Lance Franklin to become a Swan

[Ludwig]

Listening to Andrew Ireland on the radio instills confidence that this whole process has been well thought out and our list management is in good hands.

[jono2707]

I see a sponsorship opportunity.
Does us raiding Buddy make us 'budweiser'?!!!!!

As the Melbourne teams have turned to water over this, perhaps Mount Franklin?

Or maybe not...

[i'm-uninformed2]

One thing just came back to me.

I was at a corporate Xmas lunch last year where Horse was the guest speaker. A group was talking to him off stage and he was asked about the Tippett thing. He made the point Sydney had been carefully managing its salary cap going back to the Bradshaw retirement knowing that free agency was coming, and we were always going to angle for a big player. He said all smart clubs would. (unspoken, but as opposed to the idiot clubs down south)

But then he made a passing comment which didn't really register at the time, and no doubt wasn't a direct reference to Buddy but a more general one.

'And if we want, we can manage our cap to get another'

And to me, this explains the outrage from the Melbourne clubs. Every idiot down there knew Tippett was leaving the Crows and Buddy was leaving the Hawks, but not one was smart enough to run with a plan and a case to get them.

Instead they flop about chasing b grade talent like Daisy Thomas and Del Santo.

Well, up yours.

[DK_]

One thing just came back to me.

I was at a corporate Xmas lunch last year where Horse was themguest speaker

He spoke at the Property Industry Foundation Xmas lunch last year. Not sure if that was the one you were at.

[Dosser]

One thing just came back to me.

I was at a corporate Xmas lunch last year where Horse was themguest speaker

Shhh... I think he's drifted off to sleep again.

[i'm-uninformed2]

You got it. Excuse the accidental early post. Full post now up.

- - - Updated - - -

And yes, the Property Council lunch

[DamY]

Does anyone on this thread think that the GWS "Battle of the Anzac Bridge" campaign has been an awful mistake?

They have positioned themselves as a dour, un glamours, working mans AFL club west of the Anzac Bridge! This brand positioning is now having an awful impact on their ability to attract good, established AFL players, who are obviously not buying into the Western Sydney vision and don,t want to spend huge chunks of their day on the road!

Any thoughts?

This links in with the apparent Swans view that GWS will soon be known as the Sydney Giants. That will alleviate that view, but may also lose traction with the adoring Western Sydney public

[Zlatorog]

All this noise in Melbourne media about Buddy moving to our club is based on an idea that he's moving because of money, which is not the case. Also, they must be afraid that there will be period that some non-Victorian club might dominate in top 4 positions, which might attract sponsors to the. That's what Sydney Swans need. More corporate sponsors.

[bloodsbigot]

Some people on facebook and other media sources who say they're going to withdrawl their memberships because of this are a disgrace. One of the reasons given; because he will cause problems for the club. If anything, we're supposed to support the club in times of need.

I've actually warmed to the idea of Buddy coming. At first I was excited. Then I was worried. Then I was confused. Now I'm back to excited again. Andrew Ireland talking on the radio was reassuring. I have full confidence in the club to make the right decision.

[MightyBloods]

I'll throw up another thought that occurred to me today. Does anyone remember the talk about Alistair Clarkson travelling to Las Vegas after the grand final last year to specifically talk to Buddy about his future? Apparently, the visit caught Buddy by surprise and he wasn't too happy about what was said.
My take on this now was that Pickering who manages both Horse and Clarkson (and the three of them being good friends) had notified both guys about Buddy's intention to go to Sydney about this time. Horse being told that Buddy had a preference for the Swans and Clarkson being told he is off to Sydney (not sure if Pickering was specific with him saying the preference of Swans). I now think that the Clarkson surprise visit was to talk Franklin out of leaving Hawthorn. Clarkson needed to know Buddy's intentions to plan draft strategy/game plan for 2013 and going forward. No coincidence that Alistair rejigged their game plan and forward structure knowing he was going.

Just my read on the situation.
Which leads to another question. Have Horse and Clarkson been talking earlier in the year about other trades/players knowing the Franklin deal is likely to happen?

[bloodsbigot]

All this noise in Melbourne media about Buddy moving to our club is based on an idea that he's moving because of money, which is not the case. Also, they must be afraid that there will be period that some non-Victorian club might dominate in top 4 positions, which might attract sponsors to the. That's what Sydney Swans need. More corporate sponsors.

This.

The off-field ramifications of the Buddy move will outweigh the on-field ramifications.

The swans will greatly benefit from Buddy in terms of sponsorship, members, crowds, media-interest, tv-ratings, etc. It's Lockett-esque.

It will be really interesting seeing what happens. Surely this will have a massively positive impact in terms of marketing.

[royboy42]

Some people on facebook and other media sources who say they're going to withdrawl their memberships because of this are a disgrace. One of the reasons given; because he will cause problems for the club. If anything, we're supposed to support the club in times of need.

I've actually warmed to the idea of Buddy coming. At first I was excited. Then I was worried. Then I was confused. Now I'm back to excited again. Andrew Ireland talking on the radio was reassuring. I have full confidence in the club to make the right decision.

I'm pretty confident of at least a10% increase in '14 memberships. If a couple of ill advised guys drop off cos of Buddy,I'd just shrug my shoulders. There's always some who think differently.

[bloodsbigot]

I'm pretty confident of at least a10% increase in '14 memberships. If a couple of ill advised guys drop off cos of Buddy,I'd just shrug my shoulders. There's always some who think differently.

Agreed. My prediction is somewhere around the 40k mark. It will generate a bit of excitement, that's for sure.

[Matt80]

This is a significant moment for the Swans, and I think everyone on this thread feels this same reality.

With Buddy's signing we have now joined the elite super clubs of the AFL. There was Collingwood, Hawthorne, Geelong, Essondon, The Crows and the West Coast Eagles. Now the Swans are part of that desirable elite group and I suspect Essondon's behaviour had pushed them out of this group!

The South Melbourne / Sydney Swans are now an elite AFL super club for the first time!

[bloodsbigot]

This is a significant moment for the Swans, and I think everyone on this thread feels this same reality.

With Buddy's signing we have now joined the elite super clubs of the AFL. There was Collingwood, Hawthorne, Geelong, Essondon, The Crows and the West Coast Eagles. Now the Swans are part of that desirable elite group and I suspect Essondon's behaviour had pushed them out of this group!

The South Melbourne / Sydney Swans are now an elite AFL super club for the first time!

lol. Well I think 'hatred' is the best indicator that you're an important/elite club (Look at Collingwood for example), so due to all the hatred being thrown around at the moment, you're probably right. :P

Seriously though, until we get at least 45k members, and have sold-out crowds every week, we aren't elite. With Buddy's signing though... I highly suspect this will be achieved in 2014. The tricky part is... to keep it consistent. Colless said this year that the club was seeking to get more die-hard members and less fair-weathered supporters in the near future. I agree with this.

- - - Updated - - -

PS. Despite their large membership, I really don't think Hawthorn nor Geelong are super-clubs. They still get puny crowds.