Jaded No More

I am so excited to see 2026 Clarry under King, and possibly without Trac.

Ah yes, the long list of players who ran to Freo to elevate their game and see success must have really sold him. I wish him all the success that Hogan and Farmer had there.

Rachele is probably the most realistic, if we can convince him to come Victorian boy, was in and out of the side this year, and is more surplus to Adelaide's need than a bull inside mid like Trac is. Rachele plus a F1* and Adelaide takes Trac's entire salary. *Even pick 18 next year, is better than pick 14 this year.

Look I'm not here to argue that our club hasn't had multiple challenges or poorly handled issues since 2021, and I am certainly not here to take away from Trac's trauma or the severity of his injury. But lets be for real, we are one of a small handful of clubs to have won a flag this past decade. Not only that, we are one of only two 'small' clubs to have won one, without the benefits of academy picks, bottomless salary caps, home ground advantages, the love and support of the AFL with fixturing or the MRO etc etc. There are star players at other clubs who would give up their spleen to win one. Merrett, Cripps, the list goes on. Trac has not only achieved team success, he also achieved individual success with the support of the club. He is also not the first player to deal with serious injuries, or worse terrible off field issues relating to mental health, the loss of a child, a terminally ill parent or partner, cancer, the list goes on. At the end of the day, if you are a real leader, you stick it out through bad times and good. If you have no extenuating family circumstances, and you are still choosing to jump ship when the going gets tough, then it says as much about you as the club you are departing. See also Merrett, except Merrett hasn't won a flag. The reason why we all raised an eyebrow when Trac made the comment about this being 'his job', is because we all understand that being an AFL player, let alone a star player, is not a regular job that the average joe has. Not only has Trac achieved the ultimate success, he was also able to set up his brand, and his and his wife's future beyond footy while wearing red and blue. I don't think we have done so badly by him, and in fact many of the changes that have taken place in the last 12 months were things he expressed he wanted to see happen. So let's not pretend like Trac wanting out for the second year in a row, is all about the club, and not in fact, mostly about him.

Far be it for me to defend the club I support, but people here talk about failing to attract stars to our club, like it's something that happens regularly to other clubs. I look at big clubs like the Pies, Essendon and Carlton, and I don't see them regularly attracting star players. Essendon hasn't had a hit since Shiel, Carlton got Cerra who wanted to come to us because they had the trade capital at the time, and Collingwood gambled away their future for mediocre players in Shultz and Houston. Interstate clubs can play the homesick card, but the only Vic club that consistently lures stars is Geelong, and we all know why. Exactly the same way Saints finally landed a few hits, by overpaying. Since winning the flag we've made a conscious decision to keep going to the draft with early picks. That means that we've ended up with some very mediocre 'role' players added, but we also got 200 gamers in Bowey, Windsor, Lindsay and Langford, and maybe also JVR and Kolt. So which would you rather? Houston or Lindsay?

Camera crews don’t just randomly hang out at Melbourne airport either It’s possible that someone saw him at Melbourne airport for sure, but it’s curious nevertheless.

I do wonder how channel 9 got wind of Trac landing at Adelaide airport? Seems odd they had a camera crew and reporters at the airport on a random Monday afternoon.

Look I’m not totally disagreeing here. But let’s remember that amidst us being a “mess”, we haven’t actually lost a star player yet. Not only that, we signed Kosi for 9 years. So yes maybe this doesn’t happen at a well run strong club, or maybe Trac is who he is and no matter how well run we become, we still won’t be big enough for him. If you don’t want the tail wagging the dog, then you don’t want players dictating list management decisions or field positions. And you certainly don’t want players who feel they are bigger than the club. Also I’m in complete agreement re: Richo. His end is coming soon. How soon I’m not sure.

Every year every club has players looking around. You don’t hear about them all because most don’t have the profile of Trac. But it’s the reality. Trac wanting out is as much about Trac as it is about our club. I know everyone LOVES to pile [censored] on us, even our own fans, but sometimes players are not thinking about anyone but themselves. See also J McVee. See also Z Merrett. See also C Curnow.

He also has my blessing to talk about other clubs 😂

Well at least Tom Morris is serving our club for once, saying we won’t trade him unless it’s a good deal. I was half expecting him to tell us that Trac hates the club again and is desperate to leave. Thanks Tom you [censored]

Anna is Eddie Betts’ wife. No relation to Phil or Tom.

Honestly, I think Trac’s issues are far bigger than one player. He and his entourage do not like our club. I know people will come here and dispute this and say he loves the club and the players, but his head has been turned. He looks down on us and thinks he’s better than what we have to offer him at this point in his career. So frankly speaking, if his entire issue is our club doing what they thought best for the wellbeing of a champion player, he can enjoy the Barossa. And he might be awfully disappointed to find out that ours is hardly the only club that panders to troubled stars. Maybe next time he’s cooking burgers with Dangerfield for a Coles ad he can have a chat to him about Bailey Smith.

Unfortunately I think so. However you never know what magic King can bring

I think we need to make something very clear, WE are not the ones pushing this. Petracca and his extended entourage are. King would rather keep him. But you can’t keep walking back thru a door you keep wanting to slam shut behind you. If Trac is STILL not happy after we replaced nearly the entire management team of the club, then he never will be, and you can’t drag along a $1.3mil child kicking and screaming. He is within his rights to want a fresh start, and we are within our rights to want one too, without players whose heart is no longer with us. That doesn’t mean we accept whatever rubbish deal we get given.

14 in this draft may as well be 40. No. Thank. You. Top 8-10 pick plus a good quality player. Adelaide needs to get creative or they need to take a hike. They also need to take on his entire salary.

Of course not but it’s also not something fans have any point worrying about. We have list managers and accountants to work out that stuff. Trust that if we can chase Houston, inquired about Curnow and are chatting with Flanders that money is not a problem.

Trac is contracted. We hold all the cards. If Adelaide don’t play ball they can enjoy having a mediocre midfield for many years to come.

Unfortunately we aren’t Geelong. We can’t attract quality players to our club with land parcels and Cotton On tshirts. We have to overpay to get good established players.

But he’s so committed to our club?!!!

The

Even if we don’t end up actually doing it, I absolutely hope we threaten to walk Judd to the PSD. If nothing else but to make him and his manager sweat, the way they made us sweat. The second round garbage pick we will end up getting back from Freo is not going to aid us nor hold up any other trades for us. Happy to do the deal on the last day of trade period after making it clear that we want to deal with West Coast and not Freo.

He famously covered his swastika tattoo with a rising sun tattoo. So he’s on something and should be in something. Like a padded cell.

Kane Cornes is someone I personally would love to punch in the nuts

Demonland: May and Clarry are a terrible distraction and bad for culture Also Demonland: we should chase Bobby Hill and JUH