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The Tale of Two Clubs
There once was an AFL Finals game that was played under lights at the place that locals affectionately call the GABBA. The local team was hosting one of the most hated teams in all of the land. The hated team had a huge lead in the final quarter only for the local heroes to stare defeat right in the face, shrug it off and triumph.
That was September, only a month and a half ago. It’s funny how much things change in such a short time in football. In the days and weeks since that great comeback victory the teams have taken on vastly different looks, almost to the point where the hated team has become the good guys.
While I’ve already touched on Brendan in one of my blog entries already and what Carlton received in exchange for him (Lachlan Henderson and pick 12 in the AFL National Draft), this is a story that will not end at least until after next AFL season.
By now the entire football world knows of the stories, both true and not, that happened at the Brownlow Medal and that the media painted the picture that Carlton were forced to trade him. What hasn’t been illustrated is the fact that for such a forced trade Carlton have been able to extract themselves from the situation by getting absolutely peak value for him and the consequences for the team who traded for him.
Carlton as constituted pre-Fevola trade would not have won a premiership. The vast majority of premiership teams in the last decade have not had a champion full forward demand so much of the football as what Fevola did at Carlton. For Carlton to truly become a premiership contender demanded that the focus on Fevola be dramatically decreased. Whether or not Fevola would have been accepting of playing a diminished role in order to win a premiership is debatable. As much as Brendan stated that he loved wearing the Navy Blue, did he love it as much when it wasn’t all about him? Was that why he loved it? Did Brendan love the Navy Blue because to him it represented the Brendan Fevola Football Club?
I compare the situation of Fevola to that of Terrell Owens in the NFL. Fevola was the number one target almost every time the ball went into the forward line. It was demanded of him. Just as it was of Terrell Owens to be the go-to guy almost every time the football was thrown. The moment the team looked in other directions Owens felt betrayed. Owens believed that the Cowboys were disrespecting his talents. He couldn’t see the situation as what it truly was. That for the Cowboys to be successful and for them to be able to get Owens into the position to be successful in the post season their dependence on him had to be decreased. That other options had to be found so that Owens would get less coverage. It was never that the Cowboys disregarded him, but rather that they were attempting to help him and make it easier for him to come up with the big play when it really mattered. At Carlton, it would have meant that instead of drawing a double team every time that Carlton had the ball on the half-back flank or wing heading into attack while another got ready to fill the hole, that Carlton would have other targets ready to claim the football. Whether or not Brendan ever would have understood let alone accepted that is an issue that is neither here nor there and we will never know.
Carlton had a premiership window with Fevola of three seasons. Aside from the dramatic shift Carlton would have been forced to make to become successful you need to look at the reality. Carlton aren’t the only team in the AFL. When you already have St Kilda, Geelong, the Western Bulldogs and Adelaide who are already significantly better than Carlton and all (save perhaps for Geelong) appear to be better for all of the next three seasons Carlton’s premiership window with Fevola was slim anyway.
I believe that even without Brownlow Medal night and all of his former indiscretions trading Fevola was the right thing to do. Brendan Fevola had his peak year in 2009. Fevola would be 29 years old entering the 2010 season and clearly looking at a slow deterioration in his overall output from this season until his retirement. With a premiership window that was as slim as it was and with the vast array of young talent on the list the best interest in the club was to find someone who valued Fevola and would give up a young potential champion. When the initial trade on the table of Rischitelli and Bradshaw fell apart Carlton got that and more.
Lachlan Henderson appears to be a key position player with ten years of being a potential league superstar left in his career. With Carlton’s tremendously talented young midfield he appears to have the midfield required of a champion centre half forward. For Brisbane to throw in pick 12 gave Carlton another opportunity to find someone capable of contributing with all of that talent. The hidden part in this trade is that we also essentially got Brock McLean for moving down one spot in the draft which is absolutely fantastic value. Carlton did as good as they possibly could in that trade.
As far as Brisbane goes I can understand their position entering trade week. They had the salary cap room to make a number of trades in the effort to acquire players that would assist the club in winning a premiership in Simon Black and Jonathan Brown’s final years in football. The thinking was when you had champion footballers you have to make every effort in winning premierships. Simon Black and Jonathan Brown are premiership heroes who deserve another crack at winning one before they retire.
However, the end result minus Fevola was a mixed bag. They ended up acquiring a group of footballers who had either disappointed at former clubs (Andrew Raines and Brent Staker) or it’s been two or more years since the player has contributed significantly (Amon Buchanan and Xavier Clarke). It’s as though the Lions went shopping on Boxing Day and were desperate to get whatever seemed to be a bargain at the time. In exchange for the big five they’ve been forced to give up the already mentioned Henderson and Bradd Dalziell while in what by all reports is one of the shallowest National Drafts in many years the Lions draft first at 27 (acquired from Carlton in the Fevola trade) and also own the 47th, 76th, 92nd and 102nd picks in the draft so Lions fans can forget about adding anything meaningful through the draft save for picking up a delisted player or two.
Now, apart from Henderson and Dalziell to make room for these players the Lions have lost Tim Notting (retired) and delisted Jason Roe (a finals player), Scott Clouston, Matt Tyler, Joel McDonald, Rhan Hooper Kieran King and Scott Harding. However, the biggest loss is the shocking walk out of club stalwart Daniel Bradshaw.
Bradshaw, if you’ll remember, was one of the two along with Michael Rischitelli, who visited Visy Park and were originally in the trade for Fevola. It is known fact that Rischitelli turned down Carlton but it is less certain that Bradshaw did so. What is concrete in the aftermath of all of this madness is angry to the point of leaving the Lions, premiership chances and all because of the way the club has treated him. Bradshaw was forced into the original Carlton trade without his permission and was sought to visit Carlton to confirm whether or not he’d join Carlton. No thank you for over two hundred games of service to a club where he was an important premiership player, simply a lack of respect.
It must be said that at the end of the day that the Brisbane Lions are still no closer to an elusive premiership that they seem so desperate to gain. Geelong, St. Kilda, the Western Bulldogs and Adelaide are still a class above them. So too may be 2008’s premiers in Hawthorn who went out and acquired Shaun Burgoyne and Josh Gibson in the trade period. They may in fact be arguably only better than Collingwood from the teams that finished above them in 2009 and at what cost? A destroyed AFL Draft, the loss of their best young key position player and most importantly of all, the embarrassing walk out of a premiership player.
It’s funny how things can change in a month and a half. This tale of woe won’t be complete for another few years. What can be said is that the bad guys have turned good whereas those local heroes from the GABBA have turned to the dark side of the force.
Michael Voss, the new Darth Vader.
- Ytoojae
The Tale of Two Clubs
There once was an AFL Finals game that was played under lights at the place that locals affectionately call the GABBA. The local team was hosting one of the most hated teams in all of the land. The hated team had a huge lead in the final quarter only for the local heroes to stare defeat right in the face, shrug it off and triumph.
That was September, only a month and a half ago. It’s funny how much things change in such a short time in football. In the days and weeks since that great comeback victory the teams have taken on vastly different looks, almost to the point where the hated team has become the good guys.
While I’ve already touched on Brendan in one of my blog entries already and what Carlton received in exchange for him (Lachlan Henderson and pick 12 in the AFL National Draft), this is a story that will not end at least until after next AFL season.
By now the entire football world knows of the stories, both true and not, that happened at the Brownlow Medal and that the media painted the picture that Carlton were forced to trade him. What hasn’t been illustrated is the fact that for such a forced trade Carlton have been able to extract themselves from the situation by getting absolutely peak value for him and the consequences for the team who traded for him.
Carlton as constituted pre-Fevola trade would not have won a premiership. The vast majority of premiership teams in the last decade have not had a champion full forward demand so much of the football as what Fevola did at Carlton. For Carlton to truly become a premiership contender demanded that the focus on Fevola be dramatically decreased. Whether or not Fevola would have been accepting of playing a diminished role in order to win a premiership is debatable. As much as Brendan stated that he loved wearing the Navy Blue, did he love it as much when it wasn’t all about him? Was that why he loved it? Did Brendan love the Navy Blue because to him it represented the Brendan Fevola Football Club?
I compare the situation of Fevola to that of Terrell Owens in the NFL. Fevola was the number one target almost every time the ball went into the forward line. It was demanded of him. Just as it was of Terrell Owens to be the go-to guy almost every time the football was thrown. The moment the team looked in other directions Owens felt betrayed. Owens believed that the Cowboys were disrespecting his talents. He couldn’t see the situation as what it truly was. That for the Cowboys to be successful and for them to be able to get Owens into the position to be successful in the post season their dependence on him had to be decreased. That other options had to be found so that Owens would get less coverage. It was never that the Cowboys disregarded him, but rather that they were attempting to help him and make it easier for him to come up with the big play when it really mattered. At Carlton, it would have meant that instead of drawing a double team every time that Carlton had the ball on the half-back flank or wing heading into attack while another got ready to fill the hole, that Carlton would have other targets ready to claim the football. Whether or not Brendan ever would have understood let alone accepted that is an issue that is neither here nor there and we will never know.
Carlton had a premiership window with Fevola of three seasons. Aside from the dramatic shift Carlton would have been forced to make to become successful you need to look at the reality. Carlton aren’t the only team in the AFL. When you already have St Kilda, Geelong, the Western Bulldogs and Adelaide who are already significantly better than Carlton and all (save perhaps for Geelong) appear to be better for all of the next three seasons Carlton’s premiership window with Fevola was slim anyway.
I believe that even without Brownlow Medal night and all of his former indiscretions trading Fevola was the right thing to do. Brendan Fevola had his peak year in 2009. Fevola would be 29 years old entering the 2010 season and clearly looking at a slow deterioration in his overall output from this season until his retirement. With a premiership window that was as slim as it was and with the vast array of young talent on the list the best interest in the club was to find someone who valued Fevola and would give up a young potential champion. When the initial trade on the table of Rischitelli and Bradshaw fell apart Carlton got that and more.
Lachlan Henderson appears to be a key position player with ten years of being a potential league superstar left in his career. With Carlton’s tremendously talented young midfield he appears to have the midfield required of a champion centre half forward. For Brisbane to throw in pick 12 gave Carlton another opportunity to find someone capable of contributing with all of that talent. The hidden part in this trade is that we also essentially got Brock McLean for moving down one spot in the draft which is absolutely fantastic value. Carlton did as good as they possibly could in that trade.
As far as Brisbane goes I can understand their position entering trade week. They had the salary cap room to make a number of trades in the effort to acquire players that would assist the club in winning a premiership in Simon Black and Jonathan Brown’s final years in football. The thinking was when you had champion footballers you have to make every effort in winning premierships. Simon Black and Jonathan Brown are premiership heroes who deserve another crack at winning one before they retire.
However, the end result minus Fevola was a mixed bag. They ended up acquiring a group of footballers who had either disappointed at former clubs (Andrew Raines and Brent Staker) or it’s been two or more years since the player has contributed significantly (Amon Buchanan and Xavier Clarke). It’s as though the Lions went shopping on Boxing Day and were desperate to get whatever seemed to be a bargain at the time. In exchange for the big five they’ve been forced to give up the already mentioned Henderson and Bradd Dalziell while in what by all reports is one of the shallowest National Drafts in many years the Lions draft first at 27 (acquired from Carlton in the Fevola trade) and also own the 47th, 76th, 92nd and 102nd picks in the draft so Lions fans can forget about adding anything meaningful through the draft save for picking up a delisted player or two.
Now, apart from Henderson and Dalziell to make room for these players the Lions have lost Tim Notting (retired) and delisted Jason Roe (a finals player), Scott Clouston, Matt Tyler, Joel McDonald, Rhan Hooper Kieran King and Scott Harding. However, the biggest loss is the shocking walk out of club stalwart Daniel Bradshaw.
Bradshaw, if you’ll remember, was one of the two along with Michael Rischitelli, who visited Visy Park and were originally in the trade for Fevola. It is known fact that Rischitelli turned down Carlton but it is less certain that Bradshaw did so. What is concrete in the aftermath of all of this madness is angry to the point of leaving the Lions, premiership chances and all because of the way the club has treated him. Bradshaw was forced into the original Carlton trade without his permission and was sought to visit Carlton to confirm whether or not he’d join Carlton. No thank you for over two hundred games of service to a club where he was an important premiership player, simply a lack of respect.
It must be said that at the end of the day that the Brisbane Lions are still no closer to an elusive premiership that they seem so desperate to gain. Geelong, St. Kilda, the Western Bulldogs and Adelaide are still a class above them. So too may be 2008’s premiers in Hawthorn who went out and acquired Shaun Burgoyne and Josh Gibson in the trade period. They may in fact be arguably only better than Collingwood from the teams that finished above them in 2009 and at what cost? A destroyed AFL Draft, the loss of their best young key position player and most importantly of all, the embarrassing walk out of a premiership player.
It’s funny how things can change in a month and a half. This tale of woe won’t be complete for another few years. What can be said is that the bad guys have turned good whereas those local heroes from the GABBA have turned to the dark side of the force.
Michael Voss, the new Darth Vader.
- Ytoojae
