bing181

Agree, and if it's the only possibility, happy to go to the draft and let Taylor and co. do their work. Against that, I suspect the club would have preferred to balance the list with players who are further along in their careers. But those players have to be available, and they have to want to come to us.

Something like that. 6 or 7 plus the equivalent of a lower first round, either this year or next. One thing people are constantly overlooking in all this is Petracca's age plus - and it's a big plus - he's on a massive contract that the Suns will have to take on board. Neither work in our favour.

If you can find a quote from (say) Lamb to this effect, I'd be interested to see it. All I've seen is the club saying "improve our list", "turn our heads" etc. Very general.

Can't believe people are hanging on this as if it means something.

No we haven't.

Except that Lamb isn't saying no. Quite the reverse: "if someone wants him, come and talk to us and pay up." https://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/1911112/trade-day-one-lamb-on-dees-focus

I have no idea where it's coming from or who's behind it, but it seems increasingly clear that getting rid of Goodwin was the first domino in a club-wide reset, both on and off the field. There's an argument that we could have moved on players, assistant coaches etc with Goodwin still in place, but appointing a new coach creates the clear water you need to wreak havoc without there being much pushback. Period of grace and all that. If you wanted to go further and venture into outright speculation, you could even suggest that the ultimate goal here was to sort out the locker room once and for all by getting rid of Trac, Clarry and May - but to do that, we had to move Goodwin on first.

Which only goes to confirm the club's position in wanting him gone. How the mighty have fallen. (sadly)

What will prove to be detrimental to the new coach is having players around the place who put themselves before the team and/or don't want to be there.

Yes, what would McRae and the Collingwood football department know about coaches and coaching ...

... as forwards coach.

At least they had the discussion. The more clubs the merrier, helps push up or at least maintain his value.

Meaningless once a player asks for a trade. And even moreso when you want said player, his antics and his $$$ off your books.

And the same for Petracca and us.

My recollection is that the off-field behaviour only spiralled in 2023 with his first long-term injury. There was also talk that he was struggling with a relationship breakup, and that plus the injury pushed him into a not great place.

It's a myth that this is a weak draft. My understanding is that the issues with it are a) there's perhaps not the real standout talent compared to previous years and b) it's compromised by academy and father/son picks. But there are still plenty of good draftees in the first couple of rounds. Let's not forget that this year's Rising Star was taken at Pick 17.

Taylor is head of recruiting. Easy to check.

Last season he didn't even meet with any other clubs. There was also a certain amount of understanding both from the club and the players about his mental state post serious injury. Try again.

He apparently found time to sit down with McVee.

It's a real part of negotiations, but not much more than that. Second rounder is all we're going to get. We may make them sweat a little to signal our displeasure, but everyone knows how this will play out.

Seriously? There's been massive damage done, and no way in a million years that Trac comes back now.

Just nonsense. What players think is the opposite of irrelevant, it's why all this is happening. If they're going to buy in 100%, they need to know that every one of their team mates is doing the same. The talk even before the Petracca meeting was that the players felt that Trac wasn't completely invested, which is fatal. As for "Steven King is on record". Of course he is, and if you believe him for one moment, I have a bridge to sell you. He said what he had to say. Also, King gave him a phone call, but didn't even make the effort to sit down with him in person. Hard to believe that supporters could be so gullible here, but there you go.

Attitude, culture, etc. Too much damage done now, and even if the coaches might accept him, the players won't. The club want him gone.

Deals are never simple, and the problem for us here is that GC know that Trac can’t come back to us now. They also know we want him and his salary off our books. In spite of all the posturing, we’re on a hiding to nothing here, and GC very much have the upper hand.

All of them. (Btw, Hogan to GWS, where he won a Coleman; Pick 54)