (eg, sometimes it's because they're actually common or garden talentless hacks) and what's caused the lack of commitment (I agree wariness is required - but I wouldn't apply a blanket rule in every case)?

[ronrat]

Obviously but the likes of Lynden Dunn and Luke Ball are 2 prime examples of where you can really win. Toby Nankervis could turn out to be a winner when he couldn't get a go at the Swans.

And then you had the likes of Lawrence Angwin.

[piedys]

I heard Menzel to the Suns, and Motlop too the Pies, big rumour.

Oh, I suppose you're going to tell me Motlop will get a game ahead of Blair?

[K]

[Magpietothemax]

Yep, I just read the HS article as well. According to the account of his wife, he definitely sounds like the kind of guy you would not want anywhere near your club. His staggering infedility to his wife apparently riled the Bulldogs players, and his gambling addiction was a further eviscerating factor. It is incredible though. She wishes him well for the future, but her reveal-all interview with the HS has greatly compromised it, I would think. Pretty horrible situation.

[Presti35]

That's right ladies, Jake Stringer is available.

[think positive]

Bang bang!

Sounds like a class act. Has he shown any sign of wanting to change?

[Pies4shaw]

Yep, I just read the HS article as well. According to the account of his wife, he definitely sounds like the kind of guy you would not want anywhere near your club. His staggering infedility to his wife apparently riled the Bulldogs players, and his gambling addiction was a further eviscerating factor. It is incredible though. She wishes him well for the future, but her reveal-all interview with the HS has greatly compromised it, I would think. Pretty horrible situation.

An "eviscerating factor"?

[MatthewBoydFanClub]

As I posted in the Seedsman thread, some players take a while to mature. The one good thing from the article is that the player can't go any lower. There's a good lyric from a Neil Finn song about a friend of his who is disappearing up his own rear end. Seems an accurate summary of where Stringer's career sits at the moment. Stringer was an elite talent when he was drafted. There's a good story lurking in the life and career of Stringer if he can pull himself together and work hard to resurrect his career. I don't think that career should be with us but rather with another club under a senior coach who is bored and needs a challenge.

[watt price tully]

[watt price tully]

Yep, I just read the HS article as well. According to the account of his wife, he definitely sounds like the kind of guy you would not want anywhere near your club. His staggering infedility to his wife apparently riled the Bulldogs players, and his gambling addiction was a further eviscerating factor. It is incredible though. She wishes him well for the future, but her reveal-all interview with the HS has greatly compromised it, I would think. Pretty horrible situation.

An "eviscerating factor"?

It was further eviscerating factor.

In Stringers case isn't it farther eviscerating factor?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBHLcBxQZiM

[swoop42]

Are people so naive that they don't think this kind of stuff is happening with some of the players at our club right now and is a league wide issue?

For to long the toxic mix of young sexually available women, young men with lots of disposable income and a culture of drugs, alcohol and gambling has been kept hush hush for the most part with only a wink wink nudge nudge from retired or current players often on football shows alluding to it.

You don't have to like what Stringer has done but I bet if we knew everything that the latest Brownlow winner got up to in the past the media wouldn't be engaging in the current sickening love fest over him.

So what more can be done to educate and help young footballers?

For starters the AFL need to take a social conscious stance and stop promoting gambling. It wont stop the problem but it wont be adding to it either.

The whole boys club mentality within AFL circles and the code of silence that goes into protecting bad behaviour of players at football clubs is unhealthy and perhaps it'll take more women or teammates to speak out to slowly reduce incidents or encourage players to seek out help because of the risk of public exposure.

Much more light needs to be shone on the social scene available to footballers, of the shady hangers on and the young women who are desperate to land themselves a footballer shouldn't escape responsibility either as it's a shallow existence and can cause harm like with the partner of Stringer.

How that is achieved I don't know but there is a level of secrecy and protection attached that only encourages behaviour far from healthy because it goes unnoticed by the wider public and the cycle keeps continuing season after season.

[inxs88]

As my father would say "a shit of a bloke"