Red But Mostly Blue

Thought he was worth another year, go well son of Woe.

I feel like we've kind of burnt the Woes twice now... :-(

Welcome, CJ!

While many have noted some areas for development (decision-making/disposals) (and I agree), he is not alone there! I think the whole team should be working very hard on their skills and decision-making in the offseason.

That said, what CJ does have is speed, dare, x-factor and will make a lot of fans quickly. The rest can be improved in time.

We can build with guys like CJ.

2 minutes ago, Sean Balor said:

More to it = BH??? 🤔

3 minutes ago, DubDee said:

Pity it's not picks 6 and 7 so we can say the trade is a bit 6 7

My son assures me this is funny to (very) young people

I am not one of those people. But I understand 🤣

1 hour ago, bush demon said:

Nah.... The '21 flag was sublime, especially the part after Bontempelli's victory goal. There is no entitlement to follow-up premierships, just ask StKilda. We are living in times where AFL head office are trying to force-feed a flag into franchise rugby states. At least there is the fig-leaf of compensation, not like the old days when Barassi, Alves, Wells, Keenan etc could just walk out the door.

I think I might not have been entirely clear, but I agree :-)

The point I was trying to make, was that after all the years we waited, as amazing as the win was (the whole year, and finals included - and it will live in my mind forever), it's hilarious that it was played and won away from our home - plus all those other things I mentioned. I am not sure of any other team in history who have lost their 2 pillars not too long after a GF win. Think Bont and Libba being traded by 2020. Anyway, I thought it was funny (dark sense of humour).

2 minutes ago, BLWNBA said:

Same with Oliver, but we had Goodwin in self-preservation mode and President who lacked foresight. Not too mention a divided board that didn't help.

A perfect storm that pretty much could only happen to us.

A drought-breaking premiership we couldn't see (in person) because of a....once in a lifetime pandemic.

Two generational talents pi**ed away because of a perfect storm of player behaviour/a self-preservation coach/broken and spineless board/gutter rat media who don't give the same scrutiny to other clubs, life-threatening injury and perhaps in the background some family issues.

Loss of guys like Mac due to the AFL hilariously changing the rules, then changing them back.

Norm Smith's curse lives on, flag or not!!

I love a plot twist, here's hoping there are some (good ones) (for us) today!!

1 hour ago, rjay said:

People who think 7 & 8 in this draft is a fair deal are kidding themselves...

Yep. Most other years it would have been ok, and probably even exciting. Just our luck it's this year.

What a joke, offloading a club legend for next to nothing (negative outcome really because whatever we’re saving, we’re still paying for Clarry to play elsewhere).

All because of events from a couple of years ago. Unless there are present issues, and we have no visibility on that, but you know full well if Clarry was causing issues, it would have been reported on, because the media have latched on to him and we leak. So I’m going to take that as no new issues. Just past ones that we accepted as part of a commitment to make good and get better. Which he did.

Awful stuff and I think it will come back to haunt us.

24 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

If we knew this was coming, we should have let him go to Geelong last year.

Or we should have started this process earlier than two business days before trade period, so that we didn’t have to rush it.

There’s almost nothing we’ve done in relation to this situation that is anything other than shambolic. And we’re about to pay a ridiculously steep price for that.

This.

Everyone pointing to purported behaviour or whatever is missing the point. The time to trade him would have been then, not some years down the track, after we accepted his behaviour and subsequent attempts to rectify his behaviour. Because if we’re letting go of the Clarry who is working hard and has regained his focus and health, for a FUTURE 3rd round for a team doing well… AND paying a chunk of his salary… WHAT ARE WE DOING???

Yeah we’re getting rid of some salary but we get nothing back in terms of someone who can help to propel this club.

Gah. What a flipping mess.

9 minutes ago, Ghostwriter said:

Here’s an idea… how about we warmly welcome CJ to our club?!

Some ppl are [censored] unbelievable

Agree. I have my reservations, as I think we need a greater focus on disposal skills/decision, I will (as I always do) place my faith the club in identifying this and improving it as much as possible.

I'll save my warm welcome for the official announcement. Notwithstanding my reservations, I think he will add a lot of flair, fun and connection to the younger fan base in particular. Seems like a really nice, relatable young lad who will make a few fans pretty quickly.

Athlete/x factor, but disposals/decision-making skills not great.

We've seen this before in the backline. Right? Or am I losing my mind here?

Anyway, maybe we'll have a crack at improving his disposal/decision-making, which we are clearly experts at, and I am presuming the Hawks overlooked...

3 minutes ago, Demonland said:

I think yes

OK, we can wrap this up early now so we can collect the bag of chips GWS will give us for Clarry.

(Not chicken flavour pls)

Just now, layzie said:

I'm not saying it but I'm not not saying it either.

I don't not believe it, no reason you can't take that to the bank.

I was just thinking, all this disgruntlement at Cameron not 'playing ball' with BH, in part it's because BH has not come out and forced his hand a little more (yet), but really the other issue is GC, and Cameron for that matter, are doing exactly what you would expect with a contracted player - saying unequivocally that he is off the table. It's something you would hope and expect from our group. I mean, Trac saying he wanted to look elsewhere - we didn't need to entertain that. He signed a long-term contract. The contract he signed protects him AND us. Gives us the power in negotiations. As GC does with BH. We can just say no, and Trac continues to cook here in Melbourne. Tough, it's a lesson in thinking long and hard before you sign a contract. So, I don't know why we are perceived (by media nuff nuffs, yeah ok) as having to accept some deal that is not going to help us. Like we have the weaker hand when we are both dealing in a long-term contracted player.

My take is there should not be a deal for Trac unless it involves BH. Because we can actually build around BH - there is some future there, perhaps an immediate one, and GC need the marque player because they are in a premiership window. Without BH we are trading for speculative talent which will take years to come to fruition = years in the doldrums. Again.

With the above in mind, and with some blind faith here, if it transpires that we trade Trac for 7 + 8 (less some other pick, which is nuts), then I presume the club has a plan, not wanting to thrust us in a situation where our midfield will get smoked every single week.

1 hour ago, Lucifers Hero said:

The Scott assistant wasn't in the wings at the time of the mfc coaching gig. King had no problem choosing between Scott assistant and Dee's main guy!

As noted in my earlier post, agree with you it was most probably at AFL 'suggestion'. So 'parachuted' into the job!

I agree with you (as plausible as it is right now that some targets may rightfully see us as a basket case/too hard basket).

It should also be noted that while King could have taken the Cats role, unlike Bucks, he doesn't have the Tassie or any other gig as a lock to fall back on. he may have seen us as the only current opportunity to get a main coaching gig. But with that in mind, I still agree Bucks' role is a parachute, mandatory AFL training course.

Can play, but geez knows how to turnover.

Given 'poor disposal/turnovers' are things we like to look at, especially near oppo goals, I can see CJ being the scapegoat for big scores (against). X factor yes, athlete yes, but if we are looking to tighten up disposals/skills (YESSS PLEEEAAASE) then I am not sure this is the way forward.

But, hey, nobody else seems to be clamouring to get to us, so when you're in the middle of an implosion, maybe you just gotta take some risks 🤷‍♂️

Bucks taking the Cats gig is either him being asked to do a refresher course before he is given the no-expectations Tassie gig, or working under Chris Scott really was/is a more appealing prospect than coaching the Dees right now?

3 minutes ago, Chook in Perth said:

New stuff, that gives you nothing new.

Melbourne still really want him, and not the picks. Gold Coast still really won't do it.

Its at a passè.

Who blinks first?

Your answer in another 25 pages.

ONLY 25?? I'll take it!

I have this going on for another 250!

1 minute ago, Very Jaded said:

It's a mental health assessment to see if he has the resilience to handle 10 years of being spoken about on Demonland

That sounds great! I could do with one myself. Being a Diehard Dee is NOT AN EASY GIG.

23 minutes ago, Ted Lasso said:

So Pick 8, 24 and 36 for Oliver, Petracca and McVee.

Yeah, thrilled.

Wow. That’s truly horrendous and cannot be spun into a positive. Generational talents and an important part of our defence, gone for a few very speculative picks.

I hope not.

And if it happens, I don’t want them to come out and tell us what a great outcome this is.

1 hour ago, Rednblueriseing said:

A midfield of Pickett, Viney, langford, with Windsor, Rivers, Lindsay rotating through... is competitive with room for growth... sure trac rotating through HF and mid would be grateful but not essential we need the younger hungry players to step up

I agree there are great kids in there. I just think we need another senior player in there.

Trac for 7 and 8 is NOT a good deal at all.

They are unknowns in a widely reported weak draft - one we already stated we don't want to be involved in!!

A lot still to transpire, but if this happens, and we get the expected bag of chips for Clarry (plus paying a chunk of his $), then we are missing both stars in our midfield next year, with nobody really able to fill those gaps.

A dire, uninspiring outcome. Holding out hope we can at least slot in someone we can build with/around.

FD must know this is a bad deal - we do NOT have to trade Trac. Deal does not help us win a flag.

40 minutes ago, 710 Asbury St said:

This week, I’ve been reading on here but not commenting. I know you guys will laugh at me and all that—but I’m gutted by this whole situation. I agree he’s an adult and needs to make decisions and act like one. But I also feel like he’s been a media target—often for good reason—and I imagine that’s exhausting. I understand that it’s exactly what life as an AFL player on big $ will get. Doesn’t make it any easier. I also believe what actually occurred in that room is somewhere between the media version, the clubs version, and Clarry’s version (whatever that is). He was obviously hurt—in his mind, this was the first year (in the past 3) that he thought he wouldn’t be put up for trade—something caused him to think that. And then it changed very quickly.

I’ll be honest, the Collingwood comment, I took it as a guy who’s hurt lashing out. I’m not going to read to much into it, because like the airport nonsense, we see what the media wants us to—definitely not the whole picture. And again—he’s been hounded by the media incessantly—they’ve speculated about his personal life, continuously brought up his issues outside footy—even without reporting anything new on that front for over a year. I left a job last year after changes of CEO and lots of other things. I know that angry feeling. Thankfully, no one in the press gives a [censored] how I feel—but catch me on a bad day and who knows what I might say.

I’ve never been into sports-other than tennis. I moved to Australia in 2013 and got really into AFL in 2016 which was his first season. He’s been my favourite player and he was a gun for us. This hurts—because for me, it’s the first time I’ve given a [censored] about any kind of sports or any player. My family/friends in the US would be laughing at me if they saw how I’ve been—and I’m not young. My son is 29 and is a huge sports freak. I never understood when he got so upset about his teams (Patriots, Yankees, Bruins, and now Richmond) losing games/players. I get it now.

I’m heartbroken and will always have a special place for Clarry. I well and truly hope that this move brings him the peace and recovery that settles him. I also want to see him back to his best. I believe he can get there. I know he wasn’t at his best the past couple of years, but come on, he did not “single handedly” cause us to not contend. That’s ludicrous.

It’s been a strange week for me with lots of emotions. So, if you want to laugh at me and react with vomit emojis or whatever have at it.

No vomit emojis here mate. You said it perfectly.

It has been a long time that we had a player so good that it made people care, and made us relevant again. Clarry was that guy. I always thought he’d run out his last game in the red and blue, with a Brownlow and maybe even a norm smith to showcase. Can’t believe so much has happened in 4 short years. How the picture changed. It’s just a sport. Nothing real and not as real as serious things in life, but it’s a release and a way for us to bond and connect and as a human being with flaws I always connected better with Clarry than, say, Trac

With you 100%

Shattered. One of my favourite players and one of our best. EVER. Whatever way this is spun, you can’t convince me whoever/whatever we’re going to get from this deal will equal what Clarry was, or what he could have been for us in 2026

I think the same for Trac. Together, losing both Trac and Oliver, generational talents who propelled us to our first premiership in a million years, and dragged us into relevance again after so many years in the doldrums.

I held out hope that it was all just noise and the media and Clarry feeling hurt and miscommunication and immaturity but that it would all come together.

A really sad day.