nutbean

sigh...it's a charade - but free agents don't tell the clubs where they are going or if they are going until the first day that free agency transfers open. Hate it as much you want and call it embarrassing but that is the way it is and I am not really sure why people can't understand it. You can pretty much take it to the bank that if he hasn't told the club he is staying by now then he is going. The club knows the vicinity of the offers and has already spoken to the AFL on what compensation we will get for different contract scenario's.

I agree with you that our culture and many other things within the club have been deplorable but I think you may be a little off the money with the rationale for the players mentioned that have left ( are are leaving). If you had suggested that a couple have left to play at club where there was more guaranteed and immediate success or finals then I wouldn't disagree. Scully - seriously - I would leave the MFC for a $1M per year over six years. Dress it up anyway you like - it was about money ( actually a semi trailer load of money) McLean - out of favor and played his last games as a will of the wisp forward pocket. Wanted out - not because of the culture but because he saw the writing on the wall from the then coach Rivers - went to Geelong for less money and a chance to play finals before retirement - mission accomplished Frawley - how can you blame the culture for him leaving ( apparently leaving) when the club has actually gone out of its way to address these issues by bringing in culture builders in Roos and PJ ? He is going for cash and "instant success".

I liked it (already joined as part of the MCC package) but then again I saw something in Lucas Cook.

We are a sad bunch who have really learned little. We got sooo excited about drafting Watts. Wow.. A double header - Scully and Trengove - saviours of the club. jimmy T slipped to our pick.. A blessing. hogan is our next Wayne Carey. I will get excited by a draft pick...any draft pick when they deliver. What a blessing Dom Tyson is.. We paid a handsome price for you and you gave us ROI from day one. (Disclaimer - I will give a few of these blokes time as they are young and have time to make their marks - but I refuse to get all excited about any draft picks until they deliver - if they don't deliver in 2 seasons half of demonland will be trashing them in no time)

I think we need to put the "bleeds red and blue" to bed. In today's football it is a myth. I am happy to have a player/s who are happy to play for us and who the club in turn treats fairly to do so. If you go back through the original MC thread when the news broke that he was retiring you would have seen a few "loves the club" and "bleeds red and blue" in that thread too.

And you missed the whole point of the post. I quote from the Steven King film Christine " you can't polish a turd" and our club for many years has been one steaming pile.

This proves it is a lottery - so many mistakes in that draft it can have 100 page thread of its own. So many clubs got lucky with their second picks being better than their first ( as I have said in previous threads). All this does is highlight what I have always believed has been our problem. Take a draft pick with some raw, undeveloped talent and throw them into what was our cesspool and watch them sink. Poor culture, average to poor coaches, no demands for excellence, fitness regime years behind the pacesetters, no leaders/mentors/older talented players to ease the path for the youngsters, protect them and make them the third or fourth target instead of the first. I have mentioned this elsewhere - who is the great white hope of the top four teams for next year - not some untried draft pick - Hawks look to Roughy, Gunston, Hodge etc, Swans look to Tippett, Hanneberry, Kennedy. Who do we look to to save us ??? An 19 year old who is yet to play a senior game....

Could not agree more - and add to that, that we have been drafting young kids and putting them into our putrid club. So no doubt in my mind that we can clearly say that looking back Wines was who we should have taken. So carrying on your theme - most of the picks we have taken have nothing to do with the fact of poor recruiting - it is more to do with that we are pretty bad at picking the lottery numbers.

I detest him but the little rodent can play the game.

I'll stop splitting when you direct me to one ( all I need is one) of the so called experts who actually had Wines rated above Toumpas.

Go back to 2008. Garry Lyon suggested we try and raid Geelong and take Steven Motlop. That was Geelongs 3rd pick. Maybe we should raid them and take their 2nd pick from that draft - Tom Gillies...ohh...wait.....

Just been looking back through drafts - anyone who doesn't think that it is a turkey shoot..well...look at 2009... We keep bemoaning not taking Dustin Martin - have a look at that draft and see how many mistakes were made. Poster say we could have taken Fyffe - but that was Freo's second pick not their first so they didnt even rate that him as highly as Moribito. We could have had Lewis Jetta but that was the Swans second pick - they preferred Rohan over him. Essendon took Melksham before Carlisle. Geelongs third pick was Christensen at 40 - the best for Geelong from that draft.

Need to pick you up on one point - - Most pundits had Watts and Niknat around the same pundits - most pundits did NOT have Toumpas and Wines around the same pick. Toumpas was clearly the preferred pick and expected to go top 3. Even Jack Viney had him as the preferred pick but commented that he didn't think he would get to our pick. I don't think it proves that pundits don't know - I think it proves that it is a lottery - in fact GWS , Bulldogs and us all got it wrong as he is clearly the standout ( at this stage) of that draft.

Potential and demand. Dusty found out all about demand end of last season. Richmond played hardball and I think they would smiling now given his output this season.

Nonsense - obviously you weren't gifted a crystal ball and rear vision mirror like many on here.

Absolutely there are. FA as an equalisation mechanism is predicated on a FA leaving your club. If a FA doesn't leave a powerhouse then how dos that fit into the equalisation scheme ?

Or the guy without a preseason

So now you want FA compensation to be based on equalisation ??? Not that I care for the Hawks but anyone can suggest that Hawks weren't right royally screwed is beyond me. They weren't screwed from within the FA system but by the design of the system itself.

Why should they stop whinging ? I think the point is that just because they got exactly what the system dictated, it doesn't make the system right. Forget the system and ask yourself this - in what universe is Frawley worth pick 3 (probably) but Franklin only worth pick 19 ?

Your dodgy memory is the same as my dodgy memory but I didn't post because I couldn't find the reference. My dodgy memory recalls Viney Jr rating Toumpas as the number pick and suggesting he wouldn't be around at our pick.

Jonesy daughter - father/daughter 2032....

not bad for a Friday.....

go the fallback position. blame Jack Watts

The notion that two players are mates so one automatically wants to leave their existing club to go and play with the mate is laughable ( maybe Salem wants to go GWS and play with Kelly ?)

The comedian ? Haven't we already got enough of those on our list ?