Pates

This is out of control. I know we're one of the perennial offenders on sacking coaches, but Sando, McCartney, and McKenna are all coaches that have been given the flick with years left on their contracts and still fair to say that they are learning their craft as a coach. Griffen has really stitched him up here, he gave him his support and then decided to request a trade to GWS on the back of what I would imagine is some good coin. When are clubs going to actually back their coaches in? And when are they going to stop letting the players have such a big say? I agree that there should be feedback from player to coach, but was he really given a chance to implement those changes? The Dogs have been on a slow incline, what they've done will likely set them back as they will probably start again with a rookie coach who has to win his players (shouldn't it be the other way around?) and from what I can see there isn't a whole lot of upside that will propel them up the ladder like a Port Adelaide. There was a recent report on it but how much money has been flushed down the drain due to early termination of coaches? I also liked the comment from the Dogs CEO saying "Griffen is contracted and we expect him to honour that contract", well they went into their review saying why should we keep him rather than how can we help him and the club get better? The state the comp is in now is just unbelievable.

I'm quite happy with this trade, we haven't given up much and he is a player that is highly skilled and highly talented. Hopefully Roos will be able to work his magic on him. Welcome to the MFC.

There was a time when younger players did actually respect that if they were leaving a club they would play ball to assist with them getting value. They wouldn't just say, "that's my club, make it happen" they would at least be open to the idea of their current club shopping them around to get them value. GWS would be well within their rights to tell him if Hawks don't match what they want then he can go to St Kilda in the draft. It wasn't that long ago that players (particularly moving interstate) accepted they should at least be open to all clubs willing to deal.

I think that's a great example of mindset, if he had already decided that he was on board with the Roos train then he would/should have been one of the guys pushing the improvement and driving the list to achieve more. But instead you could see in his body language throughout the year that he was either already gone or he was waiting for something to change his mind. At no stage during the year did I think (seeing him out on the field) that he was going to be at Melbourne next year. There wasn't the intensity, urgency, or desire you would look for in someone who had bought in. I also agree that the timing of this is pretty good. We have Tmac coming through as a promising FB, Dunn playing his best year of footy primarily as a defender, Garland playing less than his ability this year so hopefully he can regain some his form, and Pederson becoming a capable swing man. There are also a number of potential stopgap replacements for him on offer this year at the trade table. Roos is no fool, he knew what was going on and structured the team around the likelihood that Chip was gone.

I flicked over to watch the last 5min of the cross win and I gave a cheeky chuckle when he kicked that ball out on the full that gave them a chance of snatching it. Thanks for the memories and thanks for pick 3!

Thank god, now we can finally move on and try to get something of value from this pick. On the argument of whether Frawley is worth pick 3 is one part of this debate, straight up I would say no. But the fact is we are a lower club having one of our most important players (if he played is position to his ability) poached. Now his value to other clubs may not be pick 3, but on his ability he would be around that point for us. This means we are not be torn apart player by player. This is the equalization we should've got last year.

Difference in trading vs FA is the clubs have the ability to push the value and decide if they are going to get the compensation they feel is correct, and it also forces the club they're going to give something up. As that article points out, the Hawks got their man on money and nothing else. No pick or anything. Maybe a transfer fee should be placed in since money is where it's all going anyway.

Sounds like an excellent result to nab him with our third rounder. He sounded like he was doing really well at the draft combine (something people on here didn't seem to like ) so welcome to the club Stretch, and good luck!

I find it baffling that that AFLPA are going to push at some stage for the qualification to be reduced to 6 years. Do they seriously not see the damage they are doing to the game? 8 years at least demands good service to the club and time in the "golden years" of 24+. Chip and Buddy are actually good examples of that, I know a lot of people are bitter towards Frawley but the truth is I don't have too much of a problem with him going. That he's going to the team that just won the premiership is a bit of a sting that they can just snap a player up like that, but in terms of him and what he's done at Melbourne I think he's been a good player and served us well in some shocking years. Likewise with Buddy, he was a key component to the Hawks rise and eventually becoming a powerhouse. He gave the Hawks fans A LOT of good memories and as much as the compo was totally under his worth, the Hawks showed that they could cover him. If the AFLPA succeed in getting 6 year free agency that gets players the opportunity to explore their options at 24 if they are drafting at 18. Right when their coming into their own as a player, after the original club spends time and effort in developing them. If anything the age should be lifted so it does go to what they said it was intended for, getting players who aren't getting a go to their club of choice with no hassle. If the AFLPA want to go down this path, them forced trading will be opposing force. I don't want to see our game go down the road.

I believe we've got 3 out of 4 on that one, jury is still out on Bartlett. Not doubting him, just at this stage there isn't much to suggest he'll be any better than any of his predecessors. And you're dead right, we haven't been in a position where we've nailed every one of those roles in decades.

Not much more to say than wow. He's definitely from another planet, I think he means well but it can be difficult communicating with someone that has a very high opinion of his values. This could be one of Paul Roos' biggest challenges. [Edit] Wanted to add that in an apparently average year he still managed to finish fourth in the their B&F, rare thing for us to nab someone who is top 5 at their clubs B&F. Hopefully it's not just a ruse to push his value up!

If nothing else we have stability in place, Roos always said his goal was to build the foundation from which we would become a competitive club and from there we have a new coach with philosophies similar to Roos but a new (hopefully upward) direction.

I don't have much ill will towards, he hasn't come on as we'd have hoped but unlike many others who have ditched us he hasn't bagged the club or coaches. In the right environment and game plan he could work out for another team.

Wow this is a real shock, so incredibly sad. I got into footy past the time of the Robbie but it's not hard to see why his legend lives on. Admired by everyone who played the game, a genuine bonafide star, and to top it off a real gentleman. I can say I've had the pleasure of meeting him, albeit only briefly, when I was a guest in the MCC. Just so easy to talk to and so kind, he and my friend's dad were organising to have dinner together they got on so well. This is such a sad day for the MFC and the footy world. RIP Robbie

Given the uncertainty surrounding them at the time I was gob smacked they did that at the time, looks like one of the worst decisions they could've done.

Until we have pick 3 in our hands I will always have the nagging feeling we'll get screwed, theoretically it'll all come down to his contract so let's home the Chip is asking for the big $$$.

Wow, I was really expecting this to be the end of the Robbo/Hird love affair but he's almost as blind as James himself! How can he not see that Hird is doing more damage than good to the club he claims to love?

Man every time you think this s-storm has reached it's peak something else pops up! Hird has gone beyond arrogance and stubbornness, he is officially the most selfish person to ever be a part of our great game. Every clubs basic mantra is that no one man is bigger than the club, Hird has himself assumed that role and made life more difficult for "his players". An ounce of humility might've save him from himself, but that just isn't in him. He's gone, at least we get to see more of Bombers entertaining pressers. And hopefully more of himself and Roos on 360, it's always great TV.

Oh my god what a shock! Now can we find out who he's going so we can get this over and done with. FWIW he has actually been a good servant for us, he's had one stella year and a couple of decent years mixed in with his development years. He's put up with a lot of crap times and more coaches than any player should have to put up with his entire career, I don't blame him for going and I thank his prospective clubs for pushing his value into top tier. I wish him well, but hope we smash whoever he'll be playing for (not bloody likely).

Honestly for me the only way this could possibly work is if there was a second training ground created somewhere next to the G, for that to be viable they would then need to probably create underground car parking under Yarra Park (something I believe is planned) but as said above a lot of work would need to go into flattening the ground as there really isn't anywhere that flat as it is. To me for all parties to be happy it would cost a lot of money and in the long run have very little commercial or community benefit (something that has been a carrot with the Western Oval and Arden street). This is all coming to the point where we review the AAMI park situation, it must be pretty crowded there with four teams, especially with three of those teams having matching seasons (winter for Dees, Storm, and Rebels) which means I reckon it might get cramped during summer when it's a lot of weights and core strength building. Of all the ideas being thrown around (aside from staying at AAMI) I would say the Docklands idea provides most of the positive aspects, although it takes us away from our spiritual home. It will be built from scratch to specs that fits with us, provides a park and training area for a new community, still keeps us in "Melbourne" and in fact pushes us further into the CBD of Melbourne (something Bartlett seems keen on). We can also look at the potential of a social club that can be used for post-game functions, particularly when we're scheduled at Colonial/Telstra/Etihad/whatever stadium.

Pretty harsh if true, pretty much improved every year and I reckon they're about where they should be at this stage of development. The situation with Bomber Thompson may well have felt like they needed to act now but I question whether he's got the fire in the belly. He always looks so tired at pressers, but then it might just be because of the ASADA situation at Essendon taking it's toll.

Looks like a trade for their second round pick is what we should push for if the players aren't willing to be shipped off to us. Hopefully that'll be enough to get Lumumba over the line. [Edit] Hearing that people reckon he's worth Geelong's first round pick is good, makes me believe we can push for proper compensation.

Wow I would take that one without hesitation.

I'd take him, as always for the right price. It'd be an interesting first meeting between him and Pedders at training though, I was kinda looking forward to them meeting up again and Pederson giving him one back.

That's exactly the point, a top 4 team poaching an important player to a bottom 4 team prevents that team from having any chance of competing with the big boys unless they are given compensation that allows them the opportunity to either draft a great prospect or trade to bring in a star. Of course Frawley isn't directly worthy of a pick at number 3, no club would give that up. But this system is in place to prevent the lower clubs from being down the bottom forever. Whereas a top team losing a star can have in place a great team around him that makes his loss mean less. You want to blame someone Swann? Blame the clubs throwing the money at him, they're the ones pushing his value up.