Confirmed: Mitch Clark to Melbourne

[BananaOnTheRun]

I think you're also drawing a bit of a long bow here, Clark is a professional and I'm sure he'll put in 100% for the club.

he's not, actually. his behaviour in the last few days argues against this. also, he let his form for the lions be affected by the off field distractions. he's still a young kid, so maybe he'll grow up.

 

[theflea]

my take

i think this is a good thing. you are generally always going to pay overs to attract players from other clubs and this type of player is right for the dees. can play very well but needs to be more consistant.

 

[Football Pope]

Mitch is a pretty good mark on the lead
as far in the middle of a huge pack not really
can be really stupid sometimes jumping into team mates backs

He'll be right.....Just don't play your captain in the same forward line....

 

[ThePuppetMaster]

he's not, actually. his behaviour in the last few days argues against this. also, he let his form for the lions be affected by the off field distractions. he's still a young kid, so maybe he'll grow up.

I'm not sure he's acted that unprofessionally these last few days; if anything Freo are the ones who have acted a bit questionably.

See, I can make statements based on almost nothing as well.

 

[Football Pope]

he's not, actually. his behaviour in the last few days argues against this. also, he let his form for the lions be affected by the off field distractions. he's still a young kid, so maybe he'll grow up.

How long does the last few days span, does it go back to when you guys were first into him?..

 

[Trav 20]

Wasn't Grimes pick 14? Or was that Daniel Bell?

You're the first. Well done

 

[LouisCK]

I'm not sure he's acted that unprofessionally these last few days; if anything Freo are the ones who have acted a bit questionably.

See, I can make statements based on almost nothing as well.

Freo fell into the trap of assuming they were the only destination Clark would go.

Melbourne, unlike 16 other teams, aggressively pursued both Brisbane and Clark, offering them both better deals than what Freo could offer.

Melbourne and Brisbane then approached the AFL to confirm that if Clark walked to the PSD, Brissy would still get a compo pick from GWS.

Brissy then made it clear to Clark that Melbourne's offer was the preferred one, and that they won't mind him going to the PSD, because GWS will take him and they will get a compo pick anyway.

Freo could have been more aggressive with finding a deal that Brisbane wanted. They may not see Clark as being that valuable, or they may have just assumed that Brisbane wouldn't let him walk to the PSD (perhaps Freo didn't do their research on the GWS compo?).

In any case, Melbourne wanted David Hale to fill this role last year. We're more than happy with landing Mitch Clark instead. The money was never an issue for us, because we needed to spend it one way or another.

And considering the Demons and Lions were both heavily impacted by the GWS/GC expansion franchises, its somewhat karmic to see us both get what we wanted in this situation. Freo don't seem overly upset about it either, so it seems like a reasonable outcome all around.

 

[nurries]

He's getting 600k a year apparently.

That will be front loaded in 2012.

He'll be on 350-450 for the majority of his contract.

I think you're also drawing a bit of a long bow here, Clark is a professional and I'm sure he'll put in 100% for the club.

So Pav, Sandi and Mundy are all on less than 600K then

Cmon, Bond said he would be the highest payer at Freo for what Melb offered him. Would of paid huge overs.

Glad we didnt get him now

 

[LouisCK]

So Pav, Sandi and Mundy are all on less than 600K then

Cmon, Bond said he would be the highest payer at Freo for what Melb offered him. Would of paid huge overs.

Glad we didnt get him now

Bond is speaking shit. His exact words were "over the life of the contract" - and considering this is a freshly inked 4 year deal, its hardly unreasonable that Clark makes more over four years than Sandi makes in (how many has he got left on his contract? 2?).

He's bitter. Or jelly or mad or whatever the equivalent is thesedays.

 

[MadMac]

Yessss. We keep the draft picks and continue our rebuild. We have enough ruck depth as it is.

 

[Football Pope]

Freo fell into the trap of assuming they were the only destination Clark would go.

Melbourne, unlike 16 other teams, aggressively pursued both Brisbane and Clark, offering them both better deals than what Freo could offer.

Melbourne and Brisbane then approached the AFL to confirm that if Clark walked to the PSD, Brissy would still get a compo pick from GWS.

Brissy then made it clear to Clark that Melbourne's offer was the preferred one, and that they won't mind him going to the PSD, because GWS will take him and they will get a compo pick anyway.

Freo could have been more aggressive with finding a deal that Brisbane wanted. They may not see Clark as being that valuable, or they may have just assumed that Brisbane wouldn't let him walk to the PSD (perhaps Freo didn't do their research on the GWS compo?).

In any case, Melbourne wanted David Hale to fill this role last year. We're more than happy with landing Mitch Clark instead. The money was never an issue for us, because we needed to spend it one way or another.

And considering the Demons and Lions were both heavily impacted by the GWS/GC expansion franchises, its somewhat karmic to see us both get what we wanted in this situation.

Or realise that Melbourne had live picks they'd use prior to Freo in both the ND & PSD and could match the $'s nominated by Clark

 

[Footy Mad]

Huge get for the Demons. When the public wake up that they have more money and more draft picks still in hand they will get the credit and respect that they deserve.

Neeld is a very smart operator and wont make the same mistakes as Bailey. The money they pay is irrelevant, the pick is irrelevant because the alternative was more of what they dont need - young kids. They have a managed list with heaps of salary cap space left still to consume.

This is not where it ends for the Demons this is where it begins. Watch out.

 

[JimDocker]

The way I see it:

Clark wanted to go to Freo.

Freo played hard-ball, made some poor offers then some reasonable ones, but Kerr still wasn't happy.

West Coast seemed to lose interest and then Melbourne made a solid offer.

Freo said no, Melbourne upped their offer and Clark probably gave Freo the rest of the day to sort something out. Nothing happened so he said yes.

Clark wanted to go back to WA, but Freo weren't being up to the Lions standards and West Coast didn't seem that interested. The options from there were enter the PSD and have GWS/GC/Melbourne (or even Brisbane) grab him before Freo had a chance (and he really didn't want to go to GWS), stay with Brisbane with his tail between his legs and being possibly disliked around the club or go into the PSD and pray like hell it somehow worked out for him (would never happen).

Melbourne offered a deal that was good for both clubs and I think will end up benefiting both in the long run. On his day Clark is a fantastic player and I hope Neeld can mould him into what his potential has shown week in, week out. We obviously couldn't and I wish him all the best to be honest.

Freo tried to play hard ball, didn't get their man but obviously don't seem to mind too much. Melbourne wanted Clark against the odds and did what needed to be done. Brisbane didn't want to lose him but knew it was going to happen and took a solid deal.

Can't see a loser out of this to be honest, I think this is close to best case scenario for all involved.

Pretty much agree with the above. I have not seen enough or paid attention enough of him in the past to have a considered opinion. The fact that our club tried to negotiate a deal means that they rated him to an extent. Obviously not enough to pay what they consider over the odds.

Melbourne rate him enough and have room in the salary cap to fit him in.

Clark must have discussed this with his family and as easy as it is for us to discuss how he has changed his tune regarding family commitments, I am guessing not many of us have been offered multi million dollar contracts to know how it can impact on any decision to be made.

Rockclff's tweet was appalling. A classic example of somebody having a twitter account that actually has nothing worth saying. Classless, bogan meathead !

 

[HFF]

Sounds like overs but this certainly shakes up whatever is left of trade week. In the end melb got their man at the price they were prepared to pay. Finally made a splash in trade week. Good on them, even though I have my doubta over clarks ability as a kpf.

 

[ThePuppetMaster]

So Pav, Sandi and Mundy are all on less than 600K then

Cmon, Bond said he would be the highest payer at Freo for what Melb offered him. Would of paid huge overs.

Glad we didnt get him now

'Over the life of the contract'.

Four year contract starting next season.

Smart way to kick up a shitstorm by Bond.

 

[Jentleman Geff]

Can't say I'm shedding a tear. I never wanted him in the first place - an in between tall who is handy as a ruck and ordinary as a forward. Considering we have ruck depth, his worth was very very low to us.

 

[Herne Hill Hammer]

Which means Jurrah and Watts are going to attract sub-par defenders.

So instead of Scarlett they'll cop any one of Taylor, Lonergan, Enright etc.

You Melbourne fans do realise that Clark's a mongrel kick don't you? Much like Kurt Tippet.

 

[BananaOnTheRun]

I'm not sure he's acted that unprofessionally these last few days; if anything Freo are the ones who have acted a bit questionably.

See, I can make statements based on almost nothing as well.

that's cool, brah. i'm not one to step up to pointless arguments. best of luck with your internet crusade there.

 

[ThePuppetMaster]

that's cool, brah. i'm not one to step up to pointless arguments. best of luck with your internet crusade there.

Was simply a statement.

 

[makaveli01]

Great example of how the old 'homesick' excuse offered up by alot of players is bullsh*t. Put enough money in front of them and they will take it every time. Not that I care now but Im sure if West Coast could have offered a GWS type offer to Judd when he was 'homesick' he would still be with us.

Not all bad for freo though, they still have J. Anthony

 

[master bate]

So instead of Scarlett they'll cop any one of Taylor, Lonergan, Enright etc.

You Melbourne fans do realise that Clark's a mongrel kick don't you? Much like Kurt Tippet.

Lonergan goes to Clark, Taylor goes to Watts and then Scarlett has to take Jurrah and be made accountable. Sounds better than it has been.

But this isn't about challenging for a flag right away, this trade is primarily about building in a structure for the team to play the right football. As for him not being a great kick, well neither is Hawkins or Cloke, and Pods misses a fair few as well.

 

[Top_4_Tiger]

We are paying overs for him but lets put this into perspective:
-We finally landed a blow in trade week

If this reason is required to justify a trade then you know you are clutching at straws.

 

[Trav 20]

Can't say I'm shedding a tear. I never wanted him in the first place - an in between tall who is handy as a ruck and ordinary as a forward. Considering we have ruck depth, his worth was very very low to us.

Whether you're shedding a tear or not is irrelevant. Your club completely stuffed up recruiting a player it wanted and a player that wanted to go to them.

Congrats.

 

[Jentleman Geff]

Whether you're shedding a tear or not is irrelevant. Your club completely stuffed up recruiting a player it wanted and a player that wanted to go to them.

Congrats.

What do you mean by 'completely stuffed up'? Didn't pay ridiculous amounts of money to get him or didn't offer a draft pick we didn't have?

I never wanted him at Freo unless he came through the PSD. He was never a need.

Strange that Freo is copping heat for not overpaying for a good ordinary player. Guess you can't win in the estimations of Bigfooty morons.

 

[bLuEbOy1984]

2009 if I remember correctly he was in Australian Form. Played like a jet. Good get for the Dees who now have a very lethal combo with Jamar n Clarke