#AFL Round 4 Swans vs Dees Thur 11-Apr at SCG #AFLSwansDees @sydneyswans

[Blood Fever]

Agree as well. Bob Murphy on SEN over the weekend had similar sentiments. He hypothesised if the Swans bottomed out next few years missing finals, that Buddy in his twilight years have option to move to a top 4 club like Collingwood to have another crack at winning a flag! Bob's notion is to see Buddy play out his days playing finals footy rather than just play H&A. He thinks it could be a win & win for both Buddy and the Swans in terms of trade, as apparently this happens in the NBA.

Players already have that option...it's called Free Agency! Buddy wasn't forced to sign 9 year deal with us, as it gave him long term financial security. Bob has also forgotten Buddy was bound by the AFL to see out his contract with us, as they imposed his contact will remain in our cap for the duration regardless if Buddy retired prematurely for whatever reason.

Murphy now part of the Melbourne media fantasy world and Boys Club sadly. Chris Judd, who said when playing that he never read or watched footy media has also jumped on borard. Same with Roosy who disdained the footy media when coaching.

[111431]

Buddy had a stinker on Thursday but he is the least of our problems on the field. He is always first targeted for a bad game by fans and the media, but it doesn't matter who you are, if your midfield is getting flogged its very difficult for a forward to have much influence

agreed

[KSAS]

My expectation is that if Buddy were traded to another club, his salary would no longer be carried in the Swans' cap (though the excess might be, if a club took him on for a lower amount).

If Buddy were allowed to be traded at this point then in theory Hawthorn could feel aggrieved as they weren't able to match our 9 year contract offer under Free Agency, which the AFL specified had to be binding for the duration. On the other side of the coin, not allowing Buddy to be traded could be considered as a restraint of trade.

[liz]

If Buddy were allowed to be traded at this point then in theory Hawthorn could feel aggrieved as they weren't able to match our 9 year contract offer under Free Agency, which the AFL specified had to be binding for the duration. On the other side of the coin, not allowing Buddy to be traded could be considered as a restraint of trade.

They weren't willing - don't know about not able. I can see the issue if Buddy were to retire or be delisted. But if he demands a trade to another club (and another club is willing to take him), that's a completely different scenario.

I really don't believe we're having this discussion - hypothetical or otherwise - about trading Buddy. It's daft. He's the best player at the club by some margin, and the most important drawcard by an even larger margin (with only Heeney maybe within shouting distance). He's a joy to watch and seems to be enjoying his football as much as ever, and enjoying the relative anonymity that Sydney offers him (off-field).

I can't agree with those who describe his game on Thursday as a "stinker". It might not have been his best game ever for the club but he was moving well, had a decent number of shots at goal (even though his kicking wasn't on), applied good pressure, set team mates up for other scoring opportunities etc. He has had a few games for the club that I would describe as stinkers (the Geelong final of a couple of years ago, last year's GWS final, possibly the 2016GF) but most (and certainly the examples I've provided) were when he was severely hampered by injury (and possibly shouldn't have been out there when he carried the injury into the game). These games have been few and far between.

[barry]

The only time the Vic media talk about players outside of victoria is when they talk about trade rumors of them going to victoria.
If buddy got traded, we would be carrying half his salary. Hawthorn might be a target. (Ala the ablett return)

[707]

Best to not waste time talking about this, Buddy is going no where except to our goal square.

Just watched the first half of this game for the first time. If we had kicked straighter and Melbourne didn't jag them every time they had a shy at the sticks we probably would have won. Looked to me like a game of small percentages making a big difference both ways, not the doom and gloom I'm reading. This with several players hardly contributing as well.

[caj23]

I really don't believe we're having this discussion - hypothetical or otherwise - about trading Buddy. It's daft. He's the best player at the club by some margin, and the most important drawcard by an even larger margin (with only Heeney maybe within shouting distance). He's a joy to watch and seems to be enjoying his football as much as ever, and enjoying the relative anonymity that Sydney offers him (off-field).

Agreed, it's just not going to happen, end of story

[707]

The only time the Vic media talk about players outside of victoria is when they talk about trade rumors of them going to victoria.
If buddy got traded, we would be carrying half his salary. Hawthorn might be a target. (Ala the ablett return)

Going to Hawthorn is not guaranteeing finals appearances for Buddy! If that's what the "what do we dream up now" Vic media are suggesting. Vic media love a returning home to Victoria trade, starts with every unsigned player at least a year out from contract expiry, gets tiring to listen to.

Remember last year, was it Tom Browne saying on TV one night that Rory Sloane would sign with Hawthorn within days, next morning he re-signs with Crows! Just idle fill airwaves nonsense.

[barry]

I totally made up the Buddy to Hawthorn comment.

But its probably the only team that would take him:
- They are in high poaching mode.
- They already had a romantic view of his return.
- They seem desperate to stay contenders by trading in established players.

[AnnieH]

Well, again, that was pretty crap.
It really doesn't help when you only turn up for a quarter or so.
I'm not going to repeat the "basic skills" rant... you've all heard it before. One day, they'll get them right.
A 75% chance of losing next week.

[Blood Fever]

Going to Hawthorn is not guaranteeing finals appearances for Buddy! If that's what the "what do we dream up now" Vic media are suggesting. Vic media love a returning home to Victoria trade, starts with every unsigned player at least a year out from contract expiry, gets tiring to listen to.

Remember last year, was it Tom Browne saying on TV one night that Rory Sloane would sign with Hawthorn within days, next morning he re-signs with Crows! Just idle fill airwaves nonsense.

The amount of clangers committed by Browne etc is astounding. Never held accountable.

[stevoswan]

Coaches votes.....out of a possible 30 pts, our Swans got 4, all to Florent. A fair reflection of the game really.....effort wise.

Coaches' votes, R4: Dog surges clear, 10 for seven-goal Don - AFL.com.au

[Kafka's Ghost]

Best to not waste time talking about this, Buddy is going no where except to our goal square.

Just watched the first half of this game for the first time. If we had kicked straighter and Melbourne didn't jag them every time they had a shy at the sticks we probably would have won. Looked to me like a game of small percentages making a big difference both ways, not the doom and gloom I'm reading. This with several players hardly contributing as well.

+1.
Watch the first half again all those who are wallowing in the disappointment of a loss. The team is not far away from one expected to be a premiership contender. We were always going to struggle to back up after 5 days in a best case scenario, let alone after Heeney and Sinclair were injured.

[stevoswan]

I used to enjoy checking out the Coaches votes because the Swans always figured in them pretty strongly.....not so far this season which is no surprise. No player has racked 12 aggregate yet (Gaff....two games back and 13 pts already! A gun!)

LEADERBOARD
34 Marcus Bontempelli
29 Patrick Cripps
26 Tim Kelly
25 Patrick Dangerfield
24 Lachie Neale
23 Lachie Whitfield
19 Sebastian Ross
18 Jeremy Cameron
17 Travis Boak
17 Stephen Coniglio
16 Luke Shuey
15 Shaun Higgins
14 Nat Fyfe
13 Andrew Gaff
13 Jade Gresham
13 Daniel Rich
12 Ben Cunnington
12 Scott Lycett
12 Jack Macrae
12 Rory Sloane
12 Michael Walters

Not complaining.....just sayin'. It's an accurate reflection of our season.

[Legs Akimbo]

Don't put bud in goalsquare. Free the bud. Play him high half forward or on the wing. I'd love to see it. Matthew Richardson had a career renaissance roaming free.