Melbourne Watch 2023/24

[angelopetraglia]

The point of view I'm putting forward should be simple to understand if you really want to.
It's about having consequences for your actions if I'm not making that as clear as it should be.
There are consequences for being over the limit as a driver and there should be consequences for being over the limit as a professional footballer with drugs.

During the season the starting point is supposed to be 0.00 as the limit for drugs being in players systems.
Some players can achieve that and clearly some others can't.
If a player makes an error during the week and self reports he's given a week off by the Doctor and in my opinion that is his first and final strike for the season. If he does it again during the season he should be given a period of time away from the club and the coach should be informed of his challenges. The coach can then make a decision if he wants to maintain the player on the list.
If he gets off course again the following season then we go through the same process but there is no 3rd chance.

Players are given extensive education and it isn't working like it should, if they want to be all in as a footballer then there shouldn't be a lot of latitude for them to keep pushing the boundaries and taking drugs.

Well said and agree 100%

[hujsh]

Absolutely. Does carrying less body fat while maintaining muscle mass help you be a better athlete in a sport where you need to cover the ground and have endurance, still be explosive and still have strength. 100% it does.

I honestly doubt it's that simple. I can't see my mind changing unless there are studies into this and no number of pictures of Ben Cousins will change my mind. And then even if it did have some minor impact on the physical performance of an athlete it's hard to imagine their career lasting long if they do enough for it to alter their metabolism enough to have an impact without other issues rearing their head, impacting their performance in other negative ways.

[hujsh]

Yes you can. No doubt you can be a great athlete without being ripped.

But carrying less bodyfat matters. That is why clubs measure it.

I actually think they stopped doing that now. Am I mistaken can someone clarify?

[Grantysghost]

I actually think they stopped doing that now. Am I mistaken can someone clarify?

It's the "Born A Dog" rule.

[EasternWest]

Yes you can. No doubt you can be a great athlete without being ripped.

But carrying less bodyfat matters. That is why clubs measure it.

I think they measure to keep BAD off their case.

[angelopetraglia]

I honestly doubt it's that simple. I can't see my mind changing unless there are studies into this and no number of pictures of Ben Cousins will change my mind. And then even if it did have some minor impact on the physical performance of an athlete it's hard to imagine their career lasting long if they do enough for it to alter their metabolism enough to have an impact without other issues rearing their head, impacting their performance in other negative ways.

That is a fair argument.

However, two different points.

a) Less body fat is mostly good. It is hard to argue with that.

b) Having less body fat by taking illiegeal stimulants is an advantage.

I believe point a is hard to argue against. Point b, agree the advantages of less body fat could be diminished by the ongoing illegeal drug use and the other impacts it may have.

Ben Cousins is an interesting case study. Taking meth didn't appear to impact his on field ablitiy. He won a Brownlow, he won a Permiership. Was still playing at an incredible high level. BUT ... it did eventually catch up with him and his life spiralled out of control. However, there would be others who are most probably higher functioning drug users.

We hear about those whose life spiral out of control. Oliver and Cousins for example. I'm sure we don't hear about those who dabble frequently but there life doesn't spiral out of control.

[angelopetraglia]

I actually think they stopped doing that now. Am I mistaken can someone clarify?

Aricle from July 2023.

"Hawthorn ruckman Max Lynch has revealed Hawks players are still required to undergo 'skinfolds' testing, while ex-teammate and Magpies forward Brody Mihocek apparently hasn't been subject to one 'in over ten years'."

link: https://www.zerohanger.com/they-stil...-tests-140407/

[Grantysghost]

This journal article from the British Journal of Sports Medicine from 2006 has some interesting points :

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2657493/

Cocaine in sport

Despite the popular myth, cocaine does not really enhance performance, whether in the job, in sports, at school, or during sex. On the contrary, long term use can lead to loss of concentration, irritability, loss of memory, paranoia, loss of energy, anxiety, and a loss of interest in sex. In particular, several studies have shown that cocaine has no beneficial effect on running times and reduces endurance performance. Furthermore, at all doses, cocaine significantly increases glycogen degradation while increasing plasma lactate concentration without producing consistent changes in plasma catecholamine levels.

[GVGjr]

I actually think they stopped doing that now. Am I mistaken can someone clarify?

They have, it happened a few years ago. I'd link it more to the progression of AFLW football but maybe the AFL just jumped early on it.

[angelopetraglia]

Skinfolds. Times have changed. Ha.



Hawthorn’s freshly-minted premiership heroes sat shamed in silence. They had spent 14 days sinking beers after the 2008 grand final on a bender that started at the MCG and finished in Hong Kong.

“Every player averaged 10mm more of skinfold when they came back,” then-Hawks fitness boss Andrew Russell told the Herald Sun.

“We had about 80kg more of body fat. So I went into a meeting with 80kg of lard and threw it on the floor and said, ‘Meet your new teammate’.

“I said, ‘You’ve got a new teammate because of the way you blokes went about the off-season and you’re going to have to carry him all year’.”

[EasternWest]

Skinfolds. Times have changed. Ha.



Hawthorn’s freshly-minted premiership heroes sat shamed in silence. They had spent 14 days sinking beers after the 2008 grand final on a bender that started at the MCG and finished in Hong Kong.

“Every player averaged 10mm more of skinfold when they came back,” then-Hawks fitness boss Andrew Russell told the Herald Sun.

“We had about 80kg more of body fat. So I went into a meeting with 80kg of lard and threw it on the floor and said, ‘Meet your new teammate’.

“I said, ‘You’ve got a new teammate because of the way you blokes went about the off-season and you’re going to have to carry him all year’.”

I would've replied "as long as Stewie gets it done on the last day in September I don't care about carrying him now"

[bornadog]

It's the "Born A Dog" rule.

Hey?

[Grantysghost]

Hey?

A light hearted dig at your penchant for fat shaming Josh Bruce (jk jk).

[bornadog]

A light hearted dig at your penchant for fat shaming Josh Bruce (jk jk).

yeah, I know- I was right though, he shed kilos in year two and was brilliant

[hujsh]

Aricle from July 2023.

"Hawthorn ruckman Max Lynch has revealed Hawks players are still required to undergo 'skinfolds' testing, while ex-teammate and Magpies forward Brody Mihocek apparently hasn't been subject to one 'in over ten years'."

link: https://www.zerohanger.com/they-stil...-tests-140407/

So fair to say it's value as a measure is debateable at best.