Copped a lot of criticism early this year but has been a key part of United's recent run of form. 

He mentions here how he's had to focus on his own game to help others improve, is he the right man to lead Adelaide?

https://www.theinnersanctum.com.au/leading-by-example-mauk-embracing-captaincy-challenge/

One of the most unlikeable characters in the league with his constant diving, whinging, and badmouthing of opposition players. 

As long as he stops diving and being a turd fine, but he doesn't strike me as someone Id want as captain his form has been good though.

I’m sure Adelaide fans love him but and isn’t that all that counts.  

I see his biography featured a foreword by Greg Louganis...

I'll get my coat.

As long as you can live with the ‘cheat’ tag but for many people that kind of stuff is what turns people off.

Dont know who this guy is but just going by the comments I wanted to ask why the hate for "divers"? Is it an AFL is manly and Soccer is a poofters game thing? Is there something un-Australian about trying to win at all cost? Why doesnt the same hate apply for such deception in cricket when those funny little guys in their pyjamas put their fingers up after every single ball and yell "howzattttt?"  at the referee/butler who is holding their jumper and hat, even when they know it is not an lbw nor did the ball hit the bat?  Or when, in AFL, a player grabs a fistfull of his opponents jumper and uses that to punch the suitcases out of him without it being considered stricking?  Deception in many parts of the world is an admirable tactic. The dark arts of wasting time and deceiving the ref as much as possible are so ingrained in many other parts of the world they are applauded... unless they are used against you of course... Maradona's (may God rest his soul) hand of goal was cheeky and fun in Argentina's media but a "cheating act of a dago" in the UK tabloids... point is why does this seem to be the one thing non soccer people in Australia seem to feel is the most terrible aspect of the sport.... 

Played for Adelaide, City, Roar, Adelaide Australia U16,U17,U23.

Do you watch any Australian football or just South Melbourne?

I didn't read anything you said after.

Even at city he was an arrogant little shit

Cheating may well be viewed differently through cultural lenses, but this is our culture - and we don't like it. 

What's more, we think that we are driven by nobler, purer sentiments and are above such things, so when one of our own (in this case an Australian footballer) cheats we are outraged and disgusted. Why do you think Smith and Warner copped such a massive penalty when the same offence by cricketers from other countries only got a match or two?

Mauk risks making himself extremely unpopular if he keeps up that crap.

If he hadn't been awarded that first pen against CCM (who are suddenly everyone's darlings so people were ouraged) then nobody would even be calling him a cheat as any other example of falling over from this season has been run of the mill stuff that nearly every player in the league does.

He would still cop it for being a little shit sometimes because he can be and everyone knows that but again, heaven forbid we have a variety of characters in football just like in real life.

All you bastions of virtue must lead pretty fun lives......

Smith and Warner seem to have been accepted back into the "fold" of Cricket Australia, and the good graces of the general public, pretty quickly though. I guess my question was more around the perception that "cheating" in soccer is somehow worse than in other aspects of sporting endeavour here. 9 times out of 10 when asking random people that express a dislike for soccer what the reason for their dislike is and the answer is usually "I hate how soccer players all go down like they have been shot, bunch of diving, cheating fairies" Seems to be the main reason Aussies hate soccer now is a lot different to the "wogball" hate of the past.... 

Gotta have a villain in every league mate. I agree, makes the world a more interesting place. 

Diving, in football terms , is cheating, pure and simple. Obviously to you, people who cheat are just ‘characters’. If someone cheated you out of a sum of money would you be happy to just call them characters?

Absolutely - and it seems to be spreading - Halloran another one that seems go down very easily, usually after initiating the contact. Veart doesn't seem to be happy with the pattern that is emerging but Captain Mauk seems to wear it as a badge of honour. As Adelaide play 6 of their next 9 games against top 6 teams plus two games against Wellington (who have 10 points from their last 5 games). Their only relief is against Western United

I suspect the hype around hero Mauk will quickly disappear as they tumble down the ladder. 

Aha man, that loss in Adelaide hurt really bad.

Halloran has always gone down a little easy his whole career (why shouldn't he when he is so often kicked out of games to counter his pace on the turn).
So have probably 90% of players who aren't CBs.

Although, on defenders, EVERY SINGLE TIME any defender shields the ball from an attacker who is chasing they fall to their knees for the foul.

Your players do it too so what do you call that?

I called him a "character" in the second sentence re him being a bit of a niggly annoying shit bag - which he can be.

Despite any of your big words, I still maintain that if that 1st pen vs CCM:

a) wasn't against the darling mariners
b) Harper wasn't commentating
c) was just called play on to start with like it bloody should have been

people wouldn't be talking like this because everything else has been run of the mill football shenanigans that nearly all players in all teams engage in.

And yes, it happens even in our morally superior fine upstanding world of Australian sport (ie. 2nd rate graceful losers)

I'm very happy for Mauk that he is producing good and consistent performances.  Definitely a player opposition fans hate, but one that a lot would love if he played for their team.  If he can stay fit, Adelaide can definitely build a strong team around him.

Suffice to say that game against Adelaide did not worry me. The only game this year where I think we have looked easily second best was against City the second time. 

BTW - our crowds tend to boo our own when we become second rate Matthew Mitchams

I see you avoided any reference to the fact that you seem to be a lot higher on the table than most because you have played a lot of lower ranked teams and are about to come thudding back to earth.

I agree with this also opposition captains aren’t meant to be liked looked at keane,lampard and Gerard ect 

You’re attempt at defending the indefensible says more about you than it does about me.

No doubt Adelaide are killing it at the moment. I'm mean just look at the five in a row.

The refs gifted you CCM.
A ligitamatly decent game against a horrid WSW.
Second last.
Last.
Second last.

Adelaide deserve the plaudits.

Well no, it took a year, and Warner is still strongly disliked by many in the cricket community as he was seen to be the instigator of what happened.

I'd also suggest to you that the vast majority of people who don't like football don't appreciate that the game itself is the entertainment, as opposed to the scoring. People who didn't grow up playing/understanding the game get bored if the score is anything less than 5-4.

I'd also suggest to whoever made the point that Mauk's dive for the first pen against the Mariners was by no means his only offence. He went down again for the second pen after initiating contact with Nisbet, then tried again later in the same match and again the following match. He did at least have the grace to grin when the ref in that match told him to get up.

Perhaps, but you can't choose your opposition.

As for Mauk, I'd love to still have him. But then we have Jamieson as captain, so...

No you can't, but I'm not going to praise a team or a player for winning games there is an expectation they will win, and then paint it as a change in form.

As for Mauk the bloke basically admitted to diving, Patricio Perez got 2 week for simulation, where Mauks 2 weeks. 

That sentence wasn;t there when I replied to your post was it?
If it was then the forum did something strange coz I didn't see it

I have no qualms about people's opinion that we are artificially high on the table.
It's easy to say we only beat City before they hit their straps or WSW before they were clicking and all that but as I have always said, I would rathe have points on the board than be chasing points from games in hand.

Everyone predicted us to be 10-12th (as they did your team) so I'm ok with where we are as I predicted 6th at best).

I doubt Mauk is being particularly hyped by many people. Some are just stating that he is a rich vein of goal scoring form, which he is. Like him or not. Plenty of midfielder are NOT scoring goals against teams no matter where they are on the table.

In a footballing sense, being captain seems to have forced Mauk into more focussed play himself and he has been shining.

The diving I won't contribute to because you all know my feelings on it, other than to say if it was only once even I would have moved on from it.

Nothing to do with Mauk - to me the captain is the representation of what my club stand for - and that includes behaviour on and off the field. I would not be happy with my captain being a cheap hacker and thug, a diver, arrogant to rudeness, petty, or any of the off field behaviours that are more than simply unpleasant.

To be captain deserves more than just being the player that gets the best out of the team on field, and a 'captain' who does not recognise both the honour and responsibility of that role does not deserve to be captain.

And back on Mauk - I would not want him to be my captain, no matter how much his game improves, if he continues to show juvenile levels of self control, aggression and pettiness.

Growth is about more than football.

Mono - cheating is against our national spirit - even though the movie Gallipoli highlighted the reality of the "Robbo will take him out - he's too good to beat legally" mentality. It is what we strive for and want our sport to be that drives the emotion behind the hatred of diving.

Im not defending the dive as such but also the ref shouldn't have given it and everyone would have moved on.
They looked at the thing 20 times and still gave the pen. That's what's ridiculous.

Thing is people are conflating the few actual dodgy falls/anticipations/dives with the run of the mill falling easily by him and others now that ALL players do and that's ridiculous.

Attackers fall easily because defenders get away with murder all the time. They also cheat every time they hold a player back from a corner etc etc etc etc etc

I repeat, I'm not defending his idiotic dive in the next game or later that game but to start saying it's becoming an Adelaide thing or saying every time mauk goes to ground its a dive is just idiotic comments by bitter fans of other teams.

Who do you support out of interest? Anyone?

To be fair to Mauk I think he only has 1 or maybe 2 yellow cards all season so in some regards he actually has calmed a little bit.

With some players if you try to hold them back too much they lose what actually makes them good players.

Besides the falling over there was the one idiotic comment about that rat faced knob Kilkenny.
If you listen to all mauks interviews since then he was clearly told off about that coz he has been speaking brilliantly.

His usual  ill-discipline yellow card per game has actually been a non-issue this season so good on him.

Anyway, it's all a bit of theatre and a bit of fun. A world of robots would be a dull world indeed.

Incidentally, Mariners fans are getting a little too cocky too quickly to be honest. 

Be wary of throwing out claims that other teams will come crashing down to earth because most people can see it happening to you too.

Some might say it already has started.....