Thx for playing your part George in three flags , I’m kinda ok that a spot is reserved for mid season , there’s plenty of cover for George’s posi until then , reckon he was well aware of that after losing his spot to cumbo and mrj
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Castagna announces retirement
- Thread starter wigglyworm
- Start date
he spoke well and I sense he knew that he’d slipped down the pecking order , if he had any reservations this would only serve to deepen them , more so with promising form of juddy and Seth
It is disappointing. They didn’t come to this decision in a day or two. It would have been thought about before that.
We will be okay as he would have struggled to get his spot back anyway, but it’s still disappointing. That’s a spot that could have been used on someone else.
On a positive note, that’s a spot open for mid season.
Well OK, you find it disappointing.
I doubt the club does, he would have spoken to Dimma or Blair or his line coach or someone when retirement thoughts 1st surfaced & they would have said, don't rush the decision, take your time, think about it for a while etc etc
Yes, I was impressed with the way he spoke to the group, and in his one-on-one interview. Don't think it was a decision made lightly, and he has sought counsel from a lot of people, I'll miss him on field, he was not cut from the same cloth as many AFL players, and the game's poorer for his leaving it.
I hope the rest of his life is as satisfying as his 8 years with the Tigers.
Exactly, Hardwick had already flagged the possibility we might keep a spot open until mid year and not take Bradtke or Narkle now.
My tip is Bradtke got his spot because this was coming.
George kicked the goal that for me sealed the end of our premiership drought. I was pretty confident at half-time that we would win the 2017 grand final, pretty sure we would win when Lambo kicked his goal, and even more confident when Jack Graham kicked his third, but I knew when George kicked his that something we never thought would happen, was happening before our eyes. From that moment on I was serene as a Hindu bovine. Not one moment of anxiety, doubt or nerves. I could not take the shiteating grin off my face from that moment until I fell asleep around 4am, and even then I probably slept with it.
Love you, George. Us intellectuals always backed you, even if the tabloid paps struggled to appreciate what you brought (beautifully summed up by @Leysy Days ). A unique, power-packed, Energiser bunny of a footballer. So much fun to watch and an important player in a great era.
Love you, George. Us intellectuals always backed you, even if the tabloid paps struggled to appreciate what you brought (beautifully summed up by @Leysy Days ). A unique, power-packed, Energiser bunny of a footballer. So much fun to watch and an important player in a great era.
It is what it is. What I think would be disappointing is if a player was rushed into making a decision and then regretted it (esp. if they had plenty left in the tank). I'm sure there are plenty of players including on our list who have throught long and hard about pulling the pin and have decided to go around again.
Had a knack for missing them too.
But it's a rare skill to consistently put yourself in a position to do either.
Congrats on finishing your career as a 3 time premiership Richmond champion George! Can't say I'll miss seeing his name on the team sheet, but he's partly responsible for the 3 best days of my life, so I'll owe him that forever.
The timing of George's announcement makes me wonder if the club actually asked him to hold off to ensure we had a pick in the mid-season draft.
Always sad to see the premiership guys depart , him , rioili and butler collectively were massive in 17 ,we don’t win without them .
But now , Even though it’s a surprise It kinda feels like it’s astute timing as well
But now , Even though it’s a surprise It kinda feels like it’s astute timing as well
I feel a bit sad about George pulling the pin. If there was anyone who characterised chaos ball at our club it was him. His hands didn't know what his head wanted, and his legs just did whatever they wanted to. But it worked for a while.
But I can understand him losing the desire for the game at AFL level.
I know a couple of guys who have made it to AFL level in the last 30 years and it is brutal. One of them is a good mate who I went to Uni with. He ended up on the Dockers list in their first season as a 22 year old. He was ecstatic and we were all proud of him.
He played a season there and retired after it having played 12 matches. He ended up hating the game. He spent the whole season feeling like he was "broken" (his term). All he did each week was put his body through torture just to get up to play the next game. There was simply nothing in it that he enjoyed.
But I can understand him losing the desire for the game at AFL level.
I know a couple of guys who have made it to AFL level in the last 30 years and it is brutal. One of them is a good mate who I went to Uni with. He ended up on the Dockers list in their first season as a 22 year old. He was ecstatic and we were all proud of him.
He played a season there and retired after it having played 12 matches. He ended up hating the game. He spent the whole season feeling like he was "broken" (his term). All he did each week was put his body through torture just to get up to play the next game. There was simply nothing in it that he enjoyed.
Very likely, as well as the lack of games last year and uncertainty for the future.
Either way, he walks out as a 26 year old who was a rookie pick, and managed to earn himself 134 games and 3 premierships. Has done extremely well for himself and should be respected for what he had achieved for himself and our club.
He was a most unorthodox hybrid in that 17 premiership. Up and down wing to flank to pocket all day long. Often acting as the de facto CHF on the down the line high kick or wild mongrel to the 50 m arc with the sole role of bringing the ball to ground or getting it on. Not elite, not orthodox and certainly not blessed with skill or composure. But high level endurance, speed and effort backed with the confidence of the coahcing group and his peers. The more skilled would always overtake him eventually but 3 flags to show for it. Remarkable effort of the individual and the system.
Well done George. Just in case you or someone you know reads these annals, we all wish every success and happiness in your next chapter. And thank you.
Well done George. Just in case you or someone you know reads these annals, we all wish every success and happiness in your next chapter. And thank you.
