Very Jaded

How often does a quality player like Petracca with 4 years left on his contract get traded? You want 2 good picks, but good picks in this draft are top 6-8, and Adelaide is not getting that. And banking on them to flop next year, is risky.

Nobody hates Melbourne more than Melbourne fans.

Ah yes we are a sinking ship, and Freo is the poster child for success. Wonder if Judd thought we were a sinking ship when we gave him his chance as a rookie, while Freo completely ignored him as he played under their nose. Good luck to him, and I guess you too, going by the fact that you seem to be a Judd supporter and not a Melbourne supporter.

Well Salem is a 30 year old with a suspect body, and Bowey can play in other spots. We plucked this kid as a rookie during Covid. We gave him a lifeline. We made him a great player. He was asked to play a position that helped the team while we battled injuries, and he too battled injuries. To say we wasted 18 months of his career is a joke. If he wanted to leave last year while contracted, we could have at least got a fair deal for him in a strong draft, but no, he chose for his contract to expire and then nominate a club, so we get screwed. In a team sport, if you are having a sook about your role, and you are a 22 year old who has achieved very little, you need to reassess your ego. Considering you have posted on here about nothing but McVee, and admitted you have a third hand connection to him, I understand your desire to defend him. But let's call a spade a spade here, he's leaving because he thinks the grass at Freo is greener.

How so? By amending his contract several times? King tell him he can play a more attacking role? Give me a break.

So less than the membership numbers of the AFC. Yeah he's a non issue in this space.

You know very well what I mean by standout stars. I'm not talking on the field, I am talking off it. This is about marketability. Jordan Dawson probably has 6 Instagram followers* Victoria has a lot of competition in this space... think N Daicos, think Smith, think Bont, Curnow... the list goes on. *I did not check his Insta followers, it might be like 900 to be fair

I'd take Langford over those 5 combined.

You may well be correct. The grass is not always greener as they say.

Adelaide is a footy mad state, without any real standout stars. Trac instantly becomes THE STAR of SA if he goes there, and that suits the vibes. Especially if Butters heads home next year. Nobody in Queensland cares about Trac. Hell they didn't move the needle on the scale of apathy when they got arguably the GOAT in Gary Ablett Jnr, so how does moving to the Gold Coast help further his off field career? There is however a big TV and film industry in the GC. Interesting to see where this lands

You're right, Trac has decided he wants out because King wouldn't look him in the eye. NOT EVERYTHING IS OUR FAULT!

I can promise you that Trac has spoken with King. I know Geelong is a dump, but they still have access to the internet down there.

Sounds pretty much like McVee wasted our time for a good 18 months only to leave now his contract is up. Dead to me.

Adelaide DESPERATELY need another gun mid or they’ll go nowhere. If they aren’t willing to give up something good to go forward, when a rare opportunity to grab an establishment star comes around, then they can go jump. You don’t get to throw a bunch of mediocre picks at us and expect us to throw you a premiership winning Norm Smith medalist in return. You deserve to fail if this is your attitude.

A lot of reality checks incoming You can be a star player, and also not a very team oriented one. Thanks for 2021, we could not have done it without you, but we can certainly carry on into the future without you.

"We know our future success will be built on people and players who are fully committed to where we are heading" Guerra with the drive by.

Everyone talks about Trac's contract, but it's 2025. $1.3mil is not a big deal anymore. When Flanders is being offered $900k, it shows you where the salaries of established stars is heading. Both Adelaide and GC would comfortably be able to spread out his wage, especially if as I suspect they extend his existing deal and spread the wage out over more years.

They are, but it is not their preference. King wants him to stay, but you can't keep a grown man against his wishes forever.

Walker certainly puts the dumb in Dumbo

I'm surprised Chris Scott didn't blame Melbourne for the loss, on account of us distracting his midfield coach with a new job.

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.