grazman

I stand to be corrected, but... the issue was two fold. Firstly Mitch Clark cut his grass and secondly how the club treated Stef when he came forward to complain about an issue. Very untidy and left a bad taste in his mouth.

Agree - and he can take over from Carlisle in organising their end of season trips!

Might also put paid to any interest that the Saints had in Brown - you couldn't imagine they'd be able to fit both he and Crouch into their salary cap after bringing in Hill and Zak Jones last year.

The B&F thing may have been blown out of proportion, I have a feeling if he was annoyed it wasn't so much about where he placed, but who placed above him... not speaking with any real insight - just a 'drive-by' observation.

From who? I haven't seen any evidence that he's uncoachable. I doubt that the coaches in 2017 (B&F), 2018 (runner up) and 2019 (=B&F) thought he was uncoachable.

Interesting that Collingwood have asked the question given how tight their TPP is. De Goey possibly De Gone?

Agree A F and I'm kinda splitting hairs I know, butDe Goey doesn't currently have a manager. His father is helping him with negotiations. While I can see Oliver's management doing what manager's do about trying to get the best deal for their client (and it's an unknown how serious said player's intentions are in terms of moving clubs) for De Goey it really is all about 'show me the money'. As Nathan Buckley said he doesn't have an issue with players testing the market and that it's almost a given in modern footy, but he expects De Goey to re-sign because he loves the club and the playing group. Whether that is true or not remains to be seen. Sign on at Collingwood with your mates and the club that has stuck by you or jump ship for extra $. There's no doubt he will be well-remunerated if he stays as will Clarrie. I have no doubt there's a lot of destabilising being done by rival clubs and managers that forces clubs to prioritise their TPP and makes fans nervous. As a fan all we can do is stay strong and have confidence that there's enough cultural pull (like there was with Jack Viney) to make players want to stay with the club to achieve success... if they don't - like the old saying goes the club is always bigger than the individual.

Lachie Hunter is one of the best wingmen in the competition and I thought he was very stiff to miss the 40 man AA squad. He certainly addresses one of the key areas (outside run) the club has identified along with a KPF. If Merrett isn't a chance of moving this year than Lachie Hunter is a more than adequate alternative. It's a very big IF the Bulldogs want to trade him and Beveridge has already poured cold water on that, but.... The Bulldogs hinted that they would trade aggressively to address list deficiencies (and arguably they could more easily find a replacement on the wing than conjure up another KPP). There's also rumours that due to the problems from earlier in the year that either Lachie goes or the Dogs may have some serious issues with the rest of the playing group. He's still under contract for two more years and apparently isn't keen to leave the kennel. If he's going to be traded then you need to convince him and his manager to come to the Dees, but at the same time ensuring that whatever the off-field issues have been addressed and don't destabilise our own playing group. Besides all that it would be how you could fit Hunter and a KPF (like a Ben Brown) into the salary cap and keep enough in kitty to avoid a raid on Clayton Oliver. Considering all that it seems a long shot, but one no doubt the club will at least consider. Playing wise at least he's an ideal fit for us.

FWIW, based on that article that's been syndicated across a number of other mast heads the Cripps rumour might have legs (though whether it happens this year or next, if at all is yet to be seen) - although with Carlton making a play for De Goey, it seems they seem to have a large amount of room in their TPP to accomodate Williams, Saad and an even bigger fish. I also accept according to some reputable posters that Oliver might not be happy ATM, but I agree with you 100% the two aren't linked. There's no way anyone at the club would even entertain a conversation about trading Clarrie.-

Sorry no idea, but given that most of the rumours are about the pair returning to Perth so that she can get extra support form her family I assume she is.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8649123/AFL-Carltons-Patrick-Cripps-girlfriend-suffers-OCD-vomits-meals-amid-COVID-lockdown.html

I notice in the clip playing ruck she handballed as the first option - i'd be encouraging that rather than getting her to kick - very much in the Scott Wynd school of development.

I think the smoke around Merrett is indication of a pretty large blaze, he's either out of there this year or next. I strongly suspect the club are very interested in getting Zac to become a Demon. Daniher provides an interesting precedent It will be interesting to see what happens and then whether Essendon sideline Dodoro as a result. Daniher wanted out last year and given the injury concerns I thought the Swans offer was fair, Essendon didn't and held onto him, that's their right but are they really going to get better compensation in an extremely compromised draft when he leaves as a RFA now? They won't and more to the point they've burnt 12 months when they could have been developing the Swans first pick from last year (Pick 9) and be looking forward to using the Swans first pick this year. Bang up job Adrian! They're doing their best to deny suitors looking at Joe's medical files because when they do it's far more likely the offer will be substantially less than Tier 1, almost as certain that Essendon's bluff will be called and they won't match a bid. This has the potential to turn into the mother of all list management nightmares for the new coach. Given all this they probably still won't trade Merrett but after the Daniher result is known and if Merrett is resolved to leave, hopefully they might take a more pragmatic approach.

BF = Fake News - unlike our very own trade breaker!

Agree. Carlton have offered a bucket load of cash to Saad and Williams, both are reasonable players, but Clarrie would want at least double what they are going to get which would blow their TPP out of the water.

Would that compelling compensation be similar to the future second round pick they gave Gold Coast to get him? Posturing at best by Dodo, he's not a Free Agent, he just want's out.

Seems like an odd strategy from North though. Dropped both Polec and Brown and made them feel as popular as a fart in an elevator. No doubt they can hold onto the contracts if they want to, but you would think that's some sort of cultural millstone around their neck. I think they've backed themselves into a corner with this a little and it seems from the rumours that the relationship with Shaw might be hard to recover. I imagine if we're interested it will be a balancing act between salary and draft picks. Ie. North pay none of his salary = low draft pick. North pay some of his salary - mid range draft pick, North pay a chunk of his salary - high draft pick. I get that they want a return on investment, but they can't expect another club to pick up the tab on something of their own creation.

or Merrett fingers crossed.?

Weird that Hawthorn have 5 players in the two teams - one more than the teams that finished first and second. Still not quite as weird as Aaron Hall making the seconds team though, I guess stats can be deceiving.

He left Brisbane in an exodus due to the culture. Understandable. He left Port because he got offered an insanely prosperous contract by North. Understandable He will leave North because they are now coached by a Shaw. Also understandable.

I heard Polec's contract was heavily front-loaded - again it may not be right, but he might not be as expensive in terms of TPP as many assume.

This was certainly identified by the club when it recruited him. Tarrant is 32 next year, Hooker is 33 and while Carlisle is only 30 next year he has some major baggage. What about the best tall Essendon back in Hurley though? 31 next year, but could be gettable if the rumours are true about him being fizzed off with the Essendon administration.

There was a view expressed in the media (sorry can't remember who) that if Saad leaves Essendon it will be because he wants to go to a club that is going to challenge soon (so won't be to North).

Suns weren't anywhere near as good last year as this year, they've added Greenwood, Anderson, Rowell and Ainsworth has stepped up in a massive way. Fiorini has moved down the pecking order.

Hmmm. Not the first player to express that under Goody. I believe this time last year Brayshaw and Tracc had similar issues. They were able to sit down at season's end and sort it out. I hope Harmes does the same thing.