Heard the same regarding Strauss, Roos did not speak a word to him the entire year. I think that is really poor from the senior coach, at some point you still need to give those players hope of promotion and opportunity.

Good luck to Pickles in the future, hope all goes well in life after the Dees...

That is rubbish, where did you hear that, I spoke to Straussy towards the end of the year, he was disappointed in himself he couldn't put it together, and besides that I actually saw Roos speaking to him at training

My reading is that Evans has been told he's got no future at MFC as players like Salem, Newton, Riley, Michie and Toumpas are all considered better options.

I reckon he would have been offered at trade but for obvious reasons nobody is interested. His manager would have spoken to all club with no interest.

He's asking himself whether to gamble a year on the very long shot that he'll get a further opportunity or whether to just get on with life.

It's an awful position to be in, I don't envy him at all. This is clearly the best outcome for the MFC and the one I pushed for, nonetheless I take no pleasure in it as others have.

If we pay him out and delist him all well and good but then we posters shouldn't [censored] and moan when a contracted player/RFA or UFA wants out .

Ron Burgundy - interested in your thoughts on loyalty and the way the club is handling this (and for the matter, the Trengove episode).

I have little problem with the rookie or the payout scenario but on the other hand I won't curse the sun when a player exercises free agency or wants out from the club whilst still under contract. Football is a business. Loyalty as we knew it is dead and buried - either from players or the club.

(I do may an exception with Mitch C as that was exceptional circumstances - curse you MC)

Loyalty is relevant in any workplace IMO. Those here who don't seem to get this probably haven't been missed all that much by their former employer/former work colleagues each time they've changed jobs.

That said, loyalty without good performance does not work anywhere. If he's clearly not performing, as in all work places, something needs to be done. I have no problem with that.

But the employer/club still has a duty of care to ensure that it's handled appropriately, fairly and sensitively in the circumstances.

In short, I would hope/expect the club is being absolutely transparent and fair in its dealings with Evans, and that, assuming no character issues, it will assist Evans to get to another club should the opportunity avail itself. I would hope they would look after him financially, as they would be contractually obliged to do in the circumstances.

As an aside, I was firmly in the camp that thought Evans would be a really good footballer for us. This was perhaps influenced by what Cameron Schwab told me about Evans at a Debt Demolition Dinner a few years ago - he said the club thought he was going to be a gun and West Coast were really into him.

Also, I regard this 'footy is a business' slant that some here relentlessly champion as so bloody obvious and boring that it really needs not be said. AFL's a performance-based industry - in fact even amateur based sporting competitions are. Everyone knows this, including, relevantly, the players - their performances are relentlessly dissected at all times, and this has always been the case. It also conveniently overlooks the intangibles that make footy so much more compelling than monitoring the performance of, say, ANZ through watching its share price fluctuate on any given day. Loyalty to club is IMO still absolutely relevant - just ask a decent Geelong player about this. Tom Scully wasn't the first player approached by GWS for the $6M/6 year marquee deal.

As to Trengove, well - I don't quite know what to think about his situation. Bit disappointed on the whole.

Heard the same regarding Strauss, Roos did not speak a word to him the entire year. I think that is really poor from the senior coach, at some point you still need to give those players hope of promotion and opportunity.

Good luck to Pickles in the future, hope all goes well in life after the Dees...

I find that hard to believe. I also find it hard to believe that Strauss would have sit back and let the whole season go through without any contact.

It may look much better, whether it will be much better however...

I agree that it is a sound decision if they don't rate Evans and/or he had issues with the new coaching group.

But dismissing contracted players is not without consequences, however seemingly minor.

Full benefit will now be got from that Frost trade now, unless they have a DFA lined up.

And to a certain extent, the Garlett trade also. The pick we got back from Carlton (83) would surely have been a pass before the Evans delisting, now it gets Nev back on to the primary list.

That is rubbish, where did you hear that, I spoke to Straussy towards the end of the year, he was disappointed in himself he couldn't put it together, and besides that I actually saw Roos speaking to him at training

I didn't say he blamed anyone but the info I was provide must be incorrect Saty if you saw it, I stand corrected.

He deserves to be paid out.

Of course he does. Why on earth wouldn't he be?

I understand the one to one communication between Roos and the players is at a very high level.

My reading is that Evans has been told he's got no future at MFC as players like Salem, Newton, Riley, Michie and Toumpas are all considered better options.

I reckon he would have been offered at trade but for obvious reasons nobody is interested. His manager would have spoken to all club with no interest.

He's asking himself whether to gamble a year on the very long shot that he'll get a further opportunity or whether to just get on with life.

Agree but I'm not sure that he would have been told he had "no future", rather that he would have been told that his future at the MFC was limited because there were players who were considered better options based on form and potential.

I say this because the club has indicated it would consider rookie listing him if he applied. You wouldn't be saying that because it would be untrue if you thought .he had no future at all - it would be a waste of time and money to rookie him i.e. you don't close the door on a person and say he has no future and then suggest you would rookie him.

I'm much happier that the club has kept its options open. It can now pick a kid at #53, take a DFA or use pick 2 in the PSD. If we do it well, we come out with a better list and given the appointment of McCartney more raw material for him to work on.

I understand Evans already has a Commerce degree and has been studying Law part time. I could see that he might believe his future is best served concentrating on a non-football profession rather than spending countless hours in the gym and on the paddock for no guarantee of a successful football career. And good luck to him, whatever he chooses to do.

I understand Evans already has a Commerce degree and has been studying Law part time. I could see that he might believe his future is best served concentrating on a non-football profession rather than spending countless hours in the gym and on the paddock for no guarantee of a successful football career. And good luck to him, whatever he chooses to do.

If he is planning to go into the draft then he is still looking to keep his football career alive, i think MFC has probably offered him the best chance of doing that.

The alarming thing is that we have a player not wanting to stay on our rookie list (bearing in mind he's long odds to get picked by another club).

That's really not a good sign that a guy would rather give up his shot at AFL than have another year as a rookie on very good money.

The ball is in Evans' court. Maybe he'll take the offer. Maybe the best thing for both parties is if he doesn't even if that means we pay out his full deal.

But at the end of the day I am glad we've brought in McCartney, Byrnes and Plapp because we can't have guys hating the Casey/MFC dynamic so much that they'd rather not even be on an AFL list.

He'll be on the same money, retired or playing.

Evans has ambition to be a lawyer.

For a bloke with such ambition, if he has accepted his fate as not being good enough to make it at AFL, or not wanting it enough, why would you want to waste another year of your life delaying your progression in your chosen field?

I know that I somewhat regret having squandered some years developing my chosen career, and often think of where I'd be if had have started earlier, and it is a strong motivator.

Perhaps he's the same?

Often it is talked about, players who get delisted at 23, then suddenly they have to go and work in the "real world" having gained no practical skills from the AFL world that they can use there.

Maybe Evans is just a smart guy who has shifted his career focus?

I hear lawyers can earn quite a bit...

(I wouldn't feel too bad for Georgiou either)

People forget that Jetta actually saved his career with his last game of the year, he showed something down back that changed peoples opinion of him and had the coaches, mainly Rawlings thinking he still could make it down back. Evans, Strauss, Blease and Tapscott showed nothing over the past 12 months. I would rather rookie other players than ones we have delisted this year.

I understand Evans already has a Commerce degree and has been studying Law part time. I could see that he might believe his future is best served concentrating on a non-football profession rather than spending countless hours in the gym and on the paddock for no guarantee of a successful football career. And good luck to him, whatever he chooses to do.

This.

I wonder if we might use pick 53 to upgrade Harmes?

I wonder if we might use pick 53 to upgrade Harmes

Absolutely no chance of that. By doing that you are effectively trading Pick 53 for Pick 90 or something along those lines. And with Trengove injured long-term there is no obstacle to Harmes playing if his form warrants.

I'm rapt to know I'm finally following a ruthless club that doesn't hold onto list cloggers. Fingers crossed we never see the atrocious list management again that saw McKenzie and Jamar gifted 3 year contracts and Evans 2 years.

As I said all along, it made no sense to me how a rebuilding club that's won 6 games in 2 years could employ the best Development Coach in the league but bring in only 3 kids with picks 2, 3 and Stretch. Thank goodness the Frost trade can now reach its full potential and Taylor has to prove his worth.

As I said before no problem with the club being ruthless as long as we all don't moan and start flaying a contracted MFC player who next year say he wants out.

Agree but I'm not sure that he would have been told he had "no future", rather that he would have been told that his future at the MFC was limited because there were players who were considered better options based on form and potential.

I say this because the club has indicated it would consider rookie listing him if he applied. You wouldn't be saying that because it would be untrue if you thought .he had no future at all - it would be a waste of time and money to rookie him i.e. you don't close the door on a person and say he has no future and then suggest you would rookie him.

I'm much happier that the club has kept its options open. It can now pick a kid at #53, take a DFA or use pick 2 in the PSD. If we do it well, we come out with a better list and given the appointment of McCartney more raw material for him to work on.

Thanks for pointing that out Jack.

Did anyone else think the article on the website was unusually brief? Makes me wonder if there is more to this than meets the eye but probably not.

For every Jetta that magically turns it around after 5 years on the list there are 10 that won't and shouldn't be given the opportunity. Evans is a 6 ft dime a dozen midfielder with no point of difference. It was atrocious list management offering him anymore than 1 year at a time, just as it was giving McKenzie and Jamar 3 years.

Very true.

Thanks for pointing that out Jack.

Did anyone else think the article on the website was unusually brief? Makes me wonder if there is more to this than meets the eye but probably not.

Club's pretty good at keeping info tight nowadays. They also seem to have a handle on sorta 'future' telling i.e.. What happens and when its knowledge are often two very different things now.

We're only being told what we need to be.

For those critical of Evans go back and look at the last quarter where we kicked 12 goals against GWS (think it was 2012) - his run and carry assisted with that win. He does seem to be better at attack rather than the defensive side though.

Aristotle (384 BCE - 322 BCE): "One swallow does not a summer make, nor one fine day; similarly one day or brief time of happiness does not make a person entirely happy.

This is an attempt to redress the balance in the Michael Evans case. I was at his first game, might have been at Etihad. He got high 20's in possessions and continued in that vein for three rounds (approx.). He seemed to get where the ball was going, he seemed to have good size and good endurance. At least one non-MFC scribe likened him to Paul Kelly (not the singer). The future looked rosy! Then injury struck... a series of injuries, more like it. I don't think he has had a clear run at it since. It may be beneficial for MFC to have an extra pick, particularly if they snaffle a Doggy Brown or Mat Whelan type with that pick, but to suggest Evans was a poor choice from the outset is Revisionist and misleading.

Gysberts??

The alarming thing is that we have a player not wanting to stay on our rookie list (bearing in mind he's long odds to get picked by another club).

That's really not a good sign that a guy would rather give up his shot at AFL than have another year as a rookie on very good money.

The ball is in Evans' court. Maybe he'll take the offer. Maybe the best thing for both parties is if he doesn't even if that means we pay out his full deal.

But at the end of the day I am glad we've brought in McCartney, Byrnes and Plapp because we can't have guys hating the Casey/MFC dynamic so much that they'd rather not even be on an AFL list.

He obviously lacks the character and desire that Nev Jetta displayed.

Aristotle (384 BCE - 322 BCE): "One swallow does not a summer make, nor one fine day; similarly one day or brief time of happiness does not make a person entirely happy.

Gysberts??

He obviously lacks the character and desire that Nev Jetta displayed.

You started off well there, I could here a symphony playing, but then the harp strings broke!

He obviously lacks the character and desire that Nev Jetta displayed.

It looks like he had a lot better options available to him than Jetta had. At least, financially speaking.

He obviously lacks the character and desire that Nev Jetta displayed.

I love how suddenly we're all an expert on what "character" blokes in their early 20s should show when they've just been told the dream is over.