Otto a man in demand

[JohnF]

LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOOO@Saddington and a pick. Would rather lose him for nothing than cop that insulting offer.

450,000 clear on the salary cap. We are off to a good start already!

[JohnF]

LMFAOOOOOOO@me thinking he is overrated and thinking a draft pick and saddington aren't good enough for him.

lmfaoooooooo@this paradox.

[mightytiges]

Not happy that he is going (thank you Spud!) but if he wants to leave then in the long run it's better that he goes. The way the article is written it comes across as he's money chasing.

It's amusing how everyone lays into brisbane for having the extra cap to retain their players yet the Swans are never mentioned. How are the Swans allowed to use it to poach players? $500K offer for Otto, $400K for Simmonds plus they want a midfielder as well.

It now appears we'll chase hard after Simmonds but replacing players isn't going to improve our list. We are short of talls as it is and now only have the aging and injury prone Stafford as a ruckman.

As for a trade - the Swans first pick will be around 14 or 15. Not really an early first round pick. And as for Saddington - please NO!

[froars]

At least with Saddington you'd know he was behind the club - he's always wanted to come to the Tiges.
Isn't Col Saddington his dad?
That old bloke behind the goals up there would be a good trade for Ottens!

[tigers80]

this is all about money guys, lets move him on, sydney will have to do some shopping around to get us a better draft pick, they can stick their pick 14 up their ass, we want at least a pick in the top 5-10 and a player with at least some ability.

this is when as a club hold our ground here and let it be known that we wont be dictated to by greedy players anymore, we have wasted too much coin on this under achiever.

[froars]

this is when as a club hold our ground here and let it be known that we wont be dictated to by greedy players anymore

Totally agree, but i really don't blame the players - the clubs are the stupid ones for letting them dictate.  Should be the clubs saying, if you want more money than you're worth, then go - should have done it with Gaspar years ago, but we were too stupid. 

[Jackstar]

He has been extremely disappointing over the past three years and its no secret he is chasing money.
Collingwood offered him heaps and now the swans have stepped in.
You will find he will leave the Tigers against his wishes of his family
Bye Brad, lets all move on and close an era of the RFC we arent proud  of which you have been a major part of.

[WilliamPowell]

Greg Miller was on SEN just before 8.00am and said in summary:

- The only true bit of the article is the fact that Ottens is out of contract.
- He is aware that Sydney & Geelong have spoken to Ottens.
- Brad understands why he has been offered a reduced contract - he's been paid on potential for too long.
- Brad's management would know that it is not in thier client's best interest to leave Melbourne.
- It isn't smart to take an offer to play for money - the pressure is enormous.
- There still has to be a trade and Sydney's record at trade time isnt great - he cited last years Ray Hall situation when the Swans   contacted the Tigers at 10.00am on the last day.

and finally....

- He (Miller) is still confident that Ottens will be at Richmond next year.

We will wait and see what happens....

Oh yeah as a sidebar - the team will be going for a training run next week (Tuesday)

[Jackstar]

$200,000 a year more might be the thing, for a 24 year old, thats good money !

[WilliamPowell]

$200,000 a year more might be the thing, for a 24 year old, thats good money !

There are far more important things in the world than money

[Jackstar]

You tell Brad that as his family cant !
he is aware that he has under performed though

[RonBranton]

WP's summary of what Miller said is a good indication of the situation.

The artilcle is too clever - says that he has "the potential" to earn $500k in Sydney but neglects to say he has the same potential to earn as much at Richmond as he did this year if he hits performance targets.

Jackstar - I understand from a very good source that he hasn't been approached by Collingwood.

He and his family are well settled in Melbourne. He has purchased a house. His mother has recently invested serious dollars into a franchise business and his brother has moved back from Adelaide. It would be a major upheaval for him to move interstate.

It's not fair to accuse him of chasing the dollar. The simple fact is that his contract is up for renewal
and the club has made him an offer that is structured very differently to the one that he had previously (it's more performance based but could end up close to what he earned this year.)
Surely he is entitled to take his time in deciding his future? He has stated publicly that he would prefer to stay so let's just give him some time to make a decision - there is a very good chance that he will stay.

He's only 24 - I can't believe we can bag the guy who has been carrying serious back and ankle injuries for the past two years and has 6 or 7 years of service ahead of him. Guys his size and ability don't come easily - and we aren't exactly overflowing with talent are we?

[Tiger Spirit]

Maybe some of the stuff being said and written is unfair on Otto, but you have to wonder why it’s taken so long for him to sign.  His season ended a few weeks before Round 22 and he’s had more than ample time to consider his situation.  How difficult is it to know whether you want to stay or go?

According to Miller on SEN this morning, Otto would have no real gripe with Richmond about how he’s been treated and looked after, off the field.

You have to wonder why then he would want to leave and why he’s being ‘shopped around’.  And, unless there’s something else we don’t know about, money would seem to be the major reason, because it looks as though Otto and his management are milking this to see what they can get.  Good on them for looking after their own interests, but there are two parties involved here and we don’t need Otto at any inflated price.

Setting aside whether he’s overrated or not, you have to think that whatever it is that helps Brisbane retain their players, we just don’t have it.  So it could be seen as an indictment on RFC that he would want to leave now, especially when a new coach has just been appointed.  Then again, when Cogs re-signed, with all the turmoil that was going on at the time, you would think he had every reason to look elsewhere, but instead signed without any fuss.

So, if Otto’s just interested in the money then let him go.  Because, unless a Coach/Club can get something different out of him, in the long run, these sorts of players generally aren’t of any real value to any team.

Headland has been the only player Brisbane has ‘lost’ over the last few seasons and he left because he wanted to go back home. Even though he may have ability, you have to question where his priorities are and how committed he really is when he needs the comfortable surrounds of his home and family to play at his best.

And if Otto needs money to play at his best and, after all these years of being at RFC, he repays them by kicking them in the guts and needs to be convinced to stay put then let him go.

Players don’t do themselves any favours by allowing these things to drag on and on, without good reason.  And in situations like this, you just have to wonder how serious some of them are about the game, why they play and where their priorities are.

[Jackstar]

Collingwood have approached Ottens manager, FACT !
Stop making excuses for players, dont see Michael Voss complaining about seriously breaking a leg and playing 12 months later.
Dont seem James Hird complaining either, get over him please.
No Brownlow votes says it all. thats why we are on the bottom of the ladder

[froars]

I can't believe we can bag the guy who has been carrying serious back and ankle injuries for the past two years

Sounds like even more reason to get rid of him - if he can't shrug these injuries, what good is he?  He played since half way through the season (when it was over for us).  If it's not Ottens, it's bad player management again, not allowing him to recuperate from injuries.  We had nothiing to lose by resting him.

It's not fair to accuse him of chasing the dollar.

Very fair in my book.  If he wasn't chasing money, and squeezing the club for whatever he can get, he would have signed on the dotted line ages ago, even if that was for less money - because he ain't worth what he was getting, and even he would have known that.

I say good luck to him if he can get good money elsewhere, but don't try and bleed us dry.  He hasn't performed to expectations, and i don't care if he's got another 6 or 7 years in front of him, to me at this moment, he's just another Fiora - unfulfilled potential.