Rumour Daniel Rich open to leaving the Lions... next year

[Milux]

If your goal isn't to be playing in September then you probably shouldn't play footy. I understand there is a monetary aspect to the game as well but unless you're Buddy Franklin or Gary Ablett Jr, you're probably not going to make huge money through your career. Rich has been in the league seven years now and the team has only made the finals once while he's been there. You couldn't blame him if next year he decided to go home to Perth and play for either WA team given they are both likely finals bound for at least a few more years to come. The only thing Brisbane can really offer him right now is money and fair enough if he takes the cash and stays at the Lions. You're only in the league for a limited number of years so you need to make as much as you can, while you can. I just have a feeling most AFL players have a burning desire inside to go deep in the finals at least once in their career and I reckon you'd be questioning whether that is possible as a 26yo Lions player.

So you would of understood if boak left the power then when you guys where a rabble. Maybe players can see whats around the corner.

I never said no player doesnt want to win a flag. Some players might wanna do everything they can to make that happen at the club they love.

 

[Leigh Lowther]

Loyalty is dead in this game when players bail for the sake of a chance of a medal.

adcock?

 

[iBeng]

You need a reason to be loyal and the club isn't giving many players a reason. If the Lions was full on Pearce Hanleys then you'd have no issue but most AFL players consider this a business now. Often money is a good reason to be loyal (look at J.Brown in 2008) but success is usually the best way to keep your players.

The club is what the players make it at the end of the day.

adcock?

What, a 30 year old player we couldnt give a 3 year contract to because he was 30 and we wanted to rebuild?

Do we want to go back through Collingwoods Delistings and see how many 28-31 year olds you delisted rather than hand extended contracts to?

 

[Matchu]

So you would of understood if boak left the power then when you guys where a rabble. Maybe players can see whats around the corner.

I never said no player doesnt want to win a flag. Some players might wanna do everything they can to make that happen at the club they love.

As disappointed as I would have been, I would have understood why he decided to leave Alberton. Luckily for us, we managed to re-sign Boak and I'm sure he was given a sizeable upgrade in his salary as a result. I congratulate any player that decides to stay loyal and persevere but I'm also a realist. There are potentially 17 other clubs coming after Rich next year and it's irresponsible to not listen to those offers.

The club is what the players make it at the end of the day.

That's fair. You need the right players around the club to build the culture. Unfortunately for the Lions, recent evidence suggests that's just not the case.

 

[iBeng]

That's fair. You need the right players around the club to build the culture. Unfortunately for the Lions, recent evidence suggests that's just not the case.

So if we want to keep players like Rich...Do we need to sack Lepp and delist Rockliff? Because those are the two that constantly come up.

 

[Milux]

adcock?

Look most lions supporters are still scratching there heads as to how this has panned out. You would have to be the most one eyed supporter to not be disappointed or annoyed of the treatment of this loyal servent.

But in saying that he isnt that good of a player. Better then average yes. But not someone you can build a premiership team around.

But in saying that. I really like Adcock and am pretty annoyed he wont be on our list next season.

 

[Roylion]

Often money is a good reason to be loyal (look at J.Brown in 2008) but success is usually the best way to keep your players.

Agree.

But Jonathan Brown was a Fitzroy supporter growing up and that helped considerably. Tom Bell, Josh Clayton (and almost certainly soon to be a Lion) Ben Keays also were/are Lions supporters growing up. That's why increasing the proportion of local content on the Lions list commensurate to that of clubs located in football states, via the academies, is hugely important.

 

[Matchu]

So if we want to keep players like Rich...Do we need to sack Lepp and delist Rockliff? Because those are the two that constantly come up.

Not necessarily. If Rockliff isn't the right man for the job then the captaincy should be taken off him but delisting him is a bit extreme. As for Leppa, I don't think he's really had the list capable of seeing out his vision so I'd still give him a few more years before I think about sacking him. Now if either of those two are seriously damaging the team culture then you have to try to fix that immediately.

Agree.

But Jonathan Brown was a Fitzroy supporter growing up and that helped considerably. Tom Bell, Josh Clayton (and almost certainly soon to be a Lion) Ben Keays also were/are Lions supporters growing up. That's why increasing the proportion of local content on the Lions list commensurate to that of clubs located in football states, via the academies, is hugely important.

Yeah but even Browny admitted at one stage in 2008 that he thought he was going to Collingwood. Drafting kids that are passionate about the club is obviously advantageous for an expansion club. Unlike Port and the Vic clubs, the Lions can't really use their long history to their advantage, because there isn't a long history. I know there's the Fitzroy connection but that was nearly 20 years ago which means we're virtually at the end of the Fitzroy father-son situation. The Lions are now relying on the young fans they had during the triple premiership years and Tom Bell would be a good example of that.

 

[pantskyle]

Leppa is a shit coach.

 

[Obeanie1]

Brisbane will be in flag contention by the time Rich retires

Maybe you will, maybe you won;t.

The Eagles are there right now.

Interesting sig. So is that because of Yeo and now Redden?

Just wondering.

 

[iBeng]

Maybe you will, maybe you won;t.

The Eagles are there right now.

Interesting sig. So is that because of Yeo and now Redden?

Just wondering.

Nothing to do with your club, its a SFA thing.

 

[Obeanie1]

Loyalty is dead in this game when players bail for the sake of a chance of a medal.

Lions just de-listed / sacked an ex captain not because he wasn't good enough but because he won't be playing when the list is ready for a premiership.

So is loyalty a one way street?

It's ok for a club to throw players onto the trash heap to pursue long term success but if a player leaves for success he's not loyal?

How does that work?

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

Maybe you will, maybe you won;t.

The Eagles are there right now.

Interesting sig. So is that because of Yeo and now Redden?

Just wondering.

What? What does my sig have to do with Yeo and Redden?

 

[Roylion]

Yeah but even Browny admitted at one stage in 2008 that he thought he was going to Collingwood.

He certainly considered it strongly. But what kept him at the Lions?

In Brown's own words

"When I weighed it all up, I just didn't have a burning desire or a financial justification to leave the club that I loved. I was one of the club's co-captains. I had been a Lions supporter since childhood. I still loved playing for the Lions and felt we'd shown enough promise during the season to suggest that a finals appearance in 2009 was a big chance. Plus Collingwood wasn't jumping out at me as a side that was about to win a flag."

So an attachment to the club and a chance of experiencing success were the key factors. Money wasn't, although Brown did say that "If the Magpies had offered me $500,000 more than Brisbane, then I would have gone there. But they didn't."

Drafting kids that are passionate about the club is obviously advantageous for an expansion club. Unlike Port and the Vic clubs, the Lions can't really use their long history to their advantage, because there isn't a long history. I know there's the Fitzroy connection but that was nearly 20 years ago which means we're virtually at the end of the Fitzroy father-son situation. The Lions are now relying on the young fans they had during the triple premiership years and Tom Bell would be a good example of that.

Yes. Josh Clayton was picked up as a father-son from Fitzroy last year. Ben Keays comes from a Fitzroy / Brisbane Lions supporting family. His great-grandfather played for Fitzroy and he was a Brisbane Lions supporter having attended the 2001 and 2004 Grand Finals. Getting a greater proprortion of Queenslanders on the list would help as well.

 

[iBeng]

Lions just de-listed / sacked an ex captain not because he wasn't good enough but because he won't be playing when the list is ready for a premiership.

So is loyalty a one way street?

It's ok for a club to throw players onto the trash heap to pursue long term success but if a player leaves for success he's not loyal?

How does that work?

I dont 100% agree with our decision, but I can see the logic in not giving a 3 year contract to a player who is in a highly competitive position in the side with plenty of youngsters coming through.

What if we kept him on and had kids sitting in the 2's that decided to leave in 2 years because Adcock had their role? We told him he'd have to share the role with kids, which is why he was getting a 1 year contract offer.

 

[Matchu]

He certainly considered it strongly. But what kept him at the Lions?

In Brown's own words

"When I weighed it all up, I just didn't have a burning desire or a financial justification to leave the club that I loved. I was one of the club's co-captains. I had been a Lions supporter since childhood. I still loved playing for the Lions and felt we'd shown enough promise during the season to suggest that a finals appearance in 2009 was a big chance. Plus Collingwood wasn't jumping out at me as a side that was about to win a flag."

So an attachment to the club and a chance of experiencing success were the key factors. Money wasn't, although Brown did say that "If the Magpies had offered me $500,000 more than Brisbane, then I would have gone there. But they didn't."



Yes. Josh Clayton was picked up as a father-son from Fitzroy last year. Ben Keays comes from a Fitzroy / Brisbane Lions supporting family. His great-grandfather played for Fitzroy and he was a Brisbane Lions supporter having attended the 2001 and 2004 Grand Finals. Getting a greater proprortion of Queenslanders on the list would help as well.

Brown's decision to stay had a fair bit to do with him thinking the Lions were closer to a premiership than the Pies. We now know he couldn't have been any more wrong but if that's what it takes to retain your players then so be it. I'm not sure the Lions would be able to convince anyone right now that a premiership is around the corner so you can't really use that. As you say, an injection of talented Queenslanders would be a welcomed addition to the team and likely improve the culture/retention program. That's why it's important that the Lions correctly resource their academy, even if they aren't correctly resourcing their AFL team.

 

[iBeng]

How do people see our treatment of Adcock compared to St Kildas treatment of Farren Ray?

 

[baaaall!]

Or Geelong and Stevie J?

 

[blueiris]

Or Geelong and Stevie J?

I think they were more complaining that we were after Stevie J then Geelong delisting him

 

[bombersfan4000]

After playing for Brisbane, I'm sure he wants to join a team on the up, not on the way down.

The lions wouldn't be a bad side if they could of held on to all those players that have left over the last few years

 

[cotter101]

The lions wouldn't be a bad side if they could of held on to all those players that have left over the last few years

We've replaced them though. I'm pretty confident in saying we'll rise up the ladder a bit over the next couple of years. Our list is pretty young but it certainly has the potential to do so.

 

[bombersfan4000]

We've replaced them though. I'm pretty confident in saying we'll rise up the ladder a bit over the next couple of years. Our list is pretty young but it certainly has the potential to do so.

Well hope so. The afl needs a competive lions out fit

 

[jjami15]

We've replaced them though. I'm pretty confident in saying we'll rise up the ladder a bit over the next couple of years. Our list is pretty young but it certainly has the potential to do so.

These are my thoughts exactly and it just depends if Rich has the patience for this. I believe it will come down to how our season pans out and what type of on-field performances we give that will dictate wether Rich stays or goes. He didn't have a great season this year and also will hopefully look to concentrate getting back to his best. All in all I'm not overly fussed if he stays mainly due to the fact that we are rebuilding and a few years away.

 

[Pacman Carney]

Aish (very likely gone), Green (staying), Bewick (may be delisted), Rich (staying), Hanley (staying), Martin (staying), West (staying), Zorko (staying), Clayton (staying - Brisbane supporter / Queenslander / father-son), Watts (re-signed), Merett (staying), Paparone (re-signed), Leunberger (gone), Mcrgrath (staying), Redden (gone), Andrews (re-signed), Mayes (staying for 2016 at least), Close (staying), Lester (staying), Paine (may be delisted), Clarke (re-signed), McGuiness (staying).

So Redden, Aish, Leuenberger.

Josh Clayton, a Queenslander? Since when?

 

[Roylion]

Josh Clayton, a Queenslander? Since when?

Born in Brisbane, always been a Brisbane Lions supporter, family lives in Queensland. But yeah played for Vic Metro as well as Sandringham in the TAC Cup under 18 competition. Taken father son rule from Fitzroy.