AFL 2013

[nobleoz]

something to start the year with.....
http://www.news.com.au/top-stories/indi ... 6562176738

[nobleoz]

http://images.scribblelive.com/2013/1/2 ... 12ee35.jpg

[Simmo79]

request for change of thread name: Our Great Game They Play in Heaven

[bazza]

A player for the Colton AFL club was involved in a scuffle at a recent music festival

According to the Herald Sun the player involved is a 'former Tasmanian'

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victor ... 6562679995

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victor ... 6562946327

[NRLandMore]

request for change of thread name: Our Great Game They Play in Heaven

I must be mistaken. I thought this was the Australian Football League thread, not the Rugby Union thread.

[yob]

Union players are too fat to get up to heaven.

[NRLandMore]

Perhaps they are, perhaps they aren't. I don't think anyone has claimed that Rugby Union players get into heaven. All I have ever seen claimed is from Rugby Union is that it is the game that they play in heaven. By whom is not specified.

Would just like to add that it would be nice if in these thread there could be discussion about the topic of the thread instead of what is currently seen.

[NRLandMore]

Let's lay off the dick measuring contests and get into the spirit of sport and the topics of the threads.

Collingwood players admit to drug use to AFL medical officer, avoid strike under illicit drug policy

A group of Collingwood players self-reporting drug use to the AFL was one of the catalysts for Wednesday's historic drugs summit.
The Magpies players - understood to be at least four - contacted the AFL medical department after one night's activities late last season.
The players escaped a strike under a contentious provision in the AFL's Illicit Drugs Policy.

Self-reporting occurs when a player admits to an AFL medical officer to having used drugs, whether deliberately or inadvertently.
It is not only Collingwood players who are reporting drug use to the AFL.
Magpies president Eddie McGuire last night was furious when contacted for comment.

"You're telling me that, but as far as I know at the Collingwood Football Club there is a clean slate because no player as far as I know has had any strikes, because we are not told," McGuire said.
"And that you've been told something two days before a drugs summit which was specifically called for by Collingwood dismays me greatly.

"It shows this drugs policy now to be a farce, where the one thing people could hold the hat on was confidentiality.
"If there is a problem at Collingwood, and even if I suspected something, I have no powers. This is the AFL's problem, why tell me?"
Magpies chief executive Gary Pert raised the need of a drugs summit when he spoke on the eve of the national draft of an alarming use of illegal drugs by players in the off-season.
He later described the players' behaviour as "volcanic".
The AFL on Monday would not confirm the the club with the raft of self-reporting players.
Self-reporting has been described as a loophole in the drugs policy - some players have taken advantage of the strike-free confession more than once.
The drugs summit tomorrow will discuss limiting self-reports to one a year per player.
AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said last night any loophole in the system would be eradicated.
"There's no doubt there is an agreement any loophole that can be used will be closed," Demetriou said.
The loopholes include a group of players self-reporting, just as the Magpies players did, or a player consistently self-reporting.
Praising the self-reporting mechanism, Demetriou said it encouraged players to come forward if "they have made a mistake or have an issue".
"What it has uncovered is blokes who have got mental health issues or other issues and it allows them to get treatment," Demetriou said.
"And then all those guys go into target testing.
"If they didn't self-notify they wouldn't be target tested or have their medical issues come to the fore."
Demetriou said one self-report per player per season would be one of many discussion points tomorrow.
"That's a topic that's already been discussed and it might be one of the resolutions," Demetriou said.
"There's no firm view about where we end up other than everyone knows there is a loophole that has to be closed."
Demetriou said he was expecting a spike in positive drug tests, not from testing hair in the off-season, which he said had shown no dramatic change, but from regular in-competition testing.
"We don't know why (there is a spike) ... is it a case of it being one bad year?" Demetriou said.
"Is it in line with what's happening in the community where there has been a 21 per cent increase in drug use among young people?
"Is it peer pressure? It could be all those things.
"And, also, the police will talk about this ... it's freely available."
Demetriou said the summit wouldn't be confined to drugs, and would include discussion on alcohol and whether it could be beneficial to allow players to drink more through the season so their off-season wouldn't be so alcohol charged.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-pre ... z2JLPD5tNK

[yob]

A wide range of occupations have drug testing. Plenty of people fail these tests. People operating heavy machinery that could kill people. Are these people's names a matter of public record? No.

What business is it of mine if a football player is afflited with anything?

[the crow]

Ahhhhh the lance defense.....nice one Oprah.

[NRLandMore]

Performance enhancing drug use in any sport should result in a straight 2 year ban, and for so called "recreational drugs" it should be an instant 12 month ban.

[kilonewton]

A wide range of occupations have drug testing. Plenty of people fail these tests. People operating heavy machinery that could kill people. Are these people's names a matter of public record? No.

But if I do test positive, or refuse to take the test, its gross misconduct, instant dismissal and a record of it throughout the industry. And my job is not at all safety critical. Footballers get "counselled"

What business is it of mine if a football player is afflited with anything?

Fair point. But, it is (or is it?) still a criminal act to consume illegal substances. You get caught, as a non-entity such as myself, you can expect your name to still be published somewhere. eg. the local paper in my home town reports the full name and street of anyone appearing in the magistrates or county court, even for minor misdemeanours where the punishment is a bond and no conviction.
Whilst you and I may not give two hoots, its a fact that by playing Australian Rules Football at the highest level, the players know that their lives become somewhat interesting to certain sections of the public. If they don't like it, they have the choice to do something else with their lives.

[Simmo79]

A wide range of occupations have drug testing. Plenty of people fail these tests. People operating heavy machinery that could kill people. Are these people's names a matter of public record? No.

What business is it of mine if a football player is afflited with anything?

I'm with Yob. rec drug use is generally none of an employer (let alone a customer's) business. This is more gossip-driven than a matter of public importance. The use of PEDs, on the other hand, undermines the integrity of sport.

[yob]

If they don't like it, they have the choice to do something else with their lives.

By the same token, parents are free to raise their own children rather than handball the responsibility to role models.

[Simmo79]

request for change of thread name: Our Great Game They Play in Heaven

I must be mistaken. I thought this was the Australian Football League thread, not the Rugby Union thread.

I'm not serious. On a related note, I remember Darryl Brohman saying "Rugby League is a simple game played by simple people. Rugby Union is a complex game played by wankers".