Departing players and Best n Fairests

[threesixpio]

Tbh I can see both sides. People will bag the club but if the event is a celebration and you want to use it to start selling hope for next year, having one of your top players, who has already checked out, might not work too well.

“Fire up everybody, we’re going places and 2025 is going to be massive. Get on board.”

“Now for a speech by one of our players who has chosen to leave for a rival club.”

I don’t feel any sympathy for Battle. He’s made his call and he’s out. It’s totally his right, but this is just a small consequence of it. Deal with it.

Did Massimo come to the Bomber B and F last year?

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Did Massimo come to the Bomber B and F last year?

No idea and don’t care - I can just see both sides from the club’s point of view.

It’s the club’s event. It’s not the individual player’s event. The club can and should get what they want out of it.

If they think having a departed player might undermine that somehow, then I can respect that.

Equally the other way if they’re fine with it - it’s their event, not anybody else’s.

 

[Duckimus Prime]

Didn't the Adelaide crom refuse to invite Jakey Leaver and then he punched tex's lights out?

The real embarassing one was them taking Jack Gunston's award off of him because he requested a trade.

 

[Gavin Excell]

The real embarassing one was them taking Jack Gunston's award off of him because he requested a trade.

That is peak toddler stuff

 

[bergholt]

I think the average footy supporter has honestly come to terms with modern player mobility - especially now that we are in a situation where players have no choice as to where they are initially drafted. It's not like when Leigh Colbert left Geelong twenty five years ago and got booed every time he came back to play us.

I think BF nuffies like us have, but have you heard the rank and file booing at the ground because of some perceived slight? It still happens all the time.

 

[bergholt]

So as a Hawthorn supporter I clap the player at the B and F and consider a boo the year after

Yeah I agree, but I don't think every supporter does, so I can see why the club would make the call they did.

 

[bergholt]

Poor, poor form by St Kilda. Give the footy world clues as to why they haven’t won a flag in 58 years.

Pretty sure everyone knows that the reason is long-term incompetence mixed with a dose of bad luck here and there. All we can do as supporters is hope they've turned it around.

 

[Pistol Night]

Just do what Dayne Beams

11

Dayne Beams

Age

34

Ht

187cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

25.6

5star

K

13.2

5star

HB

12.4

5star

M

4.5

4star

T

3.6

5star

CL

4.9

5star

No current season stats available

D

15.6

4star

K

6.6

3star

HB

9.0

5star

M

4.6

5star

T

2.6

4star

did. Get up at the BnF and tell the boys how much you love them and you'll never leave and then piss off after that. No awkwardness at all on the night. That all ended well from memory too

 

[Cleansweep17]

Depends.

If you want them out to rebuild you get a premium.

If you are contending and you need them it isn’t good.

I for one am packing Bolton, Rioli, Bakers and Grahams bags and dropping them off to the airport. This draft is really deep.

 

[Fadge]

Depends.

If you want them out to rebuild you get a premium.

If you are contending and you need them it isn’t good.

I for one am packing Bolton, Rioli, Bakers and Grahams bags and dropping them off to the airport. This draft is really deep.

What makes you think this draft is 'really deep'.

Is it because there is no stand-up top pick, or no stand-up top few?

Or is it more of a case of you wanting it to be 'really deep' due to Richmond's circumstances.

Because from what I've seen, it's one of the lesser quality drafts of the past 3 to 4 years. (And I've seen a lot of the kids coming through over that time)

 

[Pistol Night]

What makes you think this draft is 'really deep'.

Is it because there is no stand-up top pick, or no stand-up top few?

Or is it more of a case of you wanting it to be 'really deep' due to Richmond's circumstances.

Because from what I've seen, it's one of the lesser quality drafts of the past 3 to 4 years. (And I've seen a lot of the kids coming through over that time)

How often does a team with a heap of picks nail every one of them?

 

[Cleansweep17]

What makes you think this draft is 'really deep'.

Is it because there is no stand-up top pick, or no stand-up top few?

Or is it more of a case of you wanting it to be 'really deep' due to Richmond's circumstances.

Because from what I've seen, it's one of the lesser quality drafts of the past 3 to 4 years. (And I've seen a lot of the kids coming through over that time)

I trust Cal Twomeys opinion on this. He says it’s the strongest top 30 he’s ever seen but no standouts like a H Reid or anything.

Funny you mention my richmond bias. It shows the way you think and how you project. You can’t stand us so you want to believe this draft is trash.

 

[iameviljez]

How often does a team with a heap of picks nail every one of them?

So rarely that it’s famous when they do.

 

[Pistol Night]

So rarely that it’s famous when they do.

I know where you're going with this.

 

[Alex_au]

Been some interesting examples last few days of players leaving under Free Agency and how that's played out at BnFs.

Obviously these can be sensitive occasions and each players circumstance is different.

We've seen Barrass acknowledge this sensitivity but then use the ocassion at the Eagles BnF to acknowledge all the support he received at the club and the bonds he has formed with the playing group and in doing so, probably going a long way to ensuring an amicable departure.

Then we've seen St Kilda take a different approach and ban Battle from actually attending the awards night. They would have their reasons and possibly Battle may not have been upfront about his intentions. But even still in this day of Free Agency you wonder if clubs should try and acknowledge the contributions of all their employees.

And then at Richmond where the departing Baker and Bolton give underwhelming speeches at the Jack Dyer. I get not everyone is an orator but you'd think they'd sense the significance of the moment and at least make the effort to prepare a speech to show their appreciation for what the club has offered them.

At the end of the day, football clubs are organisations and players employees. How they handle departures is probably no better or worse than in some of the workplaces I've been at.

I personally would rather these issues occur after the season has concluded. Unlike when when there was a total communication breakdown between Gary Ablett and Bomber Thompson during a full AFL season, which effectively cost Geelong Cats the 2010 premiership, and ruined them from completing a dynasty.

Gary Ablett reveals total breakdown of relationship with former Geelong coach Mark Thompson

Ablett reveals Thompson feud

www.foxsports.com.au

 

[Fadge]

I trust Cal Twomeys opinion on this. He says it’s the strongest top 30 he’s ever seen but no standouts like a H Reid or anything.

Funny you mention my richmond bias. It shows the way you think and how you project. You can’t stand us so you want to believe this draft is trash.

Call Twomey follows it much closer than I do, so will defer to his opinion if that's what he said.

Just based on what I've seen I don't see as much quality as there has been in recent years, so don't envisage it being looked back on as some sort of super draft.

 

[Cdog71]

Because from what I've seen, it's one of the lesser quality drafts of the past 3 to 4 years. (And I've seen a lot of the kids coming through over that time)

The standard of talent coming through is diminishing is it?
Really?

 

[Fadge]

The standard of talent coming through is diminishing is it?
Really?

I'm not saying it's 'diminishing'.

Just that I don't expect we'll see the likes of a JHF/Darcy/Naicos/Callaghan/Andrew type result that we've seen from the 2021 draft (for example).

 

[Cdog71]

I'm not saying it's 'diminishing'.

Just that I don't expect we'll see the likes of a JHF/Darcy/Naicos/Callaghan/Andrew type result that we've seen from the 2021 draft (for example).

It’s something like .02% of teenage boys (14/15) that make it through to the AFL.
Those first three names might be part of the 10 most talented recruits of the last decade, to say you don’t think this draft will have that sortve of talent isn’t really sticking your neck out with an outrageous call.

High draft picks aren’t a guarantee of a great player, still better to have high draft picks than not though.

 

[iameviljez]

I personally would rather these issues occur after the season has concluded. Unlike when when there was a total communication breakdown between Gary Ablett and Bomber Thompson during a full AFL season, which effectively cost Geelong Cats the 2010 premiership, and ruined them from completing a dynasty.

Gary Ablett reveals total breakdown of relationship with former Geelong coach Mark Thompson

Ablett reveals Thompson feud

www.foxsports.com.au

IMO we weren’t winning 2010 no matter what. Collingwood were so, so good.

 

[iameviljez]

I know where you're going with this.

Even SJ, Kelly, Bartel and Ablett were laced with a side serve of Henry Playfair and Charlie Gardiner

 

[Pistol Night]

Even SJ, Kelly, Bartel and Ablett were laced with a side serve of Henry Playfair and Charlie Gardiner

11 flags, 2 Norm Smiths and 2 Brownlows is a reasonable draft night. Compare that to Carlton’s effort from 2000-2010.

 

[iameviljez]

I think BF nuffies like us have, but have you heard the rank and file booing at the ground because of some perceived slight? It still happens all the time.

BigFooty is more than capable of turning out the biggest morons in all the AFL.

 

[Lunchtime]

The B&F is a celebration and recognition of player achievements that year. Last time I checked, Battle was a St Kilda player for the 2024 season. Immature of the club to not allow him to attend an event dedicated to the 2024 season of which he was a part of.

St Kilda is a self destructive club.

 

[beside the seaside]

The spotlight on this sort of stuff is massive these days but it is really very meaningless.