Houston would have been a handy addition to the club but not at the expense of a low first round pick.

Take pick 6 to the draft.

35 minutes ago, Deez21 said:

Don't see the loss in a guy who read a report about culture and made the decision to not come. Who did he sit down with at the club to come to that conclusion overnight.

Plus mortgaging our future on a guy who will be 28 when he plays his first game

I hope this is a good lesson to players to keep their matters internal.

Very unprofessional by Houston, if he,s worried about the stories in the paper, when the seasons over he should come to the club talk to coaches, leaders, players etc and get a feel for the club. Make a decision then, not from press articles and innuendo..

3 minutes ago, loges said:

Very unprofessional by Houston, if he,s worried about the stories in the paper, when the seasons over he should come to the club talk to coaches, leaders, players etc and get a feel for the club. Make a decision then, not from press articles and innuendo..

I mean, if the clubs best player is out complaining to anyone who will listen (allegedly) then it would make anyone nervous. Don’t really see how this is any different 

7 minutes ago, BW511 said:

I mean, if the clubs best player is out complaining to anyone who will listen (allegedly) then it would make anyone nervous. Don’t really see how this is any different 

Not sure what you mean but I'll stick with my opinion. When we're talking about large contracts do your own homework.

If it’s true that he’s cooled on Melbourne it’s possible his manager knows what’s going on behind the scenes and they aren’t keen. It’s  also quite possible that we’re not interested in handing over pick 6 and ANB for him. It’s also possible that one of a number of Melbourne clubs came at him with a better offer. It’s also possible he wants a flag and doesn’t think we’ll deliver that……let’s prove him wrong. 

One thing I don’t think has been brought up and could be a reason why Houston has changed his mind-

Normally in these situations Houston would have had a meeting with a group of our players over the last weekend when they were in town. This seems to be standard practise these days. 
 

Who would have been the ones selling it to him? Doesn’t sound like Trac would have been there, no point Nibbler going, last year Gus would have been there. I’m sure Max would have been there but he’s 33 and not going to be around for the journey. Probably Rick Lever and a few others but certainly not our A team. 
 

Just a thought and one that I think shows how hard Gus and Nibbler are going to be to replace. 

Oh well. We were never going to give Port pick 6 for him so good luck Dan at whichever club you end up at.

7 minutes ago, Kiwi Dee said:

Oh well. We were never going to give Port pick 6 for him so good luck Dan at whichever club you end up at.

I wouldn’t discount it just yet. Standard trade reporting. Next week there could be an article saying things have changed after a meeting with certain players blah blah blah 

I'd expect this trade is still on.

Alternatively, however, if an in principle deal was struck where we said at, say, the half way mark of the season, we'd give up our first rounder or even our future first rounder for him, and now the season has panned out how it has, you could see why our FD could have got cold feet. And with cold feet, told Dan sorry mate, we're going to take our two first rounders to the draft this year.

If this happened, what would Houston's management do if he wanted out of SA? They'd spin it that he'd got cold feet at Melbourne's on/off field situation and apparent internal disharmony. 

This gives him an out to save face and we cop it, because we essentially reneged on a deal.

Nick Gieschen at Connors Sports reps Houston, which adds a bit of spice to all this. I'd say more coincidence than them being [censored] off with reneging on the Houston deal and a [censored] off Trac though.

Edited August 15, 2024Aug 15 by Binmans PA

1 minute ago, Binmans PA said:

I'd expect this trade is still on.

Alternatively, however, if an in principle deal was struck where we said at, say, the half way mark of the season, we'd give up our first rounder or even our future first rounder for him, and now the season has panned out how it has, you could see why our FD could have got cold feet.

And with cold feet, told Dan sorry mate, we're going to take our two first rounders to the draft this year. If this happened, what would Houston's management do if he wanted out of SA? They'd spin it that he'd got cold feet at Melbourne's on/off field situation and apparently disharmony. 

This gives him an out to save face and we cop it, because we essentially reneged on a loose deal.

Nick Gieschen at Connors Sports reps Houston, which adds a bit of spice to all this. I'd say more coincidence than them being [censored] off with reneging on the Houston deal and a [censored] off Trac.

Was about to ask who his manager is.

Same mob as Trac and Clarry which is interesting indeed.

I think what’s more likely is that we are no longer the front runner as other offers have come in. His management probably told the journo that it was about culture to hide the fact that he might like more money. 

21 hours ago, Demonland said:

Port (supporters) want pick 6, ANB & something else to sweeten the deal. 🤣

 

Tell Port supports to 🤬off.  

The problem is I think that Port’s demands are well over the top. Especially if the one about Heuston for ANB plus 6 is what they want. 

His manager probably got a better offer anyway because it’s a limited market and not every club in Victoria will have a need for Heuston or the draft picks available to get him. 

22 minutes ago, Demon Head said:

The problem is I think that Port’s demands are well over the top. Especially if the one about Heuston for ANB plus 6 is what they want. 

His manager probably got a better offer anyway because it’s a limited market and not every club in Victoria will have a need for Heuston or the draft picks available to get him. 

I am only here to figure what is the go with your avatar. 

2 hours ago, Hellaintabadplacetobe said:

Was about to ask who his manager is.

Same mob as Trac and Clarry which is interesting indeed.

To be fair that mob manages like 50% of the industry. It's why everyone knows everything.

1 minute ago, Gawndy the Great said:

I am only here to figure what is the go with your avatar. 

ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD

i would rather see Dan Houston go to another club than see us trade pick 6 for him. 

 

Houston has done his research reading Tom Morris’s Twitter and decided we aren’t the right fit. 
 

 

Paywalled so I haven’t read the article. 

6 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

Paywalled so I haven’t read the article. 

don't bother ... it's a jay clark article

Good riddance. We need to replenish our youth, and continue to inject some high level kids into our system. We got Windsor in last year, and he’s already a top 5 player for us. 

11 minutes ago, daisycutter said:

don't bother ... it's a jay clark article

Who's always had a good Intel on Melbourne....

Houston would have come at a huge price. No thanks!!! Wasn’t ever keen on this. We need quality midfielders.  I can draft plenty of half back distributors.  

4 minutes ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Houston would have come at a huge price. No thanks!!! Wasn’t ever keen on this. We need quality midfielders.  I can draft plenty of half back distributors.  

I think the play is to take pick 6 to the draft. ANB probably traded for Crows second rounder. Package that up with another pick for Lions first rounder.

Lets just be honest, winning a premiership is bloody hard work when everything is going okay, we've got issues coming out of our ears. Trading a high end draft pick for a 28 year old is not the right move, lets get our culture right, get rid of the bad eggs and re-load with Melbourne 2.0 

Anyone excusing what's going on/gone on from the board down needs to leave, i think the CEO, most of the board and Richo should all be under pressure for this happening on their watch. 

I don't blame Houston one bit, we would have sold him on playing in big finals at the MCG and winning flags, and we've got articles about our best player wanting to leave, why would he come?