2025 Pre-season discussion. The Madge dynasty begins.

[theshed]

Every time I’ve heard someone speak about him they’ve always mentioned he’s much more intelligent than what they were expecting. I think the one interview I specifically remember was one with Ben Ikin praising him. People do all sorts of dumb shit when they are young, people go to prison and turn their life around. Trials and tribulations are the making of some people. Could possibly make someone even wiser, more of a leader than a person who hasn’t gone through any rough shit in their life. Maybe a young player who’s going through some shit *cough* *cough* Ezra Mam, would relate to someone like Haas and his story more and be inspired and or actually believe it’s possible to make something better of themselves.

With that being said if someone like Patty wasn’t at the club then I’d give Payne a real shot but Patty’s loyalty/love for the broncos makes him the obvious choice.

As far as Paynes actual qualities is concerned I think he is someone who other players would respect. If he told you to do something you’d listen. He has that aura when he walks into a room. Like I said if Carrigan wasn’t at the club then I’d definitely consider Payne. Especially at this point in his life when he is settling down with his family and what not.

Ye

One of the first things Bennett fixed at the Dragons was this mess of some players living in Sydney and some living at Woolongong and training being rotated at two places.

He made it one place to live and one place to train.

All the Dolphins live in two streets in Newport.

How do you enforce that?

 

[Sproj]

This isn't a dictatorship...yet. I'd love to see a club try and enforce this.

The Brisbane Lions just won the comp with a guy who lives in Byron Bay!

 

[1910]

Ye

How do you enforce that?

I don't think it needs to be a rule, but you can certainly suggest and advise all the positives out of living closer to where you work and the benefits to the team.

 

[Broncones]

Not a big deal at all, couldn’t give a **** where they live as long as they do their rostered hours like all the rest of us do.

 

[1910]

This isn't a dictatorship...yet. I'd love to see a club try and enforce this.

The Brisbane Lions just won the comp with a guy who lives in Byron Bay!

Who stays in Brisbane at his unit.

 

[Sproj]

Who stays in Brisbane at his unit.

Sometimes. Some days he does the three hour round trip. Well did, he retired.

Even so, players living on the coast or not will hardly make a difference to winning a comp or not. This is such a non-factor.

You also need to make a club a positive environment, not a permanent boot camp where the game is your complete life. We don't live in the 80s anymore.

 

[FaceOfMutiny]

Sometimes. Some days he does the three hour round trip. Well did, he retired.

Even so, players living on the coast or not will hardly make a difference to winning a comp or not. This is such a non-factor.

You also need to make a club a positive environment, not a permanent boot camp where the game is your complete life. We don't live in the 80s anymore.

Didnt players have day jobs in the 80's?

 

[1910]

Sometimes. Some days he does the three hour round trip. Well did, he retired.

Even so, players living on the coast or not will hardly make a difference to winning a comp or not. This is such a non-factor.

You also need to make a club a positive environment, not a permanent boot camp where the game is your complete life. We don't live in the 80s anymore.

I don't think it is a non-factor- Penrith and Storm both live and work in their communities and they have had results.

One of the most commonly said things post Grand Final is we all live near each other we all know each other's family etc.

The contribution might be small, but I don't think it doesn't exist. If you know you have to drive 90 minutes home you're in the car straight away. I am not hanging around to chat about your wife or family. On days off I am not coming back 90 minutes to have lunch with you.

When the Bulls won six Shields in 10 years, they would often talk about the time they spent with each other and living in the same street. I remember Bic saying Kaspa drove past his house and noticed his gate was damaged so got out and fixed it. You can scoff at that, but those sorts of things are small but help teams.

The Broncos used to get together every Monday and have a beer at the Kenmore Tavern.

I think there is something in a team living near each other. It's old school live and play in your community.

Besides the social team aspect, what about injuries and sitting in a car for three hours? What about rest and all those things that are important?

 

[1910]

Didnt players have day jobs in the 80's?

Which contributed to the team and the culture of teams- when you get your gas bottle delivered by an Immortal or your teacher is an Origin player that only helps communities and teams.

We aren't going back to them working but it helps if they're in the community they're playing for.

 

[Johnny92]

Depending on the time of the day and what part of GC it's only a hour trip to Red Hill.
Plenty of people travel that time and more getting to their work place or job site.
If their showing up everyday and putting in shouldn't matter where they live.

 

[Cult]

"This is our house, well some of us live here"

 

[Sproj]

I don't think it is a non-factor- Penrith and Storm both live and work in their communities and they have had results.

One of the most commonly said things post Grand Final is we all live near each other we all know each other's family etc.

The contribution might be small, but I don't think it doesn't exist. If you know you have to drive 90 minutes home you're in the car straight away. I am not hanging around to chat about your wife or family. On days off I am not coming back 90 minutes to have lunch with you.

When the Bulls won six Shields in 10 years, they would often talk about the time they spent with each other and living in the same street. I remember Bic saying Kaspa drove past his house and noticed his gate was damaged so got out and fixed it. You can scoff at that, but those sorts of things are small but help teams.

The Broncos used to get together every Monday and have a beer at the Kenmore Tavern.

I think there is something in a team living near each other. It's old school live and play in your community.

Besides the social team aspect, what about injuries and sitting in a car for three hours? What about rest and all those things that are important?

Penrith have juniors that come through, you guessed it, Penrith. Melbourne has...well...Melbourne as the only club in the same area. This is very different to Brisbane now.

And I'm pretty sure if you looked into it enough, you'd find a number of Melbourne Storm players who also lived an hour or so from the club as almost everywhere liveable in Melbourne is an hour from Richmond. Who knows, some probably even live in Geelong or Bayside.

I hardly think you are going to win any argument saying Melbourne an Penrith are successful because they all live in the city. It probably isn't even completely true but I have no idea how to find out where players lived in Melbourne while playing and same as Penrith.

And if players, etc want to catch up on the weekend, are the ones who live in Brisbane not allowed to travel to Gold Coast sometimes as well? Sounding really Draconian here.

 

[tommy]

They should just buy a big mansion at Red Hill and make all the players live there. They could make a reality show about it too.

 

[Sproj]

They should just buy a big mansion at Red Hill and make all the players live there. They could make a reality show about it too.

And chain the doors so they aren't allowed to leave, apparently this will lead to team success.

 

[YeahNahMate]

It’s a tricky one, I’d imagine what has made Melbourne so successful over the years is that they have no one out there but each other. So they are sort’ve forced to lean on each other which would definitely make a difference.

I can also understand the argument of getting away from Brisbane, being able to switch off and the sort of lifestyle that south Gold Coast provides.

Probably lean towards it not being that big of a deal, 2023 it wasn’t an issue.

 

[winslow_wong]

This isn't a dictatorship...yet. I'd love to see a club try and enforce this.

The Brisbane Lions just won the comp with a guy who lives in Byron Bay!

Maybe he would have played on if he lived closer lol.

 

[Sproj]

Maybe he would have played on if he lived closer lol.

Haha maybe but he's a different kind of dude, not sure anything would have made him play on.

 

[mitch222]

One time he refused to snitch on his mother .
another he was pissed and told a female cop to back off . Then Alby stepped on his new wheels .

Not as if he is out running amok every week end
. He has also had to take on a lot of responsibilty with the care of his siblings as well as has a stable relationship and a kid of his own .
Every Saint was a sinner once ...

So are you just going to paper over the fact that he has tried to leave multiple times mid contract even going as far as to request his release mid year and cause a major disruption to our season that year? And a stable relationship with a kid of his own? Do you realise that when he had that run in with the female cop he was with his pregnant girlfriend at the time? Hardly a role model if you ask me.