Polak thread [merged]

[F0551L]

still out of contract mmm doesnt look good for the Polaxe

[Infamy]

I wouldn't expect any more decisions on our list to be made until after the trade period
If we can trade Tuck, Raines, Schulz & McMahon for picks then we will have cleared enough room for Polak to be kept
However if most of those trades can't be done, then given all except Raines are contracted then they need to be kept and it will probably mean Polak is in trouble

[mightytiges]

Agree Infamy. The more we can move on the better Polly's chances are of staying. It'll also depend on what picks we receive in trades. If the club has too many late picks to use then keeping Polly may be seen as a better option. The odds are stacked up against him though.

[one-eyed]

I couldn't find this on the web so I scanned it in....

Polak's hoping
By Catherine Lambert, Liam Houlihan and Jay Clark
Sunday Herald-Sun 18 OCT 2009, Page 14

AS they wait for news on his football future, Graham Polak's fiancee, Alyce Oksuz, has told of his desire to keep playing.

Richmond is expected to announce this week whether Polak will be retained by the club or delisted.

Ms Oksuz said yesterday they were desperately hoping Polak could continue with the club.

"To have the opportunity to play would be fantastic for him because it's all he wants to do,'' Ms Oksuz said.

"We both have our hearts set on staying in Melbourne, but it's hard to know exactly what will happen until it's clear that Graham's coming back to full-time football.''

Polak, 29, began his AFL comeback in August when he played at the MCG against Hawthorn for the first time in 14 months since being hit by a tram and suffering a life-threatening brain injury.

Ms Oksuz and Polak's family was at the game to witness his triumph.

"We were all very nervous, but it was a huge accomplishment for him to get to that level when no one ever expected him to get that far,'' she said.

The couple, who became closer during their ordeal, capped off celebrations with an engagement party in a friend's East Perth apartment.

"It looked out over the river and was the perfect setting, with famous Perth weather,'' Ms Oksuz said.

"But after 10 days in Perth we were definitely ready to come back to Melbourne.''

[wayne]

Polak, 29, began his AFL comeback in August when he played at the MCG against Hawthorn for the first time in 14 months since being hit by a tram and suffering a life-threatening brain injury.

How can he be 29, when he was in the same draft as Judd, Hodge and Ball and they're all 26-27??

[tdy]

Polak, 29, began his AFL comeback in August when he played at the MCG against Hawthorn for the first time in 14 months since being hit by a tram and suffering a life-threatening brain injury.

How can he be 29, when he was in the same draft as Judd, Hodge and Ball and they're all 26-27??

He's not 29 he's 25.  Born 16.06.84 or so says the RFC site

[one-eyed]

Polak set to be offered new Tiger contract
Caroline Wilson | October 21, 2009

GRAHAM Polak, the footballer almost killed after being hit by a tram 16 months ago and deemed finished as an AFL player, is now set to be offered a new contract with Richmond.

The 25-year-old has received a major, if indirect, fillip from the AFL Commission, which on Monday passed recommendation allowing two mature-age rookies to be included on every club's list regardless of how many games they had played.

Although it was unclear whether Polak's future was on the agenda at last night's board meeting at Tigerland, The Age understands that the defender was already a better-than-50/50 chance to receive a new one-year deal, whether or not the AFL approved the relaxed new rookie rules. A thorough medical examination and ongoing assessments undertaken by Richmond's doctors have resolved that Polak still has significant scope for improvement after the accident in June 2008 that left him suffering from brain damage.

Richmond football boss Craig Cameron returns to work tomorrow and is expected to make a decision on Polak before the end of the week.

The player's resurrection into elite football ranks remains one of the more remarkable success stories in a largely dismal year for the Tigers. Polak returned to senior football at the end of the 2009 season despite the club believing only months earlier he would never return to the game at the top level.

Polak, who has been holidaying in Western Australia, has made no secret of his desire to remain at the Tigers, who pushed late last year for a change in the rookie rules to grant Polak an exemption allowing him on to the rookie list. That push was seen as part of Richmond's attempt to draft Ben Cousins and was refused by the AFL in a scenario that left a bitter taste in Tiger mouths.

Under several changes approved by the commission on Monday, the rules have been relaxed to allow an extra two rookies on to every club's list, with mature-age rookies allowed not only to have played an infinite number of senior games but also paid over the odds in rookie terms. Any contract worth more than the minimum rookie payment would result in the additional money being included in the total player payments.

Rookies from 2010 will be allowed to remain on an AFL club's list for three years and the minimum required delistings of three players per club would result in a rookie being allowed to be included in one of the three footballers replaced on a senior list.

Polak's recovery is understood to be cumulative and ongoing, with his on-field awareness reportedly having improved significantly from the start of 2009 during a year largely spent playing for Coburg in the VFL.

http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/rfnews/polak-to-be-offered-new-contract/2009/10/20/1255891820774.html

[WilliamPowell]

Good move

I actually thought he showed more attack on the footy in his couple of games back at the end of 2009 than some of team mates had shown all year

Also at 25 he is the right fit age wise, gives us some experience around the place and most of all gives us a big mature body

Well done Polly 

[Infamy]

Great news, I always thought there was a place on the list for him next year.

[tiga]

Excellent! I hope CC does the right thing and offers him a contract. I agree with you WP that Polak's attack on the footy when he returned was inspirational, in fact his whole progress back to health and playing senior footy again is inspirational. Lets hope it rubs off on some of our slackers.

[Judge Roughneck]

Great news, I always thought there was a place on the list for him next year.

Good news if he is on the list as a rookie, 'mature' rookie.

Not a senior spot.

[Infamy]

I don't see the difference personally. Even if he is kept on as a rookie he will be elevated to the senior list so we can evaluate him properly at AFL level. He finished this year at AFL level so you'd expect him to improve enough over the preseason that he'll keep his spot, especially after we cut a few kpps from our list, we need some depth in that area.

We've delisted enough players that we can hold on to Polak as a senior player for 2010.

[WA Tiger]

Well done Polly and well done Richmond, lets hope he makes it and hey if he doesnt at least he will leave the game knowing he left nothing behind instead of wondering what could have been.

[Hellenic Tiger]

He is a tall and they don't grow on trees so I guess that worked in his favour.
Good luck to him if that is the case.

[torch]

does this mean The Cat will be delisted?