Rumour Neale-y premiership time! (was: Neale before the Lions!)

[Gadzorks]

So freo played the long con just to get back at Lachie? Are they that kind of club? I can see the "mean girls" bombers and pies doing that but dorky wallflower freo??

Yeah, far fetched but I'm bored with too much time today looking at a black wall. Imagination running away. Bell isn't that smart ,,,

 

[Lionwest]

When casting our minds back to trades from previous season I believe the big difference is where the respective clubs were at;
> Gibbs & Crows - Played in the GF that year
> Beams & Pies - As above
> Cameron & Cats - Perennial finals team clearly in a win NOW mode.
> Shiels & Bombers - for mine this is the outlier, Shiels at the time of the trade I think was 26, so a tad younger than what Lachie is at present.

At the time of trade week most of the above would have felt they were very close to winning a flag. Freo are reasonably placed, being in the finals hunt right up to the end. Heck we rocketed up from the bottom four when we added Lachie (amongst others). Whilst Freo could plausibly believe the addition of Lachie could elevate them enough to be a top 6 team, do they have enough on the list for a long term tilt at a flag...lets hope so.

In light of that I'm bracing myself for a less compensation on the trade out (I do hope I'm wrong).

 

[dlanod]

Edit: The group was very supportive of Beams when he left. At least on the surface anyway.

Several of the guys caught up with him in Melbourne thereafter from what I recall of Instagram updates posted on here.

 

[jonnobackpocket]

Geez chill dude - I've I loved Fitzroy. Ron Alexander came over here and captain/coached East Freo. Still the best jumper in footy.

Would be all the more reason not to post that I would have thought.

 

[pulpdriver]

Hard to see how this can end any way other than him leaving though.

Same was said about Tim Kelly, Tom Papley and Josh Dunkley all very recently. They all played very well the year after their trade requests fell through.

 

[JasRulz63]

Only ~6 weeks away (pending off-seasons dates being released) until we get a final resolution to this

 

[Flea_29]

Interesting aspect of this is the talk it is Freo as his club of choice.
Personally, I don't care that he played at Freo or that he doesn't fit WCE's age profile or salary cap BUT when he announces that he wants to get traded he better bloody say 'to a WA club'. As Ben Dixon

Ben Dixon

Age

47

Ht

188cm

Wt

90kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

10.8

3star

K

7.5

3star

HB

3.2

3star

M

4.2

4star

T

1.4

3star

G

1.4

5star

No current season stats available

D

10.4

3star

K

7.6

3star

HB

2.8

3star

M

4.8

5star

T

0.8

3star

G

2.4

5star

said, if its for family reasons then it doesn't matter what club it is.
Then its up to the Eagles to not get involved in trade discussions.
Who is to say that the Eagles aren't looking at their team, players and game style - they may look to move certain players, which opens up lists spots and salary.

 

[Tom14]

Interesting aspect of this is the talk it is Freo as his club of choice.
Personally, I don't care that he played at Freo or that he doesn't fit WCE's age profile or salary cap BUT when he announces that he wants to get traded he better bloody say 'to a WA club'. As Ben Dixon said, if its for family reasons then it doesn't matter what club it is.
Then its up to the Eagles to not get involved in trade discussions.
Who is to say that the Eagles aren't looking at their team, players and game style - they may look to move certain players, which opens up lists spots and salary.

It's obvious though, the Eagles won't have the draft picks to compensate us properly, and are tight on the cap unless something significant happens.

 

[LIONS08]

I think he stays

 

[trikster]

Mitch Cleary reckons we have paid 70% of the contract already. Definitely not ideal from saving cap space perspective but could help get a better deal perhaps?

Browny on On The Couch last night said the "front loaded" part is being over played and it wasn't that much of a difference pear to year ... so NFI who to believe

 

[Warwick]

Interesting aspect of this is the talk it is Freo as his club of choice.
Personally, I don't care that he played at Freo or that he doesn't fit WCE's age profile or salary cap BUT when he announces that he wants to get traded he better bloody say 'to a WA club'. As Ben Dixon said, if its for family reasons then it doesn't matter what club it is.
Then its up to the Eagles to not get involved in trade discussions.
Who is to say that the Eagles aren't looking at their team, players and game style - they may look to move certain players, which opens up lists spots and salary.

They have zero cap space and no decent picks. Won’t change anything if they get added to the list. Would be completely different if it was the other way round.

Let’s just be happy that it’s Freo and not West Coast.

 

[twhowler]

You make a good point but getting those young mids here is more easily said than done. One of the reasons I quite like the idea of Parker is that we would not need to give up any picks to get him and he is actually very good forward of the ball. Him going forward at times will allow Rayner to play midfield time next year which I think could be transformative for the midfield. It also would work in nicely when Ashcroft comes in next year who is shaping as one of the top 2 in next year's draft. Parker is not quick but his defensive run is reasonable and his leadership is also well regarded.

Not giving up picks also allows us the scope to bring in multiple young players and develop them. Our current picks are in the range of the Port picks from a couple of years ago and as they showed if you can nail multiple picks in that range then it can change the dynamic of your team. It also should help improve that bottom 5 of the starting 5 and our depth which is a bit of a need.

So going with Parker as a medium term option might hopefully allow us to have our cake and eat it to.

I completely agree the mix is wrong. I think Neale and Lyons are deceptively similar. I’m just just not sure we need anyone new. Add Rayner and Starce next year to Lyons, Zorko, Bailey, Berry, Robertson, Robinson, McCluggage. That’s 9 players and a good blend of pace and size. Perhaps slightly inexperienced, but if we bring in someone senior then Robertson probably doesn’t develop. I’d get games into those 9. They can win a flag.

 

[Warwick]

I think he stays

Nope.

Knew it was a shit bloke move not to contact the club before being asked in for a meeting.

That weak “we’ll think about it some more” before letting us know was just his way of saving some face. Would have been a horrendous look if he outwardly confirmed the rumours then and there.

He’s clearly gone.

 

[LIONS08]

Michael Barlow saying he hopes freo only gives up a second round pick for him how many head knocks did that bloke cop

 

[pulpdriver]

Nope.

Knew it was a sh*t bloke move not to contact the club before being asked in for a meeting.

That weak “we’ll think about it some more” before letting us know was just his way of saving some face. Would have been a horrendous look if he outwardly confirmed the rumours then and there.

He’s clearly gone.

Definitely has handled it very poorly but if we can't get value I think he'll have to buck up and get comfortable for another 12 months minimum. We can say, 'we did what we could, we'll support you and Jules as much as possible next year and work through it with you all the way and then next year we'll see if we can get something done'. He still has a contract and even if in a few days he decides he wants a trade if we can't manufacture a reasonable one then we're within our rights to hold him to his contract.

 

[LIONS08]

Nope.

Knew it was a sh*t bloke move not to contact the club before being asked in for a meeting.

That weak “we’ll think about it some more” before letting us know was just his way of saving some face. Would have been a horrendous look if he outwardly confirmed the rumours then and there.

He’s clearly gone.

Depends who you listen to. I think they are just very worried about family and the baby. Lach and Jules both love brissy and the club. To the point that Lachie even said in the meeting yesterday that he won’t be requesting a trade by all reports. Be careful of the media this time of year.

 

[T Rick]

Interesting aspect of this is the talk it is Freo as his club of choice.
Personally, I don't care that he played at Freo or that he doesn't fit WCE's age profile or salary cap BUT when he announces that he wants to get traded he better bloody say 'to a WA club'. As Ben Dixon said, if its for family reasons then it doesn't matter what club it is.
Then its up to the Eagles to not get involved in trade discussions.
Who is to say that the Eagles aren't looking at their team, players and game style - they may look to move certain players, which opens up lists spots and salary.

Wasn't Kelly's move back to WA also family/wife related but only to WCE - he was selective and never entertained Freo?

 

[pulpdriver]

Wasn't Kelly's move back to WA also family/wife related but only to WCE - he was selective and never entertained Freo?

Pretty sure he has at least two special needs children and his wife was raising them alone in Perth while he saw out his contract in Victoria and yeah, his manager said both years he was looking out that Kelly would only go to West Coast.

 

[lioninthesand]

Several of the guys caught up with him in Melbourne thereafter from what I recall of Instagram updates posted on here.

Not anymore. Routinely belittles and slams the club on social media inboxes to fans.

I've seen screen shots of him bragging about 'rorting the joint', 'taking the piss up there', that he single handedly 'saved that joint', 'fages is an old **** head who couldn't coach under 15's' and thanking members for all his 'front loaded money'.

I spoke to a senior player and he said that players are aware of this behaviour and that all young players had cut ties with him.

Which is great. I loved Dayne up here but he has lost the plot these days, person of poor character- its sad to see.

 

[Warwick]

Depends who you listen to. I think they are just very worried about family and the baby. Lach and Jules both love brissy and the club. To the point that Lachie even said in the meeting yesterday that he won’t be requesting a trade by all reports. Be careful of the media this time of year.

Understand that he didn’t immediately request a trade - again, that would have looked terrible and I think he knew that.

But who is saying he actually said he wouldn’t be asking for one?? In that case why wouldn’t he just come out himself and say that?

Im not too fussed because it could honestly set us up in a major way provided we get a stop gap as a free agent or cheap trade. And take the pick bounty.

But this is all pointing to him coming out pretty much immediately after the club champs.

 

[Warwick]

Not anymore. Routinely belittles and slams the club on social media inboxes to fans.

I've seen screen shots of him bragging about 'rorting the joint', 'taking the piss up there', that he single handedly 'saved that joint', 'fages is an old **** head who couldn't coach under 15's' and thanking members for all his 'front loaded money'.

I spoke to a senior player and he said that players are aware of this behaviour and that all young players had cut ties with him.

Which is great. I loved Dayne up here but he has lost the plot these days, person of poor character- its sad to see.

That fat bastard.

 

[fpm84]

Wasn't Kelly's move back to WA also family/wife related but only to WCE - he was selective and never entertained Freo?

TK's trade request was to do with returning to his / his wife's support network in Perth particularly as they have two young children with autism. Perfectly understandable and you would be hard pressed to find a Geelong supporter who doesn't wish him well (it helps that we turned the picks we got for him into Jeremy Cameron).

But yes, during his failed trade attempt in 2018 and his eventual trade in 2019, he was only willing to consider WCE and would not even meet with Fremantle let alone consider them.

 

[Midnite65]

Interesting aspect of this is the talk it is Freo as his club of choice.
Personally, I don't care that he played at Freo or that he doesn't fit WCE's age profile or salary cap BUT when he announces that he wants to get traded he better bloody say 'to a WA club'. As Ben Dixon said, if its for family reasons then it doesn't matter what club it is.
Then its up to the Eagles to not get involved in trade discussions.
Who is to say that the Eagles aren't looking at their team, players and game style - they may look to move certain players, which opens up lists spots and salary.

Its Freo or the Lions, WC have vowed not to bring in a big name due to them having to take pay cuts.

 

[briztoon]

At the moment Freo only hold picks 8 & 27...not enough currency there to entertain trading in Neale...They need a minimum of 3 for the draft...They will need to be be creative and off load players with a bit of currency...

No they don’t.

They can upgrade a rookie listed player just like us, if they’re only going to make three list changes.

They also have some decent nga kids in the second half of the draft they’ll get for peanuts. They don’t need to trade for later picks, because as I’ve explained elsewhere, their very late picks will come in rather significantly when other teams finalise their lists ahead of the draft.

They don’t need to off load any players with a bit of currency either. I believe they have delisted or re-signed all their players already, except one.

 

[PillyBilgrim]

I have a feeling (no solid info sorry) that Cerra will nominate the Dees when they're done with their Finals campaign.

Strange to me that he hasn't nominated the Blues/Richmond or any Vic team yet if that's where he wanted to go, and his manager surely would not have given him advice to say he won't be resigning and ask for a trade without a destination/contract lined up already.
Not sure how the Dees get that done (maybe a swap with Brayshaw to get the brothers together?) but I think 6 stays at Carlton.

I would guess 8 and and 2nd round pick for Neale.