What did XR do?

[Nico]

Yes I read the article with great interest. The link is:

ANALYSIS: Where did it all go wrong for Xavier Richards? - M.afl.com.au


It's interesting to read that some clubs did not rate his ability that highly. I thought he showed a bit in the last 10 games and is very athletic. Obviously he had a shocker in the GF but then again he had a few mates in that regard.

Knocking back $150k per year for 2 years to be on next to nothing as a student is a big decline. He complained about the cost of living being too high in Sydney but surely one could live a reasonable existence there on that money? By the way I live in Melb and it's not too cheap here either. I might add that I thought there was still a reasonable rent allowance permitted by the AFL for players in Sydney on the lower wage levels?


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Herald Sun article today by John Ralph quoted his manager as saying that after the COLA was stopped it meant X could not afford to live in Sydney. So managers used the COLA to lure players to the Swans (to the managers' advantage also) then use it's abolition as "the" excuse for them to leave the club (again to the managers' benefit). Ablett allegedly wanted to come back to Geelong. He was paid a motza to go there and got there skillfully with the help of his manager. Did his manager then want to get him back to Geelong to give the manager some more action in 2016? I wonder if X had any advice on what he should do other than from his manager.

Beware of people who want to play with your money X.

[Meg]

The COLA excuse doesn't make sense though.

If X was offered around $150,000 (which sounds about right to me), then COLA would have provided an additional $15,000 which would then have been taxed (so the net figure would be somewhat less in the pocket).

With COLA now gone, at this salary X would have been eligible for the accommodation assistance which I think is $15,000, the same as he would have got from COLA (final figure was never to my knowledge made public). But I also think (but again don't know for sure) that it would not be taxed - that it would be a net $15,000 in the pocket.

So at worst (if both amounts taxed) X would have got the same amount as COLA. At best (new allowance tax-free) he would have been better off than under the COLA scheme.

[Meg]

I think the dream that I had some time ago was close to the mark. X shared house with Tom Mitchell and also shared the same player agent. I suspect that X had a pretty good idea of the amounts being offered to Tom by the Swans and by Melbourne clubs. And on the basis of this thought he too could get a better deal from a Melbourne club. (I'm not suggesting X thought he could or should get as much as Tom.)

[S.S. Bleeder]

I think the dream that I had some time ago was close to the mark. X shared house with Tom Mitchell and also shared the same player agent. I suspect that X had a pretty good idea of the amounts being offered to Tom by the Swans and by Melbourne clubs. And on the basis of this thought he too could get a better deal from a Melbourne club. (I'm not suggesting X thought he could or should get as much as Tom.)

I reckon that's a very high possibility. The potential buyers (Scumthorn) had a good understanding of Mitchell's potential which was clearly very high. XR (or his manager) may have interpreted this as being proportionate to his potential worth (which was clearly delusional). Regardless of what happened. XR is responsible for his own actions.

Hopefully the mistakes that XR madewill serve as a warning to others who might be seeking the gold at the end of the rainbow.

[707]

Manager told the Swans there was interest from other clubs, probably to try and push up the contract offer, but the Swans made discreet enquiries and believed there was no other interest.

Looks to me like X backed himself into a corner and no one helped him out.

[dimelb]

Manager told the Swans there was interest from other clubs, probably to try and push up the contract offer, but the Swans made discreet enquiries and believed there was no other interest.

Looks to me like X backed himself into a corner and no one helped him out.

Or in other words, Xav should have changed managers, not clubs.

[dejavoodoo44]

Or in other words, Xav should have changed managers, not clubs.

Well, I think the term, "changing clubs", is being a bit generous.

[Steve]

"Athletic" is the best compliment I have seen attributed to him - that is all he was, I think the hope/plan was always to replace him with Reid late in the year, but then when time ran out, decision was made to continue with the structure we had in place.

His blooper reel of basic dropped marks, shanked kicks etc is embarrassing and I think it's extremely likely most clubs were much happier taking a punt on 18 y/o prospects than Xavier - pretty telling in a draft that was regarded as being quite weak for talls.

I said a couple of months ago when it was reported he had re-signed that I hoped there was a cooling-off period - he has done us a great favour, and we can put whatever money he was going to earn to better use.

Even teenagers know to line up a new job before quitting your current one, so you have to question his state of mind, or the advice he's been getting - or both.

[Kirk31]

It will be interesting to see where he plays in 2017 and how he goes.

[Doctor J.]

"Athletic" is the best compliment I have seen attributed to him - that is all he was, I think the hope/plan was always to replace him with Reid late in the year, but then when time ran out, decision was made to continue with the structure we had in place.

His blooper reel of basic dropped marks, shanked kicks etc is embarrassing and I think it's extremely likely most clubs were much happier taking a punt on 18 y/o prospects than Xavier - pretty telling in a draft that was regarded as being quite weak for talls.

I said a couple of months ago when it was reported he had re-signed that I hoped there was a cooling-off period - he has done us a great favour, and we can put whatever money he was going to earn to better use.

Even teenagers know to line up a new job before quitting your current one, so you have to question his state of mind, or the advice he's been getting - or both.

Pretty much agree with all this.

I watched most of his last 10 games live and my observation is he isn't a smart footballer. Runs to the wrong spaces and gets in the way of the intended target of the football, and as for that piece of play where he got run down from behind in one of his early games, that indicated to me that we had a player on our list that had a long way to go. If Sam Reid wasn't injured then XR doesn't play any of those games and is more than likely delisted. Strangely though, if XR had accepted his offer, I think Towers might have been in trouble and offered up for trade or delisted. Sliding Doors.

He may well prove me wrong (not that he gives a fat rats clacker what I think) and get redrafted after a stellar season in some VFL side but somehow I don't think so

[AnnieH]

What did I say... overwhelming sense of overpricing yourself out of the market.
Silly boy.
If you can't live on $150K per year in Sydney, you're not very good at managing your money. A lot of people do it on a lot less.

[Chilcott]

Agree with all this. $150000 is good money for a young bloke. He would have also received rent assistance.

[stevoswan]

Hopefully the mistakes that XR madewill serve as a warning to others who might be seeking the gold at the end of the rainbow.

Brandon Jack wasn't so silly......he snapped up his two year offer.

[Aprilbr]

I wonder where X will now be playing given his AFL career is over - at least for a year? Perhaps in the VFL on $20k per year?


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[chalbilto]

If he does play you can be sure that it will be close to home with his family.