AFL slaps trade ban on Swans

[Melbourne_Blood]

Is there a hint in there that the ban will either be lifted next year or be tested in court?

[Meg]

Is there a hint in there that the ban will either be lifted next year or be tested in court?

Surely if not the first it HAS to be the second. Such an inequitable decision with utterly no justification and no attempt by the AFL to provide a rational explanation.

Great comment piece by Healy. Succinct, accurate and brutal.

[S.S. Bleeder]

Caro came onto 3AW just before 7pm. Both she and Gerard agreed that there was something fishy about this. Why would both us and the VFL not go public with this until it was leaked to Emma Quail? Why would we not come out fighting this ban which is so unfair? It is clearly a huge injustice.

I would in fact doubt that it would be legally possible for the AFL to do this to us. Placing an entity under duress to breach a contract/s would expose the AFL to liability. I think it's called "Tortious Interference".

[SA Swan]

Are we allowed to induct delisted players onto our list? Sorry if I seem a tad naive.

If we are Taylor Hunt, formerly with, Geelong might be getting a phone call.

[jono2707]

Are we allowed to induct delisted players onto our list? Sorry if I seem a tad naive.

If we are Taylor Hunt, formerly with, Geelong might be getting a phone call.

Yes we can still sign delisted free agents. I'd reckon Hunt would be fielding a few phone calls. I still like Mitch Robinson though - I reckon we could make something of him.

I assume we're scoping out a few delisted players, as all clubs should be.

[S.S. Bleeder]

Yes we can still sign delisted free agents. I'd reckon Hunt would be fielding a few phone calls. I still like Mitch Robinson though - I reckon we could make something of him.

I assume we're scoping out a few delisted players, as all clubs should be.

Isn't it funny how we can recruit DFA's but not RFA's or FA's? This is clear proof that preventing us from exceeding our cap had nothing to do with this ban and ensuring that we didn't recruit Frawley or Patful had everything to do with it.

[annew]

Great comment piece by Healy. Succinct, accurate and brutal.[/QUOTE]
Was brilliant, anyone who can should listen to the podcast.

[Auntie.Gerald]

Isn't it funny how we can recruit DFA's but not RFA's or FA's? This is clear proof that preventing us from exceeding our cap had nothing to do with this ban and ensuring that we didn't recruit Frawley or Patful had everything to do with it.

for me it is we get Heeney and Mills back to back because we keep the academies............as the AFL wants the academies to continue but the win win is some pain for the fruits to appease the melb clubs etc

[CureTheSane]

Caro came onto 3AW just before 7pm. Both she and Gerard agreed that there was something fishy about this. Why would both us and the VFL not go public with this until it was leaked to Emma Quail? Why would we not come out fighting this ban which is so unfair? It is clearly a huge injustice.

Common sense dictates agreement with them.
Initially I felt like we were being punished by the AFL unfairly.
How the Swans went about this (or didn't go about this) has allowed me to gravitate from my initial reaction to one where I felt let down by the Swans.
In time my opinion has swayed further from being AFL-centric and more feeling that the swans tried something NOT totally above board and got caught.
Their silence has been pretty insulting to us fans...

[The Big Cat]

Common sense dictates agreement with them.
Initially I felt like we were being punished by the AFL unfairly.
How the Swans went about this (or didn't go about this) has allowed me to gravitate from my initial reaction to one where I felt let down by the Swans.
In time my opinion has swayed further from being AFL-centric and more feeling that the swans tried something NOT totally above board and got caught.
Their silence has been pretty insulting to us fans...

Who do you want to speak up on behalf of the club other than the coach (twice), the Chairman, the CEO, and the Football Manager??? Have you been hoping Kenny would show his outrage!

[Ampersand]

Common sense dictates agreement with them.
Initially I felt like we were being punished by the AFL unfairly.
How the Swans went about this (or didn't go about this) has allowed me to gravitate from my initial reaction to one where I felt let down by the Swans.
In time my opinion has swayed further from being AFL-centric and more feeling that the swans tried something NOT totally above board and got caught.
Their silence has been pretty insulting to us fans...

If you're going to hurl unfounded slander against a club we all love and whose administration is highly respected I'd like to know just what the specific allegation you're suggesting the Swans "tried". Attempting to recruit Frawley was not against the rules and the only person insulting fans here is you.

If the AFL had concrete evidence of a rules breach by the Swans they would release the details in a heartbeat given the PR nightmare of the backlash they are facing from the industry.

[Dosser]

If you're going to hurl unfounded slander against a club we all love and whose administration is highly respected I'd like to know just what the specific allegation you're suggesting the Swans "tried". Attempting to recruit Frawley was not against the rules and the only person insulting fans here is you.

If the AFL had concrete evidence of a rules breach by the Swans they would release the details in a heartbeat given the PR nightmare of the backlash they are facing from the industry.

I know that to many fans the Swans are above reproach and can never do any wrong but I also suspect that we have tried something not exactly kosher and have been punished. It is purely speculation but that is what it smells of.

[dimelb]

I find it hard to believe the Swans were planning to break the rules; work innovations, pursue to the limits within the rules, yes. But break them? I doubt it. The central issue here is not, I think, what the Swans were planning, it is the arbitrariness and lack of transparency shown by the AFL Commission.

[Untamed Snark]

One of the problems with the trade decision is that it leave the Swans wide open to speculation that we've been caught doing something wrong and the AFL has punished us.
Even fans are starting to wonder if we've been caught.
In one move our integrity is open to question.

Nice work AFL.

[Ampersand]

I know that to many fans the Swans are above reproach and can never do any wrong but I also suspect that we have tried something not exactly kosher and have been punished. It is purely speculation but that is what it smells of.

Again, that's a pretty big accusation to hurl against a club you claim to support, especially on nothing more than baseless suspicion.

Isn't it far more likely that the AFL got wind that we might be in with a shot at landing the biggest free agent on the market for the third year in a row and decided to head us off at the pass to avoid the endless bitching and moaning from other clubs and their supporters about our "unfair advantages"?