AFL (non-Swans) off-season moves - 2022 edition

[KTigers]

GWS are caught in this sick cycle each year. They draft impressive talent and develop them only to inevitably lose them. They are essentially a feeder club for the Vic establishment. It must be dispiriting. I think it's like losing Dawson every year.

I think it's really hard for them to create a footy environment out there, the type of environment that up-and-coming players think they'll
end up in as they come through the ranks. They live in a city that doesn't live and breathe Australian Rules. They grow up dreaming of
running out on the MCG in front of 50,000 baying fans not 7,000 fairly quiet fans, a lot of who are pretty new to footy.
Leon Cameron talked about how frustrating it was to see this exodus of three or four AFL level players every year. We of course weren't in
any better shape in our eleventh season. Their situation is a really hard one to fix. You need a buy-in from the players that is not money
driven, and you need a buy-in from the fans too.
A lot of footy fans, or should I say attenders, are very fickle. We saw that this year at the SCG. 44,000 for the Collingwood game when
we were travelling well, and 22,000 for the Bulldogs game when we weren't.

[chalbilto]

Was always just a click bait story that gave the media something to talk about for four months. Buddy's contract negotiation was a fizzer for the media compared to the Dusty non story.

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The same applies to Geelong, players sign on for unders but apparently get into lucrative can't fail property deals in the Geelong area. Pies have dodgy media deals via Maguire.

Richmond have had a few retirements and Cotchin and Jack have taken big pay cuts in their new one year deals. More interest is how they get Taranto and a contracted Hopper trades done. It will give GWS a powerful draft hand, pity they have to draft Vic kids!

Hopper is a NSW boy from Leeton and he still wants to go to a Melbourne club.

[KTigers]

[/B]

Hopper is a NSW boy from Leeton and he still wants to go to a Melbourne club.

Yep. I posted about him the other day. We have benefitted a bit over the years from footballers wanting to
get out of the "Vic footy bubble". But for every player wanting to leave the bubble, there are probably ten players
wanting to get into it. Hopper is clearly one. He said as much yesterday. A lot of the GWS exodus are players
like him. They can't wait to be living footy 24/7 and then some. It's exactly the same for 20-somethings in
the music industry and film industry. They like "the life".

[Ludwig]

GWS are caught in this sick cycle each year. They draft impressive talent and develop them only to inevitably lose them. They are essentially a feeder club for the Vic establishment. It must be dispiriting. I think it's like losing Dawson every year.

Having created these 2 expansion teams, the AFL have a responsibility to stop this relentless bleeding of talent from GWS and GC. They are killing their own children through neglect.

The AFLPA won't like it, but some additional costs have to be imposed on the acquiring clubs. Or some additional incentives should be given to GWS and GC which would enable them to retain players. Surely there are experts in this field who can come up with something. It's more than 10 years now and these problems persist.

Why are they on the brink of adding another expansion club when they still haven't worked out the problems with the last 2?

[RogueSwan]

... Or some additional incentives should be given to GWS and GC which would enable them to retain players. Surely there are experts in this field who can come up with something...

Giants coterie group? Maybe one that has interests in property?

[barry]

Having created these 2 expansion teams, the AFL have a responsibility to stop this relentless bleeding of talent from GWS and GC. They are killing their own children through neglect.

Giants managed to eek out a fairly successful 2016-2019 period, but it cant be sustained, and the poaching eventually caught up with them.
Richmond have ripped the heart out of Gold Coast, and now taking aim at GWS. They must really hate expansion.

[i'm-uninformed2]

I obviously don't know if this is precisely right, but if it is even in the ball park, it confirms Geelong rort things.

The idea one of the best full forwards in the game accepts less than $300K without side deals is crap.

“This is what Geelong do”: Hawkins’ shock 2023 salary revealed

[Ludwig]

I obviously don't know if this is precisely right, but if it is even in the ball park, it confirms Geelong rort things.

The idea one of the best full forwards in the game accepts less than $300K without side deals is crap.

“This is what Geelong do”: Hawkins’ shock 2023 salary revealed

It's long been said that the Geelong vets take a discount from market value to keep them in contention. If that's the case, good on 'em. But the AFL need to investigate to possibility of side deals that rort the system. They are supposed to be doing this as a matter of course.

At least we know what we should be offering Buddy. He's not as good as Hawkins.

[RogueSwan]

I obviously don't know if this is precisely right, but if it is even in the ball park, it confirms Geelong rort things.

The idea one of the best full forwards in the game accepts less than $300K without side deals is crap.

“This is what Geelong do”: Hawkins’ shock 2023 salary revealed

This is what Geelong do though, they promise you the be$t lifestyle away from footy.

As I have posted elsewhere, Ross Lyon pretty much confirmed (on the MMM Sunday rub a few weeks ago) there are side deals. Not specifically for Geelong, but clubs that need to get someone over the line not purely on salary.

[i'm-uninformed2]

It's long been said that the Geelong vets take a discount from market value to keep them in contention. If that's the case, good on 'em. But the AFL need to investigate to possibility of side deals that rort the system. They are supposed to be doing this as a matter of course.

At least we know what we should be offering Buddy. He's not as good as Hawkins.

Oh, I don't doubt there are discounts to stay competitive and in contention. But there's a discount, and there's playing for peanuts when you're still one of the best players in the game.

[dejavoodoo44]

Oh, I don't doubt there are discounts to stay competitive and in contention. But there's a discount, and there's playing for peanuts when you're still one of the best players in the game.

I've no idea of the veracity of what McClure is saying, but if the figure is true, it's essentially claiming that Hawkins is taking a pay cut of around $500,000 in order to live on a farm. While I don't know much about Melbourne geography, I suspect that there's a fair few farms that aren't too much of an onerous drive from the MCG.

[Bloods05]

Having created these 2 expansion teams, the AFL have a responsibility to stop this relentless bleeding of talent from GWS and GC. They are killing their own children through neglect.

The AFLPA won't like it, but some additional costs have to be imposed on the acquiring clubs. Or some additional incentives should be given to GWS and GC which would enable them to retain players. Surely there are experts in this field who can come up with something. It's more than 10 years now and these problems persist.

Why are they on the brink of adding another expansion club when they still haven't worked out the problems with the last 2?

Tassie isn't really an "expansion" team. The support is already there, pretty much guaranteed. It is very likely that having their own team will help rebuild footy in Tassie at the lower levels. GWS and GC are attempts to create something out of virtually nothing, simply by spending vast amounts of money.

The AFL has shown itself to be quite unwilling to do what is necessary to set up new teams in these environments.

They need look no further than the example set by the Swans from the Barassi era onward: build a strong organisation, well-managed, with a clear identity and sense of unity and purpose. Add a few incentives such as CoLA and the occasional draft concession. Ignore the likes of Eddie McGuire who are incapable of seeing beyond self-interest, and be prepared to take time to build it rather than looking for instant success.

Every new team in the competition's history has taken time to establish itself. Ten years is nothing.

[Aprilbr]

As I have posted elsewhere, Ross Lyon pretty much confirmed (on the MMM Sunday rub a few weeks ago) there are side deals. Not specifically for Geelong, but clubs that need to get someone over the line not purely on salary.

The AFL needs to invest some of their new TV rights deal money in a boosted Salary Cap enforcement regime that uses forensic techniques to uncover these side deals. The integrity of the Cap is critical and its rorting by Clubs like Geelong, Collingwood and Richmond is undermining the competition. This is a high order priority!

[liz]

The AFL needs to invest some of their new TV rights deal money in a boosted Salary Cap enforcement regime that uses forensic techniques to uncover these side deals. The integrity of the Cap is critical and its rorting by Clubs like Geelong, Collingwood and Richmond is undermining the competition. This is a high order priority!

It wouldn't be very hard to audit properly if the will to do so was there.

[Agent 86]

Hopper is a NSW boy from Leeton and he still wants to go to a Melbourne club.

He went to boarding school in Ballarat, so will have ol’ mates down there, perhaps?

It’s gonna cost Richmond a bomb. Don’t know how do they do it.