Ramifications of the Boyd-Griffen Trade

[Long Live the King]

The dogs are building a midfield that will drive it for years to come. They have then identified a weakness and targeted a solution. Good on them.
Much the same as North targeting Waite and Higgins, others might dispute the value.

 

[Wild Bill]

Does anyone else share my uneasiness about the Boyd-Griffen trade?

Firstly, while not our concern, surely the Bulldogs are taking just about the biggest risk of any past trade like this, in recruiting a player who had played just 9 games of senior football. No doubt he has oodles of potential, but anything can happen that might derail that. $7m over 7 years is just huge for an as yet unproven player, especially a big tall. Generally the bigger blokes take longer to develop and if what I think is close to the mark, are more prone to do knees than smaller midfield types.

I thought the Bulldogs were struggling, cash wise. To put so much money in that one very big basket, is surely a huge risk if it does not pay off. He is not (yet) a Buddy or a Gary Ablett, both proven champions, who so far have delivered the goods.

But the major cause of my concern, is the potential inflationary effect this may have on future contracts. Surely there will be a lot of young guns in their first few years with a club, who will be licking their lips and saying "well if he is worth that amount then I'm worth much more than I'm on now when my next contract is due". (In the dogs case they have some very talented young midfield types who will already be thinking that they will now warrant some much better money.)

Imagine what Cameron, Treloar, Shiells, Whitfield, etc are going to demand if they want out next year. Maybe not as much but there will be a flow on effect.

Boyd is apparently going to be taking about 10% of the Bulldogs Salary Cap. How many clubs can afford to allocate that much money to one player? There have been quite a few here suggesting we should throw everything at getting Jeremy Cameron if he wants to move this time next year. Well in my view we simply cannot afford to be paying say $5m to $7m over a 5 to 7 year period to anyone. What would the effect be on player morale if we threw 10% of the cap at someone like Cameron and then had to on trade a couple of our young guns to other clubs, simply to free up cap space?

Last year Sydney had to offload Mumford, Everett and Lamb to accommodate Buddy. If they had won the flag this year some might say it was well worth the move. And in any event the Swans know that the AFL will always bail them out, because the AFL simply cannot afford to be without a successful Sydney. Nevertheless there must surely be some worries up there in Sin City, with Pyke on the wrong side of 30 and the AFL's quite extraordinary move to prevent them from trading in a player while the Cola remains in place. Their ruck stocks look very thin. (Sorry I forgot about Tom Derickx. )

Time will tell but in my view, this is a disturbing development.

Dogs had Griffen, Cooney and Gia finish up - had to open a lot of cash for Boyd

I would be happy if we did the same in the same situation. If he is the next Carey he will be worth every cent and more.

 

[naturally north]

Interesting thread, strange that we've taken such an interest in another club.

FWIW the Saints had a handy type at Full Forward for years. And their CHF wasn't bad either. Didn't do them much good in the end.

So have the Dogs got another 28 million for a ruck , CHF , CHB and FB?

Boyd alone won't make much difference.

Carey had McKernan and Longmire for company too.

 

[ozzyoslo]

Interesting thread, strange that we've taken such an interest in another club.

FWIW the Saints had a handy type at Full Forward for years. And their CHF wasn't bad either. Didn't do them much good in the end.

So have the Dogs got another 28 million for a ruck , CHF , CHB and FB?

Boyd alone won't make much difference.

Carey had McKernan and Longmire for company too.

You forgot sholly, esky even crocks in the end.

 

[doggies ftw]

The risk is all in the fact he is incredibly speculative at this stage.

In his first season he suffered injuries that kept him off the park.

Its not only the what if he turns into Watts, there is also the what if he is like Gumbleton?

He can have all the talent in the world but if he cannot stay on the park its for nothing.

Its an awful lot of money to pay for nothing.

The move is ballsy though, the reward could be huge, he could be everything that the dogs have ever looked for, decent midfield with a decent KPF to kick to.

However there are a few other things you have to question over there. What type of coach are they gonna go after? They'd want to get someone in the Hinkley mold, someone who takes what they already have as goes for it. If they go for a guy who wants to set a tone has a game plan and wants it to work they will face churn from their list of those players who do not fit the coaches vision.

Hinkley mold they could be ok next year with fairly decent 2016.

A coach who wants to refresh parts of the list to fit his game plan, who knows how long that'll take.

Its taken us 5 years, admittedly we had to refresh a fair chunk of age off our list,they will be on the front foot there, whether they are the right kids that is another matter.

Sorry mate but surely you must understand that contracts have pretty specific clauses in them.

As much as the whole AFL world wants to believe it, the contract he signed is a little bit more detailed than

"Dear Thomas Boyd,

By signing this contract you agree to be paid $1,000,000 per year, over the next 7 years, no matter how many games you play.

Hell you might as well leave the country now!

Sign here ______"

Our president (whose obviously had a bit to do with this deal) is a very successful lawyer FFS.

 

[CharlieMortdecai]

My concern from a Bulldog perspective would be will they end up paying a pretty penny and not get the best of Boyd? If the contract is heavily front-loaded and "big blokes take time", will Boyd want out with one or two years remaining on his contract, just as he is hitting his straps, and play his best footy at Carlton, Collingwood or Hawthorn?

 

[Only Forwards]

Sorry mate but surely you must understand that contracts have pretty specific clauses in them.

As much as the whole AFL world wants to believe it, the contract he signed is a little bit more detailed than

"Dear Thomas Boyd,

By signing this contract you agree to be paid $1,000,000 per year, over the next 7 years, no matter how many games you play.

Hell you might as well leave the country now!

Sign here ______"

Our president (whose obviously had a bit to do with this deal) is a very successful lawyer FFS.

Firstly I'm not your mate.

Secondly you offseason has been a clusterf***. Your club turned into the equivilent of a football pinata.

Your president backed your coach then fired him because the players wanted him gone. THe tail wagged the dog.

You club said via public statement Griffen was a required player then traded him to the highest bidder

That highest bidder came from the guy who is now the highest paid player on your list, and is a first year mercenary who has yet to play a entire season. His lofty draft pick guarantees nothing. He might be the next Riewoldt. He could also be the next Watts.

I hope the poor bastard isn't the next Gumbleton who also had an incredibly lofty draft pick.

Its a risk, a big one.

You haven't won a flag since the invention of colour tv. F*** it go big or go home.

It works out Boyd leads you to the promised land.

It doesn't work out you've spent decades mired in mediocrity what's another one between frienemys.

 

[Firebat]

Firstly I'm not your mate.