Just further proof that the bloke doesn't have the courage, mental capacity or willingness to help a club get back up the ladder. He would rather take the easy route and get himself to a club that will make things easy for him. Good riddance.

Will that sentiment apply to Frawley as well?

...and I suppose we're supposed to be grateful he wants us to get a good deal. I'd laugh if we forced him into the draft, if for no other reason then to shaft his moronic manager

If he was forced into the draft he would go deaf, dumb and blind and disapear like Luke Ball and still get to the pies for nothing. Make himself unavailabe for interviews and medical checks etc, No one else will go for him.

Top clubs lining up to pick over the carcass of the MFC? Mitch, Chip and other. Thanks AFL for all your support in recent years. How depressing and don't expect too much compo.

Will that sentiment apply to Frawley as well?

Frawley gave good service to this club, ridiculous comparison.

DOG. No sorry my dog is loyal unlike this animal

"Michael's actions are disgraceful and make a mockery of the AFL draft system that ensures club contracts are not at the mercy of players' hidden agendas or changing whims," Bowers said.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/mal-michael-move-peeves-lions/story-e6frf9if-1111112581259

Looks like they did SFA to prevent that from happening again.

Will that sentiment apply to Frawley as well?

As someone mentioned earlier Chip has been with us from the beginning and been a very servicable player under crap circumstances. Not real happy he is jumping ship but after 7-8 years of footy at our club I can understand it far more than what Clark has done.

He realised he was never going to make it as an artist.

And, in this respect, he was completely on the money.

Top clubs lining up to pick over the carcass of the MFC? Mitch, Chip and other. Thanks AFL for all your support in recent years. How depressing and don't expect too much compo.

Exactly.... Afl created a situation that the top clubs will continue to raid the bottom clubs...... Which questions the whole evenness of the competition which the draft was originally designed for???

Responsibility has to fall on the MFC on the train wreck environment since 08... Poor drafting...poor development.....poor coaches ... Players do want to chase success...

If we landed a Dangerfield would we be bagging the afl????

I will ask another question; if you were a prospective club recruiting a bloke who has played 15 games over the last 3 seasons (that's 51 games missed through injury) - what would you give up for him?

Risk vs reward

I just can't believe this is how Clark is choosing to behave.

I don't wanna make harsh calls, but FFS this is seriously appalling. I'd let him rot in the draft.

I will ask another question; if you were a prospective club recruiting a bloke who has played 15 games over the last 3 seasons (that's 51 games missed through injury) - what would you give up for him?

Treat him as a free agent, and expect a compo pick? Any club he "chooses" have us over a barrel.

How will the AFL and club manage this?

There is only the Mal Michael precedent prior to FA.

While I am not suggesting that Mitch has deliberately set out to manipulate the system, the situation he is in is certainly being exploited by his manager to get him to the club of his choice with the $ that he wants.

He is essentially a free agent. He is not contracted to MFC.

When his intentions become known it will be interesting to see the response from the club and the AFL.

Nothing was learned from the Mal Michael debacle. The system is still open to exploitation.

Managers will do what they do, get the best deal for their client. It doesn't always mean the client is happy about it. The fact he has said that he wants MFC to get the best deal possible is maybe the softer side of Clark

I didn't want to share an opinion on this melodrama until the haze cleared. Primarily because I had a sense of trust in Mitch, and his sense of honour & respect. Now I'm livid! FILTHY!! What a dirty joke of a man. Zero integrity

Will go sit by the fence when he plays and booo like a rabid animal

I just can't believe this is how Clark is choosing to behave.

I don't wanna make harsh calls, but FFS this is seriously appalling. I'd let him rot in the draft.

Agree with all this except the part in bold. If he goes into the draft he WILL get to the club of his choice with a late pick and we will be left with nothing. So it would be rather silly, IMO. Very similar to Luke Ball situation, no other club would touch him in the draft.

A better way to [censored] him off would be to refuse a trade and keep him on the list for 2015. Waste of a list spot, sure, but why make a rival team stronger?

Edited September 24, 201411 yr by Sylvia Saint

I will ask another question; if you were a prospective club recruiting a bloke who has played 15 games over the last 3 seasons (that's 51 games missed through injury) - what would you give up for him?

FA given our track record!

Looks like they did SFA to prevent that from happening again.

Refresh my memory, who was the Essendon CEO at the time of Mal Michael's remarkable 180? If anyone knows about retirement and the premature severing of contracts it's PJ.

Ifs possible Clarks choosing a new club because Roos and co. have toild him we dont want him as his body and mind cant be trusted

If thats not the case and hes turned his back on us voluntarily after all the support we gave him, then he is a disgraceful human being and I feel terrible for his daughter to have such a [censored] role model

The AFL Stated that Melbourne may be able to trade Mitch Clark for another player or a draft pick and will receive a compensation pick if they lose any players to free agency.

It seems we will be looked after at least in some areas as far as free agency is involved, at least I hope so

It also seems the AFL knows more then they are letting on in specific terms , to me this says we wont be left short as far as Clark is concerned .

But it also says to me the Likelihood of Clark staying on is negligible.

"Peanuts to the ready" !

Except clark isn't a free agent… so i don't think we can get anything for him unless its via a trade

Agree with all this except the part in bold. If he goes into the draft he WILL get to the club of his choice with a late pick and we will be left with nothing. So it would be rather silly, IMO. Very similar to Luke Ball situation, no other club would touch him in the draft.

A better way to [censored] him off would be to refuse a trade and keep him on the list for 2015. Waste of a list spot, sure, but why make a rival team stronger?

Totally agree players in some demand don't rot in a draft they will most likely get to where they want to go. Free Agency is a joke courtesy of the AFLPA that was brought in to supposedly help journeymen to get to other clubs to get better opportunities. That is how it was sold. The reality is that FA is for the fat cats to move on to bigger contracts at the expense of the battlers! The other reality is that players in demand are going where they want when out of contract. Tell me who is stuck in a club against their will? All players can move once they are out of contract so FA is really not needed these days.

Treat him as a free agent, and expect a compo pick? Any club he "chooses" have us over a barrel.

How will the AFL and club manage this?

There is only the Mal Michael precedent prior to FA.

FA given our track record!

Our record is irrelevant to the Clark case.

The guy is perennially crocked.

Clubs look at him and see a potential bargain with, as another poster said - a low risk, high reward scenario.

That 'low risk' is the pitiful pick or player exchange we will receive if we deal with clubs interested in Clark.

How the AFL can assume we will be able to trade Clark for anything more than peanuts is beyond me.

Don't expect the club to work miracles with a Clark deal.

We are holding precisely zero cards in this mess. Our only card was given up in an act of acute mercy that has become a source of abject misery.

We are but beggars to our own demise at times.

I rolled my eyes at posters who feared Clark would make a comeback with another club during the season. MFCSS at it's finest, I thought.

I rolled my eyes when Damian Barrett broke the news that Clark would make a comeback with another club. That's sloppy journalism, even for you Damo, I thought.

I just didn't think a human being could act in such an ungrateful and disloyal manner.

But for his manager to all but confirm it in the press today, makes a mockery of Clark's character. Chasing more $$$ at a finals-bound club after everything the MFC has done for him is the epitome of weak.

I'll stop short of wishing injury upon him, but when the going gets tough at your new club Mitch, don't look for any sympathy out my way!

We got some good karma with $cully (a patron saint compared to Clark) turning out to be a [censored] player. I'm sure we will get some more with this.

"Clark to decide..." after GF.

What a stooge.

I'm still going with the theory that we only offered him a rookie spot given his foot and soft tissue history coupled with a questionable mental illness.

It's easy to point the finger at his Manager and accuse him of the shady nature of this whole situation however, Clark has left an indelible and very dirty mark on his career as an AFL player that a lot of the footy public will clearly remember him for.

I no longer hold hope that it's more complicated than what we're giving it credit for.

Clark has displayed great courage on the field but has shown none where it matters most; in the big game called life.

Go and eat a bag of d*cks.