With Eagles starting to win again and showing signs of turnaround, it's a perfect time for Neale to step in and push them back up the ladder again. He'll find it attractive to be honest.
Freo next midfield wave in Johnson and Murphy Reid are starting to emerge now. They won't need Neale anymore, not at that salary anyway.
West Coast would pay that with closed eyes easily
We would not have got Ashcroft and Fletcher in 2022. Only Will Ashcroft possibly. Similarly not Ashcroft and Marshall in 2024. Same again, only the little brother Ashcroft possibly. It also means Gold Coast won't get 4 in one go like in 2023 or 2025 for example.
If first rounders are the gripe...
If AFL wants to put a proper end to this, there is a simple fix. Make first round pure. No Father Son, NGA, Academy and priority picks. All of these will come from the start of second round. This will settle all the angst as the bickering is mainly around the elite talent that get matched in...
Fagan next week - "just stating my opinion here, no malice - I heard Phillipou is on $1M+ apparently, are they going to pay the same to Darcy Wilson too? Wonder how Darcy would feel if he doesn't get that money considering everyone else is getting paid so well around him... just saying... "
Be prepared to get shouted down here for having a differing opinion to the general group hysteria.
For clarity, I agree with your view. The perception that a club needs to find pick 3 + 18 to match pick 1 implies that 18 year old 0 games AFL draftee is worth more than prime Neale or Butters...