Is Walls right about the Saints Big 3

[RICE80SF]

Don't know if you all saw the article but Robert Walls said the Saints should trade Harvey, Bourke and Loewe. He thought it would be good for both them and the Saints, the Saints start a fresh with new blood and the guys get a chance to play for a flag elsewhere.

Gotta say I'd love to see Bourke in a Bomber jumper. It would solve our problem of centre bounce clearances. We'll give you Blumfield and our draft picks for him, what do you reckon Sainter?


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BOMBER BLITZ IN 2000!

 

[Drakey]

Would a team offer the saints enough for Loewe & Burke.

They are both near the end of their careers, & most clubs are only interested in young players (Carlton excluded).

Harvey is another matter. He has a few more years in him than the other two.

The question is what would the saints want for them & would any clubs be prepared to pay the price.

 

[Grendel]

You can understand the logic behind such thougths, yet it has been shown in the past at Essendon of all clubs it can not always prove to work.
Remember the Raines/Richardson-Bradbury/Some other dons jobber whose name I cant recall going for trades? The Dons seemed to lose club spirit and that is a hard thing to ingrain into a club. Neither Bradbury or the other bloke were champions yet their loss did hurt the club in ways other than onfield players.
While this may not prove to be the case, it could be a win/win thing like Salmon/Chick-Wellman/Barnard-JARMAN (I dont care what anyone says the Crows got TWO flags out of it they won the trade).
However one last thing, if I were the Dons and they were going to lose players (like we all think they will) because of increased salary cap pressure.

1 How are they going to afford a champion from another club anyway?

2 Why go for the Saints blokes alone. Buckley and the Pies dont seem happy with eact other, IF (a big if) the Dons traded say 4 decent players for Bucks, they would have to make the Pies really think seriously about a trade. Imagine the boost to the woods playing stocks, Bucks could be in a team that he did respect with players around him that were as good as (Hirds better) he is.

3. Maybe if an Ottens or Fraser wanted the big bucks another possilbe trade for 3/4 players and draft picks could be done.

All in all it could make for some interesting times ahead.

 

[Bernie]

Don't trade your class players ! They form the basis for supporter loyalty and continuity.

Walls' argument was that these players deserve success - like Alves in the '70s - and you could get something for them. I can't remember the Demons doing well after that trade. It's a 'too-clever-by-half' exercise.

Think of the club legends - Barker, Skilton, Whitten, Flower etc - who, in retrospect, are more highly thought of than Well, Alves, Evans etc , even tho' they have the medal.

Saints - don't fall for this. The beginning of the end for Fitzroy was Lynch, then Roos going. No on field success, the AFL come gunning.

 

[sainter]

I have to admit I love trading time. I suppose it gives everyone hope for the upcoming season which is all that some of us have at the moment.

As for trading Burke, Loewe and Harvey, it would never happen. Well, I suppose it is the club's decison but to these players, the only thing better than winning a premiership would be winning a premiership with the saints. The importance of these players is much more than their on-field play. To lose these would be like tearing the heart out of the football club. I realise that the emotion should be taken out of the decision but it MUST NOT happen. Logic has to go out the window in this instance. I can not even explain why they must be not traded, it just can't happen.

 

[sainter]

Well said Bernie!

I agree 100%

Particularly when Burke and Loewe will be playing their 300 games next year while Harves must be nearing 250.

I agree that we need to be very pro-active during the trading period and in delisting players, but this would not be the way to go about it.

 

[Hirdhasbigears]

Peter Everitt would be better trade bait, as he is not the classy player of good role model that Bourke is. Robert Harvey is a dual Brownlow medallist so you wouldn't trade him ina pink fit. I would trade Loewe for a younger player though. He's nearing the end of his career and is not that good a player most of the time anyway. A couple of others that should be considered for trading include Austinn Jones, Max Hudghton and Barry Hall. You could get quality players or draft picks for these three, especially Max and Barry.

 

[Drakey]

Sainter

Loewe, Bourke & Harvey might be the heart of your club but do you need a transplant?

My personal opinion is that Loewe is soft & has let you down often when needed most. ie 1997 GF 1998 finals. At his age I doubt you could trade him & he's not going to get any better. If he was instrumental in getting rid of Stan Alves as I have heard then you are better of without him.

Bourke has been a great player but again age is catching up with him. Again my understanding is that he had a hand in the dumping of Alves.

I lost a lot of respect for Harvey for his attitude to Alves when he accepted his 2nd Brownlow. Obviously he is a great player although I remember Blight making a comment about how he wouldn't want 1 of his players to go where Harvey does to get a kick. From what I have heard he also had a hand in dumping Alves.

I find it interesting that these players all were happy to Lose Alves when he had got them into a GF & another finals series after that. Alves was hard on them. They are sorry to lose Watson who has admitted to being too soft yet under him they couldn't win an internal trial.

You might be suprised at the results if you cut these guys loose.

After the 1996 season before Blight had even set foot into the Adelaide Football Club he axed the captain, former captain, vice captain & a bunch of other senior players. He recognised they were holding the club back, both on the field & off. These guys had a hand in the sacking of the 2 previous coaches. Many supporters critisised these sackings. They don't now.

Maybe their lose is the short term pain you need for some long term gain.

 

[Savatage]

Drakey you lost respect for Harvey for his attitude towards Alves?

I lost respect for Alves for the way he treated the players!

Make no mistake, no players nor administrators screwed Alves. He screwed himself & good.

If only you knew the things that went on Drakey, I kid you not!

There are TOO many stories to recount about Alves, don't believe that the big 3 got rid of Alves, all the senior players & administration were responsible for the decision and rightly so.

People are a little too sentimental, let's face it he only had one good year with that club, other years were hugely disappointing. He's not the miracle worker that so many think he was.

The only beef I have with the Saints is their selection of a coach with no previous experience, it was a backward step and we can all hope they get their act together and apply someone with the credentials to get their vastly talented list a real go.

 

[sainter]

Drakey, the first four sentences of Savatage's post are exactly my thoughts.

As I have eluded to in other posts, there was a lot more to the Stan Alves sacking than people know about. I don't like continually bringing this up and the less said the better.

I think you were very unfair on Stewart Loewe. While I respect your opinion, Stewie is one of the more courageous marking players I have seen. The way he throws himself into packs just shows how hard he is. Most people (especially saints fans) did not realise that he was leading the competition in contested marks and was in the top handful in marks before his suspension/injury. He went through a much publicised personal crisis (reported well after the GF) in which most players would not have even played.

Pessimistic has said in other post that we are already going to get the number 1 and 2 draft picks, plus have the opportunity to gain an uncontracted player as the number 1 pick in the pre-season draft. It is the players that have consistently under-achieved since 1997 that should be considered for a trade or be delisted. (And I am not talking about Hall or Jones here)