Recommitted Max Holmes [re-signed with Geelong through 2028]

[The hands of stone]

He won't be going anywhere . A few guys will get a tap on the shoulder to make the space to keep him.
Number 1 priority for the Cats

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

He won't be going anywhere . A few guys will get a tap on the shoulder to make the space to keep him.
Number 1 priority for the Cats

100% - As long as we sign Holmes, I'm really not fussed about who else we may pick-up at this stage, or even if we pick up anyone. Plenty of players who should be getting the tap on the shoulder regardless.

It's re-sign Holmes and get some cheap, mature ruck support for Conway for me (putting Stanley out to pasture) at this stage.

 

[foxdog50]

Pick 10 ish

To us as a club, his worth alot more than that... BUT I'd say pick 10 is about rite

 

[dazbroncos]

Pay the bloke.
Pay him now.

Not stupidly... but pay him well.

GO Catters

 

[Hamingja]

It's re-sign Holmes and get some cheap, mature ruck support for Conway for me (putting Stanley out to pasture) at this stage.

I would be doing everything possible to get Stanley to play one more to support Conway.

Cheap, mature ruck support is Ceglar, Darcy Fort etc. No back up ruck with upside at another club is going to look at Conway and think Geelong is a long term opportunity for them. That sort of ruck will go to one of the other 3-4 clubs where they could walk in unchallenged. We'd be left scraping the barrel for the professional back up ruckman that is happy to just have a contract anywhere.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

I would be doing everything possible to get Stanley to play one more to support Conway.

Cheap, mature ruck support is Ceglar, Darcy Fort etc. No back up ruck with upside at another club is going to look at Conway and think Geelong is a long term opportunity for them. That sort of ruck will go to one of the other 3-4 clubs where they could walk in unchallenged. We'd be left scraping the barrel for the professional back up ruckman that is happy to just have a contract anywhere.

I agree but i doubt stanley is interested in playing on if conway becomes the no1 i think he would rather retire to his farm. So i think we will need to bring in a cheap backup ruck.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

I agree but i doubt stanley is interested in playing on if conway becomes the no1 i think he would rather retire to his farm. So i think we will need to bring in a cheap backup ruck.

I have a strong suspicion we just field whatever we can if Conway isn't out there and try make up ground elsewhere. We've never valued rucks before, and state leaguers aren't going to be much better than Neale-Blitz

 

[Art Vandelay_]

Yep, Ollie Henry is a prime example of that. Homesick living 1 hour up the road... Joe Daniher drives from bloody Noosa each week for training. Would only be fair for the Cats to get stiffed a few times back for that con.

Geelong had him pull out the home sick card to try and garner sympathy but every person who follows footy knew it was an absolute crock of s**t.

This site really does allow stupidity to fester, not having a go at you per se, you're just another that's read the same stuff as everyone else. Yes he came home but this notion he's a glorified mummy's boy and that's why is nonsense.

Some people just have different priorities and personal traits. Some on this planet can up and leave home at 18 and work halfway across the world. Others love the proximity to family.

I could work and live in Melbourne and earn more than I do where I am, I could stay here and commute to Melbourne for the larger $$$, but I don't. COVID taught me a valuable lesson in lockdown.

Family and friends are #1. Money comes and goes, colleagues come and go, but friends and family are forever.

How does that relate to Ollie? Met him with his granddad during Jack's first season on the list. Granddad was just a nervous wreck hoping Jack would be retained. Ollie wanted nothing more than to play with his brother. By twist of fate my current job has his granddad as a regular customer these days and that was the reason he left he says. He wanted to play with Jack.

He was no F/S gift or highly prized first rounder, he was a rookie pick. Had another club taken the punt on Jack then Ollie probably asks Collingwood to be traded there instead.

 

[The_Todd07]

If he wants 4 years at $800k, get a contract in front of him right now.

We don't blow up our pay structure and it's not a nonsense 7+ year deal.

 

[Warhorse]

So you'd be expecting a top 5 pick for a half back who pinch hits on ball a few times a quarter?

Don't get me wrong, Holmes has some amazing traits as a player but sometimes those shifts in roles don't work out. Andy McGrath playing tonight excelled having stints on ball after playing primarily half back early days and now he's back to playing as a very good half backer after they realized he just wasn't suited to being a full time mid.

Holmes is what he is for the time being and would be valued as such, Adam Cerra was a much more proven midfield prospect with similar output at the same age and was traded for Pick 6.

Pick 10 is about right.

I agree with this - he is a better prospect than Cerra was when he was traded purely due to his athletic traits though. He has shown that he can play to a near AA level on the wing and now is showing he can do it on the back flank. The question mark is on whether he wins enough contested ball to become a full time midfielder. And for that reason pick 10 would likely be the highest Geelong would get.

 

[FootyLad0]

If he wants 4 years at $800k, get a contract in front of him right now.

We don't blow up our pay structure and it's not a nonsense 7+ year deal.

BigFooty gonna be BIGMAD. Another Cat wanting to stay on a team incentivised deal.
Wells/Mackie does it AGAIN

 

[STPer18]

Sounds like we're just telling the boy to hold on while we find some nice land somewhere. Ocean view preferable.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

This site really does allow stupidity to fester, not having a go at you per se, you're just another that's read the same stuff as everyone else. Yes he came home but this notion he's a glorified mummy's boy and that's why is nonsense.

Some people just have different priorities and personal traits. Some on this planet can up and leave home at 18 and work halfway across the world. Others love the proximity to family.

I could work and live in Melbourne and earn more than I do where I am, I could stay here and commute to Melbourne for the larger $$$, but I don't. COVID taught me a valuable lesson in lockdown.

Family and friends are #1. Money comes and goes, colleagues come and go, but friends and family are forever.

How does that relate to Ollie? Met him with his granddad during Jack's first season on the list. Granddad was just a nervous wreck hoping Jack would be retained. Ollie wanted nothing more than to play with his brother. By twist of fate my current job has his granddad as a regular customer these days and that was the reason he left he says. He wanted to play with Jack.

He was no F/S gift or highly prized first rounder, he was a rookie pick. Had another club taken the punt on Jack then Ollie probably asks Collingwood to be traded there instead.

I look at it even more simply that this idea that anyone wanting to leave their club is a "mummy's boy" or a "mercenary", but then in the next breath, the same people are generally talking about the targets that they want to lure away from their current clubs. It's ridiculous.

It's a two-way street and the same goes for loyalty between the club and players who are questionable to receive a contract renewal. From an outsider's perspective, my/our club has made some contract decisions that have seemed pretty brutal over Chris Scott's tenure: old and young players. That's a part of the job. If you're going to end players' AFL dreams literally every year, you can't really get too heartbroken by a player wanting out, can you? I'd be kidding myself to think that if Holmes was underperforming, or couldn't get out of the rehab group, that the club wouldn't be quick to make a "business decision" with him, regardless of how good a bloke he is.

All you can do is treat the players that come into your club with respect as human beings for the time that they are an employee and hopefully beyond that. I strongly feel that the AFL clubs that do this are paid back by players looking to them as potential destination clubs. And I think it's something that Geelong must do quite well behind the scenes.

I can think of quite a few players whom Geelong seemed to give the chop maybe a year or two before their time, club champions in some cases. And yet, I've never heard a former player publicly criticise Chris Scott, even to the extent of the relatively mild criticism that Ginnivan recently made of his departure at Collingwood and how it was handled. I was waiting for it with Chappy and Stevie J's books... but nothing there. It's something that has undoubtedly helped Scott to be as successful as he is, and potentially a red flag for a coach like McRae, relatively early in his career.

 

[adammania9]

He was never homesick, he left to play with his brother and he was always going to.

I can understand why Pies supporters would be pissed...but the reality is we all saw this coming.

We had posters on our board who know the Henry family, and prior to the draft they were telling us that no matter where he ended up, he'd be back at Geelong in short order, or wherever Jack was playing.

If randoms on the internet have access to that kinda info, but the Pies recruiters can't sniff it out...then they've only got themselves to blame.

Not really. Ollie was considered by plenty to be top 10 quality in his draft. Should he have been left to rot to the rookie draft since he was only ever going to end up playing for Geelong?

Dozens of kids are considered to be flight risks when they're 18 - and why wouldn't they? They've lived at home with mum and dad their whole lives. Plenty of them mature when they become independent and their motivations change. Collingwood has a strong retention culture and rarely do they lose players they want to keep. They had every reason to take a punt that he'd be alright with playing and living up the freeway from his family.

 

[fpm84]

Not really. Ollie was considered by plenty to be top 10 quality in his draft. Should he have been left to rot to the rookie draft since he was only ever going to end up playing for Geelong?

Dozens of kids are considered to be flight risks when they're 18 - and why wouldn't they? They've lived at home with mum and dad their whole lives. Plenty of them mature when they become independent and their motivations change. Collingwood has a strong retention culture and rarely do they lose players they want to keep. They had every reason to take a punt that he'd be alright with playing and living up the freeway from his family.

As other Cats fans have pointed out, it was not 'living up the freeway' that was the issue with Ollie. The Henry family were/are absolute diehard Geelong supporters, the brothers grew up around 300m from Kardinia Park and used to go to watch training sessions after school when they were kids. Ollie saw his big brother live out their childhood dream by being drafted to the club he was in love with (and then win a flag to boot). Him wanting to play for the same club, with his brother, is absolutely not an unreasonable goal.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

BigFooty gonna be BIGMAD. Another Cat wanting to stay on a team incentivised deal.
Wells/Mackie does it AGAIN

They know what they're doing.

 

[Kobe Gryant]

Not really. Ollie was considered by plenty to be top 10 quality in his draft. Should he have been left to rot to the rookie draft since he was only ever going to end up playing for Geelong?

Dozens of kids are considered to be flight risks when they're 18 - and why wouldn't they? They've lived at home with mum and dad their whole lives. Plenty of them mature when they become independent and their motivations change. Collingwood has a strong retention culture and rarely do they lose players they want to keep. They had every reason to take a punt that he'd be alright with playing and living up the freeway from his family.

It's not that you shouldn't have picked him, it's the "How on earth could this happen?!?" rubbish that corresponded with his departure.

Anybody with a hint of knowledge of the situation knew how it was going to go years out.

I'm similar to Art Vandelay_, I'm not from Geelong, but a lot of my family are and they've known the Henry family over the journey too.

If we (and many others) knew about it, Collingwood should have...and they either shouldn't have picked him, or picked him while knowing he was basically a rental.

It's particularly ironic when half your side is from other clubs too. Pot/kettle and all that.

We're not perfect, but we didn't even boo the likes of Caddy & Kelly, much less abuse them on social media by the dozen.

 

[adammania9]

It's not that you shouldn't have picked him, it's the "How on earth could this happen?!?" rubbish that corresponded with his departure.

Anybody with a hint of knowledge of the situation knew how it was going to go years out.

I'm similar to Art Vandelay_, I'm not from Geelong, but a lot of my family are and they've known the Henry family over the journey too.

If we (and many others) knew about it, Collingwood should have...and they either shouldn't have picked him, or picked him while knowing he was basically a rental.

It's particularly ironic when half your side is from other clubs too. Pot/kettle and all that.

We're not perfect, but we didn't even boo the likes of Caddy & Kelly, much less abuse them on social media by the dozen.

Did that actually happen or are you just sensationalising in your head? The Magpies weren't happy with what was offered, hence why the deal dragged out. The club were quietly resigned by the back end of the season that he wasn't going to stay, and interest moved toward what the best deal the club could get for him was.

The reason you're so cocky that is played out the way it did, is because it did. There was a good chance as I stated that he could have matured and bought into a future at Collingwood or any other club he was drafted to. You're saying it was a dumb waste of time for any club not named Geelong to take him.

Comparing his to the Caddy and Kelly departures is comical

 

[adammania9]

As other Cats fans have pointed out, it was not 'living up the freeway' that was the issue with Ollie. The Henry family were/are absolute diehard Geelong supporters, the brothers grew up around 300m from Kardinia Park and used to go to watch training sessions after school when they were kids. Ollie saw his big brother live out their childhood dream by being drafted to the club he was in love with (and then win a flag to boot). Him wanting to play for the same club, with his brother, is absolutely not an unreasonable goal.

He will go down as an outlier to have actually been drafted and followed through with his teenage goal. The Magpies shouldn't be laughed at for drafting a supremely talented kid in the hope he'd settle down in Melbourne.

 

[FootyLad0]

We're not perfect, but we didn't even boo the likes of Caddy & Kelly, much less abuse them on social media by the dozen.

This, Tim Kelly is basically still beloved by Cats fans.
Ablett got standing ovations playing for the Suns.
Linc McCarthy is still well liked by many Cats fans, think he even rents out housing in Geelong to VFl talent and young Cats players.
We gained Caddy from GC and lost him shortly after so no hard feelings

All went on to have similar or better careers outside of Geelong. Maybe we just value players differently?

 

[adammania9]

This, Tim Kelly is basically still beloved by Cats fans.
Ablett got standing ovations playing for the Suns.
Linc McCarthy is still well liked by many Cats fans, think he even rents out housing in Geelong to VFl talent and young Cats players.
We gained Caddy from GC and lost him shortly after so no hard feelings

All went on to have similar or better careers outside of Geelong. Maybe we just value players differently?

Tim Kelly with three children, two with autism moving to his home state to be with family? Yeah I'd expect that from you lot. Not exactly a flex, is it?

 

[Pure_Ownage]

I have a strong suspicion we just field whatever we can if Conway isn't out there and try make up ground elsewhere. We've never valued rucks before, and state leaguers aren't going to be much better than Neale-Blitz

I dont think so. While we clearly like a certain ruck type (not a dinosaur) numerically weve often had 4 or 5 rucks on the list.
In 25 we will have only 3 (assuming no stanley) and 2 of those will be 34 yo blitz and 19yo edwards who is injured and not physically ready yet.
That plus conway will need help to manage his workload spells trouble.
The only reason we wouldnt get another ruck is if we are planning to make neale a frontline ruck but id suggest with this likely hawk's last year we will use neale as a kpf and bring in a ruck.
After all its harder and more costly to get good kpfs you can often get decent rucks cheap so if neale shows promise it makes more sense to keep him at FF.

We wont overspend on a ruck it will be a cheap late pick trade or an SSP type signing (think what we did with fort and abbott as late picks) but we will bring in someone.

 

[Tandy]

So just hearing this morning after not really following this, that geelong have said they want to park the offer/discussion of a 4 year deal. I'd be dirty if I was Holmes and have agreed to it all in principle. He's probably a better person than me but if he has a ripper year and gets other offers I'd go. Geelong usually know what they're doing but imo it's a mistake and he's gonna walk

 

[Ticky009]

That's enough of the trolling and off topic posts please.

Anything further and we'll be handing out thread bans.

 

[FootyLad0]

So just hearing this morning after not really following this, that geelong have said they want to park the offer/discussion of a 4 year deal. I'd be dirty if I was Holmes and have agreed to it all in principle. He's probably a better person than me but if he has a ripper year and gets other offers I'd go. Geelong usually know what they're doing but imo it's a mistake and he's gonna walk

Cmon mate you think that Tom Morris has the inside scoop on Geelong and Max Holmes deal?

I’d say they are just working out the deal and anything outside of that is conjecture and bluster.

No need to throw the toys out of the cot. He’s not leaving and this will get done soon.