bing181

Some of the comments here show just how disconnected average football fans are from the reality of large, professional, elite-level sports clubs.

Disagree. Professional AFL players have been around and can see past the external pile-on. Their decision-making process isn't going to hinge on what they read in the papers, but on the usual work stuff: conditions, contract, opportunities, coaches/managemet etc. Having said all that, don't see Macrae would work, from both sides. Imagine he'd be better off at a team with a younger mid group who needs his experience.

Seriously? He was cheap depth, traded for a future 3rd-rounder.

if anyone thinks that these kinds of decisions come down to Tim Lamb and Tim Lamb alone ... For starters there is a List Management committee which includes Taylor and presumably Richardson, but decisions on bringing in players would involve coaches as well.

He was already pushed out of the wing spot by Brayshaw. But even when Jordan played the wing he was in/out of the side.

Suspect more the latter. Might lead to stricter rules around rib injuries, as much as anything because they can be so hard to diagnose on the spot.

From what I've read on him, Shand isn't going to be involved in something that's just window-dressing. But you only have to look at his background (sports/performance/rteam-building) to know where the focus will be. You don't bring in someone like Shand to review the admin, it's not really his speciality and there are plenty of people on the Board who are capable of doing that. (Which is also why they're there.)

Giving him too much credit. Initiatives like this aren't put in place overnight.

Landing the club with $500K in unnecessary costs is a bit more than "stepping out of line".

Not always on Demonland.

Including managing the other coaches. Worth digging out the interview that Burgess gave when he left late 2021, where there are real insights into Goodwin's capabilities in that regard.

Seems pretty clear: "Green said he would lead a review of the Board aimed at resetting and refreshing its performance"

Except I didn't say that did I. A predictable response, also a massive red herring which doesn't even attempt to refute the points I made in response to yours re Petracca.

Hunter was a smart pickup - allowed us to move Brayshaw on-ball and he was more than handy in his first season. Combination of the arrival of Windsor, injury and age haven't helped him this year, but it wasn't the worst trade by a long shot.

If he just wanted out he would have gone to North or Richmond. You're giving someone who by his own admission is struggling with his mental health and trauma a lot more credibility than he deserves. The fact that he blames the club in some way for ANB leaving shows just where he's at at the moment.

You're confusing correlation with causation. The only facts are that a few players have gone off the rails/had incidents. That's it.

And adds to it. Congratulations. Really happy for him, hasn't always been easy.

I posted it with exclamation marks. Perhaps too subtle. But the one point in it that was interesting and perhaps more credible was that Collingwood were interested in him last year when he re-signed. That he did reconfirm to us says something about both him and the club, we sometimes take these re-signings for granted.

Just re Spargo, I'd be surprised. The fact that he was the one chosen to take Melksham's place as kind of "player liaison" on the gameday bench says something about how the club and players see him. He must be doing something right.

I take the reference to a drop in standards with a grain of salt, especially when it comes from Trac. That he could cite ANB leaving as evidence of the club's failings says a lot as to where he's currently at. Understandably perhaps given the trauma etc., but still. (Whether or not we shouldn't be looking at how we can improve right across the board is a separate discussion.)

I don't think anyone's taking it as gospel, and the fact that even the bigger names haven't dropped something similar speaks volumes as to how credible it is.

Selwyn is more than competent. We need to stop looking for "gurus" as some kind of miracle workers. Burgess has run fitness departments for plenty of teams who haven't even made the 8 - including us. Not doubting his capability, but he's just one factor amongst many.

!!!

"Petracca drove this exit plan himself. He was not put up to it by his management firm, Connors Sports Management. In 2021 he and that company ecstatically reached a deal with the Demons through to the end of 2029. In mid-2024, he asked his representatives to explore the market on his behalf. Robbie D’Orazio and Paul Connors can publicly explain their involvement in the Petracca saga if they so wish, but history suggests that when their firm is involved in a trade request from one of its players from a ground-zero beginning, it gets it done. It negotiated the passage of one of the all-time greats in Chris Judd, from West Coast to Carlton, in 2007, without fuss. In contrast to Petracca, Judd never sought to publicly embarrass the club he was seeking to leave. The statement released by Melbourne on Saturday night officially committing to a future with Petracca was a convenient, timely end to a farcical saga. But it is almost certainly merely a temporary halt. The fraying of Petracca-Demons relationships since King’s Birthday simply may not be able to be repaired. Fixture in a resumption of the Petracca trade talk same time next year."

I'm surprised there hasn't been more emphasis on KPD. May and McDonald into their last season or two, Jed Adams on a long contract but is yet to really show anything. The cupboard is bare, especially after we've swung Turner and Petty forward.