Dee*ceiving

I fear you are correct Old. They tried Dawes in the Leigh Brown role and it didn't work. Lynch will take that role now and Dawes will go back to the permanent forward role, which he performed well. Our main leverage on Dawes will be either of A - Pies need to free cap space B - they want a pick from us to dangle in front of the crows for Tippet.

Dawes > Martin. Leigh Brown and Mark Neeld might be just what big Chris needs to return to peak form. Only a year older than Jack Watts. 1.5 million over 4 years. Do it!

thanks for the summary. Good to hear we are still punching in the "Sharrod to the Dees fight" No mention of Lynch? Has Hutchy confirmed he is a magpie?

The pies will want pick 13 for him no doubt. Definitely overs. 13 & Petterd for Dawes & Goldsack, now we are talking. I can't see the filth having any interest in Stefan Martin if they've just added Lynch and Tippett to their ranks.

If GC are interviewing JV why wouldn't we send him in there with a horrible attitude and Gary Ablett Sucks D*** t-shirt just to put them off the scent!

Carltank must also come into play for Tippet and perhaps the Tigers. Still hard to see him going anywhere but up north. I refuse to believe the Pies could have paid in line with Tippetts expectations and meet Adelaides compesation requirements. It's just not feasible. I think we are a possible suitor for Dawes now with Lynch committing to the Pies.

We are entering a new world now boys and girls. Clubs will look to spend when entering or in a premiership window and offload expensive stars when outside a premiership window. I supect the Saints are secretly not too upset at Goddard leaving them as they would think they are at least 2 to 3 years away from re-entering the premiership race and by which point BJ is slowing down. This saves them 2 Million $ over the next 3 years and gives them a valuable first round draft pick to re-build with. When their window re-opens they'll have cash stockpiled to go to market and maybe pinch a Michael Hurley from the Bombers to load up for their own premiership tilt. This is very much how it works in US sports. The Lakers have this year added Dwight Howard to their list in an effort to land another championship while Kobe is still a superstar. The contrary element to this argument is that other leagues worldwide with Free Agency type models do tend to be dominated by the top 15% richest and most powerful clubs. This is a worrying possibility for us and several other AFL teams. It's up to the clubs to be smart about it and the AFL to be strong with their policies and be prepared to alter them to avoid a farcical EPL type scenario where only 5 or 6 teams are any chance to win the flag every single year and the rest are simply making up the numbers/fighting to avoid relegation. Apologies to the EPL fans but I just can't accept what that league is. It is nothing more than an arms race. It is garbage!

Agree Jordie, raised my eyebrows too. Going to Geelong made sense, chance for finals etc. But Brisbane is left field. Why not stay at Melbourne? Only greater lengevity and more $$$ would justify the move. Brisbance would be a moderate chance to play finals in the next 2 years at best.

Me confused. Has Byrnes manager said: A - Shannon is staying at Geelong or B - Shannon would like to pursue options elsewhere

I think he is unrestricted Norm. No option for the Dees to match.

We'd have the $ but not much more to attract him with. Gee its a serious forward line with Clark and Tippett up there.

WYL is correct. If we move 12 players and 3 or 4 of them have shelf lives of 2 -3 years that still means at least 5 or 6 will be 18 year olds and the rest somewhere in between. I am more than comfortable with that.

I find it astounding that Port would be prepard to trade a player like Butcher at all let along at a time when they still haven't appointed a head coach. I guess saying we have made an approach doesn't mean Port have any interest in it.

2 million, 4 years. 1 Million in year 1. DONE! It's 500K a year with a 500K sign on bonus in year 1

This is good news for Melbourne. The $ Cloke demands makes it much harder to re-sign guys like Goldsack and Wellingham. This is where we need to pounce. We've got draft picks and Stefan Martin as lures. Similarly the story surrounding Goddard to Essendon is good news for us. They will also need to let loose a couple of their fringe players in order to find $ for him. Hopefully something worth pursuing breaks free. Not that I can think of one at the moment.

Ouch...sad but true. Let's hope that curse goes no further

My son is 18 months now and I have a daughter on the way any day now. I think the boy is well on the way to be a diehard demon already. Loves the singing bear and his little Demons jumper (albeit with a number 24 on the back, not quite the right choice in retrospect). Towards the end of the season he was pulling that bear out and pressing it to play the song while I was sitting on the couch watching them get flogged. Not sure if it's a coincidence or not but it made me feel better. I have also made it well known to him, my wife and anyone else that will listen that mychildren are free to support any team they want. But if it's not melbourne it's probably best they find somewhere else to live. I am sure they'll se it my way. Heck if I am going to be misreable, so are they right?

using Old's strategy (which I am sure is common place these days) we'd only be paying A grade salary for 1 year. 350K is actually a little lighter that what I think a 22 year B+ grade midfielder should be worth any way let alone to attract him to another club. We have to pay 92.5% of the salary cap any way. If a Million dollars is spent as a 1 off signing bonus to 2 or 3 players to get them over to our club on 4 or 5 year deals, I say DO IT! We might just find that after doing this our ability to attract players of the same ilk in future years is so much easier because we have a far more attractive on field product.

Now we are talking, Old!

Money talks [censored] walks. If you're Sharrod and you finish higher in the B&F this year than Daisy Thomas (and there is a good chance he will) yet you know he is getting 500K and you are getting 250K you'd have to be some kind of loyalist to go, ah bugger it, not to worry. Money talks and [censored] walks

"Especially if Cloke leaves" this is the key mate. What happens if Cloke doesn't leave? With every goal Clokey kicks in September, Eddies egomaniacal desperation to retain him increases. The more desperate he gets the more he pays him. The more he pays him the less there is for Sharrod, Tyson, Harry and whoever else is OOC. It is fanciful for a Collingwood supporter not to expect that at least 1 doesn't get tipped out. It's when they do that we need to be ready to pounce. I wouldn't bat an eyelid at a 4 year deal for $2 - 2.5 Million for Sharrod. 4 years and $1.5 for Tyson

And he has a couple of pre-seasons behind him and would be close to his man weight/size. Would be a good move even if completely unlikely

I wouldn't hand over a half eaten pie I'd dropped then accidentally stood on while trying to catch it for Tyrone Vickery.

That reads as though its the volume of players in and out that will determine whether a pick is awarded and the quality of the players in vs players out isn't taken into account. Doesn't really seem fair to me. I would have thought Riv and Moloney, being top 10 paid at our club we'd atleast get something should we lose them and gain Byrnes and Jordan Russell (for arguments sake)

Classic! How could we forget? And Andrew Krakeour is the "MCG Specialist"