Something seriously wrong with the club (Part 4, August 2024)

They’re given a report with testing numbers multiple times a year.
Player identities are withheld.

Report makes no mention of any players being identified, absolutely plausible (and a non issue).

Isn’t whoever’s feeding Morris the info guilty of breaching club confidentiality as well?

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CEO’s are given a regular report with numbers of tests/positive results/etc but identities are withheld.

The club stating Vozzo didn’t specify numbers I think makes it fairly clear what happened.

Vozzo receives report
Report shows worrying number of positive tests.
Club has meeting to discuss expectations/etc with Group.
Vozzo mentions during meeting there’s been multiple positive tests (whether or not he gave actual numbers being in question).

Either way I don’t see a whole lot there tbh.

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Sure, but why would the players think he’d ‘crossed the line’ and breached players confidentiality, so much so that they reported it to the AFLPA?

I’m not totally convinced there’s nothing here.

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Knowing our group they’ve probably never been read the riot act by anyone

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Man, confidential positive tests. Our guys can’t even take illicit drugs properly

This is probably a fair call

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I mean, I can definitely see a world where being told/knowing your teammates were told that a number amongst you had tested positive for drugs (without naming names) would cause some people distress

The fact the AFLPA seemingly did nothing except talk to Vozzo rules out anything too serious I’d say. I also don’t think the club would have mentioned the whole “exact numbers weren’t shared” narrative otherwise.

If he actually named names, it would’ve blown up at the time and he’d be out of a job. That’s privileged medical info that he’s not even meant to have.

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Maybe there is a story there, maybe he overstepped, maybe.

But geez, the righteousness from a guy like Morris who does not actually give 1 single ■■■■ about the club’s motivations - noble or otherwise - in preference to riding this wave of influence he is on is just so sad and disgusting.

I can’t believe I keep getting surprised by these grubs.

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It sounds like Vozzo addressed the issue like you’d expect from a competent CEO.

If the players can’t deal with that, then we have bigger cultural issues with the playing group, than I thought.

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If I were Essendon then I’d be removing players who are not going to live elite AFL lifestyles. Of course there will always illicit drugs in footy clubs and they need to manage this carefully.

If these players are railing against being confronted by the leader of the organisation then we still have players wagging the club dog. This is a cultural overhang from the saga where players were given relief and standards were waved away by a leadership unable or unwilling to put the foot down again.

They got rid of Hind and Stringer. Now get rid of Gresham and anyone else who’s not going to be part of the solution. And I’m backing Vozzo to the hilt on that endeavour.

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Yeah, that’s fair. I’m probably with you on that.

It always amuses me how the club doctor is the ‘only’ one who knows.

CEO: hey, how come player x was a late withdrawal?

Doctor: Ah… sore, ankle. Ankle sore. Yeah, that’s it

CEO: Funny, he seemed ok all week at training…

I reckon, at least ‘unofficially,’ that the CEO and coach are fully aware who has strikes and who is missing games because of them.

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Whilst i share a similar love of conspiracy theories, maybe some bits of your story add up.

I’d have no doubt multiple journo’s knew about this story, just decided not to run it then or now, hell i’d imagine most clubs knew about it, as we would potentially know about other clubs dirty laundry also.

I could also imagine hawthorn knowing it, and pushing morris to run with it now.

the issue i have is the pile on onto merrett as only potential source and passing on the info, on a multitude of stuff people are running with.

not to say it’s not true at all, but apparently it’s gone from merrett has had a dinner with mitchell, to now merrett is essentially living in mitchells basement locked away feeding him information to bury the club, and won’t come out of there until he gets a trade to the hawks.

again not to say it’s not a possibility that it is merret giving them the info, but it is also a very dangerous game for him and his manager to be playing, because the mangers job is based on relationships with clubs and players, and if they open this pandoras box, what’s to stop other clubs with other players doing the same thing ? or what’s to stop clubs dishing out the dirty laundry on players once they leave ?

i know it’s easy to blame everything on merrett atm, the witch hunting and pitchforks are in full force for him at present, but again it is a dangerous game for players and player managers to be playing if it’s true.

now hawthorn and mitchell I have no doubt they and he would do absolutely anything to throw mud at any club to get what they want. I have no doubt they would have a lot of information on all clubs to pull that trigger when the time is right.

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It’s interesting how people latch on to whatever news story suits their own biases, I do the same, but if there is a random story that maybe makes the players out to be the bad guys then those whose focus tends to be on everything being a playing group issue pop off, and if theres a story that makes the club leadership out to be the bad guys then that group all pops off. I’m not immune to it. Just fun to watch from afar.

All I know anymore is that I’m really glad we’ve been building up all this magical stability over the past 3 years.

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It’s just Morris being a carnt as usual. Living the AFL lifestyle - remember Brad is trying to clear out the troublemakers and he’s got rid of a few of them. More work to be done but I believe he’s slowly winning the battle.

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The disappearance of standing room is actually the root of the game’s decline.

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Dont most normal people get sacked from their job if they’re positive tests, doubt its that privileged

AFL has a chance to do their own version of RBT for the afl players. i’d double my membership to watch it

Yep agreed. He may have pointed fingers (a bit too “pointily”) in the meeting.

I’m a Vozzo fan FWIW. But it’s not clear that this is a nothing story (or that it’s huge either tbf).

Has Gresham been mentioned to have taken illicits?

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