If Clarry and/or Trac request a trade at the end of the season, we get screwed if we let them go. My answer would be that if they want to go then we will oblige them only if they tear up their existing contract with us. This is the only way we will get fair compensation for these players.

This should be mandatory for all players requesting trades while under contract.

Edited July 30Jul 30 by Neil Crompton

10 minutes ago, Neil Crompton said:

If Clarry and/or Trac request a trade at the end of the season, we get screwed if we let them go. My answer would be that if they want to go then we will oblige them only if they tear up their existing contract with us. This is the only way we will get fair compensation for these players.

This should be mandatory for all players requesting trades while under contract.

Its actually a fair point. If they want to go, we should say we want x,y,z in terms of return value and then the club they nominate has to meet that criteria...if that means they need to take a hair cut in their salary then so be it.

Unfortunately we know it doesn't work that way and arguably we have seen the effect of keeping players against their will.

26 minutes ago, GS_1905 said:

Its actually a fair point. If they want to go, we should say we want x,y,z in terms of return value and then the club they nominate has to meet that criteria...if that means they need to take a hair cut in their salary then so be it.

Unfortunately we know it doesn't work that way and arguably we have seen the effect of keeping players against their will.

It could work that way

Especially with CP, but also Oliver.

Christian, you get them to take your salary and give us an early Pick or you take a haircut and work it out with them. Maybe we pay a nominal number. Otherwise you’re stuck here and that’s no good for anyone

Same convo for clarry

Need to be fairly ruthless here

I still respect Petracca's standards and ability, but watching him on Instagram it is pretty clear football is no longer his no1 priority. I don't really blame him. He trains hard and is in great condition + he saw how quickly he could lose it all last year + he has a contract until he's 34 so there's no real need to graft for a club he's no longer totally invested in. But that doesn't mean I respect it as an MFC supporter.

Oliver is a shadow of himself and has been for years now. That final moment last week was emblematic. Whatever he once had seems to be gone. The club has bent over backwards to shield him from scrutiny after the tough love approach at the end of 23 didn't work.

Say what you will about either of them, but it is the most MFC thing ever that our two best midfielders since Flower have gone from young superstars with AAs and BnFs coming out of their arses to contractual millstones when they should be at their prime.

1 hour ago, demoniac said:

Maybe he takes a significant pay cut to get a trade done.

What if Clarrie doesn't want go because he wants all the money?

We gave him the contract

It's going to be really difficult to move him on without it still costing us a lot of $$$'s or as you said, giving the club he goes to some sort of pick. Fire Sale

I'm wavering constantly on this one but if we end up with a new coach we might have to hope like hell that a new coach can get him playing match-winning footy again

1 hour ago, Neil Crompton said:

If Clarry and/or Trac request a trade at the end of the season, we get screwed if we let them go. My answer would be that if they want to go then we will oblige them only if they tear up their existing contract with us. This is the only way we will get fair compensation for these players.

This should be mandatory for all players requesting trades while under contract.

WON'T HAPPEN!

I don’t think we will have (or think we’ll be able to get the current), but I’d trade out Petracca & Oliver (as a start), to assist with making a play for Harley Reid. We have some young guns that would gel well with him. Let’s just start the rebuild.

Hawks just signed Newcombe to a long term deal until 2032.

Can't wait for Cornes to say it's the worst deal ever

3 hours ago, Lil_red_fire_engine said:

Bailey Smith does seem to miss a fair few games for very vague reasons and I dont sense this will become any less.

It is also very strange that the AFL CEO met with Bailey Smith to tell him how valuabpe he is to the league. My take is this is a highly inappropriate meeting as the league CEO should not be meeting with players at clubs re their future in the league.

1 hour ago, Macca said:

What if Clarrie doesn't want go because he wants all the money?

We gave him the contract

It's going to be really difficult to move him on without it still costing us a lot of $$$'s or as you said, giving the club he goes to some sort of pick. Fire Sale

I'm wavering constantly on this one but if we end up with a new coach we might have to hope like hell that a new coach can get him playing match-winning footy again

I reckon clubs would pay $800k to $1.2m for Oliver with a second to third round pick. While he is not tearing games apart he is still one of the best inside mids and for clubs with such a need he would be better value than an equivelant 25+ year old free agent.

12 hours ago, MrFreeze said:

In what universe is Spargo heading to the Giants? No connection to Sydney and the antithesis of a GWS player.

The Demonland universe Baby - the demonland universe.

Here is a different take on the state of play. In the AGE today Michael Gleeson wrote what looks like a prepared statement from the board. "Nothing is off the table except Max & Kossi coaches, players are all under scrutiny". The most interesting statement IMO is that" MFC's midfield since 2021 has been Gawn, Trac, Oliver & Viney and remains that way". We only look dynamic with Picket in there, but the new style of centre square and corridor game doesn't suit the Fab 4. Gawn is there till he decides he has had enough, so who of Trac, Oliver & Viney can you play somewhere else? I would suggest the way to determine who goes is the one who will not be able to adapt to a new role with less time in the guts.

Trac can play in the forward line, take an overhead mark and if he learns to kick straight, snag a goal or 5.

Viney may be the defensive small forward, tackling machine and try to kick a goal, but then that is Chandler's role. I don't think the team can carry both

Clayton doesn't kick goals, isn't a very reliable kicker, but is a tackling machine. Can we afford to pay top dollar for this narrow scope of play?

Langford, even in his first year, reminds me of Bont and is destined for the midfield. Langdon was supposed to come off the wing and play as an inside mid. He isn't a great kick and doesn't kick many goals. Riv is dynamic enough; Sparrow should have risen to this role, but hasn't. Who is our Butters, Horne-Francis, Crisp, Pendlebury, Holmes, B. Smith, Merret, Ed Richards, Heeney, Gulden, Tom Green, McCluggage, Jordan Dawson, Josh Daicos? Only Pickett stands up in this company.

Trac stays, Clayton is expendable and for Viney or Chin

7 minutes ago, chookrat said:

I reckon clubs would pay $800k to $1.2m for Oliver with a second to third round pick. While he is not tearing games apart he is still one of the best inside mids and for clubs with such a need he would be better value than an equivelant 25+ year old free agent.

Yeah, it's always really difficult to put a value on a player when there are so many variables

But you may be right especially if a club has cap space and there's some competition for his services. And a club could over-pay or believe that he'd be a better player in a different environment

And another factor is if Oliver has been a standout player against a would-be suiter

4 hours ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

I don’t think we will have (or think we’ll be able to get the current), but I’d trade out Petracca & Oliver (as a start), to assist with making a play for Harley Reid. We have some young guns that would gel well with him. Let’s just start the rebuild.

I’m not sure we’d want to do what his management is asking—to WCE they gave a counter offer of 11 years/$24 million—and he won’t take a 2 year extension from them because he thinks he’ll miss out on money in Victoria. Since were now questioning Trac and Clarry’s contracts—and when they were signed, both were proven players. I get that Reid is the next great thing, but I don’t know that he’s worth that kind of money in the long term.

8 hours ago, GS_1905 said:

To me its full salary for a 2nd rounder.

Not happening. We paid a 2nd for Grundy and Collingwood picked up a chunk of his salary still.

10 hours ago, Queanbeyan Demon said:

The Demonland universe Baby - the demonland universe.

Don't know why.... just visualised Oddball uttering those words 🤣

It's really an incredibly sad state of affairs. Two of the best Demons of all time and both want/ed out of the club.

I was filthy at the way Trac made it all public but who could blame him. He wants professionalism and we are nowhere near it.

One or both have to go and yes their value has plummeted. If they both stay I expect more of the same on and off the field.

Problem is I have zero faith that our club will make the right call such is our state of affairs which has festered for years now.

16 hours ago, chookrat said:

I reckon clubs would pay $800k to $1.2m for Oliver with a second to third round pick. While he is not tearing games apart he is still one of the best inside mids and for clubs with such a need he would be better value than an equivelant 25+ year old free agent.

I don't think so. Maybe 800k but even that is optimistic. And even if he took a paycut to get to new club of his choice suspect we''ll be subsidising his contract to tune of 500k a year give or take.

Oliver is not on the contract terms he is on to tag Patrick Cripps. Just the reality.

16 hours ago, chookrat said:

I reckon clubs would pay $800k to $1.2m for Oliver with a second to third round pick. While he is not tearing games apart he is still one of the best inside mids and for clubs with such a need he would be better value than an equivelant 25+ year old free agent.

word is there is zero interest in Oliver. There is something wrong. After almost a full season he seems less fit, less acceleration and confidence is very low.
i find it hard to believe he is living by the same standards this year as in his B and F years.

We lose no matter what. Both players dragged the club through the media last year, for whatever reasons, but it isn't a great look that they wanted out so hard and so openly. Pretty much our two best players is not a good look for the club, nor is it for attracting other players in either. If we trade them, we have to continue paying their ridiculous salaries, for two people who are turnover merchants. Mess.

17 hours ago, chookrat said:

It is also very strange that the AFL CEO met with Bailey Smith to tell him how valuabpe he is to the league. My take is this is a highly inappropriate meeting as the league CEO should not be meeting with players at clubs re their future in the league.

Absolutely correct. And its giving Geelong an advantage as maybe his intervention keeps him on tve park where he otherwise out of action like other players with mental illness. It was the old school tie network at play. Smith s dad and the AFL boss.

20 hours ago, DubDee said:

Hawks just signed Newcombe to a long term deal until 2032.

Can't wait for Cornes to say it's the worst deal ever

kornes will froth over it

for whatever reason, he thinks dingley and sam mitchell can do no wrong

it's why i hold out hope that they'll slip out of the 8 and bevo's dogs - who kornes does not rate as a coach - replace them

3 hours ago, Bay Riffin said:

word is there is zero interest in Oliver. There is something wrong. After almost a full season he seems less fit, less acceleration and confidence is very low.
i find it hard to believe he is living by the same standards this year as in his B and F years.

He has lost interest and confidence in a big way. May the later feeds the former. Whether that’s in footy, the club, the playing group who knows. But he is playing with less intensity than he has in the past.

He definitely needs a reset and the zero interest is a furphy to lessen his value even more. We may end up having to cough up picks for a club to take his full contract value. That is the game Geelong is playing - that I have no doubt.

If Clarry really wants to leave, then he will need to take a hair cut. I’m not giving another club picks to take him purely out of principle.

23 minutes ago, No10 said:

Fair points, but not sure I agree.

Trac doesn’t put his body in (perhaps fair) a huge limitation if he’s going to play like Danger into his 30s. He hasn’t quite reached the extremity of his potential imo.

Conversely Clarry is the player that won all our BnFs for a reason. He has a mind that pushes him to win.

I’d keep both. What teams have traded their best talents in their prime years and ever worked out??

That is true. I tried running the exercise but it wasn't easy.

Geelong with Ablett

Collingwood with Grundy

West Coast with Judd

Melbourne with Hogan

On 30/07/2025 at 08:49, Adam The God said:

I don't entirely disagree with you on Clarry, but I think it's still possible he plays an important role going forward.

Yes, Captain. Now you're getting it.