Rumour GFC 2024 Player Trading, Drafting FA, Rumours and Wish lists Pt 1

[D BRIDGE]

Geelong don't offer huge contracts to anyone. Even guys like Stewart and Jez are underpaid for their value. But that's the amount of sacrifice these guys are willing to make to keep the team strong.

I believe there was that article of the top 100 paid players and i believe we didn't even have anybody in the first 15?

Then had guys like Blics and Stew in the 60 something range.

We are defintely blessed with being a desirable destination.

I think that will eventually change.

It's all well and good for local Geelong guys and other players to take a bit less over the years because we have been contending for flags.

But the landscape is changing and if we want to land a Cadman type we'd probably need to be offering him overs on what he has produced so far.

Any offer to JUH will likely need to be massive or we will just get dismissed and he will either stay at the Dogs or go elsewhere.

Also if we are ever wanting to land an A grade RFA without the opposition matching and forcing us to trade for them, then we'll eventually have to dig deep into our pockets... We will have lots of cap room and I'd rather use it than not.

P.S. I don't count Danger and Jez as A grade RFAs... they are best in the comp level and the clubs with them will almost always match (talking Parish/McCluggage level) If you cheap out on those types you will just miss or end up having to trade draft picks (which in this day and age is as much of as asset as cap space).

 

[Ricky Vaughn]

Apart from employment.

He’s already employed for the next 3 years.

 

[cats_09]

Reports suggested 2 mil over 4 years.

Cheers

I had $2 million in the back of my mind but couldn't quickly find anything to confirm it

 

[cats_09]

Can't you offer a reduced contract if someone under performs ? They might leave , but you can offer it.

What constitutes underperforming and who determines that?

Bowes signed a 4-year contract with us, with a key reason for leaving the GC being them renegotiating the contract he'd already signed until it was $1.6 million over the last two years and then telling him to look for a new home - it would be a pretty shitty thing to do as a club if we suddenly turn around & ask Bowes to take a pay cut just cause

And why exactly would Bowes leave when he's got a signed contract with the club - it's not like the deal he signed last year just gets thrown out

Besides, the reality is that Bowes signed a 4-yr deal and is contracted through to 2026. At that stage both parties can open discussions on a new deal, and the new deal may well be for less than his last contract, or it could be for more - let's see how he goes if he can get an injury free run at things and more experience in the hoops

 

[cats_09]

Apart from employment.

And if he says no to accepting a pay cut mid contract, what exactly is the club going to do?

Cut Bowes from the list while paying him out at his agreed & signed contract?

 

[D BRIDGE]

The Bowes deal is gold for us... Just have to pay Bowes a bit overs (which we can easily afford) and we got Jhye Clark for doing so.

Sign me up for that any day please.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

It makes sense, and because the spine is such a crucial area of the ground, it fast tracks where we're going immensely.

In a hypothetical world, in 12 months if we have:

SDK - Key Defender
J Henry - Medium Defender
COS - Key Defender
Conway - Ruck
Edwards - Ruck/Forward
Neale - Key Forward
Henry - Medium Forward
Cadman - Key Forward

That's genuinely one of the best young core spines in the game, especially seeing as there's a huge power vacuum right now in the league with key position talent.

If guys like Sav, Petty, Chol, BZT, Sweet, Soldo and so on are being seen as the best available, then we're a long way in front with what we'd already have on our list for 10-15 years to come.

That's with Jezza & Stewart still around for a few years yet as well.

It allows us to go big in 2026-27 with someone like Smith as a free agent to finish off the midfield, which is a much easier area of the ground to develop anyway as quality mids are typically pretty easy to draft or trade in.

Key position talent is much harder to find, and you tend to hold onto them for a long time once you've got them (Hence the lack of supply at the moment)

We would have already drafted all of ours with pretty high picks (Outside of Cadman, who was the highest you can be), and all things being equal, would be set for a very long time.

That's actually really positive. A decent investment in the spine. The line through the middle by draft number. Doesn't include either Henry.

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[STPer18]

The Bowes deal is gold for us... Just have to pay Bowes a bit overs (which we can easily afford) and we got Jhye Clark for doing so.

Sign me up for that any day please.

$400k is league average these days isn't it? If he's best 23 the contract is already worth it regardless of the draft bounty we got on top.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Wow Jezza putting in work, love that our players are active recruiters.

Apparently Danger has met with Archie Perkins a few times too. Danger was the one who mentored Bowes from a young age which was a big draw card for Jack when he became available.

I can definitely see perkins and cadman being targets for us.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Love this post. Out of interest, what makes everyone think Cadman will be joining us ?

Country kid and our lifestyle plus the cameron recruiting factor and hawkins age.

 

[Kobe Gryant]

I think that will eventually change.

It's all well and good for local Geelong guys and other players to take a bit less over the years because we have been contending for flags.

But the landscape is changing and if we want to land a Cadman type we'd probably need to be offering him overs on what he has produced so far.

Any offer to JUH will likely need to be massive or we will just get dismissed and he will either stay at the Dogs or go elsewhere.

Also if we are ever wanting to land an A grade RFA without the opposition matching and forcing us to trade for them, then we'll eventually have to dig deep into our pockets... We will have lots of cap room and I'd rather use it than not.

P.S. I don't count Danger and Jez as A grade RFAs... they are best in the comp level and the clubs with them will almost always match (talking Parish/McCluggage level) If you cheap out on those types you will just miss or end up having to trade draft picks (which in this day and age is as much of as asset as cap space).

You're forgetting one thing though.

A large reason we HAVE been contending for so long is our players take less, and that allows us to recruit talent virtually every off-season to continue to contend.

It's a paradox in itself. You can't have one without the other.

For instance, we weren't contending when Dangerfield, Smith, Henderson & Scooter came for less money.

We were contending when Jezza, Smith, Higgins, Touhy, Rohan & Dahlhaus came for less, but if we take off the blue & white glasses and live in those moments, one could certainly argue that a rebuild was more imminent than a premiership.

That was certainly the belief outside of the club, and those opinions ran ad nauseum at the conclusion of every season between 2013-2021.

You can say the landscape is changing, I'd argue less so. Once upon a time 10-12 years ago, we had much more integral veterans to replace than what we have now, with a much lesser group of kids coming through as well.

This isn't revisionist history, either. The core of that side was arguably the greatest team this sport has ever seen, and yet they found a way to do it.

The kids, even at the time, where unproven, often injured, and mainly late selections. This was the belief at the time, too.

These things have a funny way of figuring themselves out, and I highly doubt you'll see a big change from the pay structure that has held this club is such good stead for nearly 20 years.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

Hey here's something I haven't seen in a while. A starting 18 all 26 and under with no debuts

B Oisin Mullin Sam De Koning Jack Bowes

12

Jack Bowes

Age

28

Ht

189cm

Wt

85kg

Pos.

D/M

Career

Season

Last 5

D

16.3

4star

K

9.7

4star

HB

6.6

4star

M

3.9

4star

T

2.5

4star

MG

318.1

4star

D

18.0

4star

K

11.8

5star

HB

6.3

4star

M

5.4

5star

T

1.1

2star

MG

318.1

4star

D

11.6

3star

K

6.4

3star

HB

5.2

4star

M

2.8

3star

T

2.4

4star

HB Zach Guthrie

39

Zach Guthrie

Age

27

Ht

188cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.0

3star

K

5.8

2star

HB

5.2

4star

M

3.3

3star

T

1.8

4star

MG

90.0

1star

D

7.0

1star

K

4.0

1star

HB

3.0

2star

M

1.0

1star

T

1.0

2star

MG

90.0

2star

D

10.4

3star

K

3.8

2star

HB

6.6

4star

M

2.0

3star

T

1.6

4star

Emerson Jeka Jack Henry

38

Jack Henry

Age

27

Ht

192cm

Wt

96kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

10.3

3star

K

7.3

3star

HB

2.9

3star

M

4.0

4star

T

2.2

4star

MG

142.6

2star

D

8.6

2star

K

6.7

3star

HB

1.9

1star

M

3.9

4star

T

2.1

3star

MG

142.6

3star

D

9.6

3star

K

7.0

3star

HB

2.6

3star

M

3.6

4star

T

2.0

4star

C Max Holmes Tanner Bruhn Mitch Knevitt
HF Brad Close Ollie Henry Gryan Miers

32

Gryan Miers

Age

27

Ht

179cm

Wt

81kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.4

4star

K

9.1

4star

HB

6.3

4star

M

4.1

4star

T

1.8

4star

G

1.1

4star

D

15.3

4star

K

9.0

4star

HB

6.3

4star

M

4.6

4star

T

1.6

3star

G

0.9

4star

D

14.4

4star

K

8.4

4star

HB

6.0

4star

M

3.8

4star

T

2.2

4star

G

1.2

4star

F Tyson Stengle Shannon Neale Ollie Dempsey
Fol Toby Conway Jhye Clark Brandon Parfitt

Edit: Accidental COS now switched out for Mullin

 

[Mr Meow]

Hey here's something I haven't seen in a while. A starting 18 all 26 and under with no debuts

B Emerson Jeka Sam De Koning Jack Bowes
HB Zach Guthrie Connor O’Sullivan Jack Henry
C Max Holmes Tanner Bruhn Mitch Knevitt
HF Brad Close Ollie Henry Ted Clohesy
F Tyson Stengle Shannon Neale Ollie Dempsey
Fol Toby Conway Jhye Clark Brandon Parfitt

When did O'Sullivan debut?!

Nice list though. A key forward, a couple of backman (one rebounding flanker, one lockdown pocket) and an elite midfielder are on the shopping list the next couple of drafts/FA.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

When did O'Sullivan debut?!

Nice list though. A key forward, a couple of backman (one rebounding flanker, one lockdown pocket) and an elite midfielder are on the shopping list the next couple of drafts/FA.

Ah! Knew it was too good to be true

Classic case of writing a list and changing the intent mid way

 

[Oisin_the_Goat]

What constitutes underperforming and who determines that?

Not contributing much to the team and mainly the coach decides.
I was under the impression Bowes was around our 2nd highest paid player. But if its 2 mill over 4 years, that probably isn't the case.
I don't really rate him at this stage though. He's a bit of jack of all trades , master of none (inside, outside, defence etc). I feel like we only got him because he was bundled with Jhye

 

[Mr Meow]

Not contributing much to the team and mainly the coach decides.
I was under the impression Bowes was around our 2nd highest paid player. But if its 2 mill over 4 years, that probably isn't the case.
I don't really rate him at this stage though. He's a bit of jack of all trades , master of none (inside, outside, defence etc). I feel like we only got him because he was bundled with Jhye

He's one that suffered with us having all of Duncan, Smith and Tuohy in the side in 2023 as I expect he will take one of their roles (albeit with his own style).

Wing or half back are two positions he could be in line for next season rather than just doing bits here or there as the 22nd picked. To do that he probably has to keep Tuohy out.

 

[Oisin_the_Goat]

He's one that suffered with us having all of Duncan, Smith and Tuohy in the side in 2023 as I expect he will take one of their roles (albeit with his own style).

Wing or half back are two positions he could be in line for next season rather than just doing bits here or there as the 22nd picked. To do that he probably has to keep Tuohy out.

That's true. But still don't think he's as good as any of those players tho. Doesn't have the physical attributes. Each of those players are elite in physicality, running power or kicking or a combination. I know sounds a bit harsh.
But FYI I'd wholeheartedly defend someone like Bruhn

 

[Mr Meow]

That's true. But still don't think he's as good as any of those players tho. Doesn't have the physical attributes. Each of those players are elite in physicality, running power or kicking or a combination. I know sounds a bit harsh.

Did you see him in 2021 at the Suns? He was a 20+ disposal, 5 rebound 50 a game back flanker who made smart decisions.

His form has been a bit indifferent since but his ceiling is probably around some of Duncan's mid range seasons, which is more than useful.

Quite a few Cats recruits have greatly improved their output in season 2 so let's hope he's one of them.

 

[Mr Meow]

For what it's worth though I'd like to to see Bowes on a wing (rotating with Dempsey) in 2024, transitioning to midfield in 2025. A bit similar to Guthrie 2019/2020.

 

[ShaunWDT]

He's one that suffered with us having all of Duncan, Smith and Tuohy in the side in 2023 as I expect he will take one of their roles (albeit with his own style).

Wing or half back are two positions he could be in line for next season rather than just doing bits here or there as the 22nd picked. To do that he probably has to keep Tuohy out.

Wont be surprised if he plays mid now he gets a run at a proper season, took half the year to really get going after that calf.

Thought he was close to our best in Round 24.

 

[cats_09]

Not contributing much to the team and mainly the coach decides.
I was under the impression Bowes was around our 2nd highest paid player. But if its 2 mill over 4 years, that probably isn't the case.
I don't really rate him at this stage though. He's a bit of jack of all trades , master of none (inside, outside, defence etc). I feel like we only got him because he was bundled with Jhye

It's been well reported that were were interested in Bowes and had started having chats with him long before GC confirmed they were looking to clear cap space & include a top 10 pick in the deal - that was a key factor in him choosing Geelong over other late coming teams

None of that explains though why a team or player would sit down mid-contract and renegotiate a pay cut for the remainder of his deal

I also can't see a situation or team where the coach has a talk with the recruitment & list management team that goes along the line, "Player X isn't performing strong enough, please renegotiate the remainder of his contract at a lower value" - there's zero incentive for a player to agree to it

 

[Hinkley29]

$400k is league average these days isn't it? If he's best 23 the contract is already worth it regardless of the draft bounty we got on top.

Averages get impacted too severely by outliers. In a sport where the superstars get exponentially more money than the average (ie real impact players can get $1m plus), it skews the averages and makes them less meaningful.

Median salary would be a better number to compare Bowes to. But I have never seen a published median salary number for the AFL.

You are correct in saying that the average is ~$400k. It was $406k at seasons end. I would expect that the median is likely to be lower than that at most clubs.

 

[#6 Thorp #7 Selwood LOL]

"I believe that's Mr Gilmore's jacket!"

 

[Gavin Excell]

Cadman seems pretty happy at the Giants

Never again: No.1 Giant's personal vow after September pain

If Aaron Cadman has his way, he won't be sitting on the finals sidelines in 2024

www.afl.com.au

 

[BORIS332]

That's actually really positive. A decent investment in the spine. The line through the middle by draft number. Doesn't include either Henry.

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Assuming draft pick has any bearing on player quality.