Trades - what do we think now?

[OldStyle2007]

During trading we lost:

• Key ruckman (King)
• Centre Half Back / Utility (Playfair)
• Running Halfback / backpocket (Fresh Callan)
• Running halfforward (Gardiner)

All of whom could be useful now with the Cats injuries and form issues. I reckon it was fair to let go of Gardiner and Playfair, but I think we should have held onto King and Callan

What is the general consensus of the players we have let go: do we need any of them now?

 

[Rubberducky]

You can't keep everyone.

So if we kept King and potentially lost Blake, etc etc...

We made the moves we had to make, I don't think we have an issue with the capabilities of our list, just those not playing anywhere near their capability...

 

[Geelong Fella]

i guess your right about it, but i mean it's easy to say now, we needed to get rid of players to elevate davenport and these guys apart from king weren't in our best 22

 

[OldStyle2007]

We should have done our very best to keep King. Former captain, former club champ, he was coming into veteran status meaning 50% of his salary would have been outside of the cap... We could have done better. I reckon if he was told he couldn't be guaranteed a spot he would have still backed himself to win his way into the team. It's really not good to trade players like that. Essendon wouldn't have ever traded Hird, Tigers won't trade Richo. I wonder if Kingy not being there is affecting the club a little and this is showing in their attitude on field sometimes

 

[Ling Sting]

• Key ruckman (King) - so choke the future development of West & Mummy for someone who struggles to get on the park for half the year
• Centre Half Back / Utility (Playfair) - Better the Taylor.....please!!!!
• Running Halfback / backpocket (Fresh Callan) - I think the reason why he wasn't getting a game is because there was a personality clash with the coaching staff(i could be wrong) ...on top of that he does turn it over a fair bit.
• Running halfforward (Gardiner) - This sums up how much you know. He just got dropped from the Saints team. If as a mobile medium sized lead up forward you are getting dropped from that basket case of a forward line then you are obviously a dud

 

[OldStyle2007]

The point is Sting boy, that the trades left us short in a few areas. If you read the post I say it is fair that we dumped Playfair and Gardiner. But the fact is that we let a lot of experience walk out the door at one time for not much at all

My other point with King is we could have our cake and eat it too. He could have stayed and we still could have developed the young rucks. There was no need to dump him and good clubs never let their iconic players go

I was never really a Gardiner or Playfair fan but they played their roles. With injuries to Egan and now SJ looking sore we are lacking players to cover those role

It's a list management thing. Maybe you no comprehend

 

[madcat001]

no problem with the trading we did last year. Playfair, Gardiner had plenty of chances and couldn't get the job done. We just couldn't keep king, believe me the club tried everything, but to keep king and sacrafice blake would've just been silly, King will probably retire at the years end anyway. Tim Callan couldn't cut into the side and was a bit like Prismall in that he deserved an opportunity if it wasn't at the cats, but no great loss.

Charlie Gardiner isn't even getting a run in the Saints forward line, and its a fair chance Henry will get dropped back to the magoos when Barry Hall returns anyway.

 

[Exhale You]

If we'd not traded those players it would have caused significant salary cap issues, both in 2008 and beyond.

I think we all need to take a step back and realise that we're 8-1 and the world isn't ending.

 

[cats2rise]

• Key ruckman (King) - so choke the future development of West & Mummy for someone who struggles to get on the park for half the year
• Centre Half Back / Utility (Playfair) - Better the Taylor.....please!!!!
• Running Halfback / backpocket (Fresh Callan) - I think the reason why he wasn't getting a game is because there was a personality clash with the coaching staff(i could be wrong) ...on top of that he does turn it over a fair bit.
• Running halfforward (Gardiner) - This sums up how much you know. He just got dropped from the Saints team. If as a mobile medium sized lead up forward you are getting dropped from that basket case of a forward line then you are obviously a dud

Correct.
And no Oldstyle, it has not left us short in a few areas. After getting rid of these players who are not up to AFL standard, we have recieved young players, who will more than likely have a bigger future at Geelong than the above players mentioned (King the exception of course, but he had to be traded regardless)

 

[BigKegs]

Hindsight is a great thing isn't it?

King - Injury prone and would probably have spent more time injured than playing in 2008. Thats what everyone thought in 2007.

Gardiner - You are kidding. VFL standard player.

Playfair - Great bloke but has done nothing when given the opportunity. Remember his performance against Port when we got beaten at home?

Callan - Just didn't play well when given the opportunity. The only one out of the 4 that should have been given another year.

Fact is, all these players have been given enough opportunities. I still think Kingy should have just retired a club captain and champion rather than jump ship but the younger group of kids need to be developed. Having Ottens & King in 2008 would have been good but King is a shadow of the player he was and the club did the right thing to give Blake/West the opportunity. Nobody would have thought Ottens would be out for so long but its only early days so there's no need to panic.

 

[PoidaCat]

All 4 wouldn't get a game execpt maybe King...but he'd do is hamstring in the first 5 minutes anyway...

 

[FoxC]

Not sure if this has been asked and/or answered. Some of you may think it's irrelevant now but I always wanted to know if King was ever offered a job as ruck coach for our young ruckmen? That would have relieved salary cap pressure and kept him at the club too.

 

[Zeroman]

I am happy with the trades. Pity the King thing - that he didn't retire. I am sure there are good reasons he shouldn't be offered a job at gfc. He was given so much cotton wool during his career I am sure he had plenty left over to get him to StKilda. About the best gfc could have offered him was their backing marketing his future career/business aspirations imo.

 

[CF]

lmao....one loss and your all reviewing last years trades and picking over the carcass like a bunch of old vultures. Seriously it is kinda sad.

 

[Johnson#26]

Neutral perspective:

-You guys aren't in a position where you need to overreact - all teams hit a flatpatch, even great ones. Better to struggle now than in round 17 onwards. Motivation and momentum can't be kept up and running in a straight line forever. Hawthorn will dip at some stage this season, too (though whether or not they'll keep winning is unknown). We've (hopefully) had ours from the pre-season until round seven.

-Gardiner has never been worth too much. Nice bloke, but he is never going to prove anything special.

-King is the only one of that batch I'd have kept, on a one-year deal

-Playfair, well, I've never rated him (I rate Gardiner higher), and I doubt he'll be a 15-game a year or more player with Sydney, HOWEVER Roos seems to be able to work a charm with the unfashionable recycleables

-Callan I've never rated, but he has been handy for the Dogs todate. Similar to Birss IMO.

BTW Davenport - saw him play v us in the VFL, he's handy.

 

[OldStyle2007]

lmao....one loss and your all reviewing last years trades and picking over the carcass like a bunch of old vultures. Seriously it is kinda sad.

wow dude. One minute you're laughing, the next you're crying

you should see someone about that

 

[cats2rise]

Worst reply ever, Oldstyle.

 

[highflyingcat]

Neutral perspective:

-You guys aren't in a position where you need to overreact - all teams hit a flatpatch, even great ones. Better to struggle now than in round 17 onwards. Motivation and momentum can't be kept up and running in a straight line forever. Hawthorn will dip at some stage this season, too (though whether or not they'll keep winning is unknown). We've (hopefully) had ours from the pre-season until round seven.

-Gardiner has never been worth too much. Nice bloke, but he is never going to prove anything special.

-King is the only one of that batch I'd have kept, on a one-year deal

-Playfair, well, I've never rated him (I rate Gardiner higher), and I doubt he'll be a 15-game a year or more player with Sydney, HOWEVER Roos seems to be able to work a charm with the unfashionable recycleables

-Callan I've never rated, but he has been handy for the Dogs todate. Similar to Birss IMO.

BTW Davenport - saw him play v us in the VFL, he's handy.

Sopt on - couldn't agree more

 

[Brasil2007]

None of them have exactly set the world on fire. I mean they've been handy for their respective teams but I don't know they would have done any better for us than the bunch of other guys we already have. I'd prefer Lonners to H or Charlie up forward, Blake hasn't been a star but I haven't seen anything King has done to convince me he'd have been better (plus he's already missed games through injury), and there are a bunch of guys who could replace Callan.