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He's a finals player suited to the hurly burly. That's what they want him fresh for.
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Those who have the greatest power to hurt us are those we love. -
I've thought along similar lines, but my theory on the whole matter revolves around GWS. It's no secret that they are after revenge for Buddy. They got into Mummy early & Jed Lamb. They have hit our uncontracted players & will continue to do so.
ROK indicated in an article a few weeks ago that he wanted to play on a few more years. He said he didn't consider age an issue. That won't happen at our club unless it's fits in with our plans & for a minimal amount that fits into our salary cap. In other words he purely plays for another chance at success, much like Jude last year.
However if GWS come along & say he is the fittest 34 YO in the comp, he is a hard in & under player, never mind his lack of pace. We have plenty outside pace to cover that. We'll give you a 2 years contract Rhino for 500K in total. You don't have to move home.
So Rhino has to think long & hard about it. I pride myself on my fitness. This is what I do best. Loyalty? Well I stayed after trying to get back to Melbourne. I've given good service but the Swans will only give me one year with no guarantee I will play midfield. The very reason I stayed a Swan. Rhino is a free agent so we would get nothing for him. Another feather in the GWS cap. If he goes to Melbourne he wouldn't see more than 150K & to pack up & move the family for that, it just isn't worth it.
IMO GWS are at play here & perhaps Horse & some other players have caught onto it. For what other reason would he be kept out of the senior team. That just smacked of some sort of punishment IMO. Much like when we were all scratching our heads as to why a fit Jed Lamb wasn't given a game in the finals, even when we took to the field with half the team crippled. We soon found out he accepted an offer from GWS to move.
I wouldn't blame Rhino if he jumped at that chance. Loyalty can only go so far. If he can stretch his career out another two years on reasonable coin, I wouldn't blame him.
Yeah I know........too much time on my hands. But Rhino not being named in the original team the other night? I couldn't see Horse doing that for any other reason other than some sort punishment.Comment
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totally agree Roos chasing leaders in a team of young boys !Comment
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After watching the game the other night, I can see why ROK was left out against GWS. They absolutely run us off the legs in the 3rd and 4th term. Possibly helped by the extra long 1st quarter break, but we got done by legspeed, something ROK does not have much of anymore. I can understand, if KJ was fit, why they were prepared to leave out ROK>"You get the feeling that like Monty Python's Black Knight, the Swans would regard amputation as merely a flesh wound."Comment
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Not sure the GWS would be looking to add another hard body in 2015. The GWS players would be ripe after a four preseasons and they would be ready to fly in 2015.
I agree with your sentiments about the GWS - Swans rivalry. I think if GWS beat the Swans every year their season would be a success regardless of other results.
As I said earlier I believe Paul Roos would value someone of the calibre of ROK in a playing ? assistant coaching role in 2015.
If ROK is not getting a regular senior game at the later home and away point of the year, I would think that he would announce his retirement from the Swans. I don?t think he would give the Swans management the pleasure of delisting him from the list (like what happened to Paul Chapman at Geelong).
He would then go on a family holiday and turn up next to Paul Roos in a Demons jersey at the start of trade week. He would be a very valuable addition to the Demons.
I hope for ROK that he can get back regularly into the team and emulate his form from late 2012.Comment
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On SEN today, KB was trying to stir up some trouble by asking the resident journo if ROK was left out because of unrest at the club. The journo's response was simply that during pre-season, ROK was so far behind his teammates in pace that they started to have a bit of fun at his expense. When the end comes, it comes quickly, and that is why he wasnt in our team. No conspiracy theory, no unrest - he simply didnt have the pace.Comment
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Ah, the good ol' Occam's Razor. Sometimes the simplest explanation is the correct one. It is a shame because he is a champion of our club, one of a select few who are dual premiership players, and will be remembered as our first ever Norm Smith Medallist, but even champions have to call time at some point. Even Jude knew when to go out.Comment
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The latest rumour mill is that O'Keefe and Franklin had a heated argument last Thursday at training and that all is not well at the Swans. Dean Moore was on 3AW and categorically denied it, said he rang Ryan and Ryan just laughed. Of course the commentators said where there is smoke there is fire and that there are lot of unSydneylike things coming out. Maybe that's true but I firmly believe that in the past there would have been things that happened, arguments etc but until Buddy's arrival we were insignificant in the AFL media, except for Hall's brain fade of course.Comment
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So true. Because of Buddy we're under a lot more 'scrutiny', if that's the right word for the attentions of the lazy and cretinous Melbourne media bubble.The man who laughs has not yet heard the terrible newsComment
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I think this is ridiculous. There was evident genuine delight and support for Franklin as the players surrounded him when he kicked that goal on Saturday. Macca said in an interview before the match that the players don't care who earns what - all they care is that players buy into what the Swans are aiming to do and that Franklin has done that.
If ROK had blown GWS apart in the last quarter there might be reason to be suspicious there was more than form behind his omission from the first team chosen. But he didn't. Why should we doubt what Longmire said? ROK got pushed out by a younger group for the first match. In announcing the team Longmire went to great length to say he expected ROK to be a big contributor over the year on a match-up basis.
These commentators are just looking for a sensational headline.Comment
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ROK would also be perturbed about the great treatment that the club offered Jude Bolton in 2013, and would feel that he was owed the same curtesy!
After the 2012 Grand Final, John Longmire said that he did not know if Jude Bolton would go on! He was 32 and had sustained some damage to his knee during the 2012 season. Bolton who was out of contract, took some time to make his decision. He came back and said he wanted to play on! The club then organised a contract to take him through 2013. It was the least that could have been done for a two time premiership hero and club stalwart. He then got to play most senior games in 2013 in a specially designed forward role! He was never dropped!
ROK has seen what happened and wondered why could something not be worked out for me in 2014, like it was for Jude in 2013! Instead he has to fight his way back into the side!Comment
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I meant to add above - and there haas been a line of players re-signing contracts since they have known about Franklin's deal. That doesn't sound to me that there is something wrong in the club. In McGlynn's interview following his re-signing he made a point of saying how well he had been treated by the Swans ever since he made the move from Hawthorn. He looked genuinely delighted.
The team played poorly on Saturday. It's hardly the first time and unfortunately probably not the last time. I'm sure that's what the coaches and the players are now concentrating on.Comment
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Sorry, but little of that makes any sense. ROK was in contract at the end of 2013 (hence he is still on the list), so there was no need to work out a one year deal for him. There may or may not be at the end of 2014, depending on how the season unfolds.
Why can we not presume that Jude was picked in the team each week on merit. There was a clear role for him to play, and one he played pretty well throughout the year. There was no-one in the reserves capable of playing the role that he was keeping out of the team as a favour to him.
Why can we not presume that Longmire and the rest of his coaching panel will also pick the 2014 each week on merit. That may or may not include ROK each week. What exactly needs to be "worked out" for ROK?Comment
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Sadly it is part of the human condition that we (or some of us) like to see others fail. Discord makes better stories than harmony. Clubs and the media see us as a contender, and some are irritated that the club has broken the rules by staying relatively competitive over a fair stretch of years. Didn't the Swans realise it was their duty to languish down the bottom of the ladder for a few years to give richly deserving clubs like Carlton and Richmond their shot at success? Two premierships in less than a decade was certainly one too many; for some it was two too many. When will these interstate clubs realise they are only there to pad out the ladder so the venerable Victorian teams can look down from an even greater height when it's their turn at the top of the ladder? Between Brisbane, Port and West Coast (and maybe soon Freo and then GC and GWS) we really haven't understood how things are meant to work.
I'd be disappointed if players at the club didn't get into heated arguments from time to time. They pride themselves on plain talking, on calling out a mate who isn't doing "the team thing". They are (we hope) driven to succeed. There have to be disagreements now and again - hopefully constructive but I doubt they are all the time, at least not at first.Comment
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