7 minutes ago, Demonsone said:

Understand that but we’re is the flexibility in 2-3 years if any player wants move back home & the contract is large, having to pay a large chunk to pay for another club ..

I get it but if a player who signed a long term contract 2 years earlier decides they want to move home, tough [censored]. The answer is no.

Unless there are extraordinary circumstances (someone is gravely ill, etc) I fundamentally do not understand why clubs are supposed to just let players go.

9 minutes ago, rpfc said:

I like how it’s not attached to a percentage of the cap!

That we know of rpfc.

13 minutes ago, The Cult of Disco Turner said:

I get it but if a player who signed a long term contract 2 years earlier decides they want to move home, tough [censored]. The answer is no.

Unless there are extraordinary circumstances (someone is gravely ill, etc) I fundamentally do not understand why clubs are supposed to just let players go.

Because the AFL does not want someone to take their rules to court. If someone takes them to court for restrain of trade the whole deck of cards come crashing down.

This is fabulous news.

Get a big dog up ya Freo!

1 hour ago, Willmoy1947 said:

Ralph would make the parish priest look happy.

Ignore him, he has to justify his existence.

i love that the likes of michael gleeson say this

The broader question for Melbourne is: where does this leave an already very tight salary cap and the future of other players at the club?

there is NO SUCH THING as a 'tight' salary cap in the afl because it is a hard cap; teams must spend 100% of the cap over, from memory, a rolling 6 year period

the lowest a club can pay per annum towards their salary cap is - or was - 92.5% and the highest was 110% per year

it's not like the nba or what have you where the cap is $156m but the likes of the washington wizards choose to pay 71% of the cap while the golden state warriors choose to pay 130% of the cap and, effectively, pay more than that as they cop a 1:1 'tax' on top of the extra salary that they pay what is called the luxury tax

1 minute ago, whatwhat say what said:

i love that the likes of michael gleeson say this

there is NO SUCH THING as a 'tight' salary cap in the afl because it is a hard cap; teams must spend 100% of the cap over, from memory, a rolling 6 year period

the lowest a club can pay per annum towards their salary cap is - or was - 92.5% and the highest was 110% per year

it's not like the nba or what have you where the cap is $156m but the likes of the washington wizards choose to pay 71% of the cap while the golden state warriors choose to pay 130% of the cap and, effectively, pay more than that as they cop a 1:1 'tax' on top of the extra salary that they pay what is called the luxury tax

Spot on

It has been widely reported we have cash to splash...

8 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

i love that the likes of michael gleeson say this

there is NO SUCH THING as a 'tight' salary cap in the afl because it is a hard cap; teams must spend 100% of the cap over, from memory, a rolling 6 year period

the lowest a club can pay per annum towards their salary cap is - or was - 92.5% and the highest was 110% per year

it's not like the nba or what have you where the cap is $156m but the likes of the washington wizards choose to pay 71% of the cap while the golden state warriors choose to pay 130% of the cap and, effectively, pay more than that as they cop a 1:1 'tax' on top of the extra salary that they pay what is called the luxury tax

I actually thought Gleeson's article was reasonable and balanced, not just focusing on the negatives

The point is that long deals, or big contracts, are not always wrong. They are always entered with the belief they are mitigating the risk of losing the player, not creating a risk.

“Kozzy” Pickett’s biggest risk was flight – the attraction of a return to Perth, with Fremantle wooing him – and so the Demons have safeguarded against that.

Pickett has become an excellent midfielder after being predominantly a small forward for much of his career, having played 116 games and kicked 182 goals since his debut in 2020. There are not too many small forwards who would draw rich long-term deals, but Pickett is one of them.

Edited Thursday at 06:275 days by reynolds46

8 minutes ago, reynolds46 said:

I actually thought Gleeson's article was reasonable and balanced, not just focusing on the negatives

yeah his article and assumptions etc. were fine, albeit the notion of a 'tight' salary cap in the afl isn't a thing

1 hour ago, Jaded No More said:

Pickett has knock on wood been very physically resilient thus far in his career.

Good point.

I can't recall what happened in 2020 but from 2021 onwards the only game he's missed (that wasn't through suspension) was due to COVID in 2022.

Therefore it's more than warranted to give a player a very long contract with NIL injury history. And I'm knocking on a lot of wood here!

55 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

yeah his article and assumptions etc. were fine, albeit the notion of a 'tight' salary cap in the afl isn't a thing

Not having a go at you - more for my (and maybe others') education. But wasn't collingwood's issue a few years ago that they had a tight salary cap. Isn't this possible when you commit to players to long term deals (more than 6 years) and then they perform below expectations and other players perform at a higher level than expected and thus demand more $$... but because you have committed to long term deals for other players you can't afford it?

So maybe it's not tight - but you're locked in to long term deals which reduces your ability to increase what the next tiers of players should get paid which means they may mov elsewhere to get what the market will pay them?

I’d of paid him the $12m just to not see him play in a Freo guernsey on its own.

That we get 9 more years of Kozzy in red&blue is a lovely bonus.

Smoke a fat one Dockers

Great news and if only we can get a home organized I am sure more players will want to come and play with us and Kozzy. He has shown great faith in the club's future and loyalty. Couldn't be happier.

3 hours ago, demon3165 said:

Not a fan at the length of the contract there can be too many variables that can go wrong as we have seen with other players in the league but then again contracts mean s nothing these days.

Can you just run me through the players where a long term contract has backfired on the club, leaving out concussion as I think those terms will change again.

44 minutes ago, Demon Disciple said:

Smoke a fat one Dockers

No need to threaten them with a good time

6 minutes ago, Demonland said:

Produce many father-sons/daughters 😁😁😁

as usual on here people assume so much without noing the facts well done kossie for signing on

Kozzy is a match winner and a drawcard.

He’s an ornament to the game is Kozzy.

I am pleased he’s staying.

Gerard Wheatley is such a dip [censored]

47 minutes ago, Roost it far said:


Can you just run me through the players where a long term contract has backfired on the club, leaving out concussion as I think those terms will change again.

Didn't say our club I was generally speaking, but if I were I would say the Oliver deal long-term Tom Boyd, Tim Kelly would even go with Steven Coniglio and the last three years Tom Lynch.

Edited Thursday at 09:035 days by demon3165

3 hours ago, Jaded No More said:

What is it that worries people, is it the length or the price?

If it's the price, well that will become a normal contract for A graders soon enough, if it's not already.

If it's the length, ask yourself this, do you think Kosi would be getting delisted in the next 9 years? Out of a list of 46 players, would he ever be so poor that he would be considered a 'list clogger'?

He's good enough to play midfield, but later in life could easily transfer his skills to half back, or even just remain as a deep forward pocket.

Charlie Cameron won a flag at 29, Elliot is 32 and in arguably career best form. Burgoyne was a meaningful player until he was 38.

Pickett has knock on wood been very physically resilient thus far in his career. Even if his speed drops off with age, his physical strength and his ball use won't. His skills will still serve him well into his early 30s.

Life is full of risks, but if you take no risks you get no rewards.

The reality is that players of his quality come around rarely, and when they do come around, they rarely want to go play for smaller clubs. If you happen to get lucky and draft a star, then you need to move heaven and earth to keep them. Teams win games, but stars win flags.

41 minutes ago, Roost it far said:

Can you just run me through the players where a long term contract has backfired on the club, leaving out concussion as I think those terms will change again.

Well at this stage the concussion terms haven’t changed. We are still paying for Gus so we know all too well that it can and does happen. Petty hasn’t been as good since he did his foot, Spargo was out for a year and probably hasn’t returned to previous form. ACL injuries and so on.

Also I can’t remember if it was @Dannyz or @goodwindees who said earlier in this thread that was a growing number of people within the club that were becoming tired of having to bend over backwards for Kossie. A bigger contract on more money may increase tension should he continue to flirt with other clubs in the future. We’ve seen with Clarry that a bigger contract can be a burden when things aren’t going as well.

I’m over the moon we have signed him and if the decision was down to me I would 100% do it, but a 9 year contract on big money is not without risk.

4 hours ago, Dee-tonator said:

Great news for the next few seasons, but ..............

(1) We have no way of knowing whether a 34-year-old Kozzy will have anywhere near the pace and zip that excite us all today.

(2) I hope the club has covered itself this time in terms of the payout due if his career is cut short for any reason.

Now let's dangle a carrot or two in front of Jackson and really annoy the Dockers.

Even with non functioning legs Koz would still be more lively than a third of our list under the Neeld years, some of whom we seemingly quite Weekend at Bernies.

7 hours ago, DeeZone said:

Congratulations to Kozzie Pickett and MFC for getting this deal done, speaks volumes for Kozzie and everyone involved at the club. We can all relax now and enjoy the rest of Kozzie’s amazing career unfurl in the mighty Red and Blue. Kozzie, Kozzie, Kozzie, OIe, OIe, OIe.

Kossie, Kozzy, Kozi !

27 minutes ago, Colm said:

a 9 year contract on big money is not without risk.

Nothing is without risk. Not extending him is a risk. Giving him 2 more years and then he’s a free agent is a risk. Losing him is a massive risk.

If you listen to what Adam Simpson says, he’s a match winner and as a coach you don’t give two [censored] about the cap. You just find a way to make it work when you have these guys at your disposal.

The club bends over backwards for many of its players. So does literally every club in the competition. You think Bailey Smith is a walk in the park to manage? You think Kosi is the only homesick kid? Can you imagine what Freo are doing right now with Jackson threatening to leave?

Success takes balls. We waited for years and years to have legitimate stars at our club. We got them, we secured them, and that’s on being a good successful club. Period.