He said stitched up first, then said something about Eddie not playing well because he'd already signed.
That's no different to what a heap of paranoid posters here thought about Kurt in the final against Sydney. If Betts had made the decision to move, perhaps it did take 5% from his effort. For mine, Mick was simply offering an excuse (Eddie's poorish form) for allowing him to leave in what was effectively an exchange for his boy Daisy Thomas. As of yesterday morning, while Mick was still coach, that decision was looking like one of the worst calls in recent memory. Betts off a very good year and in something close to career best form and Daisy struggling to get on the park and then struggling when he's on the park. Seems a pretty natural deflection to explain a god-awful decision that is biting them pretty hard. Of course, the club in question having gone through it's own issues with player contracts quite recently provided the fuel for what was a pretty tiny and otherwise meaningless spark. You'll note that I didn't actually mention Stephen Trigg's name there out of courtesy to you.