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Retired #3: Paul Chapman

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lenny&carl said:
Well done Essendon. No team doesn't need another excellent player.
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EXACTLY! This is what irks me so much. Screw the youth policy when you have a great player currently uninjured, playing well.
How delisting an, in form great player is going to help us I will never know.
I'm reading your celebratory posts with plenty of jealousy but also glad you can appreciate and get excited to have him.
 

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Whiskers said:
EXACTLY! This is what irks me so much. Screw the youth policy when you have a great player currently uninjured, playing well.
How delisting an, in form great player is going to help us I will never know.
I'm reading your celebratory posts with plenty of jealousy but also glad you can appreciate and get excited to have him.
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Concur.

Not only in form and uninjured, a good leader as well. He's got the ability and conditioning to hit 300 games if he wants, don't know why the Cats couldn't give him another year or two. I know we've got an excess of talent in the midfield/forward area, but too much of it is not seasoned.

Enjoy getting to watch him.
 
Really peeved the way he was disrespected, was bog every week in the two's and they ignored him for a month.
First game back 26 possessions and a couple of goals, the next week his 300th was thrown the subs vest, after that I knew they were pushing him, but on form he was easy best 22.
Varcoe was averaging 10 disposals for two months yet they stupidly persisted, while turning a blind eye to Chappy, insane quest for youth at any cost even if failure, is now the policy.
Even with injury interruption he still averaged 21 possessions and that as acting sub. Chappy said he'd pushed it to hard trying to get back sooner rather than later after the hammy strain, but his later season form suggests that's definitely a thing of the past.

I was at the final game against Brisbane and Chappy saved us 3 times in that final quarter, he kicked a great goal, smothered the ball in the 10 mtr square saving a certain goal and finger tipped one that went through and we won by a couple of points, the guy is still a gun, no mistake!

Now Pods is gone who played down back a lot yet still kicked 33 goals, and Chappy!.. I don't know where the goals will come from for Geelong, personally I see you guys kicking our arse.
 
He even looked like Hirdy in a life once lived.
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http://paulchapmanwithhair.tumblr.com/
 
Doss said:
I think Cats fans, overall, have taken this news fairly pragmatically. The lack of real animosity between Essendon and Geelong and the two supporter bases probably helps in that regard.

Keep in mind, though, that Chappy is a genuine legend of the Geelong Football Club. There are no two ways about that. So some will be bitterly disappointed it's come to this, and that's more than understandable. There's no need to rub it in from us.

At the end of the day, he will be remembered first and foremost as a legend of the GFC, and we're just lucky that he's chosen us to finish his career with. I have no doubt he will bring both his exceptional ability, and leadership, to the table.
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Wow, that's a very classy post.:thumbsu:

I'm bitterly disappointed that the club and Paul Chapman couldn't come to an agreement somehow which would have seen Chappy remain a one club player. Despite the confusion, Geelong DID offer Chappy another contract despite de-listing him after negotiations reached an impasse and resulted in said negotiations ultimately being unsuccessful. The club could have offered more to keep him, but they had other objectives which they also sought to achieve, and for the long term benefits of the list, they saw fit to only offer him a 1 year contract with reduced game time and salary.

Paul Chapman gave his all to Geelong, including accepting heavily reduced contracts throughout his career compared to what other clubs could/did offer him. That's the sacrifice you make to win Premierships. Paul obviously saw his role in winning those 3 Premierships something which would ensure an immunity to the list squeeze/transition when his career came close to the end. The club IMO owed Paul nothing, but Paul obviously saw different, and the gulf in opinion of worth between the club and Paul was the difference in the end.

Paul could have chosen (obviously) to remain on a reduced game/salary contract in a semi-mentoring role for a year. But part of what made Paul Chapman the absolute gun that he is, was his attitude. You take the good with the bad, and I'll take the good (251 games of service) with the bad (20+ odd games potentially at another club) over never having had him at all. The fierce competitor, and never say die attitude that Paul has would never see him accept a role of second fiddle. So whilst he thought he had something to offer above what Geelong saw, he was never going to hang around.

I wish Paul all the best, and I hope that his last couple of years in the AFL serve him well. He will always be a GFC legend as you put it, and like Dermott Brereton who's not remembered as a Collingwood or Sydney player, but rather a Hawthorn Premiership legend, so to will Paul Chapman be remembered as a legend of the GFC. His legacy too, will remain as one who was a fierce competitor and who never backed down, always backed himself and was never afraid to stick it up any doubters.

He is, and will always remain my favourite Geelong player ever. The club may not owe him anything, but us fans do I feel, for the enjoyment that we've had watching his career. He has provided so much joy over a 14 year period, which is why that I'll struggle to begrudge him doing what he believes is right for HIM, yet still remain disappointed that he was unwilling to hang around the club and play his role in helping the club blood youth. It's the agony and the ecstacy, the mixed feelings even when you remove all of the emotion which is something that I'm still coming to terms with.

So long as you guys beat Hawthorn with Chappy in the side, it'll go along way to helping mend this slightly heart-broken Cats supporters' heart!
 
I feel for Geelong supporters who are upset about this but that doesn't stop me being excited about it.

This guy is a REAL weapon. Potentially great get.
 

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rumply said:
Was thinking the same myself, but on radio this morning Pickers said it's going through, so guess it's basically a done deal.
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The tone of the articles ("will sign") was good enough for me. They don't usually talk in such unequivocal terms in relation to trades (no "it's believed", "rumoured", etc.) unless it's a done deal.

Also it was mentioned on the AFL site this morning. Perhaps there are a couple details still to be fleshed out.
 
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chapi pls
 
eth-dog said:
Let's wait for all the Geelong supporters to come in and say he's too old and too slow
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you won't find many do that.
Most are of the opinion he was still good enough, just the list squeeze forcing him out.
Anyway good luck to him:thumbsu:
Good luck in 2014 guys:thumbsu:
 
Absolutely love the Chap, just a victim of circumstance. With 12 players 29+ on our list we were potentially going to have a disastrous amount of players leave in 2014 or 2015 if we had been conservative with who we kept on the list.

With Chappy playing a reduced number of games this year, it was always looking likely. His BOG in the port final really makes the decision tougher to bare. If he stays injury free, Essendon will benefit greatly and I doubt any cats fans will do anything but wish him well (except against us!)

As hard as it will be to see Pods and Chappy playing for other teams in 2014, to have kept them on and then have 5-6 veterans retire next year, plus have a couple kids asked to be traded or not given a opportunity would probably be harder to take, and put us in the position of Brisbane 2005, of which the club has always sought to avoid.
 

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Did notice some very bitter posts from some Geelong fans over Chapman leaving on the Cats boards. Very bitter to the point of lunacy.
Really good to see some classy Cats supporters on here talk the man up. Clearly and always will be a GFC great. Can't wait to see what he can do for the Red & Black!

GREAT STUFF!:thumbsu:
 
One of my missus' uncles has a son who played with Chapman as a junior. He saw him play right thru the junior ranks.

For years I've been getting stories off him about Chappy's days as a gun youngster. His fav is the day Chappy ran from fullback, taking 6 or 7 bounces, weaving his way thru the field and kicked a goal.

Just can't believe he's a Don.

Xmas came early!
 

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Retired #3: Paul Chapman

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