Cameron Mooney thinks five years is too long for Brett Deledio contract Tim O'Rourke
From: Herald Sun
March 27, 2012 FORMER Geelong premiership player Cameron Mooney has questioned Richmond's decision to sign Brett Deledio to a five-year contract, claiming it may lead to future salary cap pressure for the Tigers.
Speaking on Melbourne radio, Mooney was adamant that long, lucrative contracts like Deledio's were risky propositions for AFL clubs.
"It's such a long time and a lot of money to be locking away on one player," Mooney told SEN.
"What are they going to do with Dustin Martin, Trent Cotchin and Jack Riewoldt when they come out of contract? Give them all five-year deals?"
The Tigers have recently been busy securing key personnel before the start of the 2012 season proper, with Deledio joining key forward Tyrone Vickery and senior coach Damien Hardwick having signed long-term deals.
While Mooney said the Tigers were right to look for stability at the club, he questioned the merits of giving such a long contract to just one player.
"At Geelong we had to look at the team as a whole and say 'do we want money or premiership glory?'"
"Blokes could have been paid a lot more than what they were earning, but we wanted to share the money around and keep everyone together."
Cotchin, Riewoldt and Martin are all out of contract at the end of 2013, however the club will be looking to secure them well before then.
The Tigers take on the Blues in their blockbuster season opener on Thursday night and many tipsters, including Mooney, have jumped on the yellow and black bandwagon.
"I saw them down in Geelong a couple of weeks ago and they were very impressive. Carlton has some big outs down back so on current form you would have to go with the Tiges."
http://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/afl/cameron-mooney-thinks-five-years-is-too-long-for-brett-deledio-contract/story-e6frg1x3-1226311446499
