Just as a point of interest did any experienced player extend his contract under Neeld's reign?

Loyalty is not a concept that holds much water in 2014 and beyond.

IMO that era has gone.

The players union's main motivation is to increase the ability of players to change clubs.

By the end of this decade a ten year player will be the exception.

They will press for shorter periods before free agency kicks in, by the end of the decade it is liable to be five years IMO.

The gates have been opened the horse is out it is just a matter of how far it gets to run

I don't agree with that OD as demons we've been burnt badly through bad administrations and hold little hope, not many players leave the top sides and I don't see that trend changing in the future unless it for massive coin like Buddy , for every Buddy's there's a Luke Hodge.

Sorry Colin. Looks like I started something which grew right out of proportion! I just simply related that you had a very quiet intra club match. As a few have indicated, we wish you good luck at Freo.

I think Freo might have a bit more to worry about than Colin Sylvia. Rumors that a team in WA is undergoing a big investigation for salary cap issues - can't possibly be WCE so has to be Freo.

Just as a point of interest did any experienced player extend his contract under Neeld's reign?

Time to let go, BB.

I think Jeremy Howe did.

colin will rip it up in perth

dunno about his footy though

colin will rip it up in perth

dunno about his footy though

or maybe even Freo

or maybe even Freo

i thought freo was a suburb of perth

i thought freo was a suburb of perth

Does that make Perth a superurb of Freo?

I think Freo might have a bit more to worry about than Colin Sylvia. Rumors that a team in WA is undergoing a big investigation for salary cap issues - can't possibly be WCE so has to be Freo.

where's that coming from??

So much discussion about a dud.

In today's footy you have to be able to run.

So much discussion about a dud.

In today's footy you have to be able to run.

Thinking helps as well....

Thinking helps as well....

Running is far more of a problem than decision making for Colin.

Vince is the swap for the pick we got for Colin. Michie was secured for a low draft pick.

Yes, and who would we rather have: Sylvia or Vince. There isno contest, not least because of the contrast in commitment to the club and the intensity around the ball. Vincecwill be fantastic for us, the guy we will build our mid field around. Colin is far from that league. Vince is amongst our best trades in five years.

Just as a point of interest did any experienced player extend his contract under Neeld's reign?

That's a loaded question since Neeld's reign only lasted 1½ years which means you only have one end of season period to go by and, at that time, two experienced players left of their own volition to go elsewhere, Moloney and Rivers and Green retired. It's an open secret that the experienced players were already disgruntled by the time Neeld arrived with Moloney wanting out to Essendon at the end of 2011 and Neeld holding a brief to clear the decks after 186. The fact of the matter was that neither Rivers nor Moloney were offered big contracts elsewhere which shows that they weren't in that high demand in the rest of the competition.

His predecessor didn't exactly cover himself with glory on that score anyway, costing us James McDonald, Cameron Bruce and Brad Miller at the end of the year before, action which saw our leadership positions crumble and played a part in the instability that followed in Bailey's last season as coach.

I think there were reasons for every departure of experienced players at the club which are common to most other organisations and its useless playing the blame game at this time because we're never fully privy to all of the reasons why players left in those turbulent times. On balance, I have few regrets and when I look at today's list I can't see how any of them, Sylvia included, would really enhance the list we have today.

As for Colin at Fremantle - I've read numerous reports about his fitness (or lack thereof) in the lead up to this season and they all suggest that he's a fair way off. A decision was made by the Dockers that he play in the NAB Challenge in the heat and, based on what I saw, the wrong decision was made. He's a long way off anything like his best.

It's interesting to contrast that situation to the one we have at Melbourne where some supporters are exasperated that we don't have Mitch Clark or Mark Jamar out on the park playing in the NAB Challenge or the intraclub game. The fact is they're not ready and it's best to take the most conservative line of approach with your players' bodies if you want to get the best out of them during the season proper.

I was totting up the ex-Dees running around in other colours:

Moloney, McLean, Scully, Sylvia, Rivers, Pettard and Scott Thompson, and wondering how this compared with other clubs, and how many of these players would get a game in our starting 18 now.

Running is far more of a problem than decision making for Colin.

Awareness is his biggest problem.

At first glance Sylvia does look like the prototypical footballer, but the game now requires much more running, and he doesn't quite have the mental capacity to be any better.

That's my take.

Supporters get excited by "don't argues" but it's not something many players can do consistently.

I think Leigh Matthews' take in Sylvia is spot on.

I was totting up the ex-Dees running around in other colours:

Moloney, McLean, Scully, Sylvia, Rivers, Pettard and Scott Thompson, and wondering how this compared with other clubs, and how many of these players would get a game in our starting 18 now.

Its not about individuals its about a team. I think you will find with Roos that its all about players that can play a role to generate a great team performance.

On that measure Beemer loses out big time, so does Col, The only one that irks me out that was Thompson. We nurtured that snake through a horrendous run with injury and he did the dirty on us.

$cully - we did very well out of him. And his 7 kicks a game wouldnt make much difference for us.

I was totting up the ex-Dees running around in other colours:

Moloney, McLean, Scully, Sylvia, Rivers, Pettard and Scott Thompson, and wondering how this compared with other clubs, and how many of these players would get a game in our starting 18 now.

Martin and Bennell.

Stefan Martin!

What happened to him?

Fell off the face of the earth.

Used to be my missus' fave player...

Until we got Dom Tyson.

Awareness is his biggest problem.

Nah, it's running.

We all know he's a "see ball get ball" footballer, who lacks vision and creativity, but if you aren't a good runner in today's footy you can't compete.

Just as a point of interest did any experienced player extend his contract under Neeld's reign?

Clark & Dawes.

Clark & Dawes.

He said "extend".