29 minutes ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Why on earth would we be actively shopping the both of them?

Are we trying to finish bottom 2 on purpose next year and settling for a membership 10,000 less than North?

We finished 14th something had to give, we want to keep trac but he wants out so we just have to deal with that best as we can, Oliver was happy to stay but we want him out so it’s the opposite way round. I just hope if we are telling Oliver this that we have lined up a deal with another club because no one is going take Oliver from us unless we tip in a significant portion of his salary

Just now, Jaded No More said:

Look you might be totally right, and this may well get shut down soon enough.

The way to gauge interest however is not to make it sound like you are pushing someone out. You can say that Clarry wants a fresh start, and we won't trade him for less. Exactly as we have done with Trac.

You can only do this if there is some truth to it though. Oliver has been floated for a trade the past two years and both times it was the club putting him in the gun.

Just now, Jaded No More said:

Unless of course we are happy to trade him for 3 cents in the dollar, which would only make sense if he was still a real issue within the club, which from everything I hear is not the case anymore.

As for how would Trac's camp know, well his brother works for one of the biggest talent agencies in Australia, so not really a stretch that they find out is it?

By that logic the leak could have just as easily come from another club like Adelaide who might have had a chat with Oliver's manager themselves, they would also benefit by your logic.

Just think that the way people are trying to turn Petracca into a villain and blame him for everything is pretty poor.

Just now, Jaded No More said:

For what it's worth, I think this meeting is about King setting clear expectations for Clarry around behaviours/standards and perhaps the 'leak' is around making it clear to Clarry that if he isn't happy to comply, then he will need to explore his options. Which will be a non issue, as he wants to stay and prove himself desperately.

I tend to agree with your last point that this is likely a leak from within the club. I hate that though. These should be private conversations that don't come out unless they actually need to. If the meeting goes well and Oliver says he's all in then we've basically just aired some dirty laundry for nothing.

And why wouldn’t king be meeting clarry anyways. Sounds like standard process to me.

32 minutes ago, KozzyCan said:

You know journalists actually have to verify information through multiple sources. This is insanely conspiratorial.

Do they really? Footy journos on the Tweeter and journalistic ethics? Hmmm

1 minute ago, KozzyCan said:

Just think that the way people are trying to turn Petracca into a villain and blame him for everything is pretty poor.

I tend to agree with your last point that this is likely a leak from within the club. I hate that though. These should be private conversations that don't come out unless they actually need to. If the meeting goes well and Oliver says he's all in then we've basically just aired some dirty laundry for nothing.

It was not my intention to blame Trac for this. I just know that his family has a very direct and open line of communication to Tom Morris, so it wasn't a baseless question. A question, not an accusation.

I also agree re: airing this publicly, however this is not the first time we have used the media as a way to give Clarry a kick up the bum. We did it during the 2023 trade period, threatening to trade him if he doesn't shape up. I hated it then and I hate it now.

Not sure it's even necessary when Clarry is all in anyway.

2 minutes ago, Superunknown said:

Do they really? Footy journos on the Tweeter and journalistic ethics? Hmmm

They would get a lot of tips you never hear about because they can't be verified.

You get a tip from someone that the club is having this meeting. The first thing you do is call one of the parties who would know for sure to confirm. His manager or the club. It's ten minutes of leg work.

12 minutes ago, Roger Mellie said:

Sounds like the media framing the narrative to me.

King organises a meeting with Clarry (as he will with all players) to outline his (and the team's) role, expectations. This is as per DannyZ. Media gets a hold of it and Edmond spices it up by saying Clarry's been 'summoned' and giving a negative spin. Morris then chimes in and runs with the sky is falling in for Clarry.

It might be worth waiting for the real story before stepping into my MFCSS onesie.

Throwing Edmund into this ‘basket’ is completely disingenuous.

What a media beat up, so player meets his new coach…. And the assumption is he’s gone!

5 minutes ago, BDA said:

And why wouldn’t king be meeting clarry anyways. Sounds like standard process to me.

Exactly...

King meets with Max .... crickets

King meets with Langford... crickets

King meets Kozzy.... ho hum..

King to meet Oliver.. oooohh...oooooohh.. what's going on here...must be serious!!

Big Brother and Bachelor come up with better 💩 than this.

People need to take a few steps back... look around. See what is actually happening not what's been 'advertised'

Edited 2 hours ago2 hr by beelzebub

43 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

So who is leaking it to the media and causing the panic?

Something is very wrong if they can’t have a simple meeting without a meltdown

Exactly. The fact that Dannyz is also aware of a scheduled meeting means that the leak has come from within the club, not from a player manager.

Posters on here constantly blame the media for destabilising the club. Some are even blaming Trac's management ffs. The perception of the club being a basket case is vindicated with all the leaks.

It's little wonder that we can't recruit anyone decent from another club.

I would bet my left arm the club hasn't leaked this and it's Clarries manager.

We don't know the outcome of the meeting, Clayton is contracted and could decide to stay regardless of what we say.

I suspect we're going to set the bar pretty high for him, perhaps not even guarantee his spot in the AFL team and make him earn it, and his manager is doing his job by putting the industry on notice he might need to move a multi million dollar player on short notice.

We should know the position of the club by the end of the day. If he is indeed fully on board and we are wanting him to be a central part of the regeneration then we will need to make a statement to shut the noise down. The club just doesn't need more of this stuff dragging through the media for weeks.

If we don't get a statement then I'd assume it's true and we want him to move on, in which case we would really appear to be going full rebuild.

One thing is certain, we can't keep spending every off season on the Trac and Clarry circus.

Either move on them now, or shut it down once and for all.

I expect to hear from Guerra or Tim Lamb today re: this Clarry noise.

6 minutes ago, mo64 said:

It's little wonder that we can't recruit anyone decent from another club.

Did it ever occur to you that this might have more to do with our salary cap?

9 minutes ago, DeesEmb said:

What a media beat up, so player meets his new coach…. And the assumption is he’s gone!

No different from cleaning out his locker last year. The media is a whole different animal when it comes to Clarry, 3 years in a [censored] row I’m absolutely sick of it.

1 minute ago, waynewussell said:

Did it ever occur to you that this might have more to do with our salary cap?

It's not

That our salary cap is in trouble is a myth.

Error

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by FireInTheBennelly
Delete for incorrect quote

Think people really need to relax about this one

The only fact we know is that King is meeting Oliver, and that sounds like a totally standard process to me

As is King outlining his expectation and what role he sees Oliver playing next year

I reckon Edmund has added a bit of mayo regarding the uncertainty about his playing future

And regardless, we need to be honest that as much as Oliver looked to improve somewhat at the end of this year, he is still significantly down on his pre 2023 form and may never return to it

He didn’t poll a single Brownlow vote this year and (correct me if I’m wrong) don’t think he polled a Coach’s vote either

I’d be disappointed if King wanted to continue business as usual

Now that doesn’t mean trading Clarry - and the club themselves haven’t confirmed they want to do this - but it does mean making clear to him that depending on his form he might not be a walk up CBA midfielder anymore

He and his manager would then be free to make any decisions they feel are best for him

All sounds pretty fair to me

Just now, Jaded No More said:

It's not

That our salary cap is in trouble is a myth.

I didn't say we were in trouble with our salary cap, I was pointing out that we may not have had the coin to attract the big names because of who we were still paying big sums to in recent years.

If Petracca goes to GCS and the Crows target Oliver, that would be great as long as we can get off his money.

3 minutes ago, waynewussell said:

Did it ever occur to you that this might have more to do with our salary cap?

We had Houston all but signed last year. He wasn't cheap.

Just now, waynewussell said:

I didn't say we were in trouble with our salary cap, I was pointing out that we may not have had the coin to attract the big names because of who we were still paying big sums to in recent years.

Also incorrect.

And also highly highly unlikely that we will move Clarry's entire salary if he does move, especially if we go down the route of framing this as a fire sale. Unless you are happy to trade him for a fourth round pick.

Just now, mo64 said:

We had Houston all but signed last year. He wasn't cheap.

... dodged a bullet there!

Kosi next?

The only truth to this is that Oliver is meeting with King.

It would make sense they would discuss possible role/s that is going to suit Melbourne's new attacking game plan.

The role may thrill Oliver, or excite him to get back to his strengths.

Personally I want to see him used like a Liberatore is at dogs....or how he used to be our first in and under player, extract the ball with quick hands. With a game plan around a reliable extractor, you can start having your other pawns reliably create options, east, west, north and south.

If this happens which I think I should and it will....

It actually makes the Viney/King meeting to be really interesting....what to do with Viney?

King is going to have to see a big picture, I hope he has reasonably clear vision of what we can possibly be.

Change is exciting, hope the players are feeling optimistic despite the chaos of change.

Likewise I hope that supporters are feeling optimistic for change.....we have needed it so badly!