Justin Charles | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
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Justin Charles

Justin was a VERY good baseballer. He was actually signed by the Florida Marlins as a kid. He really loved footy though. Has talked about having a hip operation (having the bone "shaved") and returning to baseball in some form. Very likeable character.
 
I catch up with JC a couple times a month. A good guy who loved the Tiges,got frustrated by injuries,and made a bad decision.

Let he is without sin cast the 1st stone...

Thats all I'll say, :)
 
Phantom said:
Charles had one good year at Tigerland, 1996.

The year he took his steroids.
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Quite right about 1996, I remember going out to glenferrie for a preseason intra club game and JC blitzed the field.
Standing close was Leon Daphne, Mal Brown and Kevin Sheedy, the look on their faces was priceless, they thought as I did....Brownlow.

skull
 
Philster said:
I catch up with JC a couple times a month. A good guy who loved the Tiges,got frustrated by injuries,and made a bad decision.

Let he is without sin cast the 1st stone...

Thats all I'll say, :)
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Well said :clap
 
Phantom said:
Charles had one good year at Tigerland, 1996.

The year he took his steroids.
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Not true - the year in which he took steroids he struggled with injury.

The year before was his best year.
He was very important in 1995 as well.
 
Let's not all sit here thinking that Justin Charles is the only guy in the history of the AFL to take or test positive to using steroids. I am not condoning what Justin did, but let's be serious about this....Here is a guy that was never going to return to football due to a debilitating hip injury (which has seen him lose 20 odd KG'S and struggle to walk) and at the time of the steroid boom across all sports he was the perfect man for the AFL to put forward as an example to the football and sporting world that the AFL was being pro-active in stamping out performance inhancing drugs.

If we remember (and how easily we forget), Ben Cousin's (brownlow medalist, AFL pin-up boy) is an admitted drug addict, and has been for several years. He has never ever tested positive to anything? How is this possible? Is it possible for the AFL to sweep things under the rug? There is still plenty of talk about Buddy seen around town in questionable states and has been this talk ever since he hit the scene. We all know how damaging it would be for the game if someone like Franklin was on the sidelines indefinately.

I have always found Justin to be a great bloke and a very passionate Richmond man.
 
as a trainer with the RFC in '95 when Justin was there. He was a very nice guy. I always remember the vision of him when he was at Footscray and he was geeing up the crowd after kicking a goal. As committed as he was I also remember him commenting on Hawthorns pre-season training schedule of '96 (which was very time consuming and arduous) and he said" "if that's what it takes to be an AFL player then I don't want it that badly".

Strange comment.
 
tigertim said:
as a trainer with the RFC in '95 when Justin was there. He was a very nice guy. I always remember the vision of him when he was at Footscray and he was geeing up the crowd after kicking a goal. As committed as he was I also remember him commenting on Hawthorns pre-season training schedule of '96 (which was very time consuming and arduous) and he said" "if that's what it takes to be an AFL player then I don't want it that badly".

Strange comment.
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Yep, started at the doggies and left them to chase a career in baseball over in the US. Didn't work out so came back and we drafted him.
96 was the year he really made his mark. Crying shame at what happened.
 
tungman said:
He has a noticable limp still which is due to those hip problems from his playing days. Just an all round nice guy.
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EVil things hip injuries, not spectacular like knee reconstructions but maybe worse. They has prematurely ended the career of a few decent RFC footballers over the past decade
 
I heard him phone in to the Gerard Healy and Dwaine the pain Russell's drive time program on 3AW. He called to stick up for Ben Cousins. He was pretty much saying that Ben deserves a second chance and that everyone makes mistakes. That was around a year ago when the whole thing was the talk of the town. He sounded like an earnest person to me, and likeable.

Glad to read he is getting along well.
 
He probably was one of the most positive players around the club in those days. Had a great attitude to his football and wanted the best out of his body to his detriment in the end. Would agree with those that met him that he seemed a very down to earth man.
 
I think he was a builder or plumber or plasterer or something wasn't he?

I know he worked on my brothers place in West Footscray when it was being renovated. My brother had no idea who he was (philistine, hates football). My sister in law knew though. Both of them said what a great bloke he was, and one of the only tradies they had who'd actually show up when he said.

He was a big favourite of mine when I was a kid, and needless to say, I was shattered when he was suspended.
 
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