Still, Fevola is not completely stupid. Even he, despite what has clearly been some pretty ordinary advice close to home, could see the soap operatic nature of his contractual negotiations was starting to make him look like a selfish dill.

The angriest Carlton chief executive Greg Swann has appeared this season was when John Elliott was quoted in The Age saying Fevola deserved three years and Elliott had told then president Richard Pratt to sign him. Even Paul Roos, consistent in his denials Sydney had made an unofficial offer to Fevola, said he advised him to sign with Carlton.

Fevola told Triple M he would sign his contract in the coming days — something we suspect he would have been given an ultimatum to do anyhow. A meeting had been scheduled with Swann and football operations manager Steven Icke for early this week, and coach Brett Ratten made his position clear on 3AW yesterday — that Fevola's procrastinating was hurting the team.

A senior Carlton person said Fevola's verbal commitment to stay meant he had painted himself into a corner. Under the Mark Maclure school of thought, Fevola would appear lucky to be getting a three-year commitment.

Every good player, Ratten said, could attract big money elsewhere but the price you pay to earn that money can often prove more costly. Fevola is not only lucky he has talent, he is lucky he is only 27. Just ask Barry Hall and Shannon Grant — both 31 and both stood down from playing this week.

We understand his new management group was also becoming a trifle impatient, urging the player to sign and be done with it.

Even football leaders of the calibre of Michael Voss admitted after Akermanis left the Lions the latter's refusal to put his team first — or place any priority at all on the football club for a time — drove him to distraction and saw Voss himself lose perspective. Leigh Matthews never admitted as much but the clear impression was that Akermanis' behaviour upset him also to the point he might have briefly taken his eye off the ball.

Selfishness does that. It's contagious and that is why Fevola's contractual nit-picking is in danger of creating a cancer at Carlton. In Brisbane's case, it had hit the inevitable slump that came from a genuine and near successful tilt at four successive flags with a team that has been judged among the best.

Not Carlton. The Blues have shown some genuine signs that they are putting together a team that could climb to the top of the AFL ladder and the club has certainly emerged from its darkest period. But Carlton is not yet the successful outfit it once was.

Not to mention the fact it showed genuine — if pragmatic — support for the player after his failure to handle his drink caused the club some heartache on the eve of the 2008 season.

Premiership player Maclure put it best in The Age several days ago when he bristled at a comparison between the inconsistent if brilliantly talented footballer and the wild Carlton boys of the 1980s.

"He's not like us at all, he's selfish for starters," said Maclure.

"We wouldn't have put up with the way he carries on. We would have got him to pull his head in well before now. Ask me what I think of Brendan and I'd say too often he lets the team down, not to mention lets himself down by not giving his all.

"I think Brendan picks and chooses when he wants to play well and that is not the way to win premierships. He's a very good player, a brilliant player, but he's only that when he wants to be."

Prophetic words given that they were spoken before the St Kilda match. But Fevola's unpredictability is nothing if not predictable.