Questions for James O'Connor

[Strewthcobber]

Shock!
Rich, priveliged 26 year old acting like a rich, priveliged 26 year old.

 

[Blue]

Hmm,where to next?

He was very impressive in his previous short stint with West Harbour, maybe they'll have him back?

Cry on TV. Bawl like a banshee. Whaaah!

Terribly sorry. Let family, friends and team mates down. So terrible sorry. Need to clean up my act, blah blah going for counseling, yada yada. Promise promise.

Then gets signed by one of the Super franchises. Strict behavioral conditions, vows to be a good boy. Just like last time. CEO talks up a tough game. Laws were clearly laid down. Up to James now. Blah blah.

Sniff sniff. So much pressure. Such a tough life. Please forgive me. Snort.

 

[Twoilms]

You can't be a half virgin

You either are or are not

Unfortunately for cocaine users the high really only lasts a few hours. Also, whilst i am not a virgin i am also not balls deep right now.

 

[amirite]

As an aside - if you were a Super rugby team and could sign JOC (James O'Connor) to a $60k contract because he's been a dick, you would be insane not to.

The trouble is, I feel like when these professional players fuck up they get signed for 80 or 90cents on the dollar and not 50cents.

 

[Blue]

As an aside - if you were a Super rugby team and could sign JOC (James O'Connor) to a $60k contract because he's been a dick, you would be insane not to.

The trouble is, I feel like when these professional players fuck up they get signed for 80 or 90cents on the dollar and not 50cents.

Any Aussie team would be insane to sign him for more than a basic junior salary package. He is not worth the trouble but that way you will definitely get return on your money.

I doubt his agent will have much bargaining power, if any.

Who do you think would be interested?

 

[amirite]

Any Aussie team would be insane to sign him for more than a basic junior salary package. He is not worth the trouble but that way you will definitely get return on your money.

I doubt his agent will have much bargaining power, if any.

Who do you think would be interested?

That's basically what I said.

I don't think anyone would be, maybe in season 2018.

 

[Scrubber2050]

^^^^^
Maybe the Bulls

 

[dru]

^^^^^
Maybe the Bulls

Pollard could possibly use some additional creativity in the back-line too. Some how though, I suspect that Marais would align with Blue here.

 

[Blue]

Yeah great idea. James would fit right in. He'd love Pretoria as well. A real metropolis. And the coke is super cheap. About $1 a bottle.

 

[Moondog]

That's basically what I said.

I don't think anyone would be, maybe in season 2018.

Force

 

[Rugbynutter39]

I actually don't think James is especially troubled or even mentally ill.

He's just your standard lazy but talented guy, there's people like that in all industries.

He just happens to be at the top of a profession that probably rewards talent (and youth) more than most, and has a lot of media attention.

I mean what has JOC (James O'Connor) actually done that's bad in his career?

1. Be narcissistic ('the brand' and some of his photos/interviews)
2. Sleep through an alarm on an important day (Wallabies WC presser)
3. Go to Maccas late at night on an important week (Lions)
4. Get drunk and cause a scene at an airport
5. Get caught buying/doing coke

He's probably also done other stuff I don't remember or wasn't reported.

Getting drunk/high, being up himself, and fucking up his priorities are something a lot of people do. Everyone knows people like this, whether they're failing uni students, middling sales employees, or crappy tradies.

Let's not play armchair psychologist on him. He's just a talented guy with a garden variety attitude.

Yes I would not call any of his digressions as sackable offences _ the coke incident being the worse of them which would raise an eyebrow and final warning perhaps. I imagine oz rugby would have welcomed him back until now. Maybe not so much now as not perhaps the influence you want around your team.

Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk

 

[TOCC]

As an aside - if you were a Super rugby team and could sign JOC (James O'Connor) to a $60k contract because he's been a dick, you would be insane not to.

The trouble is, I feel like when these professional players fuck up they get signed for 80 or 90cents on the dollar and not 50cents.

Good value doesn't mean a good investment... especially when the player is at risk of destabilising the player group or adversely affecting some of the younger players..

Darryl Gibson sums it up best:

“I found that if you have too many people that take up too much time, you’re not getting enough time with star performers who are on task,” Gibson said.

“Part of our responsibility as coaches is to see the good in people, I genuinely felt that Zac deserved an opportunity. There are always a number of players you think you can help.

“The issue of having too many players who require a lot of management is that it takes up too much of your time.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...s/news-story/4bfac84ede73be2877fd0be9658e2645

 

[Gillys_ghost]

i dont think anyone can deny that JOC (James O'Connor) is a wanker, and probably not the best bloke for a team culture, but his indiscretions are definitely not as bad as Kurtley Beale or Quades and both of those players are only hated by half the population. Buying coke is bad, but not as bad as assaulting team mates, Sexually harassing and bullying an ARU staff member, or stealing laptops.

 

[cyclopath]

i dont think anyone can deny that JOC (James O'Connor) is a wanker, and probably not the best bloke for a team culture, but his indiscretions are definitely not as bad as Kurtley Beale or Quades and both of those players are only hated by half the population. Buying coke is bad, but not as bad as assaulting team mates, Sexually harassing and bullying an ARU staff member, or stealing laptops.

Without agreeing with, or endorsing any of your assertions, at least Quade and Kurtley seem to be learning as they age, as opposed to James. He was given several chances by Aus rugby, and repeatedly flipped the bird at it. He would know that consuming cocaine is not condoned under a professional rugby contract, whether "banging a few lines" is a bad thing in the grand scheme of things or not (not said by you, but others).

 

[TOCC]

Yeah the key difference seems to be that Quade and Kurtley are learning and seemed to have matured.. James just seems to pay lip service to maturing and doesn't follow through with it in his actions.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Gillys_ghost]

Without agreeing with, or endorsing any of your assertions, at least Quade and Kurtley seem to be learning as they age, as opposed to James. He was given several chances by Aus rugby, and repeatedly flipped the bird at it. He would know that consuming cocaine is not condoned under a professional rugby contract, whether "banging a few lines" is a bad thing in the grand scheme of things or not (not said by you, but others).

What Assertions?that JOCs a wanker and bad for team culture, or that Kurtely assaulted teammates, sexually harassed and bullied an ARU employee, or that Quade committed burglary?


I agree that both Quade and Kurtley seemed to have straightened themselves out but it still confuses me why we gave them chances (Multiple in Kurtleys case) for more serious offences and then JOC (James O'Connor) acts like a drunk dick at an airport and gets his contract torn up. if there was some consistency then i wouldnt mind whether that be all 3 given multiple chances or all 3 getting the boot. JOC (James O'Connor) wasnt really given multiple chances. Being narcissistic, missing a team meeting and being out later then they should be arent really sackable offences and i would hardly say they reflect someone "flipping the bird" at australian rugby. the Cocaine thing very well might be a sackable offence and he definitely should know its unacceptable. but my point is that the sum of his crimes shouldnt equate to him being treated like such a pariah when there are others that have done far worse and are treated much better.

 

[Moondog]

What Assertions?that JOCs a wanker and bad for team culture, or that Kurtely assaulted teammates, sexually harassed and bullied an ARU employee, or that Quade committed burglary?


I agree that both Quade and Kurtley seemed to have straightened themselves out but it still confuses me why we gave them chances (Multiple in Kurtleys case) for more serious offences and then JOC (James O'Connor) acts like a drunk dick at an airport and gets his contract torn up. if there was some consistency then i wouldnt mind whether that be all 3 given multiple chances or all 3 getting the boot. JOC (James O'Connor) wasnt really given multiple chances. Being narcissistic, missing a team meeting and being out later then they should be arent really sackable offences and i would hardly say they reflect someone "flipping the bird" at australian rugby. the Cocaine thing very well might be a sackable offence and he definitely should know its unacceptable. but my point is that the sum of his crimes shouldnt equate to him being treated like such a pariah when there are others that have done far worse and are treated much better.

Agree. Not forgetting Karmichael Hunt. A cocaine dealer, not great to have around young players starting out at the club and a user for quite a while, he used to turn up for training at times high. He also rolled over to protect his arse. He was also accused with two other Bronco players (who snuck into the toilet ) of raping a young woman in a toilet and then taking photos.

 

[cyclopath]

What Assertions?that JOCs a wanker and bad for team culture, or that Kurtely assaulted teammates, sexually harassed and bullied an ARU employee, or that Quade committed burglary?


I agree that both Quade and Kurtley seemed to have straightened themselves out but it still confuses me why we gave them chances (Multiple in Kurtleys case) for more serious offences and then JOC (James O'Connor) acts like a drunk dick at an airport and gets his contract torn up. if there was some consistency then i wouldnt mind whether that be all 3 given multiple chances or all 3 getting the boot. JOC (James O'Connor) wasnt really given multiple chances. Being narcissistic, missing a team meeting and being out later then they should be arent really sackable offences and i would hardly say they reflect someone "flipping the bird" at australian rugby. the Cocaine thing very well might be a sackable offence and he definitely should know its unacceptable. but my point is that the sum of his crimes shouldnt equate to him being treated like such a pariah when there are others that have done far worse and are treated much better.

Yeah, those assertions. I wasn't interested in opening the sink-holes of bile about what others did, or allegedly did, in the past, given this forum's inability to avoid descending into the wormhole of crapulence every time. They fucked up, he fucked up. They seem to have stopped. He hasn't. And yes, he was flipping the bird - after sleeping through a team event, presumably being counselled that it was unacceptable, breaking team curfew in an important series, presumably being counselled it was unacceptable then getting tired and emotional at a boarding gate he exhausted his chances by seemingly being reluctant to take a hint. And now this.
I'm all for players getting chances, as they, and we, all make mistakes. But if you cannot really learn from any of them, the chances will dry up.
That's all.

 

[Gillys_ghost]

Yeah, those assertions. I wasn't interested in opening the sink-holes of bile about what others did, or allegedly did, in the past, given this forum's inability to avoid descending into the wormhole of crapulence every time. They fucked up, he fucked up. They seem to have stopped. He hasn't. And yes, he was flipping the bird - after sleeping through a team event, presumably being counselled that it was unacceptable, breaking team curfew in an important series, presumably being counselled it was unacceptable then getting tired and emotional at a boarding gate he exhausted his chances by seemingly being reluctant to take a hint. And now this.
I'm all for players getting chances, as they, and we, all make mistakes. But if you cannot really learn from any of them, the chances will dry up.
That's all.

they are hardly assertions. the only thing that is somewhat subjective is the character assessments i made about JOC (James O'Connor). the stuff about Kurtley and Quade are both well documented and cant really be considered alleged. i didnt make any assertions about either of those two players. i still dont understand why talking about the Beale saga is such a taboo in these forums as when we are talking about a persons behavior it seems like a pretty reasonable topic to bring up to make comparisons to, but if you think its unacceptable i will not mention it again. my point wasnt that JOC (James O'Connor) hasnt been given chances, its that other players have been given as many chances for even more serious offences but were given reprieves. I really hope JOC (James O'Connor) does learn this time and can turn himself around because hes an incredibly talented player and i would love to see him in gold again.

 

[TOCC]

Agree. Not forgetting Karmichael Hunt. A cocaine dealer, not great to have around young players starting out at the club and a user for quite a while, he used to turn up for training at times high. He also rolled over to protect his arse. He was also accused with two other Bronco players (who snuck into the toilet ) of raping a young woman in a toilet and then taking photos.

2 things..
Karmichael was never found guilty of being a cocaine dealer or raping a woman in the toilets.