Mark McVeigh suspended by club

[Call Me Cake]

Turns out Sports Tonight will cover the issue after the Ten News broadcast.

FFS, I was pissed (no pun intended) when I heard about this. How stupid can he be??... he cops a suspension before the Carlton game & cries himself to sleep because of it. Claims he should have thought twice & felt as if he let everyone down & looked forward to play this Friday night...

And then, what does he do?

He KNOWS there will be a training session; he KNOWS it's a part of his "comeback" against the Pies. He KNOWS it's compulsory & KNOWS that his captaincy would be at stake.

AND GOES OUT & GETS DRUNK!

What the hell??... why couldn't he have chosen a better day to socialize?... honestly, I would have thought socializing and getting a little drunk could be a small slip up, but knowing what he knew beforehand just makes this even more stupid than it already is.

Get a grip McVeigh! - I never even thought you were captain material. Don't get me wrong, he is a great footballer when he's doing fine & I hope we keep him, but he is no captain material. Hille was always my choice over him, and more recently Welsh has shown leadership & courage since his comeback. I really hate this Captain label, and I'd hate for one of our good up & coming players to feel pressured by it only to slump because of it. Lloydy should remain captain for a little while longer I think.

Hopefully, (since I haven't lost hope), he will bounce back from this & work his arse off. I agree, playing individuals is not on & I respect Knight's decision. It's clear he is determined to go forth with his plan no matter what it takes - and so he should. Players with good records deserve respect, but it's because of this that they should not do such stupid things in the first place! Especially twice in a row!

Who we're going to play on Friday is a mystery, but I agree, it's either Houli or Myers, or anyone else who wasn't out on the piss. We've done it on Anzac day, we've done it last week... we can fill in spots and let young players who actually want to be out on the ground have their chance to cement their position!

Disappointed, but shi- happens. Sydney better watch out.

 

[bombermick]

Completely right call by the club. Look at how Carlton over the years has failed to adequately handle Fev because he is such a good player. If you let these things go, the culture in the club becomes cancerous. We don't know the circumstances behind Mark missing the training session, but it seems a really silly thing to do before a MASSIVE game and straight after missing an equally large game. He can go away and think about things and meanwhile whoever comes in (probably Houli) will have to come in and pick up the slack left by Watson.

 

[theboxmike]

If Hille comes back from injury and plays a few good games then he should definitely become captain!

Remember when he flattened Simon Black last year as his 3rd straight effort in a row and blacky had to get carried off the ground? Inspirational stuff.

 

[yaco55]

Excellent

The Gary Lyon attitude. He got quizzed about Barry Hall by Thomas on Monday and Lyon said he'd retire him and drop him because he could not trust him. Thomas then pointed out how it related to Lyon's playing days and maybe that type of attitude was why Melbourne never won anything.

It's similar to your attitude. Trade or drop anyone that doesn't fit the mould or makes a mistake.

The team is a balancing act between individuals with different personalities. One blanket rule at times does not make sense.

For christ sake this is not the Ned Flanders Essendon Football Club.

As for the Collingwood analogy, that's a whole different't ballpark. There were multiple incidents over the year and they lied to all on national tv.

Kelvin

I understand your position on this matter, but I have a different slant on this issue.

No players should drink alcohol during the season.

I am certain that he wouldn't have been out to 3am and wouldn't have missed training if he wasn't drinking.

 

[ghostdog]

I always thought Hille would make a better Captain anyway.

On the punishment though, it's interesting to note that Brisbane chose to fine Rhan Hooper $40 000. A hefty precedent for skipping training. In some ways it seems that punishing McVeigh in the way the club has chosen vicariously punishes the team. We're close to pushing for a top 4 spot, with a lot of the work to do this on the backs of players other than McVeigh. Now we are in this situation though (that is, pushing for a top 4 spot), and McVeigh would be a major factor in whether we do that, to eliminate him from the side seems a bit unfair to the other players who've worked so hard. I definitely understand the hard line approach, I just wonder if that hard line could have been taken in a way that was less damaging to the aspirations of the group.

$40 000 hurts.

 

[MarkJohnson#1]

Shit effort by Spike. No wonder he can't hit form and shake his injury this year he's too busy hitting the piss on a Sunday night to care... He needs to show some maturity and leadership and get himself right for a strong finish to the season.

 

[Runk]

McVeigh has just been getting more and more full of himself since he's been on TV regularly on the Sunday Footy Show. So what have we got here when we disect it all?

- new/increased Media committments,
- hanging out with Dean Solomon (need I say anymore),
- Ego boost because of consistent Captaincy talk,
- Regular transgressions on field

To me, all of those scream an inablility to handle increased exposure & responsibility.

If there was a guy at the club who could have more of a positive influence on those around him I can't imagine. His skill and aggression towards the ball make him the leader that he should be and that the club should follow. By now this leadership should be paramount. Sadly it's more than clear to all of us that Mark McVeigh is not interested in any of that.

Keep it up Spike and you too will be finishing your 'what if?' career at the Dockers.

Pull your head in.

 

[Longy413]

- new/increased Media committments,

To be fair, Lloyd, Watson and Welsh have been doing a lot more of this as well.

 

[Pevers-Legend]

Has McVeighs form been that great to say we will miss him considerably?

When up and running and at full flight - of course. But McVeigh 2009 edition has been serviceable at best.

So do I think it hurst the team possibly, but not as much as it could. I have confidence in Houli, Myers, McPhee, Zaka, Hurley..... any of them coming in and doing the job needed.

Remember, we are winning without McVeigh so it is not all doom and gloom.

 

[Pevers-Legend]

So should we try and trade him now then?

He's transgressed a number of times over the years and still hasn't completely learnt. He's 28 and could offer real value to someone whose team are flag contenders.

You can't teach an old dog new tricks and he's a social butterfly so he'll be out more often than not. He's also very fiery and will definately get suspended again.

Lets cut our losses now and get another kid in the last semi uncompromised draft

Who's with me?

Kelvin - comparing Lovett to McVeigh with trade talk is silly. Lovett needed a wake up call and got it.

McVeigh simply needs to pull his head in and show the discipline he needs. I accept his on-field stupidity - he has whithe line fever. Getting tanked with your mate the night before a training session - how dumb do you have to be?

Given his media commitments - this should be nice and embarrassing for him!! Just the tonic he needs.

 

[daffo]

I was always one to believe that McVeigh should be our next captain, but i'm concerned with the fact that I believe these sort of things are an ongoing issue with him. He has had suspensions before and to go out drinking after this, it doesn't scream captain material.
I think the baton has been passed onto Watson now.

 

[Valve Bounce]

I was always one to believe that McVeigh should be our next captain, but i'm concerned with the fact that I believe these sort of things are an ongoing issue with him. He has had suspensions before and to go out drinking after this, it doesn't scream captain material.
I think the baton has been passed onto Watson now.

I've just been thinking: should our leadership group consist of Lloyd, Hille, Watson and Welsh? I believe that the future captain should be one of the last three named.

 

[Kong]

Just on McVeigh's leadership, I just read Fraz' summary of Lloyd on One Week At a Time. This point caught my eye:

- Mentioned how instead of arguing with a teammate on the field (eg. if they've gotten in your way while making a lead), our boys "make it a point to never talk down to teammates" and instead discuss it off-field.

Now I don't doubt McVeigh's passion, however I've seen him - on more than one occasion this year - have words with another player after a passage of play; his body language (hands on hips/up in the air, shaking of the head) was quite concerning.

For example in the game against Geelong, there was a piece of play on our HFF where Monfries and Spike both ran at a loose ball with a few Geelong players around them. Spike went to ground and punched the ball out to space, assuming Monfries was going to sit outside for it; however neither players spoke, and both ran in. Geelong got the ball and got it down to their end with ease.

While Monfries chased the players and got on with the game, McVeigh threw his arms up in the air, shook his head and was clearly having words to Monfries as he ran off. At the time I thought it was primadonner stuff that should be left off the field; I know from personal experience that football's an extremely emotional game, but considering Lloyd made a point of leaving that sort of thing for the changerooms, this disappoints me even more so.

Just some food for thought.

 

[lamaros]

The problem with McVeigh getting some press is that he seems to be the kind of guy who loves reading about himself in the paper, and Lloyd and Welsh and others who get a bit of coverage aren't like that.

McVeigh needs to pull his head and concentrate on being part of the team, not the leader of it. He's not the captain yet and if he wants to be so in the future he needs to demonstrate that real leaders don't demonstrate it through a speech here or there but by being professional in their approach to the game and respectful to the club and their teammates.

EDIT: Oh, and can people stop quoting kelvin? I have him on ignore for a reason and it defeats the purpose of you quote him!

 

[Margim]

Mark McVeigh didn't assault anyone, rape anyone, take illicit substances or get busted for drink driving.

He has an average discipline record which we all knew about before, and yet most people here still thought he was captaincy material (I personally thought Welsh, but anyways).... I'm not sure how this event is particularly 'worse' than his on field issues (suspensions, fines, and who knows how many 50 metre penalties).

He made a mistake. He missed training. He'll cop the one week in the twos, and then get on with making it up for the rest of the year, as he'd been turning it around for the last two or three before this relapse.

Why is this thread 10 pages long?

 

[Pumper Rubberfunk]

I was always one to believe that McVeigh should be our next captain, but i'm concerned with the fact that I believe these sort of things are an ongoing issue with him.

let's not hit the panic button here it was 1 night out cause a mate was back in town!!! WATCH OUT HIS RUN IN WILL BE HUGE

Ponting got the the nod for captain after touchin up a trans in the cross!! was he the best cap AUS has had! i think so

 

[The Dustbin]

Solly copped a week too and he didn't even miss a training session.

I'm not happy with Spike. He owes us big time.

 

[Boucks09]

He made a mistake. He missed training. He'll cop the one week in the twos, and then get on with making it up for the rest of the year, as he'd been turning it around for the last two or three before this relapse.

Why is this thread 10 pages long?

He also made a mistake the week before by jumper punching a bloke in a melee that happened against the bottom team when the game was won and it was 5 seconds before 3/4 time. He went on record about how he had let the side down, would cop the week, and come back firing for the rest of the season.

Then 7 days later........

That's why it is 10 pages long. It's the timing of the action that surprises me more than anything. Given his obvious 'remorse' and 'pain' at missing the Carlton game and letting his teammates down, wouldn't you think he would be doing everything in his power to be 110% ready for this weeks match against Collingwood?

Obviously not.

 

[Ben the Gooner]

I commend the club for taking this strong stance. The tail will never wag the dog at "our" club. Mcveigh has shown himself to be too immature to take the reins, and he should not be considered captaincy material.

He has let the club down immeasurably.

I have only one small problem with this post. Everything else is absolutely spot on, but lose the quotation marks.

It is our club, because the 47 blokes who get to wear the red and black feel as passionately about it as we do.

They are us, but with a lot more footballing ability.

I ****ing love this club.

 

[Valve Bounce]

I have only one small problem with this post. Everything else is absolutely spot on, but lose the quotation marks.

It is our club, because the 47 blokes who get to wear the red and black feel as passionately about it as we do.

They are us, but with a lot more footballing ability.

I ****ing love this club.

 

[eth-dog]

I have only one small problem with this post. Everything else is absolutely spot on, but lose the quotation marks.

It is our club, because the 47 blokes who get to wear the red and black feel as passionately about it as we do.

They are us, but with a lot more footballing ability.

I ****ing love this club.

we only have a 46 player list

 

[jimmy5]

Pumper Rubberfunk, Punter I think not.

It's time for Spike to get back to playing his best footy and showing everyone he deserves a spot in this side.

 

[Beamdogg]

What did people think of his words on the footy show last night?

 

[jimmy5]

He seemed genuinely concerned he had let everyone down.

But it's his actions not words that will regain his standing.

 

[Beamdogg]

He seemed genuinely concerned he had let everyone down.

But it's his actions not words that will regain his standing.

Im not sure if its onfield performance because I dont think he will struggle with this. Mainly just discipline over the next couple of years.