Gaff - does he stay or go? Let me set the scene..

[Nuke Fremantle]

That would mean we’d have to trade him this year. At the end of 2020 he becomes an unrestricted free agent according to that article so we can’t even match

Absolutely. AFL is still pretty new to the kind of player movement we see in the USA or in the big soccer leagues but the lesson from overseas is never let a player run down their contract. It leaves the club in a vulnerable position.

He needs to re-commit at the end of this year or we ship him out to the Melbourne club offering the best deal.

 

[Happy Mastenator]

Absolutely. AFL is still pretty new to the kind of player movement we see in the USA or in the big soccer leagues but the lesson from overseas is never let a player run down their contract. It leaves the club in a vulnerable position.

He needs to re-commit at the end of this year or we ship him out to the Melbourne club offering the best deal.

Great in practice. Then you remember that in the AFL players have to agree to a trade and it’s not that simple to just shop him out to the club offering the best deal

 

[HoneyBadger35]

To be honest hes a type of player that can be replaces relatively easy

Nah. He’s integral to what makes us tick. His perpetual motion and ability to find space in a zone are part of the reason we move the footy so well.

Sure he doesn’t kick goals from 50 to bring the house down but plays just as big a part as anybody in our structure.

I think it’s foolish to assume you just get another good runner and stick them on the wing without much drop off.

 

[Nuke Fremantle]

Great in practice. Then you remember that in the AFL players have to agree to a trade and it’s not that simple to just shop him out to the club offering the best deal

Surely we've learnt something from the Judd scenario all those years ago?

 

[JDWCE]

Nah. He’s integral to what makes us tick. His perpetual motion and ability to find space in a zone are part of the reason we move the footy so well.

Sure he doesn’t kick goals from 50 to bring the house down but plays just as big a part as anybody in our structure.

I think it’s foolish to assume you just get another good runner and stick them on the wing without much drop off.

This is spot on. Lots of posters saying losing him won’t hurt us but the way I see it is he is integral to our ball movement despite not having as good a year as he had in 2018

 

[Godfather32]

This is spot on. Lots of posters saying losing him won’t hurt us but the way I see it is he is integral to our ball movement despite not having as good a year as he had in 2018

So if losing him would hurt and he won't commit to the club at the end of the year, then shouldn't we try offset the loss by maximising what we get back for him this off season rather than wait another year and get a late first round compo pick for him?

 

[Truckosaurus]

He's sticking around for another shot at a flag, if we get one with him this year we should look at trading him. West Coast get to maximise the return and Gaff gets to go home a year early.

 

[Truckosaurus]

And for bonus troll points: we trade him to a club that isn't North Melbourne.

 

[JDWCE]

So if losing him would hurt and he won't commit to the club at the end of the year, then shouldn't we try offset the loss by maximising what we get back for him this off season rather than wait another year and get a late first round compo pick for him?

Oh I’m not saying that we shouldn’t do that at all. I’m pointing out the fact that a lot of people think we can just get any average winger to replace him and it’s barely going to scrape the surface of hurting our side. When in reality it’s going to be a huge loss. So yes, if he wants to leave then we maximise our gain this summer and not next. But hopefully he doesn’t want to leave and we all go on and enjoy the threepeat with Gaff involved

 

[wce4premiership]

Nah. He’s integral to what makes us tick. His perpetual motion and ability to find space in a zone are part of the reason we move the footy so well.

Sure he doesn’t kick goals from 50 to bring the house down but plays just as big a part as anybody in our structure.

I think it’s foolish to assume you just get another good runner and stick them on the wing without much drop off.

Exactly this. He's a two times all australian wingman.

Basically the best outside runner in the game, not the quickest but he's one of the toughest. Gets crunched under high balls, sold into trouble, always sits in the hole in front of forwards.

Good intercept player, dominates the corridor and maybe Scully runs harder but Gaff runs smarter. After his first two games which were high possessions but average, he's really put together a solid season and his ball use is reliable. Gets taken for granted.

 

[WCErevival]

We went ok with out him at the end of last year.

 

[ziad]

Absolutely. AFL is still pretty new to the kind of player movement we see in the USA or in the big soccer leagues but the lesson from overseas is never let a player run down their contract. It leaves the club in a vulnerable position.

He needs to re-commit at the end of this year or we ship him out to the Melbourne club offering the best deal.

Sadly this has to be the case - he is too valuable to be let go for zip

 

[KERRPOW]

Nah. He’s integral to what makes us tick. His perpetual motion and ability to find space in a zone are part of the reason we move the footy so well.

Sure he doesn’t kick goals from 50 to bring the house down but plays just as big a part as anybody in our structure.

I think it’s foolish to assume you just get another good runner and stick them on the wing without much drop off.

I wouldnt say he is vital. Never said he was useless, hes the type of player thats easier to replace than a shuey or yeo.

 

[Kwality]

I wouldnt begrudge him if he did leave next year. To be honest hes a type of player that can be replaces relatively easy

Guess you'd point to the flag as proof of your point - surprising how a number of clubs didn't agree with your assessment, happy to put their money where their mouth is, perhaps you should give these clubs* a call & put them straight on how easy it is to get a wingman in the modern game.

* should call the Eagles too.

 

[KERRPOW]

Guess you'd point to the flag as proof of your point - surprising how a number of clubs didn't agree with your assessment, happy to put their money where their mouth is, perhaps you should give these clubs* a call & put them straight on how easy it is to get a wingman in the modern game.

* should call the Eagles too.

He's a quality winger, would hurt us in the short term if he left.

 

[Kwality]

Nah. He’s integral to what makes us tick. His perpetual motion and ability to find space in a zone are part of the reason we move the footy so well.

Sure he doesn’t kick goals from 50 to bring the house down but plays just as big a part as anybody in our structure.

I think it’s foolish to assume you just get another good runner and stick them on the wing without much drop off.

Masten has a few critics …. easy fix, hardly

 

[wce4premiership]

We went ok with out him at the end of last year.

I'd still argue we'd have done better with him.

The Melbourne prelim was the only game we really dominated after that derby.

They were laughably bad. It still brings me joy to think that some of their fans actually went and watched in federation square, those live crosses were so tragic.

 

[Turboman1994]

Shuey, Yeo, shred, reddo and gaff is such an even top 5 midfielders.

All of them can play inside or outside. Fantastic fitness records and great tanks. It’s a seamless midfield with great balance they compliment ea other very well

 

[Astro7]

Nah. He’s integral to what makes us tick. His perpetual motion and ability to find space in a zone are part of the reason we move the footy so well.

Sure he doesn’t kick goals from 50 to bring the house down but plays just as big a part as anybody in our structure.

I think it’s foolish to assume you just get another good runner and stick them on the wing without much drop off.

Yep, that was always my beef with him, that he's not an obvious impacter or prime-mover or big hitter like Shuey and Yeo - but he is a big influencer, he works in mysterious ways, a death by a thousand cuts player when he's on song and finds space. And he does snag the occasional goal or often sets one up.
It probably goes Shuey/Yeo, Gaff, Sheed, Redden? They all compliment each other, work differently yet have similar worth or value. He had some down weeks sure, pressured games/no space. It's not easy to replace Gaff and his skills.

 

[getgaff]

Gut feel is this will come up again. Especially if we were to win a flag.

My opinion is if we are going to allow him the opportunity than do it before RFA kicks in, obtain a high end draft pick in return and use that as part of the offer to Geelong for Kelly.

I don't see us having any players that we can appease Geelong with, the other mob who shall not be named however do.

 

[Art OF war]

Gut feel is this will come up again. Especially if we were to win a flag.

My opinion is if we are going to allow him the opportunity than do it before RFA kicks in, obtain a high end draft pick in return and use that as part of the offer to Geelong for Kelly.

I don't see us having any players that we can appease Geelong with, the other mob who shall not be named however do.

Weak user name to post content

 

[Forward Press]

Gut feel is this will come up again. Especially if we were to win a flag.

My opinion is if we are going to allow him the opportunity than do it before RFA kicks in, obtain a high end draft pick in return and use that as part of the offer to Geelong for Kelly.

I don't see us having any players that we can appease Geelong with, the other mob who shall not be named however do.

They Who Must Not Be Named can win trade week.

We can win flags.

 

[Chris_6678]

We are in a win/win situation with Gaff.

We won a flag without one of our best players in Gaff and then he signs on where quite possibly we could go back to back with his inclusion. If he were to leave early we could extract two first rounders for a contracted star which helps us get Kelly but also allows us to draft some young talent. Or he stays and can still get Kelly and still have Gaff for the next few years......So a win/win.

I am torn in that i think if he were to leave this year we might be able to get two first rounders for him which will be great for the future as we need 1st rounders to get some more mids into the the team. And on the other hand he is talented and would be great for him to be our first 300 gamer.

 

[Coasters7]

Don’t think I’d be happy if we were effectively swapping Kelly for Gaff. He’s the best pure wingman in the league and we’d be straight swapping him for someone we need less. Love Kelly and want him playing in the wings next year.. but something wouldn’t sit right if we lost Gaff and only got Kelly in return.

 

[avishka5]

Shuey, Yeo, shred, reddo and gaff is such an even top 5 midfielders.

All of them can play inside or outside. Fantastic fitness records and great tanks. It’s a seamless midfield with great balance they compliment ea other very well

That flexibility is why we have been good for the last 2 years. It not only suits our game style but makes up for no real gun ruckman as well. On paper not the greatest midfield group but it gets the job done.