Toast Angus Brayshaw's speech for retiring players.

[Shane Heard]

It was obvious filler to pad out the count so more MKR ads could be flogged.

Raise your glasses to the “ recently retired”… ffs

Save it for that show with Garrrry and Brownyyyy and Bucks.

 

[kickazz]

Serious question... should Neal-Bullen have been reported? High Contact-High Impact-Careless?

For the life of me, given the head is sacrosanct, I can't understand why only opposition players get reported for causing concussion.

It is a good question - the Rohan / Cameron incident from last year comes to mind.

I think your logic is sound, but there is a subtle distinction - we can make an overall assumption that players inherently go about the game with keeping the welfare of their teammates as a priority as it it in their direct interest.

You tackle an opponent hard - not to injure so much as to make the game harder for them, make them a little bit scared, and yeah, maybe hurt a little bit. You push toward that limit of what is reasonable because it does help your team.

Teammates on the other hand - the opposite. You try not to give them hospital handpasses, you try not to collide and take each other out going for the same ball, etc. You aren't constantly pushing the limits of what is acceptable.

Because of this, teammate negligence is a much, much less likely thing to occur. It doesn't need the spectre of a sanction to help rein it in. It will still happen, but very rarely. And if you have a real clumsy player in your team (or even worse, someone competing for a position in the team who does something with a degree of intention) then the team can internally sanction that player if they see fit - just as they can sanction/drop a player for not following team rules. When you do it to an opponent, you need an external party to be the enforcer.

We need to remember though that ultimately, these reports are not primarily a punitive initiative, they are an injury prevention initiative.

Of course, if it is really extremely bad, like intentionally punching a teammate, then the league or even indeed the police can get involved.

 

[Seadog]

I feel sorry for him and the other retiring players who have to go out and live in the real world like everyone else did when they left school except they have a bulging bank account.

 

[Proper Gander]

I feel sorry for him and the other retiring players who have to go out and live in the real world like everyone else did when they left school except they have a bulging bank account.

Well quite, but I’m not of the view that having money in the bank is some kind of insurance against life struggles. I’d love to have their savings - I’m nearly 50 and not a homeowner and have no security for the future - but that doesn’t stop me from believing that others, even wealthy people, don’t have some challenging things to confront.

They do actually earn their money like everyone else. And if we think they are overpaid then that’s down to us. Without people flocking to the grounds or tuning in to watch, they would get diddly squat

 

[Acinath]

I found it a bit weird, very flat like he was delivering eulogy. I thought he came across as a lost young bloke who is battling some stuff and needs some help.

 

[StillAtLarge]

I feel sorry for him and the other retiring players who have to go out and live in the real world like everyone else did when they left school except they have a bulging bank account.

He's paid a pretty heavy price physically. I wouldn't trade my life for his

 

[LightTower4]

What impressed me was it appeared he was talking without the assistance of a teleprompter.
Spent the whole speech looking at attendees in the room.
Might explain why it stagnated a little but a great effort.

 

[StillAtLarge]

Demons counting the cost of Brayshaw’s forced retirement

Not until they saw his name on the Brownlow Medal running sheet did the AFL hierarchy realise Angus Brayshaw would be breaking his self-imposed public silence.

www.theage.com.au

Good article by Caro. Answers a few questions posed in this thread

 

[Cyclops]

What impressed me was it appeared he was talking without the assistance of a teleprompter.
Spent the whole speech looking at attendees in the room.
Might explain why it stagnated a little but a great effort.

Good point.

Smart bloke, spoke very well, made it about all the retirees and not just himself.

The AFL rarely get it by right, but whether they meant to or not they got this right and Brayshaw delivered.