Player Watch Rory Laird

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May 24, 2006
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On Laird himself... out of all the mid-career players on our list he's the least likely to become a liability later in his career I guess. But the thing is that it's difficult for any player to live up to a five year deal.

Seems to be a bit of an attitude of just get it done. Once we're swimming in premierships no one will care about a too-long deal or two. And if we don't win any flags then in five years someone else will be list manager/head of football and they can worry about it.

Need to look at each decision in isolation though. Is this a good idea for our club?

Not be swayed by 'noise':
Will he walk?
Can we afford another senior player to leave?
 
Sep 5, 2017
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I think its one year too many but if they have front ended the contract then Im okay with it.

The fact he has proven he can play multiple positions and is very durable likely went in his favour. I dont think the same will apply to Crouchy who is a one trick pony. Will be interesting to see where that goes.
 

Murray2503

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On Laird himself... out of all the mid-career players on our list he's the least likely to become a liability later in his career I guess. But the thing is that it's difficult for any player to live up to a five year deal.

Seems to be a bit of an attitude of just get it done. Once we're swimming in premierships no one will care about a too-long deal or two. And if we don't win any flags then in five years someone else will be list manager/head of football and they can worry about it.

Need to look at each decision in isolation though. Is this a good idea for our club?

Not be swayed by 'noise':
Will he walk?
Can we afford another senior player to leave?
Our club has never been a good assessor of which players you give long term deals to. There is a direct correlation between poor team selection and mishandling of contracts. Having Riccuito and Reid at the wheel driving our club will not result in a flag anytime soon. When both are gone I will be a hell of a lot more optimistic.
 
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May 24, 2006
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I think its one year too many but if they have front ended the contract then Im okay with it.

The fact he has proven he can play multiple positions and is very durable likely went in his favour. I dont think the same will apply to Crouchy who is a one trick pony. Will be interesting to see where that goes.
This is true

At least Laird has two strings to his bow
 
The players currently contracted to us for the 2023 season and beyond. So a full two seasons away

Rory Laird - 4 more years from start of 2023
Wayne Milera - 3 more years
Brodie Smith - 2 more years
Luke Brown - 1 more year
Rory Sloane - 1 more year
Chayce Jones - 1 more year
Harry Schoenberg - 1 more year

Aside from the two young guys at the bottom of the list, it just isn't a very exciting list to be honest
 
Apr 22, 2007
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If we weren't offering 5 he leaves and we get a second round pick

He wouldn't be getting 850k a year at another club we certainly wouldn't get a 1st round pick through compo, free agency compo doesn't work if the player is looking for longer contracts because they'll take less to have more years. The AFL's shitty formula doesn't take that into account.

You get the best compo if the player going only gets a 2 or 3 year deal on great money
 
Aug 15, 2009
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Top 5 player from the last few years whos' form is back on an upwards trajectory after a down period (in line with the rest of the team / club). Clearly a great example to the younger guys in terms of how to get the absolute most out of your ability. And it'll keep Smithers happy for another 5 years.

4 years would have been better, but if 5 is what it took (which is clearly what he was wanting and what he would have been offered elsewhere), then big deal. Well played all round.
 

Murray2503

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If we weren't offering 5 he leaves and we get a second round pick

He wouldn't be getting 850k a year at another club we certainly wouldn't get a 1st round pick through compo, free agency compo doesn't work if the player is looking for longer contracts because they'll take less to have more years. The AFL's shitty formula doesn't take that into account.

You get the best compo if the player going only gets a 2 or 3 year deal on great money
Agree apparently Laird was offered 5 by 2 other clubs. He obviously said give me 5 or I take up one of the deals and you get nothing. The important part is the yearly pay. We must turn our attention to signing up our potential young stars now for at least 3 to 4 years.
Doedee, Sholl, Schoenberg, ROB, Worrell, McPherson, Hamill, Himmelberg, Thilthorpe, McAdam, Pedlar, Berry. This is the nucleus of our future.
 

hey shorty

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The players currently contracted to us for the 2023 season and beyond. So a full two seasons away

Rory Laird - 4 more years from start of 2023
Wayne Milera - 3 more years
Brodie Smith - 2 more years
Luke Brown - 1 more year
Rory Sloane - 1 more year
Chayce Jones - 1 more year
Harry Schoenberg - 1 more year

Aside from the two young guys at the bottom of the list, it just isn't a very exciting list to be honest
Milera would've been at the time.

Therefore I expect Laird to have a career threatening injury.
 

Stan16

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I thought Laird wanted to leave the club, well that's what the media told us..

Take note Brad Crouch, loyalty...
 

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UcantCme

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Mar 3, 2021
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I woukd have preferred a 4 year deal recognising that 3 years would open the door for other offers

Laird is a player that has been pretty durable, he is not bangged up and should be able to perform in his early thirties

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Oct 9, 2004
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What do you see this impacting on contacts wise? We aren’t attracting big names for 2-3 seasons, Doedee will stay, Crouch is the only other player that will demand a similar contract.
It doesn’t necessarily mean you lose players, it can impact on players coming in.
We should absolutely be looking to bring young players back now.
 
I woukd have preferred a 4 year deal recognising that 3 years would open the door for other offers

Laird is a player that has been pretty durable, he is not bangged up and should be able to perform in his early thirties

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I remember people saying the same things about Bryce Gibbs
 
Aug 9, 2019
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I thought Laird wanted to leave the club, well that's what the media told us..

Take note Brad Crouch, loyalty...
Huh?

You think Brad Crouch wouldn't have stayed on a 5 year deal?

You think Laird's management didn't know they had other VFL clubs that were waiting in the wings with 5 year deals hence Laird not putting pen to paper with our initial 3 year offer.

You also realise we had tabled a 3 year deal to Brad Crouch which was withdrawn when Covid struck and the AFL put a hold on all contracts being negotiated and prior to the Stengle/Crouch incident.
 

arrowman

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If we weren't offering 5 he leaves and we get a second round pick

He wouldn't be getting 850k a year at another club we certainly wouldn't get a 1st round pick through compo, free agency compo doesn't work if the player is looking for longer contracts because they'll take less to have more years. The AFL's shitty formula doesn't take that into account.

You get the best compo if the player going only gets a 2 or 3 year deal on great money
Yep, welcome to the world of free agency. A top player who was drafted at 18 will be 26 when they get to free agency. Prime age. They'll get a 5 year offer from another club, because that's what it takes to prise a free agent out. Ergo, their current club has to offer 5 years if they want to keep them, even if that's 1 or even 2 years longer than they'd like to offer.

So it's a choice between contracting Laird for 5 years (hopefully front loaded), expecting to get maybe 4 years out of him, or to not have him at all. That's the hard decision any club is going to have to make about its better players in the new world. Laird isn't the first player to get a deal taking him through to 32-33, reluctantly on the part of the club, and he won't be the last.

Also worth noting that Laird is "top age" for a free agent, a year or 2 older than most (18 year old draftees).

Also for context in the Laird / Crouch thing:
- Laird will turn 28 in Dec 2021, and 33 in Dec 2026.
- Crouch will turn 26 in April 2021, and 31 in April 2026.
(i.e. Laird is 1 year + 4 months older)
I don't think giving the same (5 year) deal to Crouch, when he would turn 31 in the last year, would be a bad thing.
 
I'd be interested to hear from the club why they thought giving Hugh Greenwood a contract until he was 32 was a bad idea, but Rory Laird to that age is a good idea
 

Stan16

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Huh?

You think Brad Crouch wouldn't have stayed on a 5 year deal?

You think Laird's management didn't know they had other VFL clubs that were waiting in the wings with 5 year deals hence Laird not putting pen to paper with our initial 3 year offer.

You also realise we had tabled a 3 year deal to Brad Crouch which was withdrawn when Covid struck and the AFL put a hold on all contracts being negotiated.

Big difference, actually massive difference you are forgetting.

Money..

Brad wanted top dollar and 4-5 years.

Laird is probably getting average money over 5 years.

Laird isn't being greedy and shopped himself around and going public (media) for top dollar.
 
Aug 9, 2019
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Big difference, actually massive difference you are forgetting.

Money..

Brad wanted top dollar and 4-5 years.

Laird is probably getting average money over 5 years.

Laird isn't being greedy and shopped himself around and going public (media) for top dollar.
Ahhh so you are privileged to be a party to players contractual agreements....OK then.
 

Mego Red

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Yep, welcome to the world of free agency. A top player who was drafted at 18 will be 26 when they get to free agency. Prime age. They'll get a 5 year offer from another club, because that's what it takes to prise a free agent out. Ergo, their current club has to offer 5 years if they want to keep them, even if that's 1 or even 2 years longer than they'd like to offer.

So it's a choice between contracting Laird for 5 years (hopefully front loaded), expecting to get maybe 4 years out of him, or to not have him at all. That's the hard decision any club is going to have to make about its better players in the new world. Laird isn't the first player to get a deal taking him through to 32-33, reluctantly on the part of the club, and he won't be the last.

Also worth noting that Laird is "top age" for a free agent, a year or 2 older than most (18 year old draftees).

Also for context in the Laird / Crouch thing:
- Laird will turn 28 in Dec 2021, and 33 in Dec 2026.
- Crouch will turn 26 in April 2021, and 31 in April 2026.
(i.e. Laird is 1 year + 4 months older)
I don't think giving the same (5 year) deal to Crouch, when he would turn 31 in the last year, would be a bad thing.
Interesting - I thought Laird was a young draftee?
 

Mego Red

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I'd be interested to hear from the club why they thought giving Hugh Greenwood a contract until he was 32 was a bad idea, but Rory Laird to that age is a good idea
Probably because Laird is better at footballing.
 

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