The Jim- NOT a good sign

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Moderator #51
Scarlett Fever said:
We the humble supporters don't have enough information to even suggest he is being greedy. So what do we know about Jimmy?

Thompson doesn't rate him in our top 5.

Wasn't invited to the brownlow when he was always going to be in our top 4 vote getters.

Has done it a lot harder than say Ablett and Kelly who managed to get games more easily than Bartel in their formative years. There are so many possible reasons for this that it is not worth going into here.

Way back before his first season when he was drafted he said in an interview that he was actually looking forward to getting out of Geelong and starting his career elsewhere. The indication I got was that he seemed a bit disappointed at being drafted from Geelong - an assumption on my behalf..

There are still 2 or so months before our list for 06 is finalised so whats the hurry from Jimmys perspective?

Jimmy is popular among the players and was nominated amongst others as a possible future captain by Thompson during the year.

So far Jimmy has proven resistant to injuries and has always got himself on the park.

Jimmy has relatively soft muscle definition for an AFL footballer of his age. This may hint at a lack of application off the track but that is me just speculating.

On the field Jimmy is courageous and as hard as nails. He always looks willing to punch above his weight.

As a player Jimmy has developed to the stage where the opposition dictate his performance more than he does. If they wish to take him out with a tag then they can. If they give him space he will most likely be a candidate for BOG honours. You have to be viewed as pretty valuable to get to this level. At 21 he can reasonably be expected to learn how to break the tag and improve further. Maybe the club think his lack of muscle and pace may hold him back here or he needs to apply himself further.

In my view Jimmy is very close to our top 5 and I would think he is likely to be part of our top 5 during the period of his next contract. I also think he deserves and the club can justify a tiny margin higher than say Kelly on the salary cap scale. I would also understand if Jimmy feels he is being undervalued right at the moment. Particularly after Thompson's unnecessary top 5 comment earlier.

However the bottom line is that in nearly any successful career a person has a period of time when (usually when they are young) they give more than what they get. It is called proving yourself. The club has a right to not pay young guns too much too early. In other words the Kings, Lings, Coreys etc deserve more than Jimmy for the mere fact that they have given good service over a longer period of time. Jimmy will get there but he is only 21 and if he works hard his time will come when he deserves more than a younger gun who is just as good as him but hasn't proven himself over as long a period. For excessive ecamples think Crawford and Koutafides. I hope Jimmy has the character to accurately understand his current value and weigh up whats best for him and the club that has developed him.
Well said. Prove yourself Jim and you could be the highest paid player at the club. Your turn hasn't come yet though.
 

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AndSmithMustScore

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#52
From what iv'e been told by a guy at work who played Falcons with Jimmy and went to the same school he's a bit of a tight arse.

Didn't even put grog on for his 21st and to quote my work mate "hes always at other players houses eating their food".

So from the way he describes him money really is the underlining factor for him.
 
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