Preview AFL NAB Challenge 1 - Gold Coast v Geelong, Tony Ireland Stadium, 3:40PM (local) Sunday 1 March

[Hello Kitty]

Thanks Boobsie

 

[Hello Kitty]

I can't get over how lean and fit Hawkins is looking this year - looks in terrific shape. He has been pretty reliant on out muscling opponents since his back started giving him trouble, so I am hoping his lighter frame reduces the pain in his back and allows him to lead and to use his (once) very good leap. He will still be stronger than most defenders one on one, but if his running and jumping improves he will be near unstoppable!

Add Clark into the equation, reducing the number of defenders hanging off Tomahawk, this season looks bright!
#Coleman

 

[Hello Kitty]

I think you have to also consider two things:
1. Only a small percentage of players in big-money sports get the really big money.
2. The players getting the massive dollars in the NBA, English premier league, etc are drawn from a much bigger pool, and are, in all likelihood, significantly more gifted than the average AFL player.

Looking at the English Premier League...
England has more than 60 million people and struggles to contribute more than a third of the players to their own top league. The rest are cherry-picked from Europe, Africa and South America. How many current AFL players would make that grade, assuming they were raised as soccer kids? I reckon you might be able to make a case for about 5 players.

For the US sports, they are drawn from a population of almost 300 million.

I know we love our guys and may think they are underpaid, but if you want apples to apples then try comparing them to basketball or soccer salaries a rung or two beneath the top level.

Very true Moggy! I suppose I'm comparing players of an elite Australian sport to players of elite international sports. Remember a few of our AFL players have gone to punt in the US - Ben Graham. But your five players estimate is probably correct However, our AFL players would probably be fitter + stronger than those players of other codes.

 

[Moggy]

Ok, but now link it to Hawkins/Clark!

 

[Moggy]

Very true Moggy! I suppose I'm comparing players of an elite Australian sport to players of elite international sports. Remember a few of our AFL players have gone to punt in the US - Ben Graham. But your five players estimate is probably correct However, our AFL players would probably be fitter + stronger than those players of other codes.

The bolded is probably true, but no-one is going to pay you 10 million a year for that.

I do agree with you that it is not an easy lifestyle to maintain the physical condition required to be successful at AFL level. I wouldn't last a week.

 

[Teriyakicat]

Bad news for Daniel McL - inside word has it that Jansen won't be playing in the first game due to workload management.

I thought it was because Daniel McL was keeping him busy signing all of his Geelong paraphernalia??

 

[manboob]

Ok, but now link it to Hawkins/Clark!

Either or both should have been cast as Christian...

 

[Teriyakicat]

Thanks for post Friday Forecast Daniel.

As someone who's not enamoured by Eade, what changes can we expect to GCS's game?

Hoping the Kolo twins jazz it up + bring a little of the Selwood brothers' grunt to the game.

Yes, sauron256 - "As Corey Enright explained to Cameron Mooney in our exclusive CatsTV interview, the players' training loads don't decrease now that the NAB Challenge has started. The amount of work they put in at Simonds Stadium on Thursday afternoon, when they were put through around 90 minutes of match simulation drills, was an example of that. So don't be concerned if a few of the boys appear to be jogging on the spot late in the game. It will simply be a combination of the immense amount of the work they have been doing during the week and the hot and humid conditions in Townsville."
http://www.geelongcats.com.au/news/2015-02-27/friday-forecast-nab-1

"Why Scott wanted Clark" - one guess - versatility lol

Eade wants a fast, running game, judging by what he has said in an interview, reported on the AFL site last week. Nothing like Syd/Freo-type stuff. Good on him, too.

 

[Hello Kitty]

Either or both should have been cast as Christian...

*swoon*

 

[Teriyakicat]

I think some of his weight loss might be due to the new rule change when it comes to marking contests?
Video here -> http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-02-18/two-rules-tweaked-for-2015

I think I read a comment from Wayne Kerr Clarkson who said that the Cats were the best at blocking....

Not like his Hawks who hold and scrag in the backline- up to 3 players hanging off Hawkins' arms at every opportunity!!

 

[Hello Kitty]

Eade wants a fast, running game, judging by what he has said in an interview, reported on the AFL site last week. Nothing like Syd/Freo-type stuff. Good on him, too.

Oh OK! So he's copying Geelong's game from a few years ago + Port's current strategy?

 

[Teriyakicat]

Oh OK! So he's copying Geelong's game from a few years ago + Port's current strategy?

Why not? If you've got a stack of young blokes with talent and energy to burn, why waste that by playing a slow-moving, unattractive scragging game like Freo's or the Swans'?

 

[Seeds]

thats so right, but to say that they arnt paid well, is wrong, they are. Maybe they are underpaid to full list players, butthey still get good money, and to be retained over a fellow rookie when you don't play well AFL is harsh

$75,000 is not good money for anyone let alone for a job which has such a high sack rate. the skills of a footballer are also useless anywhere else in society so if you fail you have to go back to the drawing board and start training as something else.

 

[OzeSparky]

$75,000 is not good money for anyone let alone for a job which has such a high sack rate. the skills of a footballer are also useless anywhere else in society so if you fail you have to go back to the drawing board and start training as something else.

75k not good money? Half the population will disagree with you

 

[Daniel McL]

I thought it was because Daniel McL was keeping him busy signing all of his Geelong paraphernalia??

Nearly done guys don't worry he will be ready by Sunday

 

[BlakeyNoFlakey]

 

[BlitzenTrapper]

Stoked with Cockatoo, Gore, Jansen and Kersten.

Pretty disappointed no Cowan, hopefully he plays NAB 2.

 

[Teriyakicat]

$75,000 is not good money for anyone let alone for a job which has such a high sack rate. the skills of a footballer are also useless anywhere else in society so if you fail you have to go back to the drawing board and start training as something else.

Which is why all clubs these days insist that the players all have a backup plan. They get advice on investments, they are given talks on health, drugs, etc., they get help choosing post-career careers, they get placement with tradies, if that's what they want to do, or they can study part time- these boys get probably a lot more expert help with their futures than a lot of average parents are able to give their non-footballing kids. And all this advice is free.

 

[BlakeyNoFlakey]

Which is why all clubs these days insist that the players all have a backup plan. They get advice on investments, they are given talks on health, drugs, etc., they get help choosing post-career careers, they get placement with tradies, if that's what they want to do, or they can study part time- these boys get probably a lot more expert help with their futures than a lot of average parents are able to give their non-footballing kids. And all this advice is free.

and not to mention by community standards 75K/annum is a decent wage. Anyone who says otherwise must be making a fortune.

 

[Teriyakicat]

and not to mention by community standards 75K/annum is a decent wage. Anyone who says otherwise must be making a fortune.

We are talking about the 20-ish year old rookies, still, aren't we? You wouldn't dream of making that money flipping burgers at Maccas, now, would you?

 

[Teriyakicat]

Stoked with Cockatoo, Gore, Jansen and Kersten.

Pretty disappointed no Cowan, hopefully he plays NAB 2.

Yeah, agree about Cowan. I would've expected them to give him a quarter at least in each of the 3 games, increasing to 3/4 in the last, because of the lack of game time he's had in the past 3 odd years.
Still, it's a fine line between cooking these young boys and the players coming back from LTIs and getting valuable, meaningful game time into their legs and their bodies. I hope that the medical staff have got a bloody good program mapped out for Cowan.

 

[cats_09]

$75,000 is not good money for anyone let alone for a job which has such a high sack rate. the skills of a footballer are also useless anywhere else in society so if you fail you have to go back to the drawing board and start training as something else.

Where did you get $75,000 from?

For detailed versions of the AFLPA CBA, here is a link to the online version, with pages of interest being 63 through to 69 (+ more if you want to read all the clauses): http://www.aflplayers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/CBA-2012-2016-FINAL.pdf

Briefly, base wages this year for 1st year players are: 1st rnd selection - $71,515; 2nd rnd: $65,000; 3rd rnd & subsequent: $61,610.
2nd year players - 1st rnd: $72,970; 2nd rnd: $66,205; 3rd rnd & subsequent $62,695
rookie listed - $55,440; but if the rookie listed player is promoted to the senior list: $61,610 (on the same pay structure as a 3rd rnd & subsequent selection)

And while those figures may not seem high, this is from an article around this time last year that was about the average salary in the AFL in 2013 (
$265,179 - up $13,620 or 5.4 per cent on the 2012 average); The average income of all working Australians last year was, by Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, $57,460. This is less than 25 per cent of the average AFL player salary. The working fan’s pay packet grew by 4.8 per cent, comparable with the AFL player. -
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/a...alary-now-265179/story-fni5f22o-1226834339957

In 2013, unless you were a 3rd rnd & subsequent selection who didn't play a senior match or a non-promoted rookie, all AFL player from 1st year, 2nd round selections earned more than the ave wage for all working Australians. We can easily argue that rookie players don't earn enough, and there doesn't seem to be a valid reason why a non-promoted rookie earns less than a player selected in the 3rd round or later - surely the reward for being promoted is the opportunity for match payments that non-promoted rookies don't get; but there would be those in Australia that would look at the above base wages for players who the main are 18, 19 & 20 and would argue that they earn more than enough, especially when match payments & match bonuses are thrown in.

 

[Lana]

75k not good money? Half the population will disagree with you

Not when you have an expected career length of four years which will probably result in some form of lifelong injury.

 

[Turbocat]

How many in the final side , when do find out who is playing?

 

[ButterMill]

Not when you have an expected career length of four years which will probably result in some form of lifelong injury.

This point can't be overstated. If you make it you get the coin, the medical advice, career in the media, maybe a coaching role. But along with that is a body that has a lot of wear. From what I hear pain is something many have to live with daily post football.

Now if you don't make it you have a body that is just as shot, less access to money, less access to medical expertise, less access to career advice. You can pull in 20-30k as a gun at some big non AFL club, but you are sore and not loaded by most measures.

The other key thing is the amount of money the game generates. TV doesn't pay near a billion for the licence as a charity. AFL CEO isn't on 20k a year just so Boyd can get his mill. The game generates huge amounts of money. The players are the stars of that circus, the clubs are the brands that people want to support. It is only fair they all get a % off that pie.

Sport is high risk, high reward, busted body. You have to feel for other sports where the same level of physical exertion is required but because nobody watches it they don't even have that treasure at the end of the rainbow to hope for.