Scarcely a week goes by without some headline about yet another football hero turning out to be nothing but a thug and a disgrace.
The NRL seems to be the worst code, which is hardly surprising because it seems to me to be about 10% skill and 90% thuggery.
And the worst part of it all is that more often than not these football heroes have gained theit notoriety by thumping into some young women who has been silly enough to get mixed up with them.

But they will be OK. A phalanx of character witnesses will be trotted out led by the most expensive lawyers. There will be a visit to the Childrens' Hospital where autographs will be signed, soft toys handed out and nurses will swoon. In the meantime the young lady will be nursing a black eye, a broken nose or the trauma of a sexual encounter otherwise known as a bit of fun.

And the crowds will cheer them on again and curse the trouble makers who told "lies" about the football heroes.

link?

link? . . .link?

You only have to read a paper once a week or occasionally look at TV news and there it is! And you ask me for a link?
Are you by any chance one of these rabid NRL supporters who thinks ANYTHING they do is OK?

mavisdavis wrote on Apr 18^th, 2011 at 10:25am:

link?

Watts to be sacked, Todd Carney on brink - Herald Sun Google Sport

Sydney Morning Herald


Anthony Watts to be sacked, Todd Carney on brink
Herald Sun
RUGBY league's most troubled club, the Sydney Roosters, will sack Anthony Watts and then consider axing Todd Carney after allegations of another ugly off-field incident. The NRL's image took a further battering yesterday when Anthony Watts, 24, ...
Charged Rooster faces sackThe Age
Probe could decide future of Roosters pairSydney Morning Herald
Carney facing sack?Sportal.com.au
ABC Online -The Australian -sportsnewsfirst

Watts has been charged with bashing his ex girl friend.. nice..


I hope it doesnt pan out like you say bogy as they seem to have no control whatever these young men.and just how many chances do you get in one lifetime.. its ridiculous.

we thought the AFL.. sordid sex with the teen would go away.. but it just got worse and the NRL seems to limp from one bad assault to another..

when is one of them going to find themselves in jail?

Funny how people make a song and dance about tarring all abos with the same brush, yet are quite happy to do the same to other 'acceptable' groups like sportsmen, despite their rate of offending being much much lower.

... wrote on Apr 18^th, 2011 at 11:13am:

Funny how people make a song and dance about tarring all abos with the same brush, yet are quite happy to do the same to other 'acceptable' groups like sportsmen, despite their rate of offending being much much lower.

That`s PC "tolerance" for you.

The significant difference is that these thugs are supposed to be and are role models for adolescent boys.
That's a joke isn't it.

bogarde73 wrote on Apr 18^th, 2011 at 11:37am:

The significant difference is that these thugs are supposed to be and are role models for adolescent boys. That's a joke isn't it.

If people CHOOSE to hold them as role models, what are they supposed to do about it?  They just play footy well, and make a living from their talent, just as anyone else does.  But I guess they should just be happy working their whole life in an abattoir on minimum wage, at least that way if they mess up, noone will know or care.

The effort they put in to reach the top of their game should be respected, but let's learn to separate admiration for someones footy skills, with admiration for their whole persona.  For the most part, they are young men, and young men from all walks of life do silly things from time to time.

For a start it's a sad reflection that some of them get paid more than the PM. And that's part of the problem, the fact that they have all this spare time & money to get themselves wasted and into strife.
The game itself is a bad lesson to youth on how to behave. What would it be? 50% playing a brutal contact contest and 50% turning on a biffo for the fans?
Now take soccer, the beautiful game. Admittedly there are occasional, very occasional lapses of behaviour but not many. And to my mind that has to do with the fact that brutal contact is severely dealt with if it does occur and anyway it is not an inherent part of the game as it is in rugby.

They are just grossly over paid thugs with neither respect for themselves or others.  

nichy wrote on Apr 18^th, 2011 at 12:49pm:

They are just grossly over paid thugs with neither respect for themselves or others.

A big call to make, when you consider theres a few hundred young men on the playing roster at any given time... how many are involved in these 'scandals'?  A dozen?  2 dozen?  Not very different to the offending rate for the young male population at large is it?

bogarde73 wrote on Apr 18^th, 2011 at 10:11am:

Scarcely a week goes by without some headline about yet another football hero turning out to be nothing but a thug and a disgrace. The NRL seems to be the worst code, which is hardly surprising because it seems to me to be about 10% skill and 90% thuggery. And the worst part of it all is that more often than not these football heroes have gained theit notoriety by thumping into some young women who has been silly enough to get mixed up with them. But they will be OK. A phalanx of character witnesses will be trotted out led by the most expensive lawyers. There will be a visit to the Childrens' Hospital where autographs will be signed, soft toys handed out and nurses will swoon. In the meantime the young lady will be nursing a black eye, a broken nose or the trauma of a sexual encounter otherwise known as a bit of fun. And the crowds will cheer them on again and curse the trouble makers who told "lies" about the football heroes.

Well, if you read and absorb what's said in the tabloids then of course it'll be all doom and gloom. The tabloids could run quite a number of alternative artilces showing many NRL players as good family men with a wife and kids. But this doesn't produce headlines, does it? Those who write these articles are fully cognizant that it's easier to pull out emotions of outrage rather than of admiration from the reader.

I am afraid you've been played.

The NRL and ARL are having a competition to see who gets the 'worst' trophy.

I think they are neck to neck this year.

They are taken away from the family environment at a vulnerable age ( 14-16) and put into this absurd footy culture where they learn the outrageous lifestyle that becomes normal behaviour to them.

If we, the public keep promoting them as heroes, and keep paying homage to the media that feeds on it, the problem will be here to stay.

It's called brand equity.....they are made to do good deeds within the community so that they have something to fall back on when they stuff up.......he's not such a bad guy because he did this and this lol

Quote:

bograde 73 wrote The NRL seems to be the worst code, which is hardly surprising because it seems to me to be about 10% skill and 90% thuggery.

NRL is a game for manly instincts to be discharged.
Sport is one of the last bastions our society has from increasing femininization.

I think that Australianised Sport is possibly one of the most 'aggressive' in the Southern Hemisphere, which is always more physical than the Northern Hemisphere. Whereas the Italian Soccer players would take a dive, the Australian players would rather go for a vicious hack/slash and just take it like it is.

But.
I think there is a growing rift amongst Australian Sportmen regardless of Code.
There are those who allow such aggression and physicality spill into their private lives rather than put it onto the field. These players tend to lack any ability to put their 'gift' to the grace of rescuing people from being bullied or drowning in the surf as other Sportsmen have done - regardless of Code.
It doesn't help when we also see the Sporting Codes clamp down upon such aggression/physicality ...upon the field.

If they smash each other to bits barbarically for the world's entertainment - so be it, they get paid for it ...or in Australia's (Cronulla's) case - get laid for it.
Maybe the supress such aggression/physicality upon the Field because they don't want sportsmen being tougher than the Australian Military personel who seem to be the real grubs when it comes to women in their ranks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8CZXVFc-1E

Keep the violence on the Field, not the streets. ;)

... wrote on Apr 18^th, 2011 at 1:10pm:

nichy wrote on Apr 18th, 2011 at 12:49pm: They are just grossly over paid thugs with neither respect for themselves or others.   A big call to make, when you consider theres a few hundred young men on the playing roster at any given time... how many are involved in these 'scandals'?  A dozen?  2 dozen?  Not very different to the offending rate for the young male population at large is it?

When the background of most players is taken into account, all sporting codes actually have a positive effect on many young men.

Troubled souls - over paid thanks to the Malthusian question...

http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2011/02/20/1226009/084959-brendan-fevola.jpg :)

What else are over paid thugs with IQ’s below 60 going to do with $mill’s besides sex, drugs, and fast cars?


I personally believe that advocating any person that plays sport is a “hero” is demeaning the true value of the word hero.

I would be ashamed and insulted as a parent if any of my kids were stupid enough to regard a sports person as being a hero.

So i'm in WA, and league doesn't get much airtime here...but am I correct that all the hoo-haa surrounding Todd carney is because he returned a breathalyser reading of 0.052?  

And for this he was fined $10,000?  

And that's STILL not enough?

Crikey....the fine for joe public for this is a few hundred dollars, tops.  It's so close to the legal limit, it equates to having just one more mouthful of beer than the arbitrary limit stipulates.  

Do you people realise how hypocritical and petty you are?

culldav wrote on Apr 18^th, 2011 at 11:06pm:

What else are over paid thugs with IQ’s below 60 going to do with $mill’s besides sex, drugs, and fast cars? I personally believe that advocating any person that plays sport is a “hero” is demeaning the true value of the word hero. I would be ashamed and insulted as a parent if any of my kids were stupid enough to regard a sports person as being a hero.

It is journalists, or should I say writers parading as journalists, who label them heros. The players themselves never use the term.
Like Bogarde, your beef is really with the media and not the players as such.

I think the major point is that the Sporting (fitness) Industry is similar to the Health Industry,
in that one who is a Medic or Sports professional SHOULD NOT be drinking, smoking, etc.
I worked as a Nurse and I was appalled at the state of Health Professionals out the back choofing cigarettes or being on the previous night's pi ss and then whinging to the Media/Govt that they need more money (for their substance abuse) because the workload was so hard. ::) ::) ::)

These Footballers are 'Professionally' paid. That is, they no longer have to support themselves by doing a Garbo-Run or personal business which means they can behave a bit more loosely. They are paid by sponsors and like. So 'total committment' is asked for.

Like I said, you get your good examples like James Hirde and you get your wankers like Brendon Fevola.

...no offence, but I see the future of Australian Sports ...Men as nothing more than being a complete WANK. Thankfully Sports Women will save some credibility like African-American Women have to do for their 'Wanker' Men. You know the African-American Male is a Wanker because he just keeps looking down at his Peni s and mumbles "God its big", while another Dude just gets on with the job of running the country.

... wrote on Apr 19^th, 2011 at 5:34pm:

So i'm in WA, and league doesn't get much airtime here...but am I correct that all the hoo-haa surrounding Todd carney is because he returned a breathalyser reading of 0.052?   And for this he was fined $10,000?   And that's STILL not enough? Crikey....the fine for joe public for this is a few hundred dollars, tops.  It's so close to the legal limit, it equates to having just one more mouthful of beer than the arbitrary limit stipulates.   Do you people realise how hypocritical and petty you are?

hi wes,sorry to tell you this but you are way behind the times.. Todd Carney had to front court.. he was over the limit which is zero for a P Drivers.. which he is..

in court he fronted up and said he was an alcoholic.. and read a big statement pledging he would do A.A. and not drin k he also gave the roosters this pledge...the court in its wisdom let him off...again..

last weekend he asked for the weekend off to go an see his mother in Goulburn about 1.5. hours from Sydney.. he didnt go instead he went out with his mate Watts.. who was drinking nearby..according to reports Carney was drinking orange juice spiked with vodka... they were both out till 4am...what happened with Watts and his ex girlfriend I am not sure.. but the fact is Carney swore he wouldnt keep drinking he said he would go to AA.. all he has been  to is two meetings..

the point is here this young man has been given so many chances to my knowledge he got 3 chances whilst at Canberra.. he was and is more than reckless he hasnt killed anyone or himself as yet but its an accident waiting to happen..

if you call this petty I hope for WA sake you havent any sons..

the young man had a terrible reputation in Canberra and he was banned from his own town Goulburn because of his drinking and bad behaviour..what does that tell you about this young man he is 24.

its a shame and a terrible waste.. but if we keep calling it petty where do you expect him to end up?... and then who will you point the finger at?

Quote:

if you call this petty I hope for WA sake you havent any sons..

Really?  remember I thought the only issue was his blowing 0.052, and yes, indeed it is EXTREMELY petty to fine him $10K for that, and to act like he's the devil incarnate.  

Heaven forbid a young bloke should get on the piss once in a while.  never did that in my day....

FFS you haters set up these bogus, unrealistic expectations, and then lick your lips when people inevitably fail to meet them.

Why SHOULD they be forced to avoid alcohol completely, while you lot get pissed off your faces on your chardonnay.  Remember when you were young?  Perfect angels were ya?  But it's one rule for you, and another rule for those you're jealous of.

The sad thing is, I doubt you even know you're doing it.

Football are my heroes

... wrote on Apr 20^th, 2011 at 4:10pm:

Quote: if you call this petty I hope for WA sake you havent any sons.. Really?  remember I thought the only issue was his blowing 0.052, and yes, indeed it is EXTREMELY petty to fine him $10K for that, and to act like he's the devil incarnate.   Heaven forbid a young bloke should get on the piss once in a while.  never did that in my day....

well as you have pointed out your live in WA.. that says it all..this young man has done more carnage than you will ever know..he has had more run ins with the law than you will ever know.. he has been given so many chances to redeem himself it isnt funny...

did you read my post.. HE WAS OVER THE LIMIT AT 7AM IN THE MORNING.. HE HAD BEEN HOME AND HAD BEEN TO SLEEP...he is a P driver and therefore is zero alcohol.... I am almost sure he had lost his licence as well..

look I live in Canberra my family know this young man from the football..the club like the roosters have bent over backwards to help him... he has trouble with help.. he doesnt think he should have to do anything..

so you are right with an alcoholic being allowed to keep on drinking are you?

maybe you has better have a word with his mother..

as for once in a while... well now theres a fact you dont know what you are talking about.

... wrote on Apr 20^th, 2011 at 4:36pm:

FFS you haters set up these bogus, unrealistic expectations, and then lick your lips when people inevitably fail to meet them. Why SHOULD they be forced to avoid alcohol completely, while you lot get pissed off your faces on your chardonnay.  Remember when you were young?  Perfect angels were ya?  But it's one rule for you, and another rule for those you're jealous of. The sad thing is, I doubt you even know you're doing it.

well you had your Ben Cousins he did ok didnt he pulling the wool over everyones eyes.. we3ll it dont work with the NRL.. they try to save their players even if its from themselves..

its got nothing to do with what anyone else does.. this young man signed a pledge he would NOT drink at all..he thinks he can break all the rules and walk away from the damage he does... now he wont play for the State of NSW.. not a big deal in my book.. but he is letting an awful lot of fans down as well as his mum who must wonder where the hell she went wrong..

we are not talking about THEY... its HIM and unless you know what you are talking about... then I suggest you shut up.. and worry about your AFL guys.

... wrote on Apr 20^th, 2011 at 4:36pm:

FFS you haters set up these bogus, unrealistic expectations, and then lick your lips when people inevitably fail to meet them. Why SHOULD they be forced to avoid alcohol completely, while you lot get pissed off your faces on your chardonnay.  Remember when you were young?  Perfect angels were ya?  But it's one rule for you, and another rule for those you're jealous of. The sad thing is, I doubt you even know you're doing it.

Wesley, these women who once demanded equality and tolerance for themselves, they`ve become their mothers & grandmothers.

Hey Wesley Pipes,
We don't set the standard, its the players who do so.
Some can live up to the expectation, some can raise the bar both on and off the Field.
Its not us, let alone our fault that other Sportmen fail to, dare I say
...compete.

Quote:

Another AFL player is in trouble for drinking after playing last weekend. Port Adelaide announced on Tuesday they had fined Hamish Hartlett $2,500, with another $2,500 suspended, after he caught up with friends following Sunday's 79-point loss to Geelong. It comes a day after Melbourne onballer Brent Moloney lost his vice-captaincy for an alcohol-related incident early on Monday morning. Moloney was asked to leave a St Kilda nightclub for being too drunk and he has admitted to a binge drinking problem when he consumes alcohol. The Power said it had fined Hartlett because he had not met the team's uncompromising standards. "Hamish went out for a few drinks with friends on Sunday night, after returning to Adelaide following the game against Geelong," Port football manager Peter Rohde said in a statement. "It was a quiet catch-up with mates, but a player's recovery must come first and his actions were outside of the standards the playing group itself has set." Sunday was Hartlett's first AFL game back from injury.

Oh dear god....he had a few quiet drinks with friends on a weeekend.  hang him! HANG HIIIIIM!!!!!!!

The title of this thread is football heros.
Well...you cant go past the best of the best.. Barry Robran and Russell Ebert   :)

... wrote on Apr 21^st, 2011 at 5:19pm:

Quote: Another AFL player is in trouble for drinking after playing last weekend. Port Adelaide announced on Tuesday they had fined Hamish Hartlett $2,500, with another $2,500 suspended, after he caught up with friends following Sunday's 79-point loss to Geelong. It comes a day after Melbourne onballer Brent Moloney lost his vice-captaincy for an alcohol-related incident early on Monday morning. Moloney was asked to leave a St Kilda nightclub for being too drunk and he has admitted to a binge drinking problem when he consumes alcohol. The Power said it had fined Hartlett because he had not met the team's uncompromising standards. "Hamish went out for a few drinks with friends on Sunday night, after returning to Adelaide following the game against Geelong," Port football manager Peter Rohde said in a statement. "It was a quiet catch-up with mates, but a player's recovery must come first and his actions were outside of the standards the playing group itself has set." Sunday was Hartlett's first AFL game back from injury. Oh dear god....he had a few quiet drinks with friends on a weeekend.  hang him! HANG HIIIIIM!!!!!!!

so it looks like you dont have any standards then wes... when someone is told not to drink and they sign a declaration saying they wont dronk.... most people especially those that pay them expect them to stand by what they signed..

however according to you thats to rough.. the poor didums can have a drink or three whats wrong with that???

the club he plays for has rules...if they are too hard dont join the club..

n o one forces anyone to drink.. they do it all by themselves..in most cases... aka Carney they then get behind the wheel of a car and drive..

its just rules wes just rules.. if we dont have rules in our society where would we all be..

and if we let our "heros" break all the rules in the book...well you will be the only one I would think giving them a slap on the back..

Read the headlines and you automatically think.....about time too! some of these men have died without getting their medals for bravery.

But this is not about our ANZAC's, it's about our AFL heroes. What gives them the right to hijack ANZAC Day? Using our war heroes to promote AFL...........disgusting!!!! SOME THINGS ARE SACRED
..............................................................................

Retrospective ANZAC Day medals

http://www.3aw.com.au/blogs/3aw-football-blog/retrospective-anzac-day-medals/20110420-1do5e.html

Spirit of the ANZACs


SAVERIO Rocca, Collingwood's original Anzac Day hero,

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/collingwood-delisting-left-saverio-rocca-devastated/story-fn7shz1t-1226041796656

.................................................................

Trying to sell AFL over the memory of the diggers is just not on.

I agree with you pansi.  

Yep, trying to compare over paid pampered footballers with the diggers of ww1 and ww2 is a disgrace.
It does show what an overblown image these fellas have of themselves.

adelcrow wrote on Apr 22^nd, 2011 at 9:48am:

The title of this thread is football heros. Well...you cant go past the best of the best.. Barry Robran and Russell Ebert   :)

Never heard of either.

I would go with -

Bobby Moore
Pele
Franz Beckenbauer
Johann Cruyff

Thats coz your not an old Croweater..like me.. Andrei
Trust me, when it comes to Aussie rules in the 70's in SA..they were top shelf  :)

adelcrow wrote on Apr 22^nd, 2011 at 6:52pm:

Thats coz your not an old Croweater..like me.. Andrei Trust me, when it comes to Aussie rules in the 70's in SA..they were top shelf  :)

got a lot of Crows in Canberra these days keep coming down a stealing my dogs food.. whilst he sits there and watches..

they are beautiful birds though but a bit noisy calling their mates for breakfast is a bit rude..

I go the swans myself... more beautiful and yummy looking.

I sort of liked St Kilda.

But to be honest, I did struggle to get that into the sport of AFL.

I don't mind Rugby League though. Obviously with in-laws from Townsville it was the Cowboys or no-one for me.