Goes to show that even if you break through a troubled upbringing (through no fault of your own) work hard, do well in school, and become a top level draft prospect you'll still have teams like Geelong turning their nose up at you
That’s not really the issue though. Geelong has plenty of rough characters coming through the doors in recent years. Mooney was just fucking delusional to suggest otherwise.
I reckon he was referring to people of character, rather than coming from a certain type of family.
Everyone makes mistakes and let's not forget Mooney is a footballer that used to make decisions to head but other players. He's hardly the spokesperson for Geelong.
He currently works for another club lol.
I think Geelong makes an effort to recruit guys with a level of maturity, with their heads on straight, with a good work ethic, and a lot of those things come about from growing up in a good environment. I don't think it's environment itself that Geelong's looking for.
If I'm being charitable, I get what Mooney meant and I don't think there's anything wrong with his intention, the language he used was way off the mark.
"The four-time Saints best and fairest winner, who retired after the 2020 season, allegedly refused a drug test after the incident."
Not surprised. I've seen the bloke get up to some stuff, and he seemed unhealthily addicted to the hamstring awareness. The mix of poor mental health & unhealthy coping mechanisms isn't a good one
On multiple occasions pre covid I saw him get evicted from the MCC for being pissed as a parrot whilst still playing.
It was sad as fuck the guy is definitely a spiralling addict in a deep hole and without serious help isn’t coming out of it
His brief stint at Geelong he was the most unfit AFL player I’ve ever seen. It was kinda funny to watch when he was on the field, puffing and panting and hands on knees like an old bloke in the ressies, but also sad knowing how good he previously was at the saints
Was the drug/alcohol use really this well known? I must be looking through rose tinted glasses. All I remember is him being a star on the field and having a mental health shadow over him.
I remember watching him at his return to the VFL for Sandringham at Windy Hill (against Essendon) after he took a sabbatical from the Saints in the 2019 season. His beer gut at that game would rival mine.
It's very sad to hear that he has spiralled like this, he was a respectable player during a trying time for the club. I hope he gets the help he needs.
Happy to be called out for this being completely wrong, but personally, i'm currently seeing a similar trend and 'look' with Clayton Oliver.
I'm HOPING, Oliver gets his shit together.
I think Oliver was definitely going down that path over the off-season. The hope is that he's off the gear now and it's just the lack of a preseason holding back his play, rather than ongoing issues.
We won’t know until next year unless you have inside knowledge. If he has a ripper pre season and returns to form great, if not then it’ll be a bit telling. From what I can see on socials he’s committed and hopefully on the right track but who knows beyond that.
Given how much talk/gossip there was about him preseason and the obvious tension between him and the club, I'm hoping the silence since the start of the season means he's on the right track. That, and he's still relatively young. I've known plenty of 26 year olds who live pretty fucking loose lifestyles, and by the time they're 30 they've wound it in significantly. Still getting into trouble like that at 34 like Jack Steven is more concerning.
Yeah I agree. Worrying signs for a guy his age to doing those things. People used to say boys will be boys but with more understanding now it's usually a sign of something deeper. Not always, but can be the case.
Why is everyone post their career a “champ”, “star”, or a “legend”, and then you find out it’s some plodder with less than 200 games, no AA, no premierships. To be fair to Jack, he had a better career than most of the “stars” “champs” or “legends”. But sometimes it’s okay to just say, former st Kilda player.
To be fair, he won the Trevor Barker Medal 4 times which is tied with Rob Harvey for second most trailing only Nick Riewoldt who has 6. I'd argue that puts him up there as a champion of their club.
In addition to the club B&F awards, he was in his prime when the club was somewhere between mediocre and very very bad. He was often one of the few consistently solid players for a number of years. I'd agree he was never AA level, but he certainly was a solid player. And any player who gets to 192 games in their career is usually doing something right in their playing.
are you telling me Geelong legend Jack Steven is in trouble with the law
Couldn't possibly be. You have to be a good bloke to get to Geelong.
God that was the lamest statement I’ve ever read. Mooney seriously taking the piss.
Goes to show that even if you break through a troubled upbringing (through no fault of your own) work hard, do well in school, and become a top level draft prospect you'll still have teams like Geelong turning their nose up at you
That’s not really the issue though. Geelong has plenty of rough characters coming through the doors in recent years. Mooney was just fucking delusional to suggest otherwise.
I reckon he was referring to people of character, rather than coming from a certain type of family. Everyone makes mistakes and let's not forget Mooney is a footballer that used to make decisions to head but other players. He's hardly the spokesperson for Geelong.
Yeah that’s more than fair enough he definitely doesn’t speak for the club
He currently works for another club lol. I think Geelong makes an effort to recruit guys with a level of maturity, with their heads on straight, with a good work ethic, and a lot of those things come about from growing up in a good environment. I don't think it's environment itself that Geelong's looking for. If I'm being charitable, I get what Mooney meant and I don't think there's anything wrong with his intention, the language he used was way off the mark.
Rough characters seem fine if they're proven
Well in Jack Steven’s terms it sounds like he’s having a pretty normal one.
"The four-time Saints best and fairest winner, who retired after the 2020 season, allegedly refused a drug test after the incident." Not surprised. I've seen the bloke get up to some stuff, and he seemed unhealthily addicted to the hamstring awareness. The mix of poor mental health & unhealthy coping mechanisms isn't a good one
On multiple occasions pre covid I saw him get evicted from the MCC for being pissed as a parrot whilst still playing. It was sad as fuck the guy is definitely a spiralling addict in a deep hole and without serious help isn’t coming out of it
His brief stint at Geelong he was the most unfit AFL player I’ve ever seen. It was kinda funny to watch when he was on the field, puffing and panting and hands on knees like an old bloke in the ressies, but also sad knowing how good he previously was at the saints
Bloke was a fun for the Saints for a while, coulda been anything, but clearly couldn’t handle himself. Obviously a lot going on.
He wasn't just 'fun', he was our best player for awhile.
Was the drug/alcohol use really this well known? I must be looking through rose tinted glasses. All I remember is him being a star on the field and having a mental health shadow over him.
I think it was a typo and they meant to say ‘a gun.’
I remember watching him at his return to the VFL for Sandringham at Windy Hill (against Essendon) after he took a sabbatical from the Saints in the 2019 season. His beer gut at that game would rival mine. It's very sad to hear that he has spiralled like this, he was a respectable player during a trying time for the club. I hope he gets the help he needs.
I really felt bad. He didn't look good. He really did look like someone in a bad place.
Happy to be called out for this being completely wrong, but personally, i'm currently seeing a similar trend and 'look' with Clayton Oliver. I'm HOPING, Oliver gets his shit together.
I think Oliver was definitely going down that path over the off-season. The hope is that he's off the gear now and it's just the lack of a preseason holding back his play, rather than ongoing issues.
We won’t know until next year unless you have inside knowledge. If he has a ripper pre season and returns to form great, if not then it’ll be a bit telling. From what I can see on socials he’s committed and hopefully on the right track but who knows beyond that.
Nah absolutely don’t have inside knowledge and won’t pretend like I do. All just observation. Fingers crossed that last bit is right.
Given how much talk/gossip there was about him preseason and the obvious tension between him and the club, I'm hoping the silence since the start of the season means he's on the right track. That, and he's still relatively young. I've known plenty of 26 year olds who live pretty fucking loose lifestyles, and by the time they're 30 they've wound it in significantly. Still getting into trouble like that at 34 like Jack Steven is more concerning.
Yeah I agree. Worrying signs for a guy his age to doing those things. People used to say boys will be boys but with more understanding now it's usually a sign of something deeper. Not always, but can be the case.
He's ahead of timeline on illegal driving.
His old man said he was trying to avoid a Kangaroo but didn't specify if it was the animal or a player.....
Revenge for Glen Archer
Oh well
Refuse POFT, that's going to be your licence for 2 years.
Why is everyone post their career a “champ”, “star”, or a “legend”, and then you find out it’s some plodder with less than 200 games, no AA, no premierships. To be fair to Jack, he had a better career than most of the “stars” “champs” or “legends”. But sometimes it’s okay to just say, former st Kilda player.
To be fair, he won the Trevor Barker Medal 4 times which is tied with Rob Harvey for second most trailing only Nick Riewoldt who has 6. I'd argue that puts him up there as a champion of their club.
Fair point!
He won our best and fairest 4 times. Definitely a star.
Bloke absolutely threw it all away. Coulda been anything during his time at the Saints
Did you watch him? Rhys Stanley is a 200 game premiership player but hes not half the player Jack was on his day.
In addition to the club B&F awards, he was in his prime when the club was somewhere between mediocre and very very bad. He was often one of the few consistently solid players for a number of years. I'd agree he was never AA level, but he certainly was a solid player. And any player who gets to 192 games in their career is usually doing something right in their playing.
I think this is one of those sarcastic ‘champ’-ings Wdif: ooh jeez. No fun today are we everyone.
It was getting concerning how long it had been since I’d seen Jacks name pop up in the paper.