Garry Lyon and Yeo

[Football Pope]

I'd say it was possible that at some point the club was offering $225k and Yeo would only sign for $250k. If this was where negotiations were at beginning of 2013 I doubt many would have criticised the club for digging their heels in at that point.

By July-August 2013 when Yeo was entrenched in our first 22 and was one of a number of young players not signed beyond the year, many of which obviously ended up leaving, them I'm pretty sure even a dysfunctional club would have coughed up the extra money. But by then Yeo might have made up his mind not to re-sign.

It's also possible that Yeo wanted $250k for a one year extension a la Polec and Karnezis, while the club wanted a longer contract for obvious reasons.

One way or the other, I am very confident that Lyon's simplistic comments are not the whole story.

A lack of confidence in the Club and the direction it had chosen....Club had sacked Voss then replaced him with an untried Leppa who had failed to persuade them to stay.....On top of that.. experienced assistant coaches Harvey and Fletcher both had indicated they were leaving..unstable enviroment......West Coast had put a better offer on the table...

Yeo has played 27 games in two seasons since being taken with pick number 30 in the 2011 AFL Draft.
It is believed Victorians James Polkinghorne, Billy Longer and Sam Docherty are also contemplating leaving.
Their decision looks set to hinge on who the Lions appoint to replace ousted coach Michael Voss.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-19/yeo-wants-trade-away-from-brisbane-lions/4969872

 

[Ironmonger]

A lack of confidence in the Club and the direction it had chosen....Club had sacked Voss then replaced him with an untried Leppa who had failed to persuade them to stay.....On top of that.. experienced assistant coaches Harvey and Fletcher both had indicated they were leaving..unstable enviroment......West Coast had put a better offer on the table...



http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-19/yeo-wants-trade-away-from-brisbane-lions/4969872

I never really bought that. It was late in the year when Voss was sacked and if they hadn't totally made up their minds by that point they certainly would have been thinking about leaving, having not yet re-signed.

It seems particularly unlikely for Yeo, given that when he requested a trade to West Coast they didn't even have a head coach.

I think the line you've bolded was probably just conjecture.

 

[Saucery]

Do recall that when that first came up it was floated in the entire absence of any evidence and AFAIK none has appeared since.

 

[Football Pope]

I never really bought that. It was late in the year when Voss was sacked and if they hadn't totally made up their minds by that point they certainly would have been thinking about leaving, having not yet re-signed.

It seems particularly unlikely for Yeo, given that when he requested a trade to West Coast they didn't even have a head coach.

I think the line you've bolded was probably just conjecture.

We had also interviewed/talked with Simpson...The Eagles had short listed Simpson,Sumich Burns & Tudor midway through September Simpson's talk and presentation made him the clear favourite due to his work on analysing opposition teams..Yeo and a couple of uncontracted players (Ellis) were a Simpson target priority. The Eagles had to wait until Hawthorn finished its 2013 season to name him..The Job was his to lose ....grandfinal week they had short listed their applicants down to Simpson & Sumich...Final presentations were the Monday after the GF...

 

[Lions Flag 2020]

I say this was all in the past. No use worrying about "what ifs". We have moved on from this and our club is in a way better position. Hence why all our top end talent have re-signed.

 

[Football Pope]

I say this was all in the past. No use worrying about "what ifs". We have moved on from this and our club is in a way better position. Hence why all our top end talent have re-signed.

Not worried about it at all....just forum talk...If you needed a book on how not to run a club "The downward spiral by Angus Johnson"... would be the ultimate resource..He has/had a lot to answer for...and set the club way back and where blame should be pointed.. Top admin, coaches and players weren’t tripping over themselves to get here ....Other clubs could sell the stability of their organisation, the strength of their culture and convinced the prospective applicants they could offer them better success than us.... I'm thankfull to Noble, Fagan & Swann for changing things round and re-building ours.

Our talent at the time had also re-signed long-term..only 2 remain

General manager of football operations Dean Warren said after investing so heavily in Polec, the club was disappointed in his decision. "We’re also disappointed he doesn’t wish to be a part of a future that has seen Tom Rockliff, Jack Redden, Daniel Rich, Matthew Leuenberger, Pearce Hanley, Mitch Golby and Dayne Zorko commit for the long-term," Warren said.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-09-11/polec-headed-out-of-brisbane

 

[Surly Boy]

It's all just a wee rumour....

 

[SRH17]

Before or after he was let go from the club?
Ex employees aren't generally a reliable source. Especially those who were moved on

It was the first pre-season that he came back to the club.

 

[SRH17]

Iirc he told us that Rob Kerr botched it......’nuff said

 

[dlanod]

Iirc he told us that Rob Kerr botched it......’nuff said

Interestingly Rob Kerr had pretty good results in the trade week while he was with us. Odd that he should be off the mark for one contract when we had five people leave at once.

 

[Football Pope]

Interestingly Rob Kerr had pretty good results in the trade week while he was with us. Odd that he should be off the mark for one contract when we had five people leave at once.

Not that strange....The timeline makes fascinating reading..... 5 months later and 4 weeks into a new season he resigns to take up a similar role with Essendon...(Some say the GH5 finger pointing was directed at him..He knew the writing was on the wall and on borrowed time..)

Enter Schwab...Originally appointed as the Club’s Head of Coaching & Development..... Within 2 weeks of Kerrs departure Schwab moves across into a newly club created role of Talent Acquisition & Retention Manager.....overseeing the entire recruiting structure....including under-age talent identification, pro-scouting, and the development of the Hyundai Lions Academy – (which had previously been the responsibility of former National Talent Manager, Rob Kerr.)...For 2 weeks, a quarter of the way into the season, as well as performing normal operations they came up with a total revamp of Kerrs role...I'd suggest they'd been planning it prior to Scwabbs original appointment..

Edit: And Football Operations, Dean Warren, took over the task of negotiating player contracts.

 

[Skoob]

As great as Craig Lambert has been over the years for the Lions, I would take any 'professional' opinion in the last few years, with a grain of salt, TBH.

 

[Football Pope]

As great as Craig Lambert has been over the years for the Lions, I would take any 'professional' opinion in the last few years, with a grain of salt, TBH.

He wasn't there when the GH5 went down he officially didn't return till Sept 2015 ...So it would have been just repeating what had been relayed to him....

 

[Skoob]

He wasn't there when the GH5 went down he officially didn't return till Sept 2015 ...So it would have been just repeating what had been relayed to him....

Or his opinion based on things he'd heard. People draw their own conclusions and add their own slant, rather than regurgitating 'facts'.

 

[Football Pope]

Or his opinion based on things he'd heard. People draw their own conclusions and add their own slant, rather than regurgitating 'facts'.

No arguement from me.. Dunno what was said when the club interviewed the Lamberts but clearly it was mentioned....His first pre-season back at the club was 2016.....In an interview cum club update, it was reported as being part of the Lamberts brief..

"They have been charged with avoiding a repeat of the “Go Home Five’’ exodus of 2013 which wiped out two drafts for the club. The ultimate goal is to duplicate Brisbane’s premiership era, when players took pay cuts to stay together."

In that article, Lambert also talks about player contracts ..

https://www.couriermail.com.au/spor...h/news-story/6b12ec4197dd8a4d5ccf754ee729a554

 

[Skoob]

No arguement from me.. Dunno what was said when the club interviewed the Lamberts but clearly it was mentioned....His first pre-season back at the club was 2016.....In an interview cum club update, it was reported as being part of the Lamberts brief..



In that article, Lambert also talks about player contracts ..

https://www.couriermail.com.au/spor...h/news-story/6b12ec4197dd8a4d5ccf754ee729a554

Only bit about contracts I saw in there was this;

“We want to build something that is sustainable so that in three to five years guys like Josh Schache, Ben Keays, Harris Andrews Dan McStay and Sam Mayes are happy to play for what they are worth, or maybe a little less, because they see how bright the future is at Brisbane.’’

Strange that he would claim Kerr botched negotiations by not forking out more for Yeo, when in the above statement he advocates paying players only what they're worth (or less). But then again, he is hard to get a read on.

 

[Football Pope]

Only bit about contracts I saw in there was this;

Strange that he would claim Kerr botched negotiations by not forking out more for Yeo, when in the above statement he advocates paying players only what they're worth (or less). But then again, he is hard to get a read on.

I was told, and to put it into context, that after Simpson's initial interview where he identified where WC list needed to improve (his quest for speed).....Yeo was just one of several players mentioned..WC's recruiting manager, Craig Vozzo worked through the list of players mentioned.. He met with Colin Young, they had a very good relationship with each other (Young had previously worked both at Freemantle and West Coast as sales and marketing manager) The west coast line of communication remained open and eager and where their offer was at.. Ours was the complete opposite...

 

[Pancho Gonzales]

One player's contract discussion is always too lop-sided for me. With a salary cap in place we can't simply keep paying more and more for every player - there has to be a point when we literally don't have another $25k spare. Without knowing what all the players were on at that time, I think it's too hard to judge whether the $25K (if true) was a case of "we can't" or "we won't".

 

[13Beast]

I must say that regardless if this rumour is true or not, I am still quite saddened that media people like Garry Lyon are STILL dredging up muck from the past regarding quite possibly some of the darkest years for our club, i.e. the GH5 saga.

Just feels like these pr*cks just want to keep sinking the boot into the Lions, and given the amount of years plus our current form and all the progress that we have made since then, it really should have absolutely no relevance in the media/public sphere at all.

Case in point: Carlton have sucked for years, some clubs have lost some massive players (GWS/Adelaide anybody?), Essendon had their drugs scandal much more recently than the GH5...nobody seems to rag on Carlton/Adelaide/Giants/Essendon about that in the media, now do they?

Just makes me sick. Can't wait for the Lions to be a regular finals participant, with Rayner/Beams/McCluggage/Berry right up there in Brownlow votes and THEN see these gimps try and dredge up GH5 and other negative stuff from LONG ago and try to portray us in a negative light then

 

[wirra44]

Yeo said on the eagles podcast last week that Lyon had put a bit of mayo on it, but he came to Brisbane early on in that season with a figure which Brisbane came back and said lets wait till the end of the season, by that time he got a offer from the eagles and took that.

starts talking about it at 13.40

 

[dlanod]

That sounds more plausible - it's not a case of him signing with the Eagles for $250k and the Lions not matching, e.g. just a $25k difference.

 

[Lionheart182]

Yep sounds about right. Still a balls up, but not what Lyon was implying.

 

[a mayes ing]

Can't blame him tbh. Club was in shambles but not only that, he got a better offer at the Eagles. Even if it was for 25k more, it is still 25k which is a lot of money. Footy is only a short period of time, get what you can while you can so you can set up your family and kids for life.

 

[Football Pope]

Can't blame him tbh. Club was in shambles but not only that, he got a better offer at the Eagles. Even if it was for 25k more, it is still 25k which is a lot of money. Footy is only a short period of time, get what you can while you can so you can set up your family and kids for life.

I would suggest that 25k more was just a starting point...According to this interview at the time, there were also offers coming from Freemantle...If Kerr had put the shutters up at the time as suggested earlier .. Then Young would have been doing what you'd expect a manager to do in creating interest and getting a bidding war happening..

West Coast were not the only club interested in Yeo during the trade period. Fremantle also made a significant play for the former Dockers fan

https://thewest.com.au/sport/west-coast-eagles/mates-disperse-but-yeo-likes-eagles-nest-ng-ya-360415

 

[dlanod]

I would suggest that 25k more was just a starting point...According to this interview at the time, there were also offers coming from Freemantle...If Kerr had put the shutters up at the time as suggested earlier .. Then Young would have been doing what you'd expect a manager to do in creating interest and getting a bidding war happening..



https://thewest.com.au/sport/west-coast-eagles/mates-disperse-but-yeo-likes-eagles-nest-ng-ya-360415

Well, Fremantle was kind of interested but not really.

It went roughly like:

1. Yeo nominated West Coast, who offers us their third rounder.
2. We say no.
3. West Coast says third rounder.
4. We say no, we get Fremantle involved.
5. Fremantle says well maybe we can give up our second rounder, but meh...
6. West Coast says ok, our second rounder.

AFAIK Fremantle never really put a contract offer together for Yeo. They only threw their hat in the ring at our invite when West Coast was being a recalcitrant.