Magpies Sign Top Dog

[Spanner]

Sydney Football League Phelan Medalist and Premiership captain Jason McPherson has accepted the challenge of helping the Magpies climb back to the top echelon of AFL football in Sydney.

After a four year stint at UNSW/ES which included the honour of winning the Phelan Medal as the best player in SFL for 2001 and captain of the 2002 and 2003 Premiership winning club, Jason has set his sights on new challenges and sees the Magpies nest as the place to refresh and refocus his football career.

Originally from the Riverina town of Ganmain, Jason played both junior and senior football with the local club before moving into the senior team at Grong Grong Matong where he played in the 1996 Premiership team.

He was rookie listed on to the Sydney Swans list for 1997 and upgraded to the Senior list in 1998/99 where he played 34 reserve grade games before heading to UNSW/ES in 2000.

As a full time Development Manager for the AFL and having a wealth of experience and knowlege of the modern game it is a great thrill for the Magpies to welcome McPherson on board. It is anticipated that the Coaching staff will use him in a leadership role to make full use of his capabilities.

[footyhead]

Yep , this is how the code is growing stronger in sydney every year.
Well done son.

[shearer]

im sure the $20k he is getting helped his decision.

[Rove]

Fancy leaving Easts after captaining the club for four years and winning two premierships in that time. You would think there would be a certain level of Loyalty shown by the leader of the club. Good luck to Jason and Wests as a little bit of extra money will surely come in handy in the middle of the year playing out at Wagner Oval. I wouldn't think the Easts boys would be to happy with Jason's decision. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$...........

[Footy123]

Hmmmm

Definately a few dollars involved! Now all wests need to do is buy about 16 more players to help out McPherson, Marty Brewster, Luke Jajoura and Jon Bradfield. Its sad when players sell out like that.

[Troy G]

The SydneyAFL comp needs an injection of more than a few dollars...a few million would be a good start! The SydneyAFL is such now that the clubs fight over the best players like seagulls over a chip, as if a premiership win will solve all their problems!

[Coastal Boy]

I am surprised by the catty replies. Ask yourself a few questions before condemning Wests:
1) Does Wests have a history of poaching players? Which other SFL clubs are more guilty here.
2) Are Wests reinforcing an existing powerhouse team? They did run second last this year.
3) Is it worse to pay players before you pay your fees to the NSWAFL? To my knowledge only two clubs were financial this year(Wests and Penno) and between them have won only 2 premierships in the past 25 years.
Let's assess the merits of each club should we???

[shearer]

Is that the same Wests that bought 8 players from Balmain two years ago???

[Rove]

Clubs are always going to struggle in the SFL if they think they can buy a premiership. There simply isn't enough money around to buy a quality list, sure a few stars in your team will help. But if blokes are playing for money they are often already playing for the wrong reasons. The name Lee Campbell rings a bell, I am sure he left Balmain to play for some extra $$$ at Wests.

[knownothing]

Daniel McPherson, Jason Mcpherson's cousin and former Swan, will in all likelyhood sign up as wests caoch for next year.

[Choko]

Wests from my understanding, have a history of poaching players by offering more $$$. They also have a history of not coming good with these dollars and have lost a number of players because they haven't paid up.

[Spanner]

It is with great disgust that I feel compelled to reply to the misinformed rubbish posted on the message board by the previous writer. I am also disappointed that the site moderator would let this posting continue without checking its accuracy.
I can refute with authority the outrageous claims made through my intimate knowlege of the financial dealings of the Magpies over many years.
I have been a paid up member of the Club for the last 16 football seasons and have served as a coach and committee member and have been vitally involved in the financial control of the Club for the last 4 years. I CAN HONESTLY AND UNRESERVEDLY STATE THAT NOT ONE PLAYER, SUPPLIER OR CLUB CREDITOR HAS EVER BEEN REFUSED THEIR FULL ENTITLEMENTS and they NEVER WILL BE while I am involved. The Club has remained loyal to a number of its suppliers for over 20 years and has never welched on a payment. Our players are our most valuable asset and we can not afford to alienate them.
The Sydney Magpies F. C. has been totally loyal to NSW and particularly Sydney football for over 55 seasons and many Sydney and even overseas teams have benefited from the Clubs generosity over those years. Many past players and supporters still vist the club after 30, 40 and 50 years of membership. Past players now residing interstate regularly visit the Club when making trips to Sydney. Is this loyalty given to a club that duds its players? NO WAY!!!
The Magpies is, to my knowlege, the ONLY club in Australia to directly subsidize the Auskick Program to over 500 children in local schools so as to enhance the code in the community. Is this the conduct of a club that enters into agreements that it has no intention of honouring? NOT ON YOUR LIFE!!!
The message board given to NSW footy by redandwhiteonline is a fantastic opportunity for us to promote our clubs and our competition around the country. We should not see it used to try and denigrate the few clubs that are left to carry the banner for our game in Sydney. If it had been known that the announcement of a new signing would cause such controversy then it would not be made. More is the pity.
Please note that NO club in any competition CAN NOT be accused of trying to recruit quality players to their environment.
Let's hope the message board continues to be an invigorating and ACCURATE forum to promote our fantastic game.

Spanner

[Oscar]

Well said Spanner ....

I can also say with a complete level of authority that East Coast have signed new players for 2004 but we have no intention of publicising their signing on either this Message Board or our own Website.

We have done so in previous years but received adverse comment rather than encouragement, so consequently our well oiled publicity machine (when it wants to be) will lie low for the time being.

Peter Physick

[Norris Lurker]

I'm not privy to any inside information and don't know Jason McPherson or anyone at Wests, but I've followed this thread with interest.
If Wests have got $20,000 to spend on a player, good luck to them. It would be a problem if one club was buying up all the star players from everywhere else and dominating the league year after year by preying on their competitors. But that's not the case here - a player is leaving a succesful club to go to a club who struggled last season. And why shouldn't a club who finished near the bottom recruit a quality player who they feel will help them climb up the ladder?
I think it's sad that, as Oscar mentioned, a club feels they can't announce their signings for next season. We'll find out sooner or later who East Coast Eagles have signed up, but it's a shame that they can't use it to attract publicity and boost interest and morale for their club.