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Lafai

jeffdragon

Bench
Messages
3,921
Unrelated to the incident, I think Tim Lafai has been extremely lucky to play for as long as he has in the NRL.
His form has been terrible for 50% of his career at least.
For SGI he had an absolutely woeful 2016 and it took our dimwit coach 16 rounds to finally drop him.
Then 2017 he flew out of the blocks and was excellent for about 10 weeks.
Then was mediocre for 2018 and terrible for 2019.
In reality, he should have been replaced by Taane Milne in week 6 of 2016 and moved back to reserve grade to finish his career in the lower grades.
We have let guys like Milne, Mann, Herbert all go to hang on to Tim Lafai.
He and Aitken are extremely lucky to have made careers out of NRL and have Paul McGregor to thank for picking and sticking.
They are not NRL players.
He is one of many underperformers over the last few years.
And there's been plenty.
 

giboz71

First Grade
Messages
9,657
He’s probably not the only footballer who’s a little anxious right now. He’s pushing 30 and off contract. And who knows what the game will look like next year, given it will be a shortened season (if they come back at all).

He’s an average NRL centre at best probably on around 400k a season. Pretty decent coin for someone who’s far from elite.

A Lafai like player might be lucky to be on 150-200k per season if the game and cap are re-structured from next year.

Not surprised that a few players (especially those with inflated contracts) are a little worried. A few have been quite outspoken (BJ Leilua comes to mind). Probably worried that he may get paid what’s he’s actually worth.
 

Kilkenny

Coach
Messages
13,869
FWIW, your posts raised some good points.

I should say I am not advancing the suggestion I am right or wrong I am simply suggesting the actions of Tim Lafai in this instance are worthy of further possible sanction than a simple AVO.

It is irrelevant that an NRL player is involved it is about whether a male person acts in a manner that would cause a person of reasonable firmness to feel fear for there safety, concerned, intimidated etc,etc.

For mine it is not unreasonable to conclude the spouse and children present would have been concerned for there personal safety by the actions of a person punching holes in walls and most likely behaving in an entirely irrational manner.

I am a 59 year old male and can I say if I had been present I am 100% sure I would have felt intimidated by the what was occurring.

Make your own mind up I guess, but for mine this sort of behaviour is worthy of further sanction even allowing for the fact the two adult parties will be holding hands and being lovey dovey in a mall once the dust settles.
 

True_Believer

Juniors
Messages
1,840
Im not saying Lafai should of been charged as it is obviously unfair to give an opinion without all the facts but if I just generalise it by saying in most cases if police are called to a residence by neighbours, and it’s found after a heated verbal one of the parties have punched holes in the wall then the offender must be arrested for malicious damage. It’s a crime and police can be found negligent not only for their actions but also for inaction. If proven the poi will not only be charged but will also served with avo. The conditions of which can have restrictions on the perpetrator. which would undoubtedly include the poi is not to be around any of his family members within 12 hours of consuming alcohol and can extend to restricting the poi from going back to his home or even have a contact clause.

After reading some posts I get the vibe that some feel punching holes in your walls is excusable if someone is having a mental health breakdown, which of course is completely wrong if it occurs in situations like I have explained above. Instead of ignoring criminal behaviour the onus is on the Poi to seek help and it’s seen as necessary and/or beneficial upon sentencing if he/she has shown steps to address his/her mental health or alcohol/drug or anger issues.

I don't think anyone has excused his behaviour at all. I for one have just expressed my disgust at some of the name calling and blatant disrespect people have shown in this forum.

If people had read the articles, they would have known that Tim's irritation started BEFORE any alcohol was consumed. The first reports in the media caused further stress to the situation leading to alcohol consumption which in turn escalated the situation.

If anybody actually follows him on any of the social media platforms, they would know that 95% of his posts show him with his kids or his extended family. He's obviously a very strong family man and this whole situation appears to be a radical break from the norm for him.

These 2 things point to someone who is struggling with his situation. Whether it's caused by him not playing at the moment, not being able to train, the end of his contract or whatever - it's irrelevant. The fact of the matter is that his behaviour shows signs of mental health issues. And, unlike others, at least he has admitted himself to hospital because he realises he needs help.
 

True_Believer

Juniors
Messages
1,840
Further in your post I got confused, the bit about him being irritated before hand and than consumed alcohol than showed signs of mental illness. Sounds a little irrelevant and a kind of diverting blame to the mental illness for smashing the house up.

My comment around this wasn't specifically aimed at you. People in here talking about alcohol fuelled behaviour and previous alcohol related incidents. My point was that the first call out (if reports are correct) was before any alcohol was involved. And this suggests to me that it's a stress related issue rather than alcohol. The alcohol was consumed after the initial reports hit the media. He shouldn't have tried to solve the issues by drinking, but the fact is the issues were there before that happened. People change the story to suit their own agenda.

And you are correct. The reports seem a little dubious given the outcomes. Which again highlights my disappointment with people jumping on the bandwagon in here.
 

giboz71

First Grade
Messages
9,657
Geez, if he has health issues , what is he going to be like when forced retirement comes along ? Doesn't appear to be a player that has a "fall back "plan probably best to heed the medical advice he is getting now cause he sure is going to need it after this season.

I was just thinking that myself. Given what's going on right now and his obvious health issues, he may have already played his last game for the Dragons, given he's off contract next year.
 

MountainMan

Juniors
Messages
375
On what planet would someone want their family's darkest private problems splashed over the media and internet? I thought it was a sincere and dignified statement.
The woman is a social media influencer,who craves a following ,she did the similar things with her former partner (before Lafai) a former bulldogs player when he was in strife.
Not calling Lafai attention seeking,if they want to blame this sudden “mental health” issue because he got pissed and smashed his house up,good luck to them .But a spades a bloody spade fellas.
Pretty convenient,his off contract,there’s talks of another player signing but great work by his management team to get the cover up .I’d be in a terrible head space sitting at home or in my home gym on 400k whilst the whole world is locked down .Please! Grow the hell up
 

denis preston

First Grade
Messages
8,761

Great response by his misses.
The woman is a social media influencer,who craves a following ,she did the similar things with her former partner (before Lafai) a former bulldogs player when he was in strife.
Not calling Lafai attention seeking,if they want to blame this sudden “mental health” issue because he got pissed and smashed his house up,good luck to them .But a spades a bloody spade fellas.
Pretty convenient,his off contract,there’s talks of another player signing but great work by his management team to get the cover up .I’d be in a terrible head space sitting at home or in my home gym on 400k whilst the whole world is locked down .Please! Grow the hell up

MM IMO that is a very simplistic read of his situation based on generalizations.Don't you think he would rather this not be reported ? He would definitely be in limbo as far as his future is concerned from next year on and with 3 kids this could lead to , at least, anxiety. Are you of the ilk who believe men should deal with this on their own and not seek help ? Have we as a society been trying for the past decade to stop this ?
 

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