chookrat

If we could clone Kozzie we would have one in the midfield and one forward

What if they throw in Cox as a delisted free agent

Spot on, 4th in Gold Coasts B&F is a huge achievement wheb you consider how good those who finished top 3 are.

Its easy to say this in retrospect but the deals signed were on the basis that our window was well open and to keep pur core group of players together for the next 5 years. In round 23 2023 we were well positioned for another tilt at the flag but Melkshams ACL followed by Maynards hit on Brayshaw culminated in close finals losses to Collingwood and Carlton. This occured at the same time as problems with May, Oliver and Smith's behaviour and the pressure built. The long term deals were to keep our window open and ensure other teams could not throw godfather money at our stars. The long term contracts were not provide security if a player became unhappy or had significant behavioural issues.

Spot on Ted, GC's public statement that they have no plans to trade Humphries is really about working out whether Humphries wants to be traded in a deal that gets them Trac and that they are happy with. There is no point declaring they are open to trading Humphries onpy for a deal not to be done.

We will know the deals is about to go through when he unfollows Trac

The fact that we have met with Humphries is a clear sign that if Humphries says he wants to come to Melbourne then Brisbane will include him in a trade for Trac. My take is we will land Humphries + pick 7 with some later pick swaps to help GC get the points for its academy picks. We need best 22 midfielders who are under 25 years old to replace Trac and Oliver and not 18 year old kids who will take 3 - 5 years to mature, otherwise we would be better of keeping Trac. This works for GC as Trac is the cherry on top in their premiership pursuit and lets face it - how often does a 4 x All Australian, Premiership Player and Norm Smith medalist with at least 4 years of good footy ahead come up in the market?

Personally if I'm looking at a career opportunity I would prefer an environment with new leadership as it presents opportunity to help shape the new environment. I don't think turnover is an accurate description as its not as though we have to keep replacing the same role - our previous coach was there for almost 10 years and the players that are moving on have been on our list for an average pf 7+ years.

I think if we were serious enough re Flanders then Maxy would have made him some hand made furniture as a welcome gift.

I'd challenge the extent that Geelong's 2007, 2009 and 2011 flags from the 2000's onwards are due to culture vs: Father/son picks for their 2007, 2009 and 2011 flags. Thompson/Robinson/Dank high performance programs which were susbequently adopter by Essendon and Hird. Access to local players outside of the normal VFL program. Since this time they have only the one flag in 2022 to show for their culture despite benefiting greatly from free agency as the only Victorian team that is outside of the Melbourne football bubble which is appealing to mature players who don't wsnt to be hassled in the streets.

Petty will go back. TMac is already on record stating his role is to help develop our young talls in the VFL which I'd say is the reason why he was dropped from our side for Lever this year despite being probably our most in form key backewrly in the season. Mihocek is a good pickup in that he will work well with Melksham and JVR while.also allowing Petty to play back. Also I think playing Petty forward for the past couple of seasons is good in that it provides us the flexibility to swing him forward depending on the situation.

If anything, taking Derksen probably helps GWS pay for a greater portion of Olivers salary and we get some good depth.

I'm surprised that Mitch Cleary hasn't reported this as Viney being asked to look at his options and touring Hawthorn's facilities.

We still don't have plans to trade Trac. He has asked to explore his options and the club have said that while we have plans for him to play for us next year we would consider a trade that benefits Melbourne. I suspect we will drive a hard bargain for both Flanders and Humphries if they want Trac and sweeten the deal by offering the Clarry pick and potentially a swap of picks and or involve another player.

The reports re his salary are dxaggerated as they focus on the year it peaks at $1.3m and not the $1m average over 5 years. If we chip on $300k then its probabpy not the end of the world especially when we consider what we paid for his first 6 years. I have a soft spot for Oliver and the standing ovation he recieved from supporters when he kicked the goal early this year was one of my favourite footy moments but I feel like we should move on to a younger midfield if we can get a quality player in such as Humphries by trading Oliver. Even better if he goes to GWS as I can get behind them if they play a GF and we don't.

It is also readjusting the age profile of our list where our existing core midfield group of Gawn, Viney, Trac and Oliver are all in the back end of their careers. We will save having to spend high end picks to draft elite talent 18 y/olds who we then need to develop for at least 3 years to play in the midfield.

I don't see how that matters. While our premiership players are legends the club had been clear about needing a new voice and King with starting with a clean slate. King had also been clear about Trac and Oliver being in his best 23 and the need for Oliver to develop his outside game which should be now suprise to us. In previous years we lost JJ and Bedford due to inflexibility re Trac, Oliver and Viney, Brayshaw had to learn a different role after finishing 3rd in the Brownlow, and we risk losing Riv as well as limiting the development of Windsor, Langford, X, and Kolt if we keep doing the same thing.

I'd be making it clear to Trac that if the club he wants to get to isn't prepared to pay his full salary + provide us with adequate compensation then it is up to him to renegotiate a lower salary with his chosen club. By the looks of it Trac seems to be approaching seeking a change in a mature manner and the club seem pretty clear about what the compensation would need to look like. One nuance with paying a portion of Trac's salary is taking into account the structure of the deal and where it is heavily back ended it is probably fair for us to chip in a bit so that he is paid fairpy foe his service to us. The reverse of this should also hold where if the contract was front ended then he probably should pay us back some of the money and negotiate a larger deal with the new club.

Massive difference to how Pert communicates. Guerra communicates openly and directly, similar to Jackson. There is none of the of the smugness that was apparent when Pert would communicate.

Maybe King played footage of him kicking Jeff White in the face on repeat and told McVee he would kick him in the face if he says no to being a shutdown defender.

To be honest I wouldn't mind Tex to be included in the deal on the basis we offer him 2 years and that it doesnt have any impact re pick compensation for Trac, e.g. Adelaide essentially throw him im for free.

If Trac wants to join Adelaide and Adelaide don't want to pay his full wage why would Melbourne pay the difference. This makes absolutely no sense. Surely Melbourne would tell Trac that as long as we recieve suitable compensation we don't care where he goes but that it is up to him whether they are prepared to pay him what we are or to negotiate a lower amount.

Spot on. I'd also add thay throughout my professional career I always saw setting performance targets as a way of committing to the year ahead and the achievement of targets and payment of bonuses were an important part of recommitting or looking for the next opportunity. The key differences for footballers is that with an average career spanning only 6 years they cannot afford to waste time in an environment that is not allowing them to succeed. Zach Merritt is a good example of this as someone who has done his part but has been let down by a poor environment. While I dont think McVee has been let down by the club he has every right to explore his opportunities when he is out of contract especially in a year where our Coach, CEO and President have all moved on.

I reckon the negative reaction on here is a bit over the top. While I rate McVee and wish he resigned with us it is a bit rich calling him a rat and wsnting to boo him or for blaming Freo for pursuing a young out of contract player. AFL careers are short and we have no idea of his personal circumstances. I'm sure the club will do its best to get him to Freo if they offer a fair deal and that we will also see what West Coast are prepared to offer. While a loss I think we will be able to cover for McVee and use the pick to either trade up in the draft or find a good player that fits our needs.

Chat potatoes