How would you feel if Cotchin was seen at GC HQ's?

[WilliamPowell]

I would be very disappointed if a contracted player met with another team prior to the completion of the final season of the said contract.

Put simply Ablett Jnr is contracted to geelong for 2010, he is training with geelong and IMHO opinion he shouldn't be meeting with any club until season 2010 is completed. Jnr shouldn't have met with GC17 and the fact that his stupid manager (pickering) arranged it says alot about Liam I would think

[Rodgerramjet]

The AFL would love ablett on the Gold Coast there is no doubt about that and i believe they will be a really good chance to get him if Ablett doesn't get the captaincy gig at the Cats.

As for comparing Cotchin with Ablett, it is a silly comparison, they would have to be for a start of comparitable magnitude that means that Cotchin would have to be a brownlow medalist a 2 time premiership player and that Richmond would have to be a club that has won the last 2 out of three premierships have 2 brownlow medalists in the side a team full of absolute stars and going for out third premiership in 4 years in 2010. If that was the case I wouldn't be loosing any sleep over cotchin going to the gold coast at the end of 2010 I'd say sure you can go, we just want GC'S FIRST 3 DRAFT PICKS. Vladimir Demetriou would jump at the chance.

Geelong are not a one trick pony they could survive quite comfortably without ablett if they had to and that means with all things being equal we could let cotchin go to, but for a price.

[yellowandback]

The AFL would love ablett on the Gold Coast there is no doubt about that and i believe they will be a really good chance to get him if Ablett doesn't get the captaincy gig at the Cats.

As for comparing Cotchin with Ablett, it is a silly comparison, they would have to be for a start of comparitable magnitude that means that Cotchin would have to be a brownlow medalist a 2 time premiership player and that Richmond would have to be a club that has won the last 2 out of three premierships have 2 brownlow medalists in the side a team full of absolute stars and going for out third premiership in 4 years in 2010. If that was the case I wouldn't be loosing any sleep over cotchin going to the gold coast at the end of 2010 I'd say sure you can go, we just want GC'S FIRST 3 DRAFT PICKS. Vladimir Demetriou would jump at the chance

Geelong are not a one trick pony they could survive quite comfortably without ablett if they had to and that means with all things being equal we could let cotchin go to, but for a price.

of course you can't compare the 2 players, the principle was more based on a high profile player (relative to the club) that had 1 year left on their contract. Clearly Richmond has noone that even remotely compares to GAJ

[Tigermonk]

football is pure buisness these days & loyalty means absolutely nothing.
The clubs treat it that way because they must to stay in buisness.
The players must get what they can when they can & if that means players leaving clubs to chase big money so be it
If l was Ablett,  l would take the huge offer as he has nothing left to prove in football.  He is one of the current best footballers because he is damaging & consistant each week & a bad game from him is 25 possies

You would have stopped there and been very right until you had to go fishing like the attention-seeker you are.

Simply pointing out a true fact TA
if you think there is more to my post than please yourself but your off the mark
If l wanted attention,  l wouldnot be on a forum doing it  l would be spending my $$ at Bar 20 

[tdy]

I am a big fan of the draft and the salary cap Jake.  For all the shortcomings in our current system, I believe it is light years ahead of the alternatives as far as strengthening the position of our code in the very competitive environment in this country for support and the corporate dollar.

I got no problem with the salary cap, only the draft.

I really do think that if AFL players had the chance to go O/S at the end of their careers and secure their financial future, they would. Hell, those Gaelic footballers are pretty humble, down to earth blokes who give up so much to play for their county. If the AFL lures them, I got no doubt AFL players would be lured too (see Sav Rocca, Ben Graham). I do agree it is a blight on Rugby League, but don't see it as a relevant point in the argument for/against AFL player movement policy as

i) The option simply isn't there for AFL players
ii) If there was, the AFL would be powerless to stop players moving out of its jurisdiction anyway so their policy isn't relevant, just as they couldn't stop Graham or Rocca.

Happy to agree to disagree smokey, we have before and no doubt will again.

I'm with smokey, We (the AFL) copied the Yanks with the draft and it has been the most significant factor in turning gridiron into the USA's number 1 sport.  To take over 100's years of baseball dominance economically and culturally has been an amazing effort.  And its all to do with the New York Jets owner getting together and deciding to make an even competition back in the 80's when he could have out spent every other team and won then next 20 premierships hands down (or so Ive heard second hand, not 100% on those fact there about the NFL).


I think its the fact that it is hard for players to move clubs that engenders more supporter loyalty.

The NRL has stuffed up with privately owned clubs and News Corp ownership of half the league.  Its poor crowds are evidence of that.  Even though the Storm is successful on field and has a good marketing arm and a great club name it has yet to really get into a lot of Melbourne peoples emotional lives. 

A similar story to the Sydney Swans who have only in the last 10 years started to do things right.  It says how hard it is to generate that loyalty.

Though the Storm guy that comes on SEN with Kevin Bartlett is a total twit and they really ought to get him off the radio and put in somebody else.

The AFL is now one more step ahead of the NRL by creating a cross town rivalry in Sydney and in Brisbane.

Sport is tribal in its emotional appeal and the NRL just don't get this, they think its about dollars and cents, players moving willy nilly kills that loyalty.



Rugby Union has gone down a similarly stupid path with once again that poisoned chalice News Corp and Pay TV.  And their ticket pricing for games in Melbourne has been ridiculous, who is gonna pay $100 to see a union game?  That aims them squarely in the rich class of people and that won't grow your game in Melbourne.  You have to aim for feral poor people, that's where your tribal loyalty comes from.

Not that I'm bagging either game, I like them both, just their incompetent administrations over the last 10 years.

And all three football codes have been run better than soccer and basketcase(ball) over the last 10 years.  Soccer at the moment looks like its rising but its still an ethnic sport and massively suffers in its local appeal because its an international sport dominated by European money and has no hope of ever truly being "Australian".  Personally I hope it fails dismally.

[bushranger]

I wouldn't like it.
But I would understand that he has to make the best of his football life while he is fit and strong.
If that means he has to chases the dollar to make life easier latter on then so be it.