Macca

More extended highlights (more so for the winners!) Dallas @ 49ers Eagles @ Rams

I doubt whether he was ever under consideration As to why? We may never find out the exact reasons although we can take an educated guess that the relationship was fractured (at least)

Happens in world sports all the time (especially soccer) ... and people are the same all over Once the player lays down the tools (or threatens to or is perceived to) then it's time to part company. Other clubs make an offer and they're off (but in the AFL's case the move happens once the season is over) We haven't seen it much in footy as the bigger money and longer contracts is a more recent thing. And breaking contracts is now becoming more prevalent Welcome to pro sports, footy My take on the Grundy move is that he was almost certainly told that his opportunities were limited (to learn forward craft (at Casey) in a short space of time for a veteran is a pipe dream) ... so that was the end of the relationship there and then So he and his manager shop around in the season proper until the destination club emerges (Sydney) ... so they bide their time knowing that he won't be recalled to the senior side. Why? Because the relationship was already over

Past pick 15-20 it's more about the recruitment team rather than the draft pick number ... and often picks are overvalued or undervalued

And what are we worried about anyway? Our guru recruiter (Taylor) turns picks in the 30's into Gold (Fritsch, BBB, Rivers et al) Let's not sweat the small stuff

I would have played Grundy at the tailend of the season but if he had an early 'exit' meeting then that might explain why Schache was preferred (in a final?) Grundy is a miles better player than Schache but we've inadvertently devalued Grundy by ruling a line through him We showed our hand and that's why the opening gambit was pick 46 (in my view)

If you want someone that badly do you offer pick 46? They know we want to offload

Yeah but they are playing hard ball and we probably won't get what we want

Well Sydney don't rank him too highly as they've only offered pick 46 The question is ... do Sydney want him that badly?

Grundy turns 30 early next year and is on a combined $4Million deal for 4 years ($300k covered by the Pies) If we were in need of a first choice ruckman would we be prepared to pay that amount of money plus give away a pick in 20's? For a 30yo ruckman with limitations? Can't play back or forward? A pick in the 30's is probably going to happen

Yes but equally, do we value Grundy? If so, how on earth does Schache get preferred to Grundy?

Of course the Pies are still liable I'm talking about paying a percentage of $700k if we want a better placed draft pick (in theory) My reading of the deal is that the Swans need Grundy but we need him off the books ... so a compromised solution could be reached

The Swans opening offer of 46 and us having Schache as the sub before Grundy was quire pointed If we somehow get a pick in the 20's we might be liable to pay some of Grundy's salary (as the Pies did)

I think you'll find we are (or were) Pies $300k

@layzie @Gorgoroth @JV7 @DeeSpencer @Go the Biff @titan_uranus @BDA @Dr. Gonzo @Clintosaurus @DemonDave @Dee Zephyr @Dappa Dan 1 point on offer this week (the bonus point on offer as well) Leaderboard Tipping Comp 3 - Dr. Gonzo, Clintosaurus, DeeSpencer*, Macca* 2 - DemonDave, Go the Biff, layzie 1 - Gorgoroth 0 - Everyone else 🤔 * Denotes 1 bonus point awarded The Eagles & 49ers look to be the standout road chances but it's not an easy week for road winners Not many great match-ups either ... perhaps Seattle @ Cinci or Colts @ Jags. Lions @ Bucs looks alright and MNF could be close

Game 2 vs South Africa on Thursday around 7pm on 9Gem and then the main channel (Ch9) later in the evening A must win otherwise we'll be 0 & 2 with 7 games to play South Africa smashed Sri Lanka in their first game with 3 of their players making a century!

Time will tell but the salary is relevant as it's for another 4 years ... so close enough to $3Million. It's a big commitment for Sydney and we won't be wanting to be paying a percentage of Brodie's salary as the Pies are My view is we'll get a pick somewhere in the 30's and that will be the end of it

In an earlier post I mentioned that Grundy filled in admirably when Max was injured But that was then and once the decision was made to go solo with Max, that was the end of Brodie ... to a point where he was actively looking elsewhere and indeed meeting with clubs in the season proper So we showed our hand and played our hand. So ideally, the Swans pay all of his $700k per annum salary but they may not want to give us a decent draft pick in return We payed pick 25 or thereabouts to Collingwood but we'll do well to get that sort of pick if Sydney pay his full salary - just my view

You want to give $700k per annum to a player who has clearly checked out? There's also a chance that we may need the salary space if we trade a player in

We need Grundy off the books and the Swans know it. Equally, they need a ruckman but it's going to cost them around $700k per year for his services Pick 11 (or better) if he was an established contracted senior player with us but he isn't ... he plays at Casey. In plain sight A pick in the mid to late 20's or 30's will get the deal done

Grundy wasn't treated badly at all It simply didn't work out so he got dropped. That's footy. A bruised ego? He'll get over it We tried to make the him a more versatile player but as it turned out, he's a ruckman/follower and that's it His value came to the fore when Max got injured early in the season and the replacement ruckman in place of Grundy will need to play a similar role He'll get moved on and off the books and we'll get market value back in return And let's not forget that he got paid close on $700k for services rendered Similar to James Jordon who is a reasonable player who couldn't nail down a permanent spot ... so he moves on No big deal either way. Clubs make experimental moves on a constant basis and there's no better example of that than drafting unproven (at AFL level) teenage talent ... sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't. That's the cut and thrust of recruiting

It's the sort of sport where the skaters consistently fall or trip each other up So when he won, he'd lost the speed in his legs which turned out to be an advantage as he was always going to be off the pace (in the SF & Final) He also won his SF in the same manner and wasn't even expected to advance to the final ... so he lucked out twice after being dreadfully unlucky in previous Olympics Most people would be unaware of all the details but who follows short course speed skating? But 'Doing a Bradbury' has become folklore now As for how it relates to the Demons? At the end of 2020 not many of us here were envisaging a flag in 2021 ... in fact, most wanted the coach gone and a flag seemed a million miles away (save for the views of the extreme optimists) But we won and now we get annoyed that we haven't won another one yet!!

Yes and in 2 previous Olympics Bradbury was highly rated and heavily favoured to medal (or win) but hit the deck both times in identical fashion to what happened to his competitors when he won What goes around comes around (in this case, quite literally)

India produce a wicket that spins a bit and we don't play spin well ... thus, they win But the format is that we have one big group of 10 with all the teams playing each other once (9 games each team) The top 4 go through to the SF's so 7 wins probably gets a berth (maybe 6 wins at a stretch) Next up is South Africa then Sri Lanka and then Pakistan

Extended highlights ... Jaguars @ Bills (London) Texans @ Atlanta Bears @ Washington