luke ball retiring

[SainterK]

Ball had an issue with Ross, and the St Kilda football club suffered as a result.

That's not justifiable.

[Darth Vader]

Ball had an issue with Ross, and the St Kilda football club suffered as a result.

That's not justifiable.

Was more than just Ross.

[SainterK]

Ball had an issue with Ross, and the St Kilda football club suffered as a result.

That's not justifiable.

Was more than just Ross.

It wold have to be a fair crew of people to justify draft tampering and us losing anything for him.

[Con Gorozidis]

I think there was an ego struggle between RL and LB.

Sadly that was put before the best interests of the club (egos over team is probably a saints trait over the years....)

My position is if RL wanted him gone well thats his prerogative as sr coach - but it is disgraceful we got nothing in return. To me that was all about RL putting his own ego before the clubs interests and LB striking back at RL. Should never have been allowed to happen how it did and get personal like that.

[Darth Vader]

I think there was an ego struggle between RL and LB.

Sadly that was put before the best interests of the club (egos over team is probably a saints trait over the years....)

My position is if RL wanted him gone well thats his prerogative as sr coach - but it is disgraceful we got nothing in return. To me that was all about RL putting his own ego before the clubs interests and LB striking back at RL. Should never have been allowed to happen how it did and get personal like that.

No doubt there was a struggle between RL and LB, but it's a bit of a media invention that we got nothing in return for Ball because of RL's ego. The Ball camp did a good job making him out to be a victim, and Ross just didn't bother with the media, so Ball's story became the narrative. The fact that the playing group supported Ross's view and were pissed off at Ball for a long time supports this.

Ball told the club he wanted to leave. We tried to accommodate him. For most of trade week we thought we had a deal done (very complicated - from memory it was Ball to Collingwood, Wellingham to North, a North draft pick in low 20s to Bulldogs, Everitt to us). Assuming the deal was done, we used the freed up salary cap space to bring in Lovett and Peake. At the last minute, the Bulldogs pulled out of the deal because they wanted a better pick for Everitt, and the deal fell through because there was no time to come up with another deal. Ball's manager then told Saints that he would stay, but we had no room in salary cap because of Lovett/Peake.

The annoying part for the players was that after a weekend of serious discussions, the senior players agreed to take pay cuts to free up cap space to keep Ball. By then though, the Ball camp had worked out that they could get him to Collingwood through the draft without a trade and told Saints he was leaving. This is one of the main reasons the players lost respect for Ball.

I have no love for Ross after the way he left us, but I can't see how the trade stuff-up is his fault. He has to wear responsibility for the relationship breakdown with Ball, but mainly because he wasn't the type to fluff Ball up and tell him how important he was. The Ball ego didn't like this, he assumed his game time would be limited, but he also wasn't prepared to back himself, do the work and convince the coach he could get himself right.

[SainterK]

Thanks for sharing...

He identified a spot at the pies where he could be THE inside mid, hence not staying even when they freed up $$ for him.

He wanted to individually shine, hence my respect for someone who sacrifices shining themselves so that the team can.

People forget the only reason we got Clint was because Ball was unhappy running with the oppositions best each week in 2007.

[Ned Stark]

I find myself swallowing my own vomit a bit every time the mindless simpletons in the footy media say what a "quality character" Luke Ball is. His self indulgent, immature interview in the Hun exposed what he really is: a charlatan. I don't think I have ever felt so strongly about a Benedict Arnold before, so pardon the venting of my spleen. All this talk about a "quality", "strong" character. Yet the only time in his privileged, sheltered life that his character was truly challenged, he failed dismally. He was faced with the choice of staying with the club that paid him handsomely to finish year twelve. The club where he grew up with the brothers he signed a pact with who had missed out on the ultimate by a bee's dick. There were no guarantees though. He had to work his butt off and prove to Ross that he was wrong. For heaven' sake, he played in the GF. Max and others missed out. No. He took the easy option of a guaranteed spot at the Saint's arch rivals. Gutless and pathetic.

Ball, I doth thee unforgiven. I will tear up my membership if this creature is ever invited back in any capacity.