CONTRACTED DEE LOOKS AT OPTIONS

MELBOURNE defender Adam Tomlinson will again survey his trade options as he looks for a more secure backline spot at another club.

Tomlinson was on the trade table last year but with two years to run on his deal at the Demons he remained at the club.

Now with one season to go, he remains intent on playing at AFL level and clubs are expected to consider him as a trade possibility.  

The former Giant has played five games this season but is behind Jake Lever, Steven May and Harrison Petty in the defensive pecking order, having been omitted after a strong performance against Collingwood in the King's Birthday clash.

The 29-year-old was in career-best form at the start of 2021 before a knee reconstruction saw him sidelined for the Demons' premiership win. 

The former first-round pick has played 173 games, 33 of which have been at Melbourne. – Callum Twomey

 

Edited July 19, 20231 yr by Grapeviney

No real surprise.

A few clubs out there would be keen.

Fair enough too.

Ideally, a keeper, but he can't be blamed for thinking about a move. At 29 he needs to make the most of the time he has.

Get a 3 rounder for him and use the points for GCS pick swap. Simples. 

You could hardly blame Adam for looking elsewhere given the way he has been treated this year, but our key defensive depth would be critically low without him. 

Turner may end up being a decent player, but he doesn't look like a replacement for May or Petty to me. I'm not sure what happens if one of those two is unavailable and Tomlinson is no longer on the list.

Wish it happened last year. Can see a few clubs taking him on as back up if anything. North could use him now Logue is out for 12 months.

2 minutes ago, CatFishPig said:

Wish it happened last year. Can see a few clubs taking him on as back up if anything. North could use him now Logue is out for 12 months.

Unfortunately for him, perfect fit. Let’s use their 2nd round compensation for him. He is playing better than McKay. 

5 minutes ago, Gawndy the Great said:

Unfortunately for him, perfect fit. Let’s use their 2nd round compensation for him. He is playing better than McKay. 

Not directly relevant to Tomlinson but there is every chance North will get a first round pick for McKay.

The clubs, with the AFL's endorsement, will engineer a contract (eg like Daniher) that gives North a first round pick ie pick 3.  North are lobbying for a priority pick and a 1st for McKay is a way to get it without the AFL giving them one.

We can't complain as that is exactly what happened for us when Frawley left.

The only problem for us is that pick 3 to North and the top 5 GCS Academy player means our Freo pick will slide from 4 to 6...

Can’t say I blame him. His did what was asked of him in terms of going and playing well in the twos- got an opportunity to play in the first team and did all that could be asked of him but instead of being rewarded for a good performance he was sent back to the twos even when Petty was playing injured. 
He’s a good depth player and we might regret it if we let him go. I think we might hold him to his contract. With JJ also rumoured to be looking around, Tmac, BBB, Melksham and Pig all close to the end it would be hard to find replacements for everyone. 

he tried that at the end of last year and no one wanted him then, either

He gets dropped after his best game in 2 years. Can't blame him for leaving. We do have some prejected key back depth in Turner and Adams. Probably get a 3rd round pick for him.

The other complicating factor for tomo next year is disco Turner, who may well be ahead of tomo too.

4 minutes ago, binman said:

The other complicating factor for tomo next year is disco Turner, who may well be ahead of tomo too.

And probably Howes by next year.

12 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

he tried that at the end of last year and no one wanted him then, either

His form wasn't as good as now.

He'll get offers 

24 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

he tried that at the end of last year and no one wanted him then, either

*On the contract he is on, just like when Tom McDonald tried it at the end of 2020 and also no one wanted him then - Pretty key difference. Every club would take both players on smaller salaries.

Edited July 20, 20231 yr by John Demonic

23 minutes ago, Gawndy the Great said:

Unfortunately for him, perfect fit. Let’s use their 2nd round compensation for him. He is playing better than McKay. 

We won't get compensation. He's not a free agent. He's contracted until thr end of 2024. 

14 minutes ago, Lucifers Hero said:

Not directly relevant to Tomlinson but there is every chance North will get a first round pick for McKay.

The clubs, with the AFL's endorsement, will engineer a contract (eg like Daniher) that gives North a first round pick ie pick 3.  North are lobbying for a priority pick and a 1st for McKay is a way to get it without the AFL giving them one.

We can't complain as that is exactly what happened for us when Frawley left.

The only problem for us is that pick 3 to North and the top 5 GCS Academy player means our Freo pick will slide from 4 to 6...

It should be at the end of the 1st Round for McKay according to known criteria, but I agree the AFL can and are likely to come up with a fix. We can complain because Frawley was a much better player (All Australian) than McKay will ever be. I agree we'll slide back 2 spots if North get 1st round compensation for McKay as Jed Walter will definitely go before 5 (the new 4).

13 minutes ago, Colm said:

Can’t say I blame him. His did what was asked of him in terms of going and playing well in the twos- got an opportunity to play in the first team and did all that could be asked of him but instead of being rewarded for a good performance he was sent back to the twos even when Petty was playing injured. 
He’s a good depth player and we might regret it if we let him go. I think we might hold him to his contract. With JJ also rumoured to be looking around, Tmac, BBB, Melksham and Pig all close to the end it would be hard to find replacements for everyone. 

Why would we hold him to his contract? He'll be 30 at the end of this season, we could get a low level draft pick for him which will be worth points, and next year he'll be too old to get any interest. This year some other club could offer him a 2-3 year deal which works for all parties concerned including Tomlinson.

10 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

he tried that at the end of last year and no one wanted him then, either

I've posted on this earlier. 2 years to run on reasonable money worked against him last year. Different this year with one year to run. A Club could offer him a 2-3 year contract and smooth out next year's money over the longer time period. 

2 minutes ago, george_on_the_outer said:

And probably Howes by next year.

I like Howes as a player but he's not a lock-down key position defender like Tommo. Disco is closer but still lighter-framed. If Tomlinson was 25 I'd be holding him to his contract but at this stage of his career he's be beter off elsewhere. It will free up cap space, a list spot and get us points towards a points swap with GCS.

Just because the blubbering media say hes looking elsewhere doesnt mean he is. Hopefully he gets a gig on Sunday. He deserves it. Melbourne have to stop playing an injured Petty who consistently gets himself into the wrong position . That Lions player definitely tried to make Petty hurt as he rolled him .

Give him a couple weeks rehab  ffs. Bruised ribs are messy and damn painful.

The medias treatment of Grundy has been disgusting. The media is a pathetic rabble.

32 minutes ago, george_on_the_outer said:

And probably Howes by next year.

As a tall defender?

29 minutes ago, Lucifers Hero said:

Not directly relevant to Tomlinson but there is every chance North will get a first round pick for McKay.

The clubs, with the AFL's endorsement, will engineer a contract (eg like Daniher) that gives North a first round pick ie pick 3.  North are lobbying for a priority pick and a 1st for McKay is a way to get it without the AFL giving them one.

We can't complain as that is exactly what happened for us when Frawley left.

The only problem for us is that pick 3 to North and the top 5 GCS Academy player means our Freo pick will slide from 4 to 6...

They have enough youth - they need to replace McKay with a ready made defender. Handing them a 1st round compensation for a contractual blunder is disproportionate and will not make them a better team for next year. They need compensation picks to bring in mature bodies.

Hopefully our club doesn’t tick off on this. 

Was playing very well before his season injury and unlucky he didn't play ina Gf. Since then it's been a tough gig trying to break into one of the comps best defense about. Still don't understand why he was dropped after the pies game.

Would be a shame to see him go as probably has a couple of years left in him . Also Hibbo is probably due to leave. Anyway it ain't a done deal yet. 

He should not have been dropped after the KB game. He was back to his form of early 2021. We don't have a replacement for him: Turner is an interceptor, and is not nearly as strong as Tommo one on one. He should be our permanent third tall defender, releasing Petty to the forward line, where he was playing when we were the highest scoring team in the league. That was not a coincidence; although Petty was still learning, he was contesting and defending in the forward line extremely well. And Petty can make serious mistakes, which cost goals in defence; in attack they simply weaken a scoring opportunity.

Shocked to hear this given Goodwin doesn’t play favourites.

34 minutes ago, Deebauched said:

The medias treatment of Grundy has been disgusting. The media is a pathetic rabble

You are being too kind.

The only player Daniel Turner will be replacing in the backline is Jake Lever. He’s an intercept defender, skinny and not an amazing one on one player like May or Petty. Tomlinson is a good backup for one of those two, so if he goes we’d probably need a new back up in that department, Adams obviously not up to it yet either.