old55

Newton is a nominated rookie. He's permanently available for selection this year but he's still a rookie. Warnock is out of contract - he wasn't out of contract last year and there's no way he was on a 3 year deal.

He's reaching with that avatar.

Not for the first time you would have thought wrong - there's 640 listed AFL players in and out of contract not currently on the MFC list, there is no way that Tim Harrington has contacted their player managers and inquired about every one of those 640 players.

Yes deals have to be win-win. The strength of the draft may have an impact on the relative trade value of a player across the two drafts but it has nothing to do with the relative trade value of a player in that draft - if a club wants a contracted player they will have to pay more than if the player is uncontracted because they can't use getting him in the draft as a lever. See Luke Ball, if he was contracted, Collingwood would have needed to offer St.Kilda more than they did to get him, they could cap their offer because they knew they could get him in the draft if St.Kilda wouldn't deal. Darren Jolly was contracted so Collingwood had to offer a fair trade price.

Where did I mention GWS? A contracted player has more trade value to the club he's contracted to, the club that wants him has to pay more - if he's uncontracted he has the option of going into the draft therefore driving his trade value down.

That's exactly what you said above in your quotes - no surprise you are trying to back away from such a scurrilous and unfounded rumour now that I have called you on it. You're free to come up with some convoluted explanation of what you really meant or hide behind some mysterious gobbledegook. But Occam's Razor - every reasonable reader on this site knows what you said.

I think the Cheney trade for a pick upgrade from 66 to 52 was a win-win. MFC traded a player that was surplus to needs in a position in which we have a lot of depth and young players coming through, Cheney got an opportunity he warrants, Hawthorn filled a need with Campbell Brown leaving and MFC got a pick upgrade that secured a very promising talent in Tom McDonald who could easily have been snapped up in the 14 picks we advanced by. How many medium forwards do we need? We've got Jurrah, Green, Sylvia, Howe, Petterd, Dunn, Bate. If a player wants to leave your club for more opportunities elsewhere and there's a club or clubs interested, then his trade value is higher if he's contracted than if he's uncontracted. If he's uncontracted he has the option of going into the draft therefore diminishing his value, if he's contracted there's the option of paying part of his contract to receive a higher pick.

You've made the disgraceful accusation that Tom is going to blackmail MFC into trading him to Richmond by threatening to go into the draft.

FMD that's 100% consistent with what Tom said. He's going to decide at the end of the year. He'll get a great offer from MFC and he's likely to get a very attractive offer from GWS - maybe too attractive to refuse. While we should be optimistic that he'll stay at our club for the whole variety of positives that we offer, he's not going to say now that he's intending to stay at MFC, and it's just a matter of sorting out the details, because he's going to decide at the end of the season. He wont be going to Richmond or any other Victorian club.

Crazy comparison - why does one player have to be downgraded to boost the others? Watts, Naitanui and Hurley are all exciting prospects and will all be great players. I'd be excited if we had Naianui or Hurley at the club and I'm very happy with Jack.

I'd like to Blease play this week.

Indeed!

Ron's first post was sloppy but he quickly moved to clarify when questioned and has been very explicit now about what happened and hasn't avoided scrutiny. I actually got something out of his post - so thanks.

The tighter confines of Etihad make it easier to zone and that makes it harder for us - agree we've got to get past it and this week would be a good time to start.

No, we play higher risk, higher reward than other teams.

10.5 might be enough.

You wriggle like a worm on a hook ... You aren't the best exponent of plain speaking. You seem to be backing away from your assertion that the number 1 threat is Richmond. Despite the fact that you posted last November: What is your reason for thinking that Tom might go to Richmond? It's not money ... Well it's not because he barracked for Richmond: It's not Richmond's enviable culture of success over the past 30 years: Apparently the reason is all around us but only you can see it ... Perhaps you're referring to the criticism of Dean Bailey who Tom has said is doing a good job. Perhaps like me you think that people believing that he has signed with GWS, demanding ultimatums and writing him off are the most damaging factor. But who knows - you're unable to actually say what you think. So mysterious but so knowing - Marlene Dietrich has nothing on you. === Now how would he get to Richmond according to you? No [censored] sherlock! So according to you MFC would trade with Richmond because Tom would blackmail us by threatening to go into the draft, where like Luke Ball, all clubs except Richmond would pass on the opportunity to draft him. === I am very patient - if you read my posts on the subject I've said all along that I believe what Tom says and I respect his right to make a decision at the end of the season and I think that supporting him is the best way to encourage him to make the right decision.

You may be refering to the poster I referenced above I believe.

This is exactly what you did say A Victorian club is the #1 threat - the only Victorian club you've mentioned in this thread is Richmond - therefore you are saying that the #1 threat is Richmond.

Alan will be over in Moscow showing us how to reconcile the Russians and the Chinese. So, until next week, cheerio.

That's correct and in points 2 & 3 a player who nominates for either draft and "nominates football payments" i.e. a compulsory contract amount, has to do so for "a minumum of two years". Therefore the player would be going to the club that picked him up for TWO YEARS and to get past GWS the player would have to nominate a contract amount over two years that GWS couldn't afford but Richmond could. Going into the draft isn't going to get him to Richmond - it's going to get him to GWS (or the Suns or Port Adelaide or all the clubs which have a pick before Richmond) for 2 years. It's a destructive fantasy.

http://www.flutetunes.com/ You have said nothing except peddle a completely unsubstantiated rumour that Tom Scully will go to Richmond. When asked to substantiate the why and how, you rave on about "pennys dropping" but provide zero answers. Yes there is a potential problem at MFC - it's "supporters" like you who don't believe in Tom and may drive him away with your scurrilous rumour mongering.

How to play the flute: Blow in one end and move your fingers up and down on the outside