News Will Thursfield retires

[Gak Attack]

This tells me that Kel Moore is recovering better than expected.

Hope so. Some people seem to forget what a handy and versatile player he was when fit.

 

[TheLoungeLizard]

Could he be back as a maure rookie?

I was just thinking, he wants to go with his Fishing Business, and knows his options are limited.
He retires, and gets his pay packet.

Trains over the pre-season and see if he wants to nominate.

I mean, he could have said to RFC I wanna go do other things, but Richmond could keep him on the list under a small pay, with a one year contract.

Seems a bit far fetched, but I wouldn't be against it.

That way we have back up depth options, and he can go about his business as he wishes.

 

[Hipster Doofus]

Good luck Will, you have been an admirable servant throughout out some difficult times.

He never kicked a goal....

 

[rfctigerarmy]

Good job Thursty. Thanks for your services.

 

[telsor]

INTERESTING so many were calling for McGuane to be traded or even cut littlew over a week ago.
Me thinks with Will gone, Kel Moore no certainty to return and Grimes coming off an injury, our hey defender stocks aren't as healthy as many think!
Sad to see Will go ... always liked Will!!

If I remember correctly, the was talk befoe trade week that Thursty was waiting to see the result of the McGuane trade before deciding his future.

I dare say he realised that opportunities would be limited even without McGuane, but with him, staying, he'd be lucky to get half a dozen games.

I dare say he decided that playing a lower grade required less commitment, and would allow him to develop outside of football ( be it business, trade/career, coaching? ).

We tend to forget that modern football is a full time activity, and that even when they're not training, they need to do things like watch their diet, and limit what they can do, like play other sports. If your football career is clearly going to be very limited, that's a lot to sacrifice.

 

[delediofan3]

Good servant of the club, was always going to be second fiddle for some reason behind McGuane until the second half of the year last season.
Now we just have to get rid of McHack.

 

[Tzatziki_Man]

Bit of a surprise there.

Always good when we pick up a new kid.

Some question marks on our list have turned to delistings and retirements, after next years cull, 2013 is our time to win some premierships. That's the plan I can see the club following.

 

[tigs2010]

Good servant of the club, was always going to be second fiddle for some reason behind McGuane until the second half of the year last season.
Now we just have to get rid of McHack.

Goes to show being ahead of McGoof doesn't guarantee u a game

 

[nut]

INTERESTING so many were calling for McGuane to be traded or even cut littlew over a week ago.
Me thinks with Will gone, Kel Moore no certainty to return and Grimes coming off an injury, our hey defender stocks aren't as healthy as many think!
Sad to see Will go ... always liked Will!!

If he has been pushed it's a redicoulous decision by the club... Will was handy because he could play small and tall. Our depth has just been depleted.

 

[The Rusty Trombone]

Does anyone know what his business interests are ?

 

[TheLoungeLizard]

Does anyone know what his business interests are ?

His own fishing business it seems.

 

[juss]

Club probably told him he wouldn't get much of a game, Will decided to give it away. Wouldn't suprise me if the club kind of expected this, and kept Gourdis on the list just incase.

With Moore's injury, and Will's departure, keeping Gourdis makes a lot more sense now. If for nothing else but a decent sized KPD in case a couple go down like last year.

 

[THE THIN MAN]

All the best for the future.

Hope this signals a ruthless style of list management.

No more of waiting 6 years for a player to come good

 

[fred swift]

INTERESTING so many were calling for McGuane to be traded or even cut littlew over a week ago.
Me thinks with Will gone, Kel Moore no certainty to return and Grimes coming off an injury, our hey defender stocks aren't as healthy as many think!
Sad to see Will go ... always liked Will!!

great effort will all the best mate,im with u goldy most guys keep talking about mids but unless you have a top 5 to nine pick thats where you get a gun mid ala cotch, martin , murphy, gibbs, etc ,etc i would be looking to go a tailia type or similar,chb for the next ten years with rance fb looks better .alot of good mids have been found inthe 20 s to 50 picks. . RIP super sic ( marco simoncelli )

 

[NZ_Tiger]

Sad to see a blokes dream end. Happy trails.

 

[Bojangles17]

gee thats a suprise, i thought in the manner he finished the year he would have had a 12 month contract before him...he looked a capable and solid defender in that last month of footy...good luck to the lad, tis a BIG decision to turn his back on elite sport

 

[tigers_of_old_08]

Excelled as a shut-down defender and will be remembered as a very good club man during a difficult period. Shame Will's injuries cut short his career.

 

[astro_toby]

Bit of a shoc, but after a minute of thinking - not really.

Obviously his heart isn't in it 100% anymore and i think the past few years showed the decline in that aspect.

Other things have became more important and at the elite level, you just can't succeed when that happens.

Good on him for admitting it ( or that his body was perhaps not up to it ), and moving on. The club has had many many selfish players over the years who would accept another contract despite knowing that they are no longer into it - Will didn't and you have to be thankful to that and the 7 years he was at the club.

Backline just lost another bloke competing for a starting spot - McGuane, Gourdis & Moore must be relieved - but the writing is thick on the wall for these guys.

If neither 3 of them can cement a starting spot in 2012 - pick the best and dump the rest and draft as many back ups as we can late in the draft and on the rookie list.

 

[tigerdan]

Doesn´t make sense to turn his back on what, a minimum of $150k next and be feted by masses of groupies just for turning up. Especially at the age of 25. He'd want to have a pretty good business going to justify giving it away this year and not next (or later).

I thought he was a handy player, and for crying out loud, all this cheerleading for Gourdis is ridiculous when you consider just how dismal his record is. I have high hopes for Grimes, and Rance proved me wrong this year, but if the club told Thursfield to jump before being pushed, then I hope they have a real good handle on our backline. All that leaves us is McGuane, and maybe Astbury as backups (who knows about Moore). If they needed to chop someone I would have thought there were others to come first.

 

[_Wang_]

Good luck Will, I always liked him as a player.. Pretty big decision to walk away..

 

[YellowandBlackBlood]

Thanks Will for your years of service.

Was there at Etihad when Lenny Hayes threw himself at the ball and collected your leg/knee with him. At the time you were giving Nick Riewoldt a bath. He then went on to win the game for them. You never quite reached the heights that were forecast before your knee injury. Pity for you and the club.

Thanks again for being a soldier of the RFC.

 

[fargothegreat]

I think it was a Luke Power style retirement. Told he wouldn't be offered a new contract so retired rather than being delisted

His manager said that he would be delisted if another defender wasn't traded AKA McDud

http://www.afl.com.au/tabid/208/default.aspx?newsid=125050

 

[Infamy]

We have to take three picks regardless. Is 55 our 3rd pick in the draft? If it is, then we have to use it whether we want to or not.

Yes but you can also upgrade rookies with those picks, so if Miller stays then we could just elevate him using the draft rather than at the start of the season.
Depends if they think there is anyone worth taking I guess.

 

[camiam]

All the best to Will. It surprised me that he was only 25. It sounds like what happend at st Kilda when players were going to be delisted so they retired instead. Like others have mentioned before that it opens a hole to fill. I think a key defender will be picked up in the upcoming draft. A experienced defender.

 

[tugga]

Yes but you can also upgrade rookies with those picks, so if Miller stays then we could just elevate him using the draft rather than at the start of the season.
Depends if they think there is anyone worth taking I guess.

that makes sense. thanks