I really dont think he believes he is too good for us.
I reckon he is well aware of his flaws and inconsistencies and is frustrated that they arent being ironed out through adequate development. He has always struck me as a simple sort of kid who just loves to play footy...and become a great player.
Put yourself in his shoes for a moment. For the past 2 years, he has had everyone at the club telling him how good he is, he has been Mr Popularity as he has been classed as one of our guns who is constantly talked up by coaches and his peers publicly. He has been given free reign to play the game as he sees it, making it fun more than a chore or job. The guy takes the field bouncing like a little kid, all smiles and full of confidence. New players join the club and they start talking him up...and some of them are elite! The team is playing better than the last few years and all is positive...until it is no longer so.
The guy went from being talked up as a future Test player and a franchise winning leader to being despised in one afternoon. Fans on social media, who were so over the top with their sickly sweet sychophancy last year now want him hung from the scoreboard at Leichhardt. The club's management are angry and releasing statements and holding press conferences, your peers are taking the piss out of you publicly, the media painting you as the devil, describing you and your family in ways that arent true. Training is awkward and no one is giving you the time they were a week ago. You train, you go home. You play, you go home. I doubt the invites for socialising outside of work are on offer any more.
You are ostracised from the group you spend the most time with. If this was a normal job, youd submit your 4 weeks notice, use up your sick leave and just dissapear. Youd cop the backstabbing for a little while and then youd never see these people again. This situation is very different. His leave notice was 18 months.
It seems obvious to me that this kid is desperately upset and thats why he is playing so poorly. As I said earlier, he isnt a rocket scientist...he loves the game and it is fun to him. It no longer is that way. Now Im sure many on here will say "serves him right", "he brought it all on himself", "I hope this is really tearing him up on the inside"...etc. However, the facts are, he is contracted here for the next 43 playing weeks as well as one more preseason. He is a young 19 year old as well and that must seem like a life sentence to him. There is no good end to this saga. I think we will release him early with nothing in return. The kid is crashing and burning. Every loss is being blamed on him, every poor performance is killing his wild enthusiasm. This is fast becoming a mental health issue. When people feel they have no way out...well we know how some respond. It is a terrible situation for all, and a situation all have had a hand in creating.
