1 hour ago, Dingo said:

His father died in Tathra according to the reports.I know Tathra and the South Coast very well-go there each year from Melbourne.If Vanders moves to Sydney I can’t see how that is easier to go to Tathra from Sydney to look after his father’s business.Because he could fly from Melbourne to Merimbula , hire a car and drive to Tathra in an hour.

I keep forgetting you can fly to Merimbula, wouldn’t mind doing it sometime.

2 hours ago, Dingo said:

His father died in Tathra according to the reports.I know Tathra and the South Coast very well-go there each year from Melbourne.If Vanders moves to Sydney I can’t see how that is easier to go to Tathra from Sydney to look after his father’s business.Because he could fly from Melbourne to Merimbula , hire a car and drive to Tathra in an hour.

It’s a little over 5 hours drive from Sydney to Tathra. The time taken to get to the airport in Melbourne and fly to Merimbula and then drive to Tathra, as well as the costs involved, would probably end up being greater.

And does the fact that his father passed away in Tathra necessarily mean that his business is located in Tathra?  

Hopefully he makes the decision that is best for him... not for the club.

Edited September 28, 20186 yr by hardtack

3 hours ago, leucopogon said:

Players that tackle and play as hard as Vanders are worth their weight in gold. The old cliche they make others walk taller holds true based on my limited experience as a small, light framed footballer. A couple more like Vanders in the team would be more than welcome. I'll hate to see him traded, and the club should do everything it can to convince him to stay.

I think we’ve got the ‘tough nut’ factor well covered these days. Add Steve May to the mix and if anything we’ve overcorrected from the bruise-free days of yore. 

A little less Vanders and a little more silk is what this 22 needs now. 

He will find his niche in the system elsewhere - Sydney sounding likely - and we’ll wish him well. It won’t affect our premiership tilt much none.

 

 

I find he is seriously over rated on here. Decent player, hard at it but questionable skills. No big loss whatsoever if he goes but happy for him to stay, I’m completely indifferent to it. 

1 hour ago, Smokey said:

I find he is seriously over rated on here. Decent player, hard at it but questionable skills. No big loss whatsoever if he goes but happy for him to stay, I’m completely indifferent to it. 

Agreed @Smokey.

He's big, he physically impacts, but by god, he can't hit a target either by hand or foot.

 It would be disappointing to lose his especially after “carrying” him for nigh on two years, but he obviously has been through hell family wise and may feel the need to be nearer his family.  I love what he brings, but as important as “bottom six” is, he is no higher that that.  

Good luck to him whatever evolves. 

7 hours ago, hardtack said:

.....

And does the fact that his father passed away in Tathra necessarily mean that his business is located in Tathra?  

........

that was a question i raised earlier. even if business is in tathra, the suppliers or customers or both may be in sydney and running the business might require a lot of contact with sydney people. we just don't know either way

1 hour ago, Danelska said:

Agreed @Smokey.

He's big, he physically impacts, but by god, he can't hit a target either by hand or foot.

He was one of our best in the finals series, a hard tackler and a leader amongst the group. Offer him 2 years MFC and keep him around. 

Sounds like a manager trying to get more money/security for his client, which he’s paid to do.

I hope we’d all do the same.

Remember clubs easily get rid of the 40-44th player on the list each year without a thought. Loyalty to a club is only brought up when it suits them.

Have Sydney offered more money or a longer contract than we have?

3 minutes ago, Lord Neville X Flash said:

Have Sydney offered more money or a longer contract than we have?

3 years vs our offer of 1, apparently.

3 minutes ago, Moonshadow said:

3 years vs our offer of 1, apparently.

Completely fair enough for him to take that offer. He has a future and family to take care of. Anyone saying he owes melbourne is delusional, he owes his family to take the sydney offer IMO. 

If the dees want him they should at least offer him 2 years. 

2 minutes ago, Lord Neville X Flash said:

Completely fair enough for him to take that offer. He has a future and family to take care of. Anyone saying he owes melbourne is delusional, he owes his family to take the sydney offer IMO. 

If the dees want him they should at least offer him 2 years. 

I think that there has to be some loyalty and building of relationships here

2 years on the side lines, not delisted, nurtured and looked after

One year is a fair offer and a good platform for both club and player to build on

20 hours ago, Swooper1987 said:

I've got a lot of sympathy for AVB's situation.  He carries a massive family responsibility with the business and he has been running it by remote.  Sure we looked after him when injured, but he got injured playing for us!  He always gives 100%, but as others have already pointed out, he isn't critical for us going forward.  If he goes then I wish him all the best and sincerely thank him for what he has done for our footy club.

Agree.  I'd like to think though that the MFC could provide some assistance for VB to run the business whilst playing for us, perhaps with the help of business contacts in the coterie.  You would hope that in the scheme of things, the AFL would permit some kind of such arrangement as being above board within sallary cap limitations.  

Though having said that, I'm sure the AFL would also love the chance to have a good player movement to the Swans to keep propping the Sydney teams up.  In other respects, VB would also be a good promotional tool for the AFL in the NSW market, being a home grown product and in some senses I could respect that as being good for the game, but I'd also temper those feelings with how much the Swans and Giants have already been propped up at the expense of clubs like the MFC and my self interest in our club says I'd much rather keep VB, because the guy is an absolute bull and as you and others have mentioned has alot to give the MFC.

We are talking about a guy who was to be delisted 8 weeks ago. I would prefer him to stay but anything more than a 1 year deal until he can get through a preseason and full season injury free would be negligent in my view. I also understand why he would want to leave for family business and security if the swans are wiling to offer an extended term. If we can use him to generate a three way trade to attain one of our other targets in Preuss or KK this could be a win for all. In saying that I like what he brings and hope he stays on a one year deal but I don't see him better than edge of best 22/good quality depth moving forward.

52 minutes ago, Moonshadow said:

3 years vs our offer of 1, apparently.

Source please? I have seen this reported for Kent but not for VDB, I could easily have missed it.

I would be surpised if we were only offering VDB one year, the FD obviously rate him and rushed him into the team in both 2017 and 2018 as soon as he was near ready.

Edited September 28, 20186 yr by Fifty-5

49 minutes ago, Moonshadow said:

3 years vs our offer of 1, apparently.

Well if that's true he would be entitled to leave on that alone. Same situation with Kent.

40 minutes ago, jumbo returns said:

I think that there has to be some loyalty and building of relationships here

2 years on the side lines, not delisted, nurtured and looked after

One year is a fair offer and a good platform for both club and player to build on

Loyalty is one thing stupidity is another, almost every player in the AFL would move clubs if the choice was 1 year or 3.

Not really a good platform for AVB, its the bare minimum possible that gives him no security compared to a guaranteed 3 years...

If Sydney have offered AvB 3 years and we have offered him 1 year he should go. Clearly the Swans rate him much higher than we do. The question is: why? What do the Swans see in AvB that we don't?

28 minutes ago, Fifty-5 said:

Source please? I have seen this reported for Kent but not for VDB, I could easily have missed it.

I would be surpised if we were only offering VDB one year, the FD obviously rate him and rushed him into the team in both 2017 and 2018 as soon as he was near ready.

Have read it somewhere else, maybe in AFL article (hence "apparently"), but for the time being and FWIW, I'll quote our intrepid scoop reporter ?:

22 hours ago, Satyriconhome said:

It's quite simple, we want to keep him but offer 1 year with maybe an option on another, Sydney, like the Saints for Kent, offer a straight 3 year deal, which one would anybody take?

A move back to NSW as well

So it's probably fake news...

As an aside, how does one run a family business remotely whilst being a full time footballer for Sydney or Melbourne?

Edited September 29, 20186 yr by Moonshadow

If someone asked me "Source?" I'd reply "Simon Goodwin told me in the strictest confidence and made me swear to silence."

Pathetic if we only offered him one year. You don’t offer a bloke in your best 22 a one year deal. Players need some job security not thinking like they are constantly one injury away from losing their job

10 minutes ago, DubDee said:

Pathetic if we only offered him one year. You don’t offer a bloke in your best 22 a one year deal. Players need some job security not thinking like they are constantly one injury away from losing their job

But is he in our best 22.

If JH doesn't go or May comes in and say KK plus Lever, is he in our best 22?

43 minutes ago, Lord Neville X Flash said:

Loyalty is one thing stupidity is another, almost every player in the AFL would move clubs if the choice was 1 year or 3.

Not really a good platform for AVB, its the bare minimum possible that gives him no security compared to a guaranteed 3 years...

I think one year is a smart move

At times, long deals can lead to complacency

I'm empathetic to his personal situation (based on what's been reported), but the club has a responsibility to maintain the bigger picture

14 minutes ago, Redleg said:

But is he in our best 22.

If JH doesn't go or May comes in and say KK plus Lever, is he in our best 22?

Absolutely he is best 22 material when fit.

Once he found his grove again, from about Rd 22 onwards VB made a huge impact in games and was a massive part of our late season sucess I thought.  I don't think we have many players that bust packs open, move and create play the same way VB does.  Brayshaw and Viney come close, but I don't think either of them have the same body size that alow them to pinball players in their way as well as VB.  With his height, he also provides another tall forward option and makes us harder to match up on.  I'd also argue that he has good instincts on where and how to find the footy.