Macca

Viney could slot into a role as a defensive forward or even as a small forward And we don't have to wait until his last contracted season to play him up forward either Petracca played that high half-forward role in 2019 (IIRC he did not warm to that role) so a few of our best players are adaptable. Not sure that Clarrie is anything more than a ball-magnet central midfielder but at his best, he's one of the best in that role Max forward in his last year or 2? Well, I wouldn't say he can't do it and our policy has often been to play 2 rucks (Gawn rucking with Jackson forward worked well) Gawn can ruck in the front 3rd as well if it came to that The A graders & elite get long term deals as a matter of course. It's just the way it works And most supporters adore their stars so there wouldn't be too many not being happy with Gawn & Viney extending Much like Flower, Barassi and co, we'll miss them when they're gone

These long term deals are something that folks just need to get used to In overseas sports all the clubs would have to write-off money owed from time to time. A delistment contingency factor so to speak And as a lot more money flows into the clubs in the AFL, the same thing will happen. List management is not a perfect science as the players and managers are more often than not, looking to maximise the dollars heading their way So if it's every club from time to time (and it will be), what's the big deal? That's why the practice of front ending contracts softens the blow We might get stuck with a player or 2 from time to time (Ben Brown for instance) but the consequence of not being stuck with a player is that you might miss the opportunity of having that player at all So Gawn signs on for an extra 2 years but what if a club (with nothing to lose) offered Max an extra 3 or 4 years? We could then lose Max. Ditto for Viney And make no mistake, we've all got a price and players will leave for money. The loyalty factor is a factor but not limitless Dustin Martin is a good example of the to & fro. Years ago he held out for more money and at least 2 clubs were offerening long term deals with big money involved ... in the end, Richmond paid him what he wanted Money well spent As is often said, 'follow the money'

Here's my top 10 for the EPL season Man City (too many quality players) Arsenal (will push Man City again) Liverpool (interesting watch post Klopp) Aston Villa (underrated but keep performing) Chelsea (very big squad, perhaps too big) Man Utd (the dark horse) Tottenham (away at the big clubs could be a challenge) Newcastle (will win a lot of home games) Brighton (could finish higher if augurs well) West Ham (a knockout hope) Nearest the pin wins the prize* (if anyone else here cares to have a go at it) *There's no prize

I can recall Yallop keeping occasionally when injury intervened but keeper/batsman Wayne Phillips played 27 tests for Australia He had the gloves most of the time but not always ... and he did open the batting for Australia but again, he didn't always open the batting I'll ask a mate who might know or someone here might know for sure, TD And apart from Whiteman, Cameron Bancroft was a specialist keeper who also, of course, is an opening batsman (but he seems to be on the outer with regards to selection)

Yeah, well played big fella! Thanks for the Premiership!!

Jeffo's got nothin' on 'Juice' (Newton)

If North were offering Viney 4 years at about $1Million per year, we ran the risk of losing Viney if we made a low-ball offer At a guess, I reckon Viney's contract with us would be about $2.8Million (maybe $3Million) Front ended So if we only offered 2 extra years the money might be around $2.5Million vs $4Million Money talks so why would a player forgo $1.5Million? You get one career in footy and the money that can be earned has a use-by date What's the average Australian wage? 80 Grand? If you're playing footy and they want to pay you, get as much as you can But it's my belief that Viney could have made more money if he went to North. So he's loyal and he stays And we need him

Free agency came into being in 2012 and many thought that there would be a stack of top quality players available as RFA or FA but that hasn't happened Nearly all the clubs are signing their best players on long term deals through their FA years. A number would be on front-ended deals too. Perhaps most We're not the only club stitching up their best players. All the clubs are doing it As for Ben Brown, we had to offer him 4 years to get him. And it's my bet that he earned the least amount of money in his last year (another front ended contract) And without Brown, do we win the flag in 2021? Well, our chances would have at least been diminished (in my view)

The more money that comes into the sport means bigger contracts and longer contracts Why? Because the unsuccessful clubs with heaps of room in their salary cap's are going to come at the best players with huge contracts And it is already happening e.g. Luke Jackson was never homesick, he left for a $8.7Million deal over 7-8 years We let him go because we couldn't match the offer, not even close I'm surprised that you aren't in touch more with the monetary side of things And most of the clubs are signing up their best players past those players FA eligibility. Why? So they don't lose them to huge offers elsewhere It can be risky but the bigger risk can be being blindsided where you lose a top player

It would be common practice amongst all the clubs. In fact, it's the best way to construct a contract so as to not be up for big dollars in the last year of a long deal The last year of a deal can therefore be effectively a tack-on year And with the salary cap heading towards $20Million, paying a figure of say, $500k, in the last year of a contract would only represent 2.5% of a year's salary cap Maybe a lot less if the final year of a contract is around $350k to $450k So why don't we hear about the above in the media?

Good to see, Saty I was being slightly ironic & flippant

Looking back at 2011-2013 when we really were in crisis, we didn't generate a lot of publicity ... certainly not compared to the latest going's on Of course there was the tanking story but back then we were largely seen as irrelevant So is any publicity good publicity? I don't for a minute believe that we are a club in crisis so the club should be using all this stuff to galvanise from within Bottom line is that we've still got a very good list of players and by and large, we're well coached. We just need all our players to be fit and raring to go We're financially secure as well with 2 excellent training facilities (don't forget that we won a flag training out of Casey) ... and with regards to the new facility at Caulfield, it's going to take a few years but at least the blueprint is there Everyone I know who follows footy, reckons that most of the stuff generated in the media is garbage They have little regard for Cornes, Hutchy, Eddie, Caro, Edmonds, Morris and the like. And I share their sentiments

So what are you doing here? Being clickbaited by the clickbaited? It's like the rubberneckers ... everyone does it (with no exceptions) The trouble with these rumours is that every now and again, one of the rumours is more than a rumour Fake news - alive and well in the AFL

All the big guns (bar Chelsea) won their opening encounters with Tottenham engaged tomorrow morning @ Leicester (5.00am on SEN Fanatic) Liverpool too good for Ipswich whilst West Ham had their chances to get a point vs Villa I see Jamie Vardy is lacing them up again for The Foxes (at the age of 37) If he's still got that yard of pace, he could be a more than handy sub

Albury hey! Reminds me of Hadyn Bunton who played in 4 senior flags for 3 different Albury teams before he had turned 19yo!

Yeah, he was obviously passed over in the draft but it could be argued that he has been in the system since 2019 (when he was not drafted) Do you know what where he was playing his footy in 2020 & 2021? (assuming he was playing under 18 footy in 2019)

The last year on a veterans contract would almost certainly be a lesser amount. Maybe even a significantly lesser amount Probably standard practice at any club as it makes sense to do things that way Long term contracts the same I.e. front loading contracts so as to not get stuck with a large amount if a players form drops right off (or injury intervenes)

He has come a long way ... been in the system for at least 4 years and is now starting to blossom as a 22yo Another tick for our development system and patience Half the battle for these youngsters is believing that they can belong at the highest level. The base skills are there What is absolutely crucial is having a number of experienced, talented players to show them the way I had a look at North, Tigers & Eagles today and I don't envy their position and where they sit. It must be so hard for their new young players to shine Disco still has a fair way to go but there is indeed, cause for optimism

Kolt has shown enough and once he picks up the pace of the game, the sky's the limit He's only just turned 19, as has Windsor. We sometimes don't take into account how young these draftees are (suddenly playing against men who are vastly more experienced, bigger and stronger) For both players, the next 2 years are also development years as very few become the finished product after just a year or 2 in the system

Pleasing to see a style of play with a far more attacking mindset. Slick, quick, precise & daring And a better balance of corridor football whilst still using teammates who have created space away from the corridor

SEN are covering most of the EPL games again this season Download the app to access the games and SEN Fanatic looks to be the go-to audio outlet (via the app)

That's a bit like finding out that Creedence Clearwater Revival emanated from San Francisco *Spoiler Alert*

EPL kicks off in just under 5 hours Man Utd vs Fulham (5.00am) Match of the week is probably Chelsea vs Man City (1.30am Monday) Not sure whether SEN are covering the EPL games this season but if you've got access to TalkSport radio, you should be able to get hold of the games

Smacka Fitzgibbon, the one and only 'Smacka' ... what a great nickname!