Macca

I'm happy to admit that there is a bit of bad luck as well ... for instance, no one could possibly foretell what was going to happen with Clarrie. Not in a blue fit With Brayshaw, he would probably still be playing if he wasn't king hit by a thug. His concussions were an issue but he was being managed well, so much so, that he hadn't missed a game since 2020 (played 3 full seasons (2021-2023) But we jumped a bit early with Viney in my view. He was never leaving but did win the B & F in the year that his contract was extended (2024) My argument on this thread is more so that why are we pointing the finger at Carlton & Walsh when all the clubs are handing out long contracts? We got lucky with Petracca ... GC overpaid for him, in my view

A basic, simple, hypothetical ... So Sam Walsh 'was' out of contract at the end of 2027 2 clubs offer 7 - 8 year deals but Carlton only want to offer 5 years Sam's agent fronts the Blues and says unless you offer him 8 years, he'll request a trade at the end of 2027 Blues buckle and offer the 8 year extension to Walsh Walsh signs

BoBo, I keep going back to the current environment of these long contracts and why all the clubs are offering them (long term deals) The top players are getting what they want as the clubs just don't have a hold of the top players anymore. If you don't secure them, they'll walk. And even if you have them secured, they can still walk (Petracca) Player agents are probably going to the clubs with info that 'Such & such' a club are offering this, and another club is offering this Before you know it, it's a virtual auction (wittin the 4 walls) As @Bring-Back-Powell remarked above, it looks like Walsh (or his agent) were fielding offers from other clubs (with long term deals)* As Gerard Healy said today, you need to keep players around the club that are 'the club'. It can't be all rookies, draftees and low-on-experience types *The Viney extension happened soon after when North were making overtures for his services

If Casey wins out, we'll keep AAMI/Gosch's and the Admin will, in my view, stay where they are (MCG & AAMI (?) Which is the set-up right now And I'm not sure that we train at Casey more than once a week anyway As far as I can make out we use the facilities at AAMI (whenever) and train at Gosch's twice a week So one off-peak drive to Casey for training and use of the facilities per week? How is that an imposition? Those thinking it's 5 days a week, it's not. Not even close It's once a week, maybe twice a week (sometimes) We have 2 training venues and the player contact hours are set at 15 or 16 (hours) But I sincerely hope that Caulfield ends up being a goer but even if it is a goer, we may not get there until 2029 or 2030 In the meantime, it's business as usual

Junction Oval had the best surface to train or play on in Melbourne The surface was like carpet with no mud or slush (sand based?) Sure, the buildings, stands and underneath the stands were ramshackle and decrepid but that's what the money could have been spent on. Would have been refurbished and paid for, years ago I could never understand the undue criticisms of the Junction Oval. Players learn how to play footy on an oval with an excellent surface and the Junction Oval was universally regarded as the best (by the old-schoolers) Would have loved to have played footy or cricket on it but did venture out to the middle on numerous occasions (and the kick to kick after the games)

In the end it all comes down to value for money Oliver - Massive failure. Epic. And we got nothing for him as well As previously stated, it's the biggest contract failure I've ever seen Walsh - Risky yes but not that risky. All contracts are risky If Oliver plays well at the Giants it won't count. He needed to do it at the Demons Walsh is a future captain and highly regarded. The back complaint is the risk but we'll know more by seasons end Luke Jackson got an 8 or 9 year deal and even McVee got 5 years at Freo (after a forgettable year in 2025) There are numerous long term deals being handed out. We did it with Petracca, Oliver, Viney, Brayshaw & Kozzie. In 2024 we extended JVR's contract until the end of 2029 Warranted? In today's environment, probably

Walsh has averaged 19 games per season since he stated playing ... so he's missed 4 or 5 games per year (when factoring in finals) When Cornes critiques anything to do with football or footballers he argues in a completely one-sided way ... that's what shock-jocks do. They are like politicians in that sense Never balanced, never fair but highly influential for those that want to buy-in. Well, I'm arguing outcomes (Oliver) and potential outcomes (Walsh) Yes, it's true that Oliver was at the top of his game but if things go pear-shaped, it's still an accountable outcome I can't imagine the Walsh contract heading the same way. Even if he only has 1 top year that will exceed the Oliver contract (not one top year) On outcomes, the Blues are likely to be miles ahead of where we ended up We're up for $3.5Million for the next 5 years (for diddly-squat) Carlton? Who knows but will it involve $Millions in subsidies? Highly doubtful

The other thing is that only just over 20% of members attend games So the money is often just a donation. And the clubs know that too thus, the cheap memberships on offer Memberships for pets as well (can you take a cat to the footy?)

What about the Viney extension? 4 extra years and he might already be cooked* We can hardly point point the finger when we're not very flash ourselves The Brayshaw payout hurts as well in terms of cap space** But thankfully, the Petracca contract was taken up by the Coasters (as well as gifting us 3 first rounders) *I really hope he gets back to his best **That lack of cap space could cost us the chance at a decent free agent

As a stand alone contract, the Walsh contract has risked attached but as compared to the Oliver contract, it's low risk The key word here is the comparison The Walsh contract risky The Oliver contract? A complete failure from go to whoa. A sodden mess (remembering that Oliver signed a 7 year extension in June of 2022) He didn't fulfil one year of the combined new deal to even satisfactory levels An unholy mess I'll bet London to a brick that Walsh will make every effort to repay in kind

He missed 10 or 11 games in 2023 with that phantom hamstring injury? A bit odd how we left him on the ground when he supposedly hurt his hammy? And if you don't play, you're no value 3 years of tripe football, you won't get that from Walsh. Walsh is a dedicated footballer Oliver is now playing for the opposition and we're paying him to do so That's what you call a contract that went completely pear-shaped

I see the Bulldogs are offering (today only) a membership deal that entails 11 home games for $99! 9 bucks a game! Is there a catch and might our club do something similar?

There's more than a touch of envy in the shock-jocks comments Any of you lot heard him weeping about him having to put up with 1 year deals at the end of his career? A real sob story The issue with the long deals is not necessarily the clubs or the players fault. It's the P.A being able to broker deals that gives the players too much power The clubs are forced into offering huge deals or they lose the player

Oliver hasn't played at all well for 3 years ... C- grading when factoring in the $Millions we've given him for 'supposed' elite performance And we're now paying him $3.5Million to play elsewhere The.Worst.Contract.Ever And nothing comes close By comparison, the Walsh contract is low risk Walsh also adds a lot in terms of character, unselfishness and leadership. He's a team player and a good footballer The sort of player that any sort of club needs ... a bit like our acquisition of Jack Steele (4 years) People of good character Oliver? The antitheses

The final straw for me in terms of knowing that the AFL is obviously corrupt What made it worse was the half the football public had Maynard as not guilty. Incredible But there again, a lot of fans still pine for the violent days of old. Brayshaw became an expendable entity. Disgusting

How about a 3rd first rounder? haha We could acquire the pick in all sorts of ways not the least being to trade our future 1st (2027 draft) And what if another club comes with a big offer for one of our players? It might suit to trade What we do know is that the club is adept at getting hold of the picks that are needed Especially prior to when Tassie get involved in the draft

Well, if both of them were reasonably sure that they were heading for greener pastures in 2026, then staying healthy is all important ... "Don't get injured" Both previously had a fierce attack on the ball but we didn't see that. And the rushed kicks from both of them all season? That was an eye-opener Mind you, Scully & LJ were much the same in their final year at the club

As well as Ben Brown & Hibberd

The Steele trade came later but the club knew about it early on (in my view) It's just that we needed to free up the cap space with the Oliver departure, first But imagine if we had acquired Steele first? (for no real cost as it turned out) The then departure of Oliver (for peanuts) would have been an easier pill to swallow "You can go Ollie, we've already got your replacement"

I don't reckon it's that ... he's not attuned to the pace of the game is my view. He's only played 36 games and needs another 30+ games under his belt He's a bit rushed when he doesn't need to be. Happens to a lot of draftees We judge them far too early a lot of the time. Also, Windsor has not been part of a team that shares the ball well We'll know a lot more about our youngsters by the end of 2026 - 2028

Don't be surprised if we get hold of another first rounder in 2026 because the draft will be severely compromised in 2027 & 2028 We need to play the long game How we get hold of another 1st rounder is anyone's guess but we quite often find a way For instance, we started off with a 2nd rounder as our first pick in the 2025 draft

Windsor will be fine once he learns some poise & steadiness. He gathers the ball at top pace and is able to sprint away at top pace But the disposal often happens before he should be momentarily steadying Windsor needs to realise that he's got more time than he thinks he has

Ok, but he's now the enemy and the club is here to beat the enemy. No matter who it is I feel the same for all the other ex Demons. They are in the way of our team winning Of course I recognise his contributions but that's now in the history books A celebration for another day Make no mistake, when we play the Giants, Oliver will want nothing less than a win for his team ... and if that happens, we will be the losers Who wants that?

I reckon you're right, he bounces the ball early to steady himself. Once he's bounced it, he's bought the time to use the ball in a few different ways But isn't it a pleasure to be commenting on a player who has the ability to create separation in order to bounce the ball! In his first hit-out for the club. Impressive Tommy Hafey had a rule that the players needed to sprint 10 metres with the ball before bouncing the ball ... but the game was much more open, back in the day

He rushes his kicks these days so it looks to me like he's avoiding contact And he plays for the opposition now so he now gets looked upon in terms of looking for weaknesses in his game If he had put his head down and was a good contributor for the Demons, I'd be a full-on supporter of his He's no longer a Demon, Bobby