26 minutes ago, Sir Why You Little said:

Home Base would be a huge factor 

We don’t have one…

I'm annoyed we don't have a home base. 

but it wasn't a problem for Trac when he signed his 7-year deal so I'm not buying it's a problem for him now. 

5 minutes ago, Deespicable said:

Sadly I am starting to feel the Trac to Carlton move is inevitable - I mean once the Blue mafia gets hold it's a really hard thing to counteract and with him being an Italian boy, the passion and under the table dealing would be in overdrive.

Just look at almost all the big deals in recent years, from Jack Martin to Mitch McGovern to Zac Williams to Adam Cerra and the Blues have five of the highest-paid internals already - Cripps, Curnow, Walsh, Weitering and Harry, not to mention how much they had to fork out on TDK's deal. Luke Sayers is the master of legal deals apparently.   

And they have a home base and it's just 30 minutes from Armadale.

I know it's unpalatable, but maybe we have to start building young stock before the draft is totally compromised again with Tassie. The Blues have pick 11. I know that and their future first rounder sounds cheap for a Norm Smith Medallist, but maybe we have to retool again to challenge. 

We must not bend over for an adequate deal.

This situation must be sorted out Face to Face or we must get the very best deal possible for the Club, otherwise this will just weaken the Club too much 

It would bring back memories of Fitzroy, who slowly died…

9 minutes ago, Deespicable said:

Sadly I am starting to feel the Trac to Carlton move is inevitable - I mean once the Blue mafia gets hold it's a really hard thing to counteract and with him being an Italian boy, the passion and under the table dealing would be in overdrive.

Just look at almost all the big deals in recent years, from Jack Martin to Mitch McGovern to Zac Williams to Adam Cerra and the Blues have five of the highest-paid internals already - Cripps, Curnow, Walsh, Weitering and Harry, not to mention how much they had to fork out on TDK's deal. Luke Sayers is the master of legal deals apparently.   

And they have a home base and it's just 30 minutes from Armadale.

I know it's unpalatable, but maybe we have to start building young stock before the draft is totally compromised again with Tassie. The Blues have pick 11. I know that and their future first rounder sounds cheap for a Norm Smith Medallist, but maybe we have to retool again to challenge. 

No, hard disagree.

Houston was, supposedly, commanding two first round picks.

What more would Petraccas command?

Houston 2 year contract 

Petraccas 5 year contract 

1 minute ago, BDA said:

I'm annoyed we don't have a home base. 

but it wasn't a problem for Trac when he signed his 7-year deal so I'm not buying it's a problem for him now. 

When the contract was signed, he may well have been promised that the Training Base was well on the way 

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2024/08/27/sens-trade-bell-mega-update-on-petracca-mckay-soldo-owies-davies-uniacke-and/

I think this article says it all and says nothing - that no one really knows, and everyone is confused/perplexed. 

31 minutes ago, Sir Why You Little said:

Home Base would be a huge factor 

We don’t have one…

When he signed for 7 yrs plus winning a flag it wasn’t an issue! 

12 minutes ago, godees said:

If the club is this soft then we may as well fold

Yep. I actually agree with premise that we should be looking at youth right now...but picks like 11 this year and next year just won't cut it. Nor would scraps like Cerra or McKay. Carlton and Collingwood just don't have the assets to make an acceptable deal.

So, we stand firm and find the best deal for us. If he is unhappy enough that he's willing to break a significant contract, one that has implications for our club beyond this player himself, then we should assume he'd be happier pretty much anywhere else. So, highest bidder it is.

2 minutes ago, Demonsone said:

When he signed for 7 yrs plus winning a flag it wasn’t an issue! 

That was 2 years ago & nothing has happened…..

5 minutes ago, Sir Why You Little said:

When the contract was signed, he may well have been promised that the Training Base was well on the way 

If anyone told him that, they're insane.

Even if we sign the dotted line tomorrow on Caulfield, or anywhere else for that matter, it's going to take years to finish building it.

Did he think we are making it out of Lego? 

22 minutes ago, Deelectable said:

So you can provide hard facts that any of this is true? Rhetorical question.

Actually, yes - I can. 

But feel free to stick to the standard post-truth world optics that so many of the fanboys on here adhere to, unless of course, it relates to a positive news story. 

28 minutes ago, Deelectable said:

So you can provide hard facts that any of this is true? Rhetorical question.

Read through the Christian Petracca thread. 

6 minutes ago, Jaded No More said:

Did he think we are making it out of Lego? 

I don’t think he’ll front up next year if we make him stay. So what would that mean contractually? Obviously miss Match payments, but could he play the mental health card to at least get something his way aka Ben Simmons’s tactic?

That would destroy his brand so would definitely avoid IMV.

So as Buckley has said we hold firm, get some solid offers from GCS, North, Richmond and give him an ultimatum. We control the outcome no matter how much of a tantrum he throws. 

Edited August 27, 20241 yr by Gawndy the Great

13 minutes ago, Sir Why You Little said:

When the contract was signed, he may well have been promised that the Training Base was well on the way 

Even if true, it's not the real reason he's leaving in my opinion.

Should a deal get done with Carlton, then the player I think we should target (as part of the packaged deal) is TDK. Exactly for forward/ruck that we need. His mid-season form transformed Carlton, without him they came right back to the pack.

Havnt heard him complaining when we won a flag and finished top 4 the past 4 seasons.  It's not Goody, I think it's club leadership and it needs to be looked at.

 

If Trac is genuinely that unhappy with the club to cause all this drama and damage (and so far do nothing/stay silent to seek to salvage the situation), he can’t have it both ways and say I need to leave but only if I end up at a “big” club. That is where he is losing the faithful.  If that is his predominant motivation (ie he wants out but only to a big club) then that is so disappointing.

After listening to Tracc on Howie's blog, he sounds like he is still in major flux mentally.

While i'm certainly in no position to speak having no background in such matters, i would think the club might be 'accidentally' missing the boat here in terms of how Tracc reintegrates back into the fold and the bricks & mortar on his return.

The after math of what happened to Tracc once he hit the hospital is by no means a normal 'footy type injury' that you just slip back into 'normal'mode.  Even if it be a very slow burn.  I'm sure the club gets this last part and has been very accommodating / understanding.

However, has it gone the extra mile here in terms of psychological assistance and support both for Tracc and even immediate family to some degree?

While i'm not suggesting Tracc should be held on a pedestal and treated as a god, given what he's gone through, have we left no stone unturned in terms of assisting him with his transition back to footy?

The old 'bloke's world' traditional footy view of "she'll be right mate, ya just need to get back on the bike slowly" may not cut it here.

Tracc appears to come from a very sensitive new age up bringing where he values a whole lot more than just playing the game itself at the highest level.  He comes across as very very focussed about making sure his off field health & prosperity (and that of his partner / family) is equally well looked after.

He wouldn't be alone here, but have we dotted all the i's i wonder?  If we have then we need to just hold the line, keep working our way through his issues where possible and ask him what we can change to rectify matters? 

If we've done all that and he's still not happy then the issue falls back on Tracc coming to his senses and falling back into line at some stage.

Like any adult relationship, both parties will probably need to compromise if they're to find common ground, forgive & forget and move on.

I read a little about Christian’s experience on the Howie podcast. Personally I’ve lived through some seriously traumatic experiences. I’m sure many others here have too.

In the aftermath of those experiences I wanted to change everything about my life. I left countries, quit jobs, tried to outrun it all. I sympathise with Christian as a young man trying to make sense of the trauma of what he experienced.

Sadly it took me a decade to realise that you can’t outrun the pain. You have to stop, rest, and process it. Worse than that, literally everybody in my life tried to tell me not to run, but I was too hurt to listen. It’s an incredibly difficult situation he’s in, and I think he’s trying to handle it like most of us think we need to - by powering on, throwing everything out, and making ourselves anew.

I hope he has genuine help around him, and I sincerely hope he allows himself to listen to people that care about his long term welfare. It hurts to stop and deal with what’s happened, but if you don’t it just comes back to haunt you. 

1 hour ago, rufus said:

I wonder if his unhappiness started with the rumoured spray he copped from the coaches after fumbling the Carlton final last year? He probably didn't enjoy that too much...

Where was that reported and how was he to blame for that loss more than anyone else?

3 hours ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Wacky Wednesday!!! Should be interesting if Trac turns up.  I hope he respects his teammates and enjoys the day.  Politics aside. All teammates should attend.  

My money says he won't attend

3 minutes ago, BDA said:

Even if true, it's not the real reason he's leaving in my opinion.

No probably not, but it would be a strong factor 

 

11 minutes ago, BLWNBA said:

Actually, yes - I can. 

But feel free to stick to the standard post-truth world optics that so many of the fanboys on here adhere to, unless of course, it relates to a positive news story. 

You can? Post it. Otherwise it's all bluster.

2 minutes ago, Gawndy the Great said:

I don’t think he’ll front up next year if we make him stay. So what would that mean contractually? Obviously miss Match payments, but could he play the mental health card to at least get something his way aka Ben Simmons’s tactic?

That would destroy his brand so would definitely avoid IMV.

So as Buckley has said we hold firm, get some solid offers from GCS, North, Richmond and give him an ultimatum. We control the outcome no matter how much of a tantrum he throws. 

Honestly can't see us morally being able to not do a deal if the mental health card is played (not downplaying the MH angle as it is no doubt real just speaking hypothetically).

We would be seen as the villains in this scenario and our own brand is already tarnished. Holding a player against his will who is suffering would force our hand to find a deal will a club of his choosing.

We would have no hand in this situation and would inevitably get unders for him.

Again not suggesting that this would happen or that there aren't serious mental health concerns from such a serious ordeal.

32 minutes ago, Deespicable said:

Sadly I am starting to feel the Trac to Carlton move is inevitable - I mean once the Blue mafia gets hold it's a really hard thing to counteract and with him being an Italian boy, the passion and under the table dealing would be in overdrive.

Just look at almost all the big deals in recent years, from Jack Martin to Mitch McGovern to Zac Williams to Adam Cerra and the Blues have five of the highest-paid internals already - Cripps, Curnow, Walsh, Weitering and Harry, not to mention how much they had to fork out on TDK's deal. Luke Sayers is the master of legal deals apparently.   

And they have a home base and it's just 30 minutes from Armadale.

I know it's unpalatable, but maybe we have to start building young stock before the draft is totally compromised again with Tassie. The Blues have pick 11. I know that and their future first rounder sounds cheap for a Norm Smith Medallist, but maybe we have to retool again to challenge. 

100% agree with this.