Rumour GFC 2025 Player Trading, Drafting FA, Rumours and Wish lists Pt 1

[Gazza Greatness]

Lets not quibble about adjectives etc. Robbie Flower was a HOF quality player of a rare quality ..who would be a star today … I feel one should be careful optimistic comparisons to this level player with someone not even drafted. If he gets to Dempsey level id bet most would be very happy. Im just glad he looks draftable if continues to play and progress.

One pic doesn't make a footballer Turbocat: even if Jesse Mellor was standing on someone's shoulders.... but yeah when I seen that pic I instantly thought of Robbie Flower coz that pic reminded me of him in so many ways. But I've gotta say, I do look forward to seeing some video footage of Jesse Mellor to see how good a footballer he may become.

 

[Turbocat]

Art of the Deal says....Cats hold all the leverage
Successful club now and building future success.
Cats don't need Oliver, but he is welcome to come.
Oliver is unhappy at Melbourne... ie: lack of success
If he wants the money he should stay at Demons.
He may earn more at another club but
Have pressure to perform and have no success

Melbourne want to save face for their bad deal
What they say publicly and do privately, differ
Can force him to stay but can't make him play..
An unhappy player is a cancer / free up cap.
Will make a deal to make this matter go away.

It gets harder and harder for Melb to make a save face deal. Id imagine it would have been difficult to contemplate last year. Now what sort of deal could Melb honestly hope for. For us to take him and a significant amount of his money now ..id be wanting a Bowes type deal which would help us get Reid. They may get better offers from clubs like the Saints and Oliver may be able to keep most of his dollars. The amount of trouble Melb have got from these super long deals …they must be regretting them. As I said..if he was OOC at the end of this year ..he would move for nothing as a FA on a more reasonable contract ..and all probably would have gained from it. Now , good luck but its not our problem.

 

[Turbocat]

One pic doesn't make a footballer Turbocat: even if Jesse Mellor was standing on someone's shoulders.... but yeah when I seen that pic I instantly thought of Robbie Flower coz that pic reminded me of him in so many ways. But I've gotta say, I do look forward to seeing some video footage of Jesse Mellor to see how good a footballer he may become.

Even in gettable its barely a sneeze. Im sure there will be a good vid of him made sooner or later

 

[Strange Cat]

It gets harder and harder for Melb to make a save face deal. Id imagine it would have been difficult to contemplate last year. Now what sort of deal could Melb honestly hope for. For us to take him and a significant amount of his money now ..id be wanting a Bowes type deal which would help us get Reid. They may get better offers from clubs like the Saints and Oliver may be able to keep most of his dollars. The amount of trouble Melb have got from these super long deals …they must be regretting them. As I said..if he was OOC at the end of this year ..he would move for nothing as a FA on a more reasonable contract ..and all probably would have gained from it. Now , good luck but its not our problem.

It’s why I think or hope that the club doesn’t entertain any involvement with this mess unless it’s a very very good deal

Which I can’t see …the contract is too big for Oliver to tear up …it’s one thing to accept a lower pay at another club , another to actually walk away from money that’s real and not an offer.

 

[cats_09]

Isn't that literally what the distinction between unrestricted FA and restricted FA is for atm?

2nd and 3rd tier players are universally UFA, whereas 1st tier players are universally RFA.

I'd say that's a very simplified look at how the system was interned to work but it's not how it's working in reality. Just need to look at the 5 RFAs this year to see that some would strongly suggest things aren't equal amongst them:

RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS
Brandon Starcevich (Brisbane)
Tom De Koning (Carlton)
James Worpel (Hawthorn)
Oscar Allen (West Coast)
Ed Richards (Western Bulldogs)


There's also one very notable absentee from that list who pretty much everyone assumed would be an RFA but instead is an UFA - Sam Draper


This is where a difference in thought process may also come into things as Turbocat & I are in something of a similar train of thought while others may think differently in how we think of 2nd or 3rd tier players

2nd tier players will be in your best 22, obviously just that step down from that top level of players and you'd expect them to be reaching FA status

Your 3rd tier though are more your fringe players that are in & out of the senior team, not necessarily locking down a spot at their current club and be most vulnerable to bring delisted - these players aren't necessarily going to be on a list 8 years to reach FA status. And while they'll become a DFA after being cut from their current team, they may not be as desirable as if they had been available as say a FA just a year earlier - these would be more like your 4th or 5th year players


Maybe we need to look at the rookie list FA rules to apply them in a more general sense also, especially those who've been on a list for 4 or 5 years without reaching a certain games threshold:

• a 1st year rookie not offered a further rookie deal is considered a DFA and becomes eligible as an UFA
• a 1st year rookie not accepting a further rookie (offered but rejected) is not considered a DFA and therefore not eligible as an UFA
• a 2nd year rookie not accepting a further rookie contract (3rd year on the rookie list) is considered a DFA and therefore eligible as a UFA

 

[sexyhunk]

Oh we will be giving up more than 3x first-rounders... and I'll happily do so.

The draft is just insanely compromised atm.

I'd happily have the last selections in the next 3 drafts to get Reid on our list.

i agree with this, may not nessarily 3 picks for reid, but I be happy to give multiple FRP for a young star player. you have the same chance at a good player with a late pick and an early pick with next few drafts.

 

[Gazza Greatness]

It gets harder and harder for Melb to make a save face deal. Id imagine it would have been difficult to contemplate last year. Now what sort of deal could Melb honestly hope for. For us to take him and a significant amount of his money now ..id be wanting a Bowes type deal which would help us get Reid. They may get better offers from clubs like the Saints and Oliver may be able to keep most of his dollars. The amount of trouble Melb have got from these super long deals …they must be regretting them. As I said..if he was OOC at the end of this year ..he would move for nothing as a FA on a more reasonable contract ..and all probably would have gained from it. Now , good luck but its not our problem.

In hindsight, Melbourne should have off loaded Oliver either last year with Cats or previous year when they could have potentially got 2 first rounders for him. Collingwood was the 'blue print' with Treloar and Grundy, when most thought that Collingwood had f**ked up big time but as it turned out it was a stroke of genius by off-loading both of them which quickly got themselves out of trouble, then 'won flag'.

But I've gotta say that Oliver's long term contract must go down as one of the worst put together contracts of all time as the dollars in contract increase by the year at a rapid rate. It appears to all and sundry that the Demons still have a noose hanging around their neck, so I reckon something has gotta give by seasons end or are they gonna continue to play the stubborn bastards and shoot themselves in the foot.

 

[standupand]

Lets not quibble about adjectives etc. Robbie Flower was a HOF quality player of a rare quality ..who would be a star today … I feel one should be careful optimistic comparisons to this level player with someone not even drafted. If he gets to Dempsey level id bet most would be very happy. Im just glad he looks draftable if continues to play and progress.

Ahh, people get too hung up about comparisons in my view. If someone wants to liken x to y, the way they run or look or weave through traffic or whatever, it's all good. Everyone understands you're not saying they'll become as good as y, just that y is a player most people can easily bring to mind, and the comparison is just about the way they play the game.

 

[My Tilly]

Someone on BigFooty posted something about Oliver in the 'trade' section and it was along the lines of "in a weeks time, Melbourne will announce that Oliver will not play due to injury but the real reason is because of a drug strike"

I think people laughed at that particular post but as he/she predicted, Oliver would sit out the game on the weekend and now rumors are going around it was more than just personal reasons for the absence.

 

[Jumping Jack]

The Oliver matter will take on a different look after interim CEO Brad Green

Brad Green

Age

44

Ht

184cm

Wt

83kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

16.2

4star

K

10.3

4star

HB

5.9

4star

M

5.2

5star

T

2.2

4star

G

1.4

5star

No current season stats available

D

7.2

2star

K

5.8

3star

HB

1.4

2star

M

3.2

4star

T

0.0

1star

G

1.4

5star

steps aside. He personally stepped in and aggressively blocked any move by the club to move Oliver out last year. With Green stepping aside, and things apparently deteriorating again between player and club, I think there's a chance we see a different outcome.

It's a big distraction for the club and the rest of the playing group. Max Gawn

11

Max Gawn

Age

33

Ht

209cm

Wt

110kg

Pos.

Ruck

Career

Season

Last 5

D

14.1

4star

K

7.4

3star

HB

6.7

4star

CL

2.8

4star

HO

35.3

5star

D

18.5

4star

K

11.5

4star

HB

7.0

4star

CL

3.5

4star

HO

29.2

5star

D

8.4

3star

K

3.6

2star

HB

4.8

4star

CL

1.0

3star

HO

15.6

5star

's language has changed recently as well - he's gone from saying "Oliver is loved and will stay at the club" - to "we'll wrap our arms around him and whatever happens at the end of the year happens".

Oliver won't be at Melbourne next year. Just a matter of where he goes. And rather than being the prime target for a few clubs - I think where he ends up will largely be a domino effect based on which clubs miss out on the likes of Rowell / Reid / Butters and whoever else is floating around.

I'm not convinced he'll be at Geelong because I'm growing increasingly confident that we'll land a big name at the end of this season. We have draft picks to satisfy a chunky deal and we have cap space after a few retirements last year (Tuohy / Hawkins etc) and will free up space this year when Stanley / Duncan (and the bloke we can't mention) no longer being on the list.

 

[cats_09]

 

[Reg Hickey]

… but would they have qualified for nga. It may seem loose but there are factors that one must qualify for. Just this year Hawks were after a kid rate R1 ..but got denied . So were any othese guys born overseas..have parents born overseas etc.

It does seem however that the afl have gone somewhat backwards and introduced a defacto zone recruitment mechanism.. which most dislike till they can get a star kid for their own club

Ah OK, fair enough. I wasn't that familiar with the criteria until I looked it up just then.

All of those guys are multi-generational locals (I know because I'm from the area and I know their parents), so I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have qualified anyway. D'oh!

 

[Johanpetro]

Tweet deleted?

 

[Turbocat]

Ahh, people get too hung up about comparisons in my view. If someone wants to liken x to y, the way they run or look or weave through traffic or whatever, it's all good. Everyone understands you're not saying they'll become as good as y, just that y is a player most people can easily bring to mind, and the comparison is just about the way they play the game.

Sure. Sort of saying a guy who buys penny stocks is like Warnen Buffett is a accurate but its little imprecise. They both make decisions on buying stocks. I just feel inflated companions generally do not do a lot for the new player. Reid fends off so he is like Dusty.. Maybe a bit but he is a long way to go.. and at least he is drafted. But you have a point. I made the comparison to Dempsey ..and that too is probably inflated ..as Dempsey has shwon himself to be a Rising Star winner and capable of big moments. Thats premature too but it was a way to convey what type of player he may be.

 

[Turbocat]

i agree with this, may not nessarily 3 picks for reid, but I be happy to give multiple FRP for a young star player. you have the same chance at a good player with a late pick and an early pick with next few drafts.

Id not bet against three R1 picks and a player being required. Maybe we need to use some R2’s and R3s to get an extra R1 ..there will certainly be a lot of clubs hunting for points this year.

 

[frggr]

Winning a flag as a binary marker of success for trades isn't a great one IMO. There's so much that has to go right for you to win one that it seems unfair to judge a trades success based on the outcome of one game that occurs 5 years after the fact.

e.g., In 2021 would you have said that our recruitment of Dangerfield was a success despite having not won a flag? I definitely would have. Or does that trade only become a successful one in the last few years? Would it have been successful if we lost in 22?

The swans made 3 GFs with Buddy. He won the Coleman twice and was their leading goalkicker 7 times. I think you have to judge his time there as successful on most measures. Especially when you consider that they paid nothing for him in a trade because he was a FA.

It's not necessarily a binary marker of success, I did point out it was "successful" by other metrics.(memberships, team interest etc).

But I think the expectation/hope of a flag being won is increased if you bring a player in on a long term, big dollar deal.

They paid nothing in draft capital, of course, but at the time the money being paid at the start of the contract was a big chunk of the cap - too.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

Ah OK, fair enough. I wasn't that familiar with the criteria until I looked it up just then.

All of those guys are multi-generational locals (I know because I'm from the area and I know their parents), so I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have qualified anyway. D'oh!

You'd be surprised. Borlase at the crows qualified because he was born in Egypt but both his parents are Australian. Same as Mellor for us who was born in Thailand to Australian parents over there teaching at the time.

 

[cats_09]

Tweet deleted?

Cheers, I've updated with the new tweet

 

[cats_09]

Part II is now open:

GFC 2025 Player Trading, Drafting FA, Rumours and Wish lists Pt 2

I'm pretty lazy at writing the starting post for this thread and often just copy over the words for our boss man "Well... we've done it again. PT 2 of Drafting and Trading for the year. Congrats GFC Board.... we can crap on with the best of them..... 10k posts on this alone and still going...

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