Polak hit by tram

[The Coon Dog]

Polak's playing future in doubt after tram accident (http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/29/2289003.htm)

Richmond footballer Graham Polak has suspected brain injuries and his playing future is in doubt after he was hit by a tram in Melbourne last night.

Richmond says Polak's condition has improved but he remains in an induced coma at The Alfred Hospital.

Polak was crossing the intersection of Orrong and Dandenong roads at Armadale about 11.30pm (AEST) on Saturday when he was hit.

He was with a group of people including team-mates Cleve Hughes and Jordan McMahon.

Ambulance officers were forced to insert a tube to assist Polak's breathing.

Club doctor Greg Hickey says the 24-year-old has suffered a brain injury and his immediate playing future is now in doubt.

"Really it's gonna depend on how he wakes up and the first couple of days," Dr Hickey said.

"Obviously he's going to be in hospital for some time.

"Hopefully he might just end up in a normal general ward, and then whether he'll need a period of rehabilitation after that in some sort of other facility I'm not sure."

However, scans on Sunday morning showed no extra swelling to Polak's brain.

"He has got bruising on the brain - initially it was of great concern. Fortunately, through the night he has improved," Dr Hickey said.

Richmond football manager Greg Miller says Polak's partner Alycle and his Tiger team-mates were told of the accident on Saturday night.

Polak's parents are due to arrive from Perth today, along with his partner's parents.

Richmond captain Kane Johnson says the accident is a shock.


* Best wishes for a speedy recovery. Not the sort of article you like to read about.

[GetDimmaBack]

Agreed, TCD.
Puts footy into perspective, doesn't it?

[LostDoggy]

Terrible news. Hopefully he will make a full recovery.

[Go_Dogs]

Yes, was shocked to hear this, this morning. Hope he can recover strongly and still live a fulfilling life - worry about the footy after that.

[Scraggers]

Terrible news. Hopefully he will make a full recovery.

I can't stand Richmond ... but no one wants to see this; a speedy recovery is the order of the day ... will be thinking of Polak and his family over the next couple of days

[LostDoggy]

My partner and I live on that corner. We were home at that time, and it comes as a shock to read about that -- I think I heard an ambulance but you tend to hear sirens on Dandenong Road regularly.

I am just shocked -- I don't think an accident like that has happened in this area that I know of. Wishing Graham all the best -- he's probably a neighbour, walking in the area that late at night -- and praying for his speedy and healthy recovery.

[DOG GOD]

shocking news...not good at all.

Hope for a speedy recovery. You dont like to see anything like this happen to anyone let alone a footballer with many years ahead of him.

[Topdog]

Absolute shock when I heard it this morning. Hopefully he can live a normal life even if football is not a part of it.

[LostDoggy]

Terrible tragedy - I hope he has a full recovery - what an awful day for the tiges community.

[1eyedog]

I am devastated by this. Graham is such an affable bloke. I lived with my best mate in Fitzroy for a few years when Pollack first came over and me and my mate used to ride our bikes over to Punt Road to watch Richmond train, Graham always had time for people hanging over the fence. My mate is a Richmond member, has been for years and used to go to every training session, consequently some of the blokes got to know his face. One of those was Graham and he used to come over for a chat every now and again, you know, just small talk. He is one of the nicest, genuine people I have ever met. He is so community minded and always volunteers to various charities. Great bloke, I'm hoping everything turns out ok for him. My thoughts are with him.

[westdog54]

Lets face it, no-one on here really likes the Richmond Football Club, or anything associated with it. But there are times when football jumpers become irrelevant, we stop being 16 clubs and become one community. This is one such time. Petty rivalries and disagreements between clubs mean nothing, when a young man lies gravely ill, the victim of a tragic accident.

Even moreso, the first sentence of the article states that Polak's playing future is in doubt. Am I right to be disturbed by this? He remains in a critical condition, may have permanent brain injuries, but we think first that his career is in doubt.

Here's hoping he recovers well and can go on to lead a normal life, and may God watch over him as he fights for life.

[bornadog]

Lets face it, no-one on here really likes the Richmond Football Club, or anything associated with it. But there are times when football jumpers become irrelevant, we stop being 16 clubs and become one community. This is one such time. Petty rivalries and disagreements between clubs mean nothing, when a young man lies gravely ill, the victim of a tragic accident.

Even moreso, the first sentence of the article states that Polak's playing future is in doubt. Am I right to be disturbed by this? He remains in a critical condition, may have permanent brain injuries, but we think first that his career is in doubt.

Here's hoping he recovers well and can go on to lead a normal life, and may God watch over him as he fights for life.

Couldn't agree more. Must have some psychological effect on the two players that were with him as well.

[Topdog]

Yeah I actually feel for Jordan at the moment.

[Twodogs]

Lets face it, no-one on here really likes the Richmond Football Club, or anything associated with it. But there are times when football jumpers become irrelevant, we stop being 16 clubs and become one community. This is one such time. Petty rivalries and disagreements between clubs mean nothing, when a young man lies gravely ill, the victim of a tragic accident.

Even moreso, the first sentence of the article states that Polak's playing future is in doubt. Am I right to be disturbed by this? He remains in a critical condition, may have permanent brain injuries, but we think first that his career is in doubt.

Here's hoping he recovers well and can go on to lead a normal life, and may God watch over him as he fights for life.




Beautifully put Nick. Agree 100% mate.

[LostDoggy]

Yeah I actually feel for Jordan at the moment.
I never thought that it would happen after he went to Richmond, but I do too. Yes it may not have been him hit by a tram but It is still a horrible experience to have to go through,

[hujsh]

Yeah I actually feel for Jordan at the moment.

Of all the people it could have seen it, the guy needing therapy already sees it. Hopefully people lay off him for a while for his health's sake

[The Coon Dog]

'Remarkable progress' in Polak's condition (http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/remarkable-progress-in-polaks-condition/2008/07/01/1214678039378.html)

RICHMOND footballer Graham Polak's improvement since being hit by a tram on Saturday night has been remarkable, according to the club's director of football, Greg Miller.

Miller visited Polak in The Alfred hospital yesterday and said he was walking, greeting people and contributing to conversations.

Polak was brought out of a medically induced coma on Monday and moved out of intensive care that night — less than 48 hours after he was hit by the tram near his home in Armadale.

Hospital staff last night described the 24-year-old's condition as satisfactory.

"He's certainly progressed very quickly in what could have been far worse ramifications," Miller said on the club's website.

Initial scans showed Polak suffered bruising to his brain after he was hit by the tram on Dandenong Road.

Since being moved from intensive care, Polak has continued to improve, saying a few words early yesterday and asking for a drink of water.

"It's been remarkable … the progress so far has been great," Miller said.

He said Tigers forward Cleve Hughes — who was with Polak and teammate Jordan McMahon when the accident happened — was expected to visit the hospital yesterday. "We want Cleve to see the progress because we think that will be a great tonic for Cleve," he said.

"As each hour goes by, or each few hours go by, he (Polak) can handle a little bit more, but we don't want to overload him."

Club doctor Greg Hickey said Polak's cognitive function was expected to be unclear for at least a week. He is due to have further brain scans in the next few days but the results may not be available for several days.

[craigsahibee]

Great to see he is making progress.

Still struggling to come to grips with how you don't see a tram coming towards you.

[Sockeye Salmon]

Great to see he is making progress.

Still struggling to come to grips with how you don't see a tram coming towards you.

I thought Koschitzke would be the only one who could do that.

[Twodogs]

Great to see he is making progress.

Still struggling to come to grips with how you don't see a tram coming towards you.


I was watching the news yesterday and they had a report that featured a tram coning straight at the camera in much the same place as Polak got hit. I'm assuming it was shot with a fixed camera and they didnt actually have a cameraman standing on tram tracks, but given how tasteless and ill thought out the footage was, nothing would suprise me.

[Twodogs]

I thought Koschitzke would be the only one who could do that.



I've worked out Kosi's problem. He's too tall and it's the little blokes cleaning him up.



The AFL need to introduce a new rule that states any player Guido's height or under have to wear stilts when they are playing St Kilda in day matches or have hats with flashing lights in nights.

[craigsahibee]

I've worked out Kosi's problem. He's too tall and it's the little blokes cleaning him up.



The AFL need to introduce a new rule that states any player Guido's height or under have to wear stilts when they are playing St Kilda in day matches or have hats with flashing lights in nights.

Even the umpires that are standing still manage to clean up Kosi. Kosi's problem is far too big for us learned scholars to solve.;)

[westdog54]

Great to see he is making progress.

Still struggling to come to grips with how you don't see a tram coming towards you.

The same way you don't see a car coming, you don't look that way when you cross the road.

[LostDoggy]

It's a pretty weird corner -- there are cars speeding, turning, and another bit for cars to make a u-turn cut into the tram lines just slightly further back, but it's a pretty amorphous shape because of the bend in Dandenong Road, the steep gradient of Orrong Road, and the lines on the road which aren't the clearest. Cars making a u-turn tend to have to sit right across tram tracks sometimes. The tram tracks have also been made so that they are a little bit like train tracks in the middle of the quite wide (four lanes either side = eight lane highway) road rather than just tram lines.

The tram stop is pretty big so there is always the assumption that the tram is stopping as it slows. I have seen cars/people/bicycles waiting to turn/u-turn starting to move because the tram sort of slows down as it comes to the tram stop, and then all hell breaking loose with ding-dings and flashing etc. The tram stop is also big enough to actually act as a bit of a barrier obscuring precisely where a drivers' blind spot would be, just to make it thatlittle bit more dangerous.

It's quite an accident prone corner too, with hoons up and down Dandenong Road etc... Graham could have been trying to run across the road and just not made it. I'm sure the blame lies a little bit on both sides.. although there has been a rise in psycho tram drivers recently.

[The Pie Man]

It's a pretty weird corner -- there are cars speeding, turning, and another bit for cars to make a u-turn cut into the tram lines just slightly further back, but it's a pretty amorphous shape because of the bend in Dandenong Road, the steep gradient of Orrong Road, and the lines on the road which aren't the clearest. Cars making a u-turn tend to have to sit right across tram tracks sometimes. The tram tracks have also been made so that they are a little bit like train tracks in the middle of the quite wide (four lanes either side = eight lane highway) road rather than just tram lines.

The tram stop is pretty big so there is always the assumption that the tram is stopping as it slows. I have seen cars/people/bicycles waiting to turn/u-turn starting to move because the tram sort of slows down as it comes to the tram stop, and then all hell breaking loose with ding-dings and flashing etc. The tram stop is also big enough to actually act as a bit of a barrier obscuring precisely where a drivers' blind spot would be, just to make it thatlittle bit more dangerous.

It's quite an accident prone corner too, with hoons up and down Dandenong Road etc... Graham could have been trying to run across the road and just not made it. I'm sure the blame lies a little bit on both sides.. although there has been a rise in psycho tram drivers recently.

They love giving their dinging thing a good flogging - you can be a cm over the yellow line, and they'll sit there 'ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding' until you move

[Sockeye Salmon]

They love giving their dinging thing a good flogging - you can be a cm over the yellow line, and they'll sit there 'ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding' until you move

Despite that they can clearly see that there's a car in front of you and you can't move.

[LostDoggy]

One often wonders if the point of public transport is to get as many people to their destinations in a safe, timely manner...

...or to get trams through tramstops as quickly and as dangerously as possible, to run amber lights, to shut doors on people running for trams, to block traffic all around by moving as inconveniently and unpredictably as possible, to accelarate and brake randomly so that passengers feel sick/fall over and swear that they'll drive everywhere from now on, and to speed past every tramstop with as empty a tram as possible and never have to stop.

[Sockeye Salmon]

One often wonders if the point of public transport is to get as many people to their destinations in a safe, timely manner...

...or to get trams through tramstops as quickly and as dangerously as possible, to run amber lights, to shut doors on people running for trams, to block traffic all around by moving as inconveniently and unpredictably as possible, to accelarate and brake randomly so that passengers feel sick/fall over and swear that they'll drive everywhere from now on, and to speed past every tramstop with as empty a tram as possible and never have to stop.

I've always been amazed at the way trams turn up together. You wait for half a bloody hour and then get three at once.

[LostDoggy]

I've always been amazed at the way trams turn up together. You wait for half a bloody hour and then get three at once.

Without making any excuses for our 19th century system, apparently it's a statistical probability that this is quite often the case -- same with buses in London etc. and I've read mathematics that prove why this is more likely than not, with traffic lights, cycle of people getting on and off the first bus/tram and slowing it down while the trams/buses behind go straight through empty stops etc, and why it's more likely statistically to end up waiting a longer time rather than a shorter time for public transport. (I'm not doing the math justice with my haphazard explanation -- I'm sure you can find a better explanation somewhere on the web.)

Funny, I thought when I read that. I always thought it was because the lazy buggers were having a smoko together at the depot and left at the same time.

[Topdog]

I've always been amazed at the way trams turn up together. You wait for half a bloody hour and then get three at once.

I can't stand it. Last week I was catching the tram into the city from work (St. Kilda Rd) and 9, yes thats right 9 trams went the other way before I got 1 tram. They came in 3 groups of 3.

[Twodogs]

When you think about it trams are a pretty stupid idea. Train crossings are bad enough but fixed wheel vehicles trying to deal with cars driving all over the place is a recipe for disaster. Having said that though, I wish more than one in ten drivers understood that when the doors close, the little stop signs disappear and the bloody thing starts moving it means you can overtake.


Originally Posted by Lantern
It's quite an accident prone corner too, with hoons up and down Dandenong Road etc... Graham could have been trying to run across the road and just not made it. I'm sure the blame lies a little bit on both sides.. although there has been a rise in psycho tram drivers recently.
A tram driver got booked for speeding in Chapel st. last year.

[LostDoggy]

When you think about it trams are a pretty stupid idea. Train crossings are bad enough but fixed wheel vehicles trying to deal with cars driving all over the place is a recipe for disaster. Having said that though, I wish more than one in ten drivers understood that when the doors close, the little stop signs disappear and the bloody thing starts moving it means you can overtake.


A tram driver got booked for speeding in Chapel st. last year.

Probably trying to catch up with the two in front of him

[LostDoggy]

For more public transport stupidity:

http://www.theage.com.au/national/screams-and-panic-passengers-tell-of--connex-hell-ride-20080704-31ip.html

I love how in every instance a 'Connex spokeswoman' tells us that nothing actually happened and everything was actually fine, even though hundreds of people see otherwise. It's like the commuters of Melbourne are hallucinating and Connex knows the truth: That our trains and trams really do run on time, that there is always plenty of space on them, that there are never any cancellations, and that the rides are as safe and comfortable as in a concorde. Sound more and more like the Bush Administration every day.

Get rid of the buggers. Don't get me started, really. I worked closely with the urban planning commission, and in the next office to Paul Mees, then urban design professor at Melbourne University and scourge of the state government, so I've seen all the numbers. It's quite shocking how much money we've -- yes, you and I -- thrown at the system. It is absolutely no exaggeration to say that if we had free public transport and not thrown millions at two dysfunctional ticketing systems, and not given money over to Connex to run it (yes we're paying them to run it -- check the sums), over the last ten years the state's coffers (our money) would be better off to the tune of more than $100 million dollars.

Talk about throwing good money after bad -- it's just ridiculous.

(And I don't buy the arguments that we're bursting at the seams and it's hard to manage etc. Are we that stupid? Berlin/Singapore/Tokyo are far, far, far more dense and complex than Melbourne is, but their trains all run to the minute on time -- which is another joke, when our 'on time' is actually up to six minutes after the stated time of arrival and we can't even achieve that regularly. We've only got less than 4 million people here, for heaven's sakes.)

[ledge]

Lets look at the real problem here, the doors are not so much the problem but the "packed carriage" why is no other vehicle allowed to be overloaded but trains can have people hanging out of them and packed like sardines?
It costs nothing to add another carriage, from platforms i have seen over the years its not like they arent long enough and why doesnt this imaginary Connex spokeswoman ride one for a change in peak hour and see for herself.
Then again why dont the transport minister and the Connex hierachy ride the trains into work everyday seeings as they think everything is perfect.

[1eyedog]

Lets look at the real problem here, the doors are not so much the problem but the "packed carriage" why is no other vehicle allowed to be overloaded but trains can have people hanging out of them and packed like sardines?
It costs nothing to add another carriage, from platforms i have seen over the years its not like they arent long enough and why doesnt this imaginary Connex spokeswoman ride one for a change in peak hour and see for herself.
Then again why dont the transport minister and the Connex hierachy ride the trains into work everyday seeings as they think everything is perfect.

You think Melbourne's bad try catching a train in Nagasaki or even London through peak time.

[LostDoggy]

I have, both. And they are bad, no doubt. But are we now measuring ourselves against the worst barometers in the developed world?

London has between 12 - 15 million people and a population density on a scale unimaginable to most Melbournians, and Nagasaki, with only 450,000 people, is hardly a city in the same sense as Melbourne, almost para-urban, in a sense.

Melbourne on the other hand tries to boast world's best practice and liveability. I'm not even against paying for public transport, if there are real improvements. But all indicators show that we're going backwards, and at an incredible rate. We are subsidising a private operator (!), losing millions upon millions of public dollars annually, and have shitty standards -- by developed standards, I'm not talking about Sudan or Bali here -- that are getting worse. The only action of our past few state administrations on both sides have just been fiddling at the margins, or ideological mischief. Myki is already a farce, and it hasn't even come into operation yet.

As the world comes to the realisation that oil isn't going to last forever (what is it up to now per barrel?), and as Melbourne bursts at the seams trying to fit in one of the biggest population migratory booms in Australian history, things are only going to get worse, not better, if we keep down this path of fudging the numbers and PR campaigns instead of real change. There has been a fundamental lack of true vision, with bad management and ideology substituting for leadership at all levels of government (on both sides) in this country for a very long time, and this is just another example of it. As Aker would say -- "they stick their heads in the sand" (sic) and wish it would all just go away if they ignore it long enough.

[Scraggers]

Tigers name Polak

http://mm.afl.com.au/Portals/0/images/AFL/AFL%20P-T/polak_r1_aa.jpg

By Luke Holmesby
3:38 PM Wed 04 March, 2009

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/72847/default.aspx

GRAHAM Polak will play for Richmond this week in his first serious game since his near-fatal collision with a tram last year.

Polak has been named in the team to take on St Kilda at Shepparton on Friday night and is expected to play about 60 per cent of the match.

The24-year-old had a brief run in the Richmond intra-club match in February and has had some game time for Coburg, but has not played a game since he sustained brain injuries when he was hit by a tram in June last year.

Richmond football operations manager Ross Monaghan said Polak’s recovery from the injury had been quicker than hoped and he was ready for competitive football.

“It’s much sooner than expected,” Monaghan said.

“He’s moving okay, he’s feeling okay and he’s recovering from training sessions much better.

“He’s been playing bits of VFL practice matches that they’ve had in the last couple of weeks.

“We think it’s a good opportunity for him to have a run around and enjoy himself because he’s come a long way from what was a pretty serious injury.”

Polak had been training with the club for much of the pre-season but had struggled to complete sessions and recover from them.

But Monaghan said his progress over the last few weeks had been astounding.

“The main issue he had for some time before Christmas and immediately after Christmas was his fatigue levels. He trained a fair bit at sessions but would get really fatigued,” he said.

“He really progressed through that in late January and early February to the point where he could do most things that the other players were doing. Now he’s got to the stage where he seems to be getting through most days pretty well.

“He’s not entirely back to being 100 per cent by no means. He’s at the stage where everyone’s quite comfortable for him to have a run around against quality opposition.”

[The Coon Dog]

Is this the same Graham Polak that Richmond said was so unwell they sought to put him on the long term injury list to secure an additional draft pick?

Aside from that I hope he's fully recovered & I wish him well.

[Scraggers]

Is this the same Graham Polak that Richmond said was so unwell they sought to put him on the long term injury list to secure an additional draft pick?

Aside from that I hope he's fully recovered & I wish him well.

It's a miracle !!! ... but as you say good to see him back

[Remi Moses]

What a joke! Wasn't this the club who asked the AFL for special dispensation to place polak on the rookie list?Just a sneaky furfy from Richmond.