Dr. Gonzo

I can't believe this guy is still only 22 years old. He has absolutely dominated since midway through last year and has probably been our best key defender this year which is no mean feat co sidering the quality down back. It only occurred to me when viewing the contract thread that he is tied up til 2025 and will only be 25 at end of contract! Massive upside for this young star has the potential to go forward at some stage and could be captain material down the road. Loving his game this year.

Reputations aren't always positive 😉

I assume he's just a huge fan of 80s metal but it would be good to hear it form the horses mouth 🤣

Actually it started at half time in that game

I know this is a joke but I don't get the punchline?

That was part of the reason I found it so hard to reconcile the fact he might leave. So happy he has signed on and committed to the club long term. Outrageous that we have basically all our core players locked in for 5+ years, astounding list management from the club. Onya Gussy!

I don't think that's how it works but happy to be proven wrong

Whats with the devil horns?

If he does get the job I assume he will exit immediately which means we lose him for finals

Bang bang bang

And no TMac

Yeah it's not so much being upset it's just hard to reconcile. He would be the last one I would've thought would be holding out but there you go.

I find it difficult to think the Brayshaw that gave this interview with Garry Lyon after the Grand Final is holding out for money or looking elsewhere to play midfield minutes (particularly at 2mins in). It's our club Gus.

We are paying $1.005 on Sportsbet to make the finals FWIW

I disagree - not everyone holds out for more money and if the extra dollars spent on Brayshaw means we can't hold on to someone like Kozzie or Petty when they are up for renewal then it is putting himself before the club which is a recipe for failure.

That's disappointing especially considering the investment the club made in him for little return while he battled his concussion issues. Oliver and Petracca seem to have taken unders to keep the list together, if another player then holds out for more money it can upset the applecart as they'd be thinking "I should've just taken more." Edit - and as much as I love him and his role in the team, no, he is not on the same level as Oliver and Petracca even if he were playing in the middle.

If that was us you'd say its only 2.

Careful or you'll be labelled a Pollyanna 😉

If I bumped this thread from same time last year no one would be able to tell which was 2021 and which was 2022. I encourage people to skim through to get an idea of where we were at same time last year and how quickly things can change once we got momentum heading to September.

Not as much as we laugh at them

I can understand why - I mean if you were able to go back home on equivalent or more money, close to family/friends etc to a strong team then why wouldn't you? Especially after already winning a flag? The AFL should change the contract rules so club's get 4 years out of their draftees because as it stands 2 years is ridiculous for an 18yo who won't come into his prime until he's 24/25.

Thank you for pointing this out, saved me the trouble. I just shake my head at some of the drivel posted on here.

What if they plan on playing him as a mid?

Just to throw even more conjecture in I was wondering whether Selwyn Griffiths has gone even harder than Burgess did last year? I remember hearing reports on here about comments from players that the running sessions were even harder (in preseason I think) so perhaps that's continued through the season. Will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next 4 weeks. I nervously expect an uptick in performance starting Friday against Freo but while my head is telling me yeah it makes sense my stomach is in a knot of doubt.