The Saints in trouble - very broad topic

[alwaysadog]

St Kilda hasn’t handled this matter well from the beginning, not in terms of dealing with that part of the girl’s claims that were genuine nor with the PR aspects. In fact they make the bluebagger filth’s attempts to deal with the boatgate boozing episode look consummately professional. Andie D must hate the off season.

Aints supporters must hate seeing the club’s reputation continuously trashed and wonder if they’ll ever be back in the headlines for the right reasons, and the board members must be wondering if sleepless nights are a permanent feature of the job.

Just when peace seemed to have been declared between the teenage girl and the club we have two signs of the matter further unravelling, from their own doing, and perhaps the first public signs that its impact is beyond their control.

The first is their blond haired flipper reacting to a couple of wannabe toughs taunting him. I don’t know what happened in any detail, but why the hell wouldn’t he have got straight back into his car and gone elsewhere, as soon as the nonsense began.

Problem one he has created for himself is that now every hoon knows he can be got to react, and some of them play AFL football, so even game time isn’t going to be hassle free in that regard, and every time he is in public he’ll know some f...wit is waiting for his chance at glory.

Problem two he seems to have created for the club, they now feel they have to protect him... and probably others, as if they didn’t have enough problems before these. Now I acknowledge that Rossie L could have been lead on by a journalist or two, but what was going through his head when he bit at the bait dangled before him and launched into a reminder that the AFL would act against sledging.

This is a funny psychology it seems to suggest that we know we are vulnerable and big brother will look after us. Publicly admitting to a weakness, which seems the subtext of his amazing outburst, is not clever and it is contradictory to the line they have been running, if not in fact at least in terms of perceived impact.

I don’t know who is advising them but they either aren’t listening or the advice they are getting is just plain stupid: they stumble from one mistake to the next and complicate matters along the way. Whoever smoked the peace pipe with the girl must have thought now we can breathe. Well the clean air they sought has been again fouled completely by their own actions. And they can’t blame the girl, this time they have done it on their own and in the process negated their core and only strategy.

While I didn’t always like his ruthlessness, the ghost of Graeme Richmond sits on my shoulder as I write. The doyen of facing the enemy and turning every crisis into an opportunity reminds me that he would have taken charge. Any player or staff member who said a word about the issue, or did anything more than walk away when it was mentioned would be threatened with eternal damnation, while he set to and fixed the matter, and then he would have turned it into an “it’s us against the world situation”.

Strength in adversity and an opportunity to forget any self doubts and a chance to show your mates that in any situation you are not only by their side but prepared to risk life and limb for the cause would have been the mantra.

But if the flipper is losing it and the coach is getting trapped who do they have to lead?

It’s still possible for them to make some sense of this issue and get back onto a positive course, but they are so far behind on the matter and they have so compounded the problem that it’s hard to see that happening. Maybe the media and the public will tire of it, after all it’s not riveting reading or watching and the prurient interest doesn’t last forever, or does it?

[Mofra]

Yes and talking of sledding wasn't it Riewoldt who enquired whether a certain player still "beats up" his girlfriend! I'll be getting stuck in just like their lot would if it was our guys involved in such incidents.

Good point, I would certainly hope our boys have enough bastard in them to remind Riewoldt (and Dal Santo for that matter) of the issues. From what I hear both Huddo & Gia don't mind a bit of chatter on the field at times (even though Gia can be quiet as a mouse off-field), and Lake has the odd word to the opposition too.

Good post alwaysadog.

[Topdog]

I have a much more logical view of St Kilda's woes. Their grief is just karma from the football Gods for their captain's dive against Brian Lake in the PF 2009 ^_^

That's actually the most illogical take on it I have heard.

[Twodogs]

That's actually the most illogical take on it I have heard.

Not if you believe in karma.

[Twodogs]

This one:

Lyon defends Riewoldt's Lovett-slur

This link doesnt seem to work anymore;

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/footy/co...E19742,00.html

But it did yesterday and luckily I copied it at the time;

Gay slur by Riewoldt
16 July 2006 Herald-Sun
Kelvin Healey

NICK Riewoldt should make amends for a gay slur by starting a campaign to stamp out homophobia in the AFL, Victoria's gay lobby says.

The St Kilda superstar provoked outrage after making a comment vilifying gays on radio.

In a word-association game during the Triple M program The Gospel, Riewoldt was asked to respond to the word ``homosexual''.

He said: ``Die.''

The forward apologised and tried to get the comment edited out of the program, which he co-hosts with Jason Dunstall, Nathan Brown and Peter Everitt.

``If I've offended anyone in the gay community I'm terribly sorry,'' Riewoldt told the Melbourne Community Voice newspaper.

``It was an off-the-cuff comment that I shouldn't have made.''

But Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby spokesman Gerard Brody said Riewoldt should go further to prove his sincerity.

``He should encourage players and the AFL to come on board and deal with homophobia,'' Mr Brody said.

Mr Brody said he was disgusted by Riewoldt's comment and believed he needed to set an example to children.

``It makes me physically revolted, it is just really wrong,'' he said.

``It is unacceptable. As role models footballers play a a big role in young people's lives.''

Mr Brody said the remark was symptomatic of a widespread problem of homophobia in sport and particularly football.



Denial, much?

[Ghost Dog]

That's actually the most illogical take on it I have heard.

Um - wasn't being serious!

[LostDoggy]

Wow! I didn't read this new article on The Diver the other day - certainly makes me believe the stories about him are perhaps true??? What is that saying......he who protests the loudest???.... or something like that.

[LostDoggy]

P.S. If you are really good 'mates' with two St Kilda pyschologist and they are discussing confidential information, then that's outside the code of practice and reflects poorly on them. If they are happy to share info with you, that's your business. But I would be careful what you post in that regard.

I don't recall mentioning any conveyance of 'confidential information'. However, information is one thing, personal opinion entirely another, and as personal friends you are bound to hear opinion, even indirectly, reading between the lines etc.

[alwaysadog]

If we needed further examples that media wise the Aints are up a certain creek without a paddle look no further than Rossie L’s sledging clarification.

Remember a year ago the Blues showed us very transparently how to use beginner’s media management strategy No1:

When the media has you by the short and curlies change the subject and distract them by inventing a beat up they can’t keep away from.

The one the bluebagger filth used was such an outrageously obvious ploy... but it worked.

But no, having put his foot in it Rossie went back for a further stumble; now the Saints are able to withstand sledging; it was all journos misquoting Rossie L or if they didn’t do that because they seemed to use quotation marks around his words then they took him out of context. That usually means they distorted his intention, but it’s pretty clear from the extended quote, see below, both the context and some amazing logical convolutions. Let’s examine what he said;see full article

“Gee whiz, it's a brutal competition, isn't it? I think, we often talk about it, and the AFL, there are some great examples last year where people crossed over real community standards,'' Lyon said, perhaps pointing to the $7500 fine Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse was handed last season for labelling Saint Stephen Milne a ''f---cking rapist''.
''So, just because you are on the football field, you don't leave behind community standards; so if people consistently are crossing those and it becomes an issue, that is something the AFL consistently deals with - any form of vilification.
''That's on the agenda. We like to play within the rules, the spirit of the game and, when we win games of football, we would like to think we have played within the rules and spirit of the game.
''That's the way we will continue and, in my experience, that's the way other clubs go about it as well.''

Now I don’t think his intent can be misconstrued, why did he offer more than, “The AFL is pretty good at handling that sort of thing.”?

What he did was to compound the problem he was trying to resolve by firstly reminding everyone of previous examples of unsavoury Aints headlines and by appealing of all things to community standards. What is at the centre of this whole unseemly episode if it isn’t a failure to follow common decency by some of his players and by the club in its handling of this matter? Yet now he wants protection by those same much trashed values.

So far there has been little comment on the confused logic and morality, even hypocrisy, in this and the attempt to paint the Aints as the innocents unfairly under attack. More amazingly it focuses further attention on the sledging issue which leads us back to the very things they need to have us forget, clarifies nothing and suggests that those who know the truth about this matter, which we never will, are in a delusional state.

The girls gone quiet so the roar has subsided... except that it’s still ringing in their ears.

[w3design]

Can't wait for the season. As an average player in every sport I have played, I built my game around my sharp tongue and razor wit and general talkativeness. I'll be hoping to hear of some brilliant sledging directed at the Saints.

[azabob]

More trouble at St.Kilda.

Jay Clarke of herald sun are is tweeting the following


"four saints players suspended for six weeks and made to get real jobs for drinking / misuse of medication"

He has named the players in his tweet but I am not going to at this stage until it hits the papers.

[Dancin' Douggy]

misuse of medication. That is priceless.
I like the new term for 'alternative music' Which go along these lines.
Q."what kind of music do you guys play?" Answer....."ummm.....under represented music".

[AndrewP6]

Stevo at the Hun has also tweeted and named names, and Damian Barrett has made a claim regarding Ross Lyon. The plot thickens....

[Topdog]

it's actually on the Saints website.

http://www.saints.com.au/news/newsar...3/default.aspx

St Kilda Football Club can confirm that on its recent training camp to New Zealand four players breached team behavioural standards, including the use of alcohol, misuse of prescribed medication and leaving the team hotel against a player established policy.

The players involved are Paul Cahill, Zac Dawson, Rhys Stanley and Jack Steven.

[AndrewP6]

it's actually on the Saints website.

http://www.saints.com.au/news/newsar...3/default.aspx

At least they're being upfront about it...