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View Full Version : Hub life to the trade period : What life was really like for me in 2020



Grantysghost
21-03-2021, 07:08 PM
Hub life to the trade period: What life was really like for me in 2020 (https://www.espn.com/afl/story/_/id/31073893/josh-dunkley-hub-life-trade-period-western-bulldogs-life-was-really-in-2020)


https://i.postimg.cc/85HLdGNy/Screenshot-20210321-180508-Samsung-Internet.jpg (https://postimages.org/)
Josh Dunkley

PEOPLE OFTEN talk about how football players have it easy, and for the most part, we do. Our clubs treat us well, we eat as healthy as anyone, get to meet some great people and, above all, are paid to play the game we love. You certainly can't take any of that for granted.

But a lot of the public probably didn't quite grasp how difficult 2020 was for us players. I certainly don't want to sound insensitive in any way whatsoever, as hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives to COVID-19, but I'm not sure footballers have ever been forced to endure anything quite like what we did last year.

Having to pack up and move interstate for an indefinite period of time was the most difficult thing I've ever had to deal with. I'm not going to lie, I really struggled in the bubble, both from a mental and physical standpoint. To basically be stuck in a tiny hotel room for 90 days, living out of a suitcase, and only really being able to leave for training and games, was something I just couldn't get used to.

I'm a very family-orientated person. I'm close with my entire family. Both mum and dad would come and visit nearly every week, so to all of a sudden have to say goodbye to that, and be away from home and everything you know, was tough.

But what I struggled with most in the bubble was that there was just no escape from football. Normally, back in Melbourne, you can go for a walk or sit down, grab some breakfast and switch off for a while. But this turned out to be a never-ending football camp.

My frustrations extended onto the footy field. My form wasn't quite where I wanted it to be and I probably wasn't getting as much opportunity as I would have liked. Throw in my ankle injury, and it was a recipe for disaster.

It got to the point late in the season where I was so overwhelmed with everything that was happening that I seriously considering packing up and heading home. In saying that, I don't think I would've been the only player who had these thoughts.

Looking back, my biggest mistake was holding everything so close to my chest. I had a lot of people around me, great people, caring people, but I didn't speak up and explain how I was feeling. By bottling everything up, I was never able to resolve any of my issues, and as a result, I started searching for a fresh start.

Twelve months earlier, the mere thought of leaving the Bulldogs would have never crossed my mind. But here I was, sitting in my hotel room, unable to leave, seriously considering it. That was the first time I thought the Bombers would be a great fit for me.

AFTER LOSING to the Saints in the elimination final, and having our season grind to a halt, a few of us decided to stay up in Queensland for a bit of an end-of-year wind down.

Marcus Bontempelli, Hayden Crozier, Aaron Naughton, Jayden Shea and I hired a house up on the Sunshine Coast and were all excited at the chance to escape the AFL bubble we'd been trapped in for the past three months, even if it meant our return home would be delayed by a few days! But in the back of my mind, I knew I had to tell them what was going through my mind.

I'm not going to lie; I was super nervous. It's a seriously difficult conversation to have with a group of your closest friends, some of whom you have won a premiership with. How do you break it to them? How were they going to react? What would they think of me?

I also didn't want anyone to form the opinion that this was purely a financial decision, as can often be the case when players move clubs. Don't get me wrong, as a player, your salary is something that crosses your mind from time to time. But for me, I've always wanted to extract the most out of my career, and at that time, a move to Essendon, for a key midfield role, felt like the right path to maximize that, regardless of what figure was printed on any contract.

I decided to break the news to them individually, as it felt more personal. To my surprise, they were all super understanding and could see exactly where I was coming from. There was no judgement or ill feelings towards me. It was widely discussed that if that's how I feel, then that's how I feel. There's no point trying to hide it or pretend otherwise.

I had already begun the conversations with Luke Beveridge and some of the other staff at the club, but being able to discuss it with my teammates was a huge weight off my shoulders.

The general feeling amongst the group was that everyone wanted me to stay, and if I'm being honest, I felt like I would, right up until the point where the trade request was submitted and the club released a statement about my future. That's when I started thinking this really could happen. It quickly became very real.

I FELT pretty relaxed throughout the entire trade period. I wasn't glued to my phone or constantly checking the news, instead, I was just getting on with life and trying to enjoy some down time after the most difficult year of my life.

Just being able to do the little things was what I had missed most throughout 2020, whether it was playing some cricket with my dad and brother, or honing a recipe in the kitchen, it really helped take my mind off everything that was going on in the background.

It wasn't until 7:29pm, on the final day of the trade period, when I realised a deal wasn't going to get done. I was at the farm, sitting around the campfire with my family, and I was starting to think 'okay, time's running out here.'

I really didn't know whether to be pleased, disappointed or angry. It's such a strange situation. You honestly have no idea, one way or the other, where you will be playing the following year. You're basically in limbo, waiting for an answer, something which, at that point, is totally out of your control.

Once it was confirmed I was staying at the Dogs, I was already feeling uneasy about the moment I would walk back into the club and face everyone again. In the back of your mind, you can't help but feel they are sort of disappointed in you. After all, there's no escaping the fact you asked to leave.

You end up getting to the stage where you start running those first conversations through in your mind, and all that does is make you even more anxious.

I knew I had to build up the trust factor again. The only way to really do that in preseason is to return to the club in good nick and set the training standards. Over the break, all I did was work on my fitness.

That didn't mean I wasn't going to address the elephant in the room on Day 1. I spoke to just about everyone at the club and made sure that all questions were answered. I wanted honest communication with everyone.

That first day back at the club was honestly one of the most daunting days of my life, but by the time I was back in the car, getting ready to go home, I felt completely relaxed. Everyone had moved on quickly and nobody felt any need to dwell on what had happened.

Since then, I have never looked back and now, on the eve of another season, I am as excited as ever to be pulling on the red, white and blue.

FROM THE outside, you might look at my situation and say, well what's changed?

There's probably three reasons why I'm feeling much happier now than I was six months ago.

Firstly, it's great to be back home and getting to do the things we may have taken for granted during last year's lockdowns and restrictions.

Secondly, the excitement around the club, ahead of the season, is at an all-time high. Being able to play home games again, and have fans back at the footy, is something every single player dearly missed last year.

And lastly, the signing of Adam Treloar. I've only known Adz for a few months but he's quickly become my best mate. We have so much in common and get along like a house on fire. I cannot wait to play footy with him in 2021 and beyond.

mjp
21-03-2021, 08:19 PM
I had thought the Essendon recruiting team were keeping Josh company during Hub Life...

Vred
22-03-2021, 02:45 AM
Interesting read, maybe Dunkley does stay long term?

Grantysghost
22-03-2021, 10:23 AM
Interesting read, maybe Dunkley does stay long term?

Treloar might be a double win as a stable pony for Dunks. It does seem like the hub really affected some guys more than others, especially those with a really tight family unit.

bulldogsthru&thru
22-03-2021, 10:59 AM
Granted I understand the difficulties players faced in the hubs, but the 3 things that have changed aren't exactly inspiring. The first 2 are simply a result of post-lockdown life. Whichever club you're at, it's the same. The last reason is the addition of a last second recruit. Did he have no friends at the club before Adam arrived? To me, none of these changes resolve problems that may have initially pushed him to want to change clubs.

What were his reasons for wanting to change? COVID and not being with family? How does changing teams fix that? The only thing that makes sense is time in the midfield. But that hasn't been addressed and has in fact been made worse with the addition of his new mate Treloar. If it was ruck then adding Martin to the side is a major reason for change.

If it was all down to COVID, he was seriously misguided in his thinking that changing clubs would fix everything. It would have fixed nothing and potentially made things worse given he would have moved away from existing friendships. What was his manager doing in all of this? Helping him manage his mental health or trying to get a few extra $$$ for himself?

I hope he's re-found his happiness and hunger for football life again but this article just creates more confusion and adds to the weirdness and ill-thought logic of the whole situation.

SquirrelGrip
22-03-2021, 11:51 AM
I find it interesting that we no longer hear or see anything about the previous bromance of Bont and Dunks. As captain, he must have felt a real kick in the guts that his then best mate wanted to leave.

Twodogs
22-03-2021, 12:13 PM
Granted I understand the difficulties players faced in the hubs, but the 3 things that have changed aren't exactly inspiring. The first 2 are simply a result of post-lockdown life. Whichever club you're at, it's the same. The last reason is the addition of a last second recruit. Did he have no friends at the club before Adam arrived? To me, none of these changes resolve problems that may have initially pushed him to want to change clubs.

What were his reasons for wanting to change? COVID and not being with family? How does changing teams fix that? The only thing that makes sense is time in the midfield. But that hasn't been addressed and has in fact been made worse with the addition of his new mate Treloar. If it was ruck then adding Martin to the side is a major reason for change.

If it was all down to COVID, he was seriously misguided in his thinking that changing clubs would fix everything. It would have fixed nothing and potentially made things worse given he would have moved away from existing friendships. What was his manager doing in all of this? Helping him manage his mental health or trying to get a few extra $$$ for himself?

I hope he's re-found his happiness and hunger for football life again but this article just creates more confusion and adds to the weirdness and ill-thought logic of the whole situation.

Yep. I wonder if he watched the Essendon game on Saturday night and how he felt watching them piss away a 40 point lead and lose to Hawthorn. I'm guessing that he is probably thought that he dodged a bullet.

I thought that Dunks looked pretty good on Friday night. It was certainly a better 4 quarter effort than any of the Essendon players put in.

I said straight after the trade period finished that if I were Josh then I'd be changing my management team and nothing that has happened since then has changed my mind.

jeemak
22-03-2021, 12:45 PM
The guy was having a bad time away from family and was struggling with injury and what he perceived as limited opportunity in the midfield and a big money offer came along, in addition to a promise of being the big dawg inside midfielder.

I can see how all of those elements played out to trigger the request for a trade. It's cool.

Grantysghost
22-03-2021, 12:52 PM
I find it interesting that we no longer hear or see anything about the previous bromance of Bont and Dunks. As captain, he must have felt a real kick in the guts that his then best mate wanted to leave.

Maybe as captain it's harder to be in an exclusive bromance :cool:
Your captain needs to be polyamorous; spread the love!

Grantysghost
22-03-2021, 12:56 PM
The guy was having a bad time away from family and was struggling with injury and what he perceived as limited opportunity in the midfield and a big money offer came along, in addition to a promise of being the big dawg inside midfielder.

I can see how all of those elements played out to trigger the request for a trade. It's cool.

This is my take. He's done everything right since coming back.
Even copped a public rev up from the coach and responded well.
It's possible that article is brand Dunkley loaded with spin and thats probably part of it (and the smart move for his public persona) but I think he also admits some fault, explains the difficulties not only of his time in the hub but coming back into the fold at the Dogs and is looking forward to the future.
I've got no issue with him presently.

bulldogsthru&thru
22-03-2021, 12:59 PM
The guy was having a bad time away from family and was struggling with injury and what he perceived as limited opportunity in the midfield and a big money offer came along, in addition to a promise of being the big dawg inside midfielder.

I can see how all of those elements played out to trigger the request for a trade. It's cool.

Of course you’d say that. You started the whole thing.

bulldogsthru&thru
22-03-2021, 01:05 PM
I’m sure he had his valid reasons. The issue I have is with the article. It’s not open or honest about the reasons (which probably means we can read between the lines as to the reasons) and does nothing to put away fears he might do it all again this year. It was simply PR from Dunks. I’m just not buying it. I’m fully behind him as a dogs player but I’m not convinced he won’t try run again at seasons end.

hujsh
22-03-2021, 01:25 PM
Granted I understand the difficulties players faced in the hubs, but the 3 things that have changed aren't exactly inspiring. The first 2 are simply a result of post-lockdown life. Whichever club you're at, it's the same. The last reason is the addition of a last second recruit. Did he have no friends at the club before Adam arrived? To me, none of these changes resolve problems that may have initially pushed him to want to change clubs.

What were his reasons for wanting to change? COVID and not being with family? How does changing teams fix that? The only thing that makes sense is time in the midfield. But that hasn't been addressed and has in fact been made worse with the addition of his new mate Treloar. If it was ruck then adding Martin to the side is a major reason for change.

If it was all down to COVID, he was seriously misguided in his thinking that changing clubs would fix everything. It would have fixed nothing and potentially made things worse given he would have moved away from existing friendships. What was his manager doing in all of this? Helping him manage his mental health or trying to get a few extra $$$ for himself?

I hope he's re-found his happiness and hunger for football life again but this article just creates more confusion and adds to the weirdness and ill-thought logic of the whole situation.

To me it reads like he went a bit stir crazy being locked up without he usual outlets away from footy and his brain was just screaming "GIVE ME CHANGE"

Then Essendon rocked up with money and opportunity.

If he did indeed have problems with professional standards then maybe bringing Treloar has helped reinforce what's expected of the players as well?

bulldogsthru&thru
22-03-2021, 01:31 PM
To me it reads like he went a bit stir crazy being locked up without he usual outlets away from footy and his brain was just creaming "GIVE ME CHANGE"

Then Essendon rocked up with money and opportunity.

If he did indeed have problems with professional standards then maybe bringing Treloar has helped reinforce what's expected of the players as well?

Yep that's what I think too. He wasn't able to think clearly as a result. Dunks at least admitted he should have talked about it with Bevo and the players. This probably never would have happened if he did. A reasoning voice from his manager may have calmed the situation as well, but the greedy manager obviously didn't care and simply saw $$$. Aside from more $$$ and being a midfield general, not much would have changed. I think the larger problem was covid-life. Unfortunately (or fortunately given it didn't happen?) if he did change to essendon, he probably would have wrongly believed life was much better there not realising it was simply due to life going back to (almost) normal this year.

soupman
22-03-2021, 03:46 PM
I find it interesting that we no longer hear or see anything about the previous bromance of Bont and Dunks. As captain, he must have felt a real kick in the guts that his then best mate wanted to leave.

They were previously almost inseperable on social media. It's been quite a significant change.

Happy Days
22-03-2021, 03:51 PM
FWIW I've heard that Bont is pretty unhappy with it.

comrade
22-03-2021, 04:13 PM
FWIW I've heard that Bont is pretty unhappy with it.

If your good mate was negotiating an exit from the club you lead to another club behind everyone's back, I'd take it personally too. I think it's obvious that what's p***ed off Bont and Bevo is the underhandedness of it all. No one likes being blindsided, especially by a mate.

bulldogsthru&thru
22-03-2021, 04:48 PM
If your good mate was negotiating an exit from the club you lead to another club behind everyone's back, I'd take it personally too. I think it's obvious that what's p***ed off Bont and Bevo is the underhandedness of it all. No one likes being blindsided, especially by a mate.

Yeah and imagine now reading this article and seeing that a major reason for him enjoying things again is because he just loves hanging out with his new mate Treloar.

hujsh
22-03-2021, 04:57 PM
Yeah and imagine now reading this article and seeing that a major reason for him enjoying things again is because he just loves hanging out with his new mate Treloar.


https://i.imgflip.com/52mypk.jpg

Low effort compared to Rocket Science's work but I'm meant to be working

EasternWest
22-03-2021, 05:27 PM
https://i.imgflip.com/52mypk.jpg

Low effort compared to Rocket Science's work but I'm meant to be working

It's beautiful man.

comrade
22-03-2021, 05:39 PM
https://i.ibb.co/grC1KLH/friends.png (https://ibb.co/L0fw7Xb)

The bulldog tragician
22-03-2021, 07:06 PM
It feels like spin to shy away from it being about $$$. The references to how he knows others had it tough don’t wash. Does he really empathise with the people who lost jobs, the people who lost family members, the funerals with only 10 people, the essential care workers? Does he know how hard it is to have to stay within 5 km of your home, to not be able to see family members, to have aged relatives in hospital or not to be able to visit? Wearing masks even walking around the block.I’d almost feel better if he said I was blown away by an insane amount of money. Oh, and by the way, nearly all of us maintaining our financial contribution to a club we love while Dunkley talked to another club behind our backs while he was contracted.

I too have seen nothing of he and Bont since this all happened. The ostentatious bromance with Treloar & raving about his new best mate mightn’t sit well with Bont, a new young captain also struggling with unique circumstanced. He must feel incredibly let down.

I think it was a mistake for Dunkley to pen this article and can’t help feeling like the “ I’m not asking for sympathy for me, but...” things were belatedly added in by his manager to soften the tone.

Grantysghost
22-03-2021, 09:18 PM
The Treloar bromance does feel a little big trophy hunting have to agree. However his personal life doesnt really interest me.
Well except the blog.

Insufficient Intent
22-03-2021, 09:51 PM
Agree with bulldogtragician that he should not have aired this poorly conceived, clunkily constructed piece of self-justifying drivel.
Who is advising him?

Josh, you undertook to betray your club; members, team, captain and coach. Your alternative deal fell through so everyone else was prepared to consider it water under the bridge and move on; but that doesn’t alter what had happened. You came back and worked hard to regain some respect and display solid performances on field.

This article has knee-capped what respect you may have earned back.
Who brags about new their best buddy? Maybe a new prep-grader. A very immature statement and an insult to the rest of the team, especially the captain.

jeemak
22-03-2021, 09:54 PM
The weirdness of their public outing as best buddies hasn't been lost on me. I mean what's the motivation for making it so public?

It only seems to present it as a contrived happy families outcome to something that when you think about it is pretty awkward with Dunkley apparently bemoaning a lack of midfield time only to have more midfield competition post being retained.

It's weird I tells ya.

Happy Days
22-03-2021, 11:42 PM
The weirdness of their public outing as best buddies hasn't been lost on me. I mean what's the motivation for making it so public?

It only seems to present it as a contrived happy families outcome to something that when you think about it is pretty awkward with Dunkley apparently bemoaning a lack of midfield time only to have more midfield competition post being retained.

It's weird I tells ya.

Someone becoming best friends with someone they just met is one of life's biggest red flags.

Vred
23-03-2021, 04:31 AM
FWIW I've heard that Bont is pretty unhappy with it.

+1 To this, heard the same from an ex-player who's still in contact with the playing group.

GVGjr
23-03-2021, 07:23 AM
The guy was having a bad time away from family and was struggling with injury and what he perceived as limited opportunity in the midfield and a big money offer came along, in addition to a promise of being the big dawg inside midfielder.

I can see how all of those elements played out to trigger the request for a trade. It's cool.

On top of that I think his father was selling/pressuring him on the merits of a big money deal and that by moving clubs his brother would also get a senior spot on the list. Depending on how strong the father is that could be a compelling reason for Josh to explore his opptions.

I get why Dunkley requested the trade and I understand why we said no but this whole Dunkley, Treloar and Bontempelli speculation just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. It will get sorted out soon enough providing there is actually something to sort out.
There did not seem to be any issues on the field on Friday night and really that is all that matters.

comrade
23-03-2021, 08:40 AM
Someone becoming best friends with someone they just met is one of life's biggest red flags.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e23SotgestI

mjp
23-03-2021, 11:49 AM
I get why Dunkley requested the trade and I understand why we said no...

...so can we ask Josh just to shut up and play footy for a while?

I have had a bit of contact with him in the past and have a lot of affection for him - but my goodness he just seems tone deaf.

The supporters of the club he plays for simply dont want to hear him justifying the reasons why he wanted to leave. And going back to it simply gives the whole situation 'air'. Shut up and play.

I know I am short-tempered with all of this at the moment but I really just wish the players would just give the media a rest until we have done something. I didn't like seeing Treloar on 360 last week and...well, what can I say...I'm grouchy at the world and want performance over publicity.

GVGjr
23-03-2021, 11:58 AM
...so can we ask Josh just to shut up and play footy for a while?

I have had a bit of contact with him in the past and have a lot of affection for him - but my goodness he just seems tone deaf.

The supporters of the club he plays for simply dont want to hear him justifying the reasons why he wanted to leave. And going back to it simply gives the whole situation 'air'. Shut up and play.

I know I am short-tempered with all of this at the moment but I really just wish the players would just give the media a rest until we have done something. I didn't like seeing Treloar on 360 last week and...well, what can I say...I'm grouchy at the world and want performance over publicity.

It's logical question for the media to ask though and from a clubs perspective if they were to shut him down then it would create an even bigger story. This might be a no win situation for him unless there is an easy way to flat bat the responses other than saying "I will let my footy do the talking".

hujsh
23-03-2021, 12:16 PM
...so can we ask Josh just to shut up and play footy for a while?

I have had a bit of contact with him in the past and have a lot of affection for him - but my goodness he just seems tone deaf.

The supporters of the club he plays for simply dont want to hear him justifying the reasons why he wanted to leave. And going back to it simply gives the whole situation 'air'. Shut up and play.

I know I am short-tempered with all of this at the moment but I really just wish the players would just give the media a rest until we have done something. I didn't like seeing Treloar on 360 last week and...well, what can I say...I'm grouchy at the world and want performance over publicity.

Hopefully it's the last we hear of it yeah. More performances like on the weekend and I'll forget about the trade the same way we forgot about West seeking a trade once upon a time.

Now that he has said his piece there can't be anything left to add

bornadog
23-03-2021, 12:38 PM
Hopefully it's the last we hear of it yeah. More performances like on the weekend and I'll forget about the trade the same way we forgot about West seeking a trade once upon a time.

Now that he has said his piece there can't be anything left to add

We should have heard no more once they returned to training after Christmas.

Supporters don't really care? Do they? It happened and end of story.

Also, I hope we never hear about ADs and Collingwood again.

mjp
23-03-2021, 02:19 PM
It's logical question for the media to ask though

The media didn't ask.

This was written by AFL Columnist Josh Dunkley.

Josh Dunkley needs to write about something else.

Grantysghost
23-03-2021, 02:49 PM
The media didn't ask.

This was written by AFL Columnist Josh Dunkley.

Josh Dunkley needs to write about something else.

I'm ok with the article in itself. The content is pretty cookie cutter stuff from a current player.

He admits he struggled and didn't seek help or speak up enough which I think is a strong and useful mental health message for everyone who considers it a weakness to admit they're having issues.

Timing on reflection could've been better (mid season?).

I certainly don't begrudge his right to expand his brand and add things to his resume that can be useful post career, and I'm not sure he owes the fans anything other than doing his best to make the club and team a better place, which you can never fault him for doing as a player.

Also I think it's easy to project our feelings for Essendon onto his decision around the club to move to, but as we know for the players they're just another workplace so personally I don't have any angst around that.

I do certainly share the sentiment it's time to move forward and put this behind him.

Maybe that's what this article did.

SonofScray
23-03-2021, 03:18 PM
Article has cooled off some of my dislike for Dunks. If it doesn't keep popping up as a talking point from here and his form is good and we win more often than not, I'll go back to liking him.

Not much in there was unreasonable. It is the Essendon connection that stings. Rest of it is is typical or boring, professional footballers these days, in their own bubble, hub or not.

mjp
23-03-2021, 03:53 PM
Also I think it's easy to project our feelings for Essendon onto his decision around the club to move to.

Happy with all of that but I have to say, I could care less about Essendon - I actually feel sorry for their supporters but living in Perth I'm not dealing with them on a daily basis. I genuinely think they have been put through the ringer with the drugs scandal/Hird/Thompson stuff and whilst I can't really stand the Adam Cooney revisionist history don't really have any issues with the rest of it.

West Coast on the other hand...

comrade
23-03-2021, 03:55 PM
Happy with all of that but I have to say, I could care less about Essendon - I actually feel sorry for their supporters but living in Perth I'm not dealing with them on a daily basis. I genuinely think they have been put through the ringer with the drugs scandal/Hird/Thompson stuff and whilst I can't really stand the Adam Cooney revisionist history don't really have any issues with the rest of it.

West Coast on the other hand...

West Coast is like Essendon, except their fans actually have reason to be arrogant d*** heads.

Rocket Science
23-03-2021, 04:08 PM
Happy with all of that but I have to say, I could care less about Essendon - I actually feel sorry for their supporters but living in Perth I'm not dealing with them on a daily basis. I genuinely think they have been put through the ringer with the drugs scandal/Hird/Thompson stuff and whilst I can't really stand the Adam Cooney revisionist history don't really have any issues with the rest of it.

West Coast on the other hand...

https://i.ibb.co/LrFjQz8/yeah-nah.png (https://ibb.co/NrvD16s)

Grantysghost
23-03-2021, 04:18 PM
https://i.ibb.co/LrFjQz8/yeah-nah.png (https://ibb.co/NrvD16s)

Genuine lolz, I hate that term...but it happened.

Twodogs
23-03-2021, 07:07 PM
Happy with all of that but I have to say, I could care less about Essendon - I actually feel sorry for their supporters but living in Perth I'm not dealing with them on a daily basis. I genuinely think they have been put through the ringer with the drugs scandal/Hird/Thompson stuff and whilst I can't really stand the Adam Cooney revisionist history don't really have any issues with the rest of it.

West Coast on the other hand...

The floors are obviously too hard over there in the West.

ReLoad
23-03-2021, 07:30 PM
That's a very difficult read, not for what Josh went through, but just how much of a flog he comes across as.

the whole thing with Treloar reeks of a new kid at school and the ostracised kid who nobody likes gravitates to him to try make a new friend.......

Happy Days
23-03-2021, 08:16 PM
The floors are obviously too hard over there in the West.

It's true, just ask Matt Rowell

The bulldog tragician
23-03-2021, 09:42 PM
I'm ok with the article in itself. The content is pretty cookie cutter stuff from a current player.

He admits he struggled and didn't seek help or speak up enough which I think is a strong and useful mental health message for everyone who considers it a weakness to admit they're having issues.

Timing on reflection could've been better (mid season?).

I certainly don't begrudge his right to expand his brand and add things to his resume that can be useful post career, and I'm not sure he owes the fans anything other than doing his best to make the club and team a better place, which you can never fault him for doing as a player.

Also I think it's easy to project our feelings for Essendon onto his decision around the club to move to, but as we know for the players they're just another workplace so personally I don't have any angst around that.

I do certainly share the sentiment it's time to move forward and put this behind him.

Maybe that's what this article did.

And what’s wrong with that?? :)

I tried to cool down and read the article again to see if I’d been too harsh, but...no.

bornadog
23-03-2021, 11:51 PM
That's a very difficult read, not for what Josh went through, but just how much of a flog he comes across as.

the whole thing with Treloar reeks of a new kid at school and the ostracised kid who nobody likes gravitates to him to try make a new friend.......

Treloars wife and Dunks Sister are both playing for the same netball team, so maybe that is what brought them together.

Bulldog Revolution
24-03-2021, 11:12 AM
I absolutely could live without this type of content, but I saw this and Treloars Fox Footy performance as a way of getting the players to talk about it, so that they can put it behind them.

For me, its over with