No Oppo Supporters Sam Mitchell traded

[striker]

Rumoured to be 400k next year isn't it? I think it's possible Hawks pay some next year or we pay him less as a player and pay him handsomely as a coach. I don't think it will have much effect on Eagles or Hawks cap next year.

Thanks for the reply mate. I'm really not sure on the figure,but was just one someone mentioned. As you can probably tell noone has much of a clue about this whole scenario lol. Id think if it does come out that we're also playing a portion of his salary on top of it all, it wont go down too well.

 

[Agent Smith]

Uhh, I was living in Chicago at that time and nothing of the sort happened.
Jordan got bored, decided to quit once to play some baseball.
Got bored after not being successful with lumber in the hand and came back to the NBA
3 rings later, was tired and getting hard to stay in shape and motivated - retired again.
2 years later, after taking part ownership of the Wizards, decided on another comeback.

No Chicago Bulls supporter, in the history of the South loop and all that is holy, ever mentioned trading the greatest sportsman of all time.
Could have played till he was 60 in Chi-town taking 80% of the salary cap, and the people would have kept on descending on the United center happily.

Sorry, but they did. Not a huge number but were a few thinking Chicago could win the next 10 championships if they traded out Jordan. When I heard such murmurings it just blew my mind. You don't easily forget crap when it's presented at such a high level. Anyway, this is off topic.

 

[bindas12]

This is a pure guess, but I could see something like this having happened.....

Simmo and Clarko catch up recently, and in moment between laughs and smartarse remarks, Simmo has a blinding thought.
He'd already broached the idea with Sammy some 12 months before about making a coaching opening should Mitch get to that point in the next few years, and saw an opportunity.

"Hey Clarko, I'd love to get Mitch across here to WA when he hangs the studs up......in fact I tossed the idea out to number 5 some time back. Don't want it to get to that point and have you feel like I was undercutting you or anything.."

Silence.

Alistaire: "Did Sammy seem interested?
Simmo: "I think I painted a nice enough picture to intrigue him, you know - the weather's good, great place to raise kids, etc.."

In that split second, Clarko sees it all unfolding, and while not angry at either of his two mates - isn't going to be 'buddied' again.

Alistaire: Simmo, "I'm going to chat with Mitch about this - ok? We've got a bunch of planning to do with our list this year, and I'd like to get a feel for how the team might look in 12 months. If you would, let me bring it up with Sam. Don't want him to feel like you two have to conspire or anything because were all great mates first, and you've got to look after your honor or you can't look eachother in the eye next time you want to go fishing together."

And so, Clarko goes away and lets what he has found out percolate.
Thinks about the team, what we need, how we can get where we want to as quickly as possible - even if that means letting a legend go play for a year or two with a competitor.

Next thing you know, your Uncles your Aunty and BF Hawthorn explodes.

Good effort mate!! Here's my version... Clarko has F....... lost his mind!! He is trying to be big Giver so he can think of himself as an amazing human being who only cares about looking after and helping people around him... Hawthorn management respect his achievements way too much to question anything he says...so they blindly follow him... and Now this attitude is coming at the cost of our success chances!! It would be nice if, like everyone else in this industry, he was held accountable for his actions.. I am not denying he's a legend given what he has done for us... but when you beat your chest at the B&F saying our supporters are our heartbeat, you don't make decisions like this which show no regard for supporters sentiments.. Maybe his time is done,,, or should be otherwise he will end up sending all our intellectual property to other clubs just so he can HELP them out... who cares about the supporters hey!

 

[bindas12]

Good effort mate!! Here's my version... Clarko has F....... lost his mind!! He is trying to be big Giver so he can think of himself as an amazing human being who only cares about looking after and helping people around him... Hawthorn management respect his achievements way too much to question anything he says...so they blindly follow him... and Now this attitude is coming at the cost of our success chances!! It would be nice if, like everyone else in this industry, he was held accountable for his actions.. I am not denying he's a legend given what he has done for us... but when you beat your chest at the B&F saying our supporters are our heartbeat, you don't make decisions like this which show no regard for supporters sentiments.. Maybe his time is done,,, or should be otherwise he will end up sending all our intellectual property to other clubs just so he can HELP them out... who cares about the supporters hey!

Ofcourse I'll concede I am wrong if all of this is a ploy to get Nat Fyfe next year with all the salary space...

 

[Sydney Kicker]

Good effort mate!! Here's my version... Clarko has F....... lost his mind!! He is trying to be big Giver so he can think of himself as an amazing human being who only cares about looking after and helping people around him... Hawthorn management respect his achievements way too much to question anything he says...so they blindly follow him... and Now this attitude is coming at the cost of our success chances!! It would be nice if, like everyone else in this industry, he was held accountable for his actions.. I am not denying he's a legend given what he has done for us... but when you beat your chest at the B&F saying our supporters are our heartbeat, you don't make decisions like this which show no regard for supporters sentiments.. Maybe his time is done,,, or should be otherwise he will end up sending all our intellectual property to other clubs just so he can HELP them out... who cares about the supporters hey!

Disgraceful post

So fast forward a few years. We held on to Sam and didn't land O'Meara. After Hodge, Mitchell, Gibbo and Silk all retired together at the end of 2017 we have missed the 8 for 3 years running. That's when you start holding the coach accountable. And even then you would argue Clarko would have enough credit to get the benefit of the doubt.

Oh but I forgot. You will have pi$$ed of by then and be supporting the Bulldogs or some other club.

 

[pantskyle]

Thanks for the reply mate. I'm really not sure on the figure,but was just one someone mentioned. As you can probably tell noone has much of a clue about this whole scenario lol. Id think if it does come out that we're also playing a portion of his salary on top of it all, it wont go down too well.

Yeah I don't think you'll be paying a cent, to me it makes more sense that he'll sacrifice playing salary and he'll be looked after once he starts coaching, eases ours and your cap in the process.

 

[realhawk]

Good effort mate!! Here's my version... Clarko has F....... lost his mind!! He is trying to be big Giver so he can think of himself as an amazing human being who only cares about looking after and helping people around him... Hawthorn management respect his achievements way too much to question anything he says...so they blindly follow him... and Now this attitude is coming at the cost of our success chances!! It would be nice if, like everyone else in this industry, he was held accountable for his actions.. I am not denying he's a legend given what he has done for us... but when you beat your chest at the B&F saying our supporters are our heartbeat, you don't make decisions like this which show no regard for supporters sentiments.. Maybe his time is done,,, or should be otherwise he will end up sending all our intellectual property to other clubs just so he can HELP them out... who cares about the supporters hey!

absolutely 100% spot on. His only concern should be what is best for Hawrhorn, thats what he is paid for, full stop, he is not employed to be a career advisor or to train blokes up for our competition. imagine the eagles knock us over next september with Sam BOG, thanks Clarko. This ranks as one of his biggest mistakes after letting Josh Kennedy go.

 

[jr4jane2004]

Cats did the same thing with Stevie j. Had he not got suspended they would have been playing in the gf. It's a win win for both clubs. Cats now have a few years window to pinch a flag. As much as I love Mitchell, were in the business of sustainable success. We get O'Meara in. At the same time fast track guys like Lovell, Woodward & burton. Mitchell can assist West coast. It's a win win for both clubs.

 

[Sleutheren]

No unlike you I believe in loyalty something that is sorely lacking in the AFL.So abusing me is your biggest win for the day! get off it!!

How about helping a friend even if it means seeing them leave. I'd categorise that as a form of loyalty.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[HairyO]

Making brutal decisions like this one are all well and good provided they result in Premierships. However if things should happen to go **** up those who make them won't be giving themselves a hell of a lot of wiggle room.

High risk strategies are nothing new to the club and I approve in principle. Couple this move with the decision to go after Burton, Garlett & O'Meara and it appears the club has realized that drastic and perhaps unconventional steps must be taken if we're to compete with the likes of GWS. Who dares wins, risk vs reward and all that, its not something I object to generally speaking and if ever a club is in a position to do it Hawthorn certainly is right now.

I only warn that supporters have long memories and a decision like this one will leave a bitter taste in many mouths. Clarko has earned the right to be bold but walking along a knife edge is a tricky business... although you could argue it makes more sense than succumbing to the urge to rest on his laurels and be conservative as a lot of multi-Premiership coaches have done toward the ends of their careers.

When you only ever get shit draft picks because you have been successful for so long you have to think outside the box.

We will get misses, but our hits have been inspired.

Burgoyne Gibbo Hale Lake Burton and soon JOM.

 

[Hawkthorn33]

I just don't get it, if this is all for just salary cap relief then why sign all the older blokes to new contracts last year? Was Sammy the only one who didn't take much of a pay cut and thus is the biggest contract the club can move on?

 

[Ned Ryerson]

Sentiment aside - I am giggling that people think we won't have a chance of winning a flag because we traded away a gun 34 year old midfielder and brought in a 22 year old gun midfielder and 23 year old gun midfielder.

Yes, Sam Mitchell is our reigning best and fairest. But that our reigning best and fairest is turning 35 next year says a lot about or urgent need for list revitalisation.

People are acting as though Clarkson is acting like Voss in 2009. He brought in a KPF, which Brisbane didn't need, and then traded for absolute hack bit players to try and contend. What a shock that failed.

We are bringing in two elite midfielders, which we desperately need. We might lose one - oh well that's still +1. We have brought in Ty Vickery, again with Roughead and Ceglar unlikely to play next year this is again an absolute need.

We are now rumoured to retain Brand - again this is an absolute must for us going forward. Brand is developing into a good defender with a good intercept mark. We need him and Heatherly down back going forward.

Not one of these moves was contingent on Sam leaving, I don't feel. However - if we end up out of this trade period with T Mitchell, O'Meara, Vickery and retain Brand - even losing Hill, whoever goes with the O'Meara trade and Sammy - sorry but we still win.

From a sentimental point of view - this is devastating I absolutely agree. But to lambast the club from a list management perspective then you are absolutely having a laugh.

 

[Ned Ryerson]

Our third Brownlow medalist, the AFL endorsed memorabilia will be nice looking...

Won't be 'your' Brownlow medallist, even if he does play for you next year.

 

[pantskyle]

Won't be 'your' Brownlow medallist, even if he does play for you next year.

Thought it was clear sarcasm...

 

[Ned Ryerson]

Thought it was clear sarcasm...

I was hoping so too, but you learn to underestimate everyone on an online platform these days

 

[StillAtLarge]

We've all been sold a lemon -this is an awful decision by the club. Does anyone honestly think sam is champing at the bit to play for a club that has to fly thousands of kms every second week?
We've tipped out not only the wrong bloke but the guy who's copped more physical punishment and been the most selfless (6x 1 year deals?) than anyone else in this era. This is a culture killing moment...anyone swallowing the afl media rhetoric is a fool.

 

[aussie80s]

As with every true Hawk I was stunned by the news but on digesting it I absolutely agree with it. Mitchell will always be a Hawthorn legend and a final season or two at West Coast won't change that. He is 34 and has a limited playing future. To sacrifice club success for the sake of one players' career is taking the wrong path. On top of everything else it is an amicable deal all round.

We lost 4 of our last 6 games (would have been 5 if not for Fitzpatrick) and as there were no retirements it would have meant that the romantic ideals of seeing Mitchell retire a one club legend would likely coincide with the club slipping a bit further. It would be near impossible to replace Mitchell, Hodge, Gibson and Burgoyne with quality replacements in a single trade period at the end of next year if they were to all retire at one time.

To bring in Vickery, Tom Mitchell and O'Meara will greatly strengthen key areas and still allow a similar scenario next year which will give the club its best chance to stay at the top.

Ty Vickery - age 26 $500,000 per season
Tom Mitchell - age 23 $600,000 per season
Jaeger O'Meara - age 22 $750,000 per season (all figures are estimates from media speculation)

This greatly rejuvenates our list but comes at a cost of $1.85m. With no retirees or trades it would be impossible to bring talent in. Hodge, Burgoyne and Gibson took approx pay cuts totaling about $600,000 and Brad Hill will clear about $450,000. With Mitchell leaving that will just about meet the total required.

Next year Hodge, Burgoyne and Gibson may all retire which will create another $1.5m available to seek targets such as Fyfe etc. and this will keep the club in a strong onfield position - the club is bigger than the individual.

I will miss Mitchell and it will hurt to see him play for the Eagles but it is the right move for the club. Remember that it was a similar decision to offload Croad in a contentious manner that actually brought Mitchell to the club in the first place.

 

[Bumps"N"Grins]

Thought it was clear sarcasm...

The hot heads on these boards need to given a fair nudge when using sarcasm, in future use wink emoji

 

[Big Hotdog]

We should offload two of the four (Mitchell, Burger, Gibson, Hodge) this year at a minimum. We had our one last tilt this year. We are walking very cose to the edge and if we dont start getting games (50+) into the kids then we fall and fall hard - think Carlton/Brisbane.

That is what makes me think the decision to let Mitchell continue onto the next phase of his life is the right one. We are also looking for extra space most likely now as well to accomodate JOM because the chances of him ending up in the PSD are increasing.

 

[Ned Ryerson]

We've all been sold a lemon -this is an awful decision by the club. Does anyone honestly think sam is champing at the bit to play for a club that has to fly thousands of kms every second week?
We've tipped out not only the wrong bloke but the guy who's copped more physical punishment and been the most selfless (6x 1 year deals?) than anyone else in this era. This is a culture killing moment...anyone swallowing the afl media rhetoric is a fool.

Sam's words were he was excited to play there, and if he ends up staying that would be okay. His interview yesterday was either a brilliant acting performance, or he is actually genuinely keen to do this.

 

[Qlder_19]

I just don't get it, if this is all for just salary cap relief then why sign all the older blokes to new contracts last year? Was Sammy the only one who didn't take much of a pay cut and thus is the biggest contract the club can move on?

I think there was an element of keeping the media hype down, by signing them on 1 year deals and see how the year panned out. We came up short so as they say we need a 'new deck of cards'

 

[pantskyle]

The hot heads on these boards need to given a fair nudge when using sarcasm, in future use wink emoji

I did use the ...

 

[Goats]

It was in reference to Mitchell playing for one team and how he will be remembered - not a comparison of logistics.

If Mitchell wins a the Brownlow or if WC win a premiership while he's there - he will be remembered as a Hawthorn/WC player.

 

[Pessimistic]

Sammy is obviously already thinking like a coach.

if he had just retired, would there be so much angst?

Maybe him being B&F is all part of the plan - he said himself he was surprised

 

[Pessimistic]

If Mitchell wins a the Brownlow or if WC win a premiership while he's there - he will be remembered as a Hawthorn/WC player.

A bit like Stuart Dew?