Diamond_Jim

Hi BAMF I really cannot see Buddy playing past 2020. That's why I did the comparison in the sense that a "reasonable club" would have offered him a five year deal and then the next would be a three. After that it would be year to year. No disrespect to Frost but if he can hold him to some cameos I'm sure that most backmen will do the same. His inability to train must also impact upon the team ethos

not that outrageous..let's say they had given him a five year deal which had run out at the end of 2017. They probably would have needed to pay him an extra $100k for each of those first five years. At the end of 2017 he would have commanded a three year deal at say $1.2M. Assuming he retires at the end of 2019 (big assumption) the difference is only around $1M. Not chicken feed but to get Buddy to Sydney it was well worth it.

that average is rather misleading when you consider that first year players earn under $70k plus match payments. On the other hand there are always 10 players at a club on or near $600k plus out of a salary cap of around $13M. I assume our ten are Lever, Gawn, May, Tom Mac, Oliver, Brayshaw,(?) Viney, Salem(?) Jones (?) Jetta(?) Would love to know the median pay level but I would expect for a fourth year player with fifty plus games that is best 22 without being top 10 at a club you are looking at around $450k. If he kicks 30-40 he will move into the top10 and will easily command $550k plus. Next year we will not have to pay Lewis but hopefully someone such as Petty puts his hand up for a decent pay rise.

it was a deal that on most people's estimation went beyond the length of his likely playing career. As it has turned out they didn't get it too far wrong but it was still an unusual deal.

GWS still have salary cap issues so there is no way they would overpay for a "maybe forward". Only way is if another club took Patton off their hands. Can't see that happening this year given his injury history. Geelong..now that is a possibility

The swans deal has finally turned. It was in retrospect a good deal for them but both time and the game itself are passing him by. The final years of Buddy's contract will be watched with interest as the Swans try to get the final pay out outside the salary cap No thanks BTW Scully would have been the perfect pick up as I said at the time. Perhaps far too much angst by some.

the problem is that with equalisation, the draft etc the let's just keep winning formula is impractical for most clubs.Perhaps a more realistic aim is to instil hope that there is a future. Collingwood are masters at it. Often they have been bad but their teams still put in a decent effort. MFC have a long way to go before they instil a similar degree of hope and trust in their supporter base.

And of course the other aspect of marketing 101 is that it is much easier to upsell your existing client base rather than attract new customers. One of the advantages of a smaller membership base is that it is easier to have a direct relationship. At the end of the day it's revenue not just membership numbers. If you can design something that gets an extra $10 a year from every member it's probably the equivalent of 10,000 three game memberships. On a related note I was surprised to see in a recent email from the MFC that some donations to the club were tax deductible

He's the only KPF on the market. The disappointing thing is that the manager seems to be happy putting figures into the media. I suspect Tom Mac's negotiation last year was just as difficult but at least it wasn't a potentially destabilising media saga. After years of the Hogan drama I suspect most MFC supporters are over such things. MFC are in the box seat.... just wait another 6 weeks and decide. Form will tell. For many of us who have watched Sam at VFL level for several years he is by no means a certainty.

fascinating.. but which game plan gets you there and which wins on the day. The answer of course is both. Think how Port sacrificed Tredrea's game in the GF. Toby Thurstans... a useful player kicked the goals as a decoy (or was it real) forward. That's coaching...

Injuries aside the Suns did not fight hard to keep KK. Was a little surprised by all those who over the pre season had him as an automatic best 22. He might make it but at present he is just showing how bad our fringe players in this area are. Can anyone remind me how long the initial signing was of KK. Hope he makes it but I'm not hanging out for it. Same for that matter goes for Stretch who we all hope makes it but the signs aren't good.

This game should tell us a lot more about the gameplan. If it can't despatch the Saints it demonstrates that while the gameplan may be okay now and then it does not provide consistency. Centre and forward we have a vastly superior line up compared to the Saints. If the Saints are allowed to clog our forward line and then run it out for scoring opportunities at the other end one really has to question this game plan.

hardly any contested forward marks were taken in the Hawthorn v Saints match. It is definitely an area that has suffered for many clubs this year. Richmond with Lynch and Cox at the magpies are among the exceptions as was Cameron of GWS on the weekend. We are missing Tom Mac's marking power immensely.

the World Cup did have flashing beer mugs courtesy of Budweiser. Think Boony dolls ?

we certainly don't have the necessary depth to manage players. Both are must win games. Perhaps Keilty for Preuss in one game and Garlett for Spargo in another but it's margins stuff. Just kick20 goals against the saints in the first half and cost for the second.. easy isn't it !! The reality is that our game plan works against us in situations such as this. Would have liked to see KK at Casey and then dependent on form play him against Richmond but that grrrrrrrrrr bye at VFL level prevents that

The closed roof environment of Docklands lends itself to staging the mini spectacular. If they go ahead with the refurb I hope the audio visual experience will be a high priority. Went to the World cup in Russia last year and visited a couple of very new stadiums. The thing that disappointed me was the absence of anything new in the tech area. Just the usual big screen and the half time boundary entertainment was woeful. The fan zones were also often soulless. Perhaps we need a little razzamataz.

Scully had a great game ..26 possessions. His first quarter especially was very good. He was named among Hawthorn's best in several reports. The bias here is as usual overdone. He would walk into our team and any other list for that matter TBH both teams were sub par and lacked forward cohesion. We should have the Saints measure next week if we can maintain pressure. If we lose the contested ball and/or give them space they will waltz around us and make us look slow. I hope the coaching staff take a good look at the Hawthorn style. Should be a regulation win if we are in any way a decent team.

Hawthorn about to play the Saints. Will be very interested to watch the tactics of the Saints.

welcome to the VFL...unfortunately it's an underfunded dying comp. The late start to the season and the additional byes not to mention that the Casey listed players rarely train with the MFC players all operate to compromise the competition.

Marvel is a Disney owned franchise. Disney are about to launch the biggest competitor to Netflix. Watch this space

From the AFL website " Since 2012, Adelaide''s lowest score at Marvel Stadium has been 68 points (Round 4, 2015 v Western Bulldogs). This will be the first time since 2010 that the Crows have not kicked 100 points in any of their four opening matches of a season. " Tactics for the home and away are becoming all important. You definitely need multiple game plans.

a major upset brewing across the border

north are not exactly the yardstick Last year they were goalless against Casey A good win but perspective is useful. I very much enjoy VFL but increasingly it is has little impact upon AFL success

Port had their chance Somewhat jealous of Richmond but that is just MFCSS

Let's face it Port and the Giants have the best songs ... not to mention Freo Go Port !! ?