I have no great opinion on Connor's 8 weeks, suffice to say that if he has significant history then he probably got what he deserved - an in-your-face rude, last chance, wake-up call.
I do however, have a strong opinion on the other 3. This is a team game where premierships are won by teams of players that will bleed for each other - we at Richmond have a long (now) history of not doing that. Cousins, McGuane and Polo let their team mate down badly by letting him get to that state or position in the first place. It's not about Connors being an adult and responsible for his own actions - this is about 'having your team mate's back'. They were in a team hotel on a team trip after playing a match as a team and they let their team mate get in that state, most likely suspecting how it would all end up given his history. The fact they tried to stop it - all too little, all too late - just condemns them more. It doesn't even matter if they like Connors or not, thought he was funny, stupid, whatever. They would have seen the transition from control to lack of control over the period of drinking and chose to do nothing to protect their team mate from himself until the damage was done - a Freudian indicator of how this group of players has not yet learned the meaning, method, or manner of "team". So I have no problem with the suspensions handed down to these 3 and I hope and pray that Hardwick rams the message down the lists' collective throats over the next few days, weeks and months. Until all 48 players wearing the yellow and black are prepared to bleed for each other we cannot hope to succeed.
