- Oct 9, 2003
- 15,667
- 830
- AFL Club
- Essendon
- Other Teams
- Bolton,Clippers,Falcons,Mariners
Robbo, I know you read Big Footy so maybe its time for a few home truths.
Your recent articles on Essendon have been extremely misleading and a great example of tabloid journalism at its best. Its a pity because I used to really rate you as a football writer but you have now completely lost me.
Your May 13 article was just a case of stating the obvious and dressing it up as something else. Every man and his dog knew that Johnson and Peverill would only get a game this year as a last resort. Why this situation all of a sudden became back page news in the middle of the season is beyond me ? I know you guys have nothing to write about this week because there were no games last week but please - give the readers some credit.
Your article today is even worse and indicates to me that you just don't understand how a football list works. Since you continually compare Essendon to Hawthorn (I don't know why) lets clear up a few things. Yes, Hay, Thompson, Everitt and Lonie were traded for picks 18, 26, 33 and 14 over a couple of seasons. However what did those picks actually yield ? Birchall (great trade), Matt Little (since delisted), Max Bailey (injured and non contributor to Hawthorns current form) and Jarryd Morton (non contributor). Why is this never mentioned ? There seems to be this big urban myth out there that Hawthorn embarked on this massive youth policy when in fact its their first round picks (Hodge, Lewis, Ellis Franklin, Roughead and Birchall) along with rookies (Mitchell, Taylor & Sewell) and then a sprinkling of older players (Croad, Crawford).
Those first round picks were gathered by continual failure over a period of time and lucking out by getting to deal with Fremantle to land Hodge. Clubs have generally learnt their lesson and will not trade first round picks so trying to repeat what Hawthorn did is near on impossible. Perhaps you would like to inform your readers of Hawthorns 2nd and 3rd round picks over the past 4 seasons. You wont though as that would dispel the myth.
Now you also mentioned trading Lucas or Stanton for a first round pick. Frankly I have never heard anything so ridiculous. No club is going to give us a top 5 pick for either player. We are now in 2008 not 2001 and in this youth obsessed football market any club president who traded pick 5 for Lucas with 2 years left would be swiftly booted out by its members. You also mentioned that Lucas is a family man with 3 kids of school and pre school age and then in the next breath mention that he could move to Sydney. Robbo, why would a family man want to uproot his family interstate for two seasons of football ????
Stanton would give us a pick in the teens at best and on that basis muct be kept. I don't know what planet you are living on thinking he would get a top 5 pick.
You mentioned a few others and this is what they would get for trade. I'm being optimistic too.
Winderlich - mid teens to mid twenties
Welsh - early 3rd rounder
Laycock - mid teens to mid twenties
Monfries - 3rd rounder (at best)
Dyson - 3rd rounder (at best)
McPhee - mid teens to mid twenties
Lovett Murray - early 3rd rounder
You also fail to mention the salary cap in all of this. You should know that a club is obliged to pay at least 92% of its salary cap. If we traded or delisted all the above players that would leave us well below this amount or are you suggesting we pay Courtney Johns $200000 a year to cover this ?
Just one more thing. Essendon have had the most top 20 picks (along with Carlton) over the past three seasons. But I guess that isn't rebuilding and doesn't sell any papers....
Congratulations. You managed to get talkback radio going yesterday. It was based on absoloutly nothing but in this day and age of supposed journalism I am not surprised at all.
Your recent articles on Essendon have been extremely misleading and a great example of tabloid journalism at its best. Its a pity because I used to really rate you as a football writer but you have now completely lost me.
Your May 13 article was just a case of stating the obvious and dressing it up as something else. Every man and his dog knew that Johnson and Peverill would only get a game this year as a last resort. Why this situation all of a sudden became back page news in the middle of the season is beyond me ? I know you guys have nothing to write about this week because there were no games last week but please - give the readers some credit.
Your article today is even worse and indicates to me that you just don't understand how a football list works. Since you continually compare Essendon to Hawthorn (I don't know why) lets clear up a few things. Yes, Hay, Thompson, Everitt and Lonie were traded for picks 18, 26, 33 and 14 over a couple of seasons. However what did those picks actually yield ? Birchall (great trade), Matt Little (since delisted), Max Bailey (injured and non contributor to Hawthorns current form) and Jarryd Morton (non contributor). Why is this never mentioned ? There seems to be this big urban myth out there that Hawthorn embarked on this massive youth policy when in fact its their first round picks (Hodge, Lewis, Ellis Franklin, Roughead and Birchall) along with rookies (Mitchell, Taylor & Sewell) and then a sprinkling of older players (Croad, Crawford).
Those first round picks were gathered by continual failure over a period of time and lucking out by getting to deal with Fremantle to land Hodge. Clubs have generally learnt their lesson and will not trade first round picks so trying to repeat what Hawthorn did is near on impossible. Perhaps you would like to inform your readers of Hawthorns 2nd and 3rd round picks over the past 4 seasons. You wont though as that would dispel the myth.
Now you also mentioned trading Lucas or Stanton for a first round pick. Frankly I have never heard anything so ridiculous. No club is going to give us a top 5 pick for either player. We are now in 2008 not 2001 and in this youth obsessed football market any club president who traded pick 5 for Lucas with 2 years left would be swiftly booted out by its members. You also mentioned that Lucas is a family man with 3 kids of school and pre school age and then in the next breath mention that he could move to Sydney. Robbo, why would a family man want to uproot his family interstate for two seasons of football ????
Stanton would give us a pick in the teens at best and on that basis muct be kept. I don't know what planet you are living on thinking he would get a top 5 pick.
You mentioned a few others and this is what they would get for trade. I'm being optimistic too.
Winderlich - mid teens to mid twenties
Welsh - early 3rd rounder
Laycock - mid teens to mid twenties
Monfries - 3rd rounder (at best)
Dyson - 3rd rounder (at best)
McPhee - mid teens to mid twenties
Lovett Murray - early 3rd rounder
You also fail to mention the salary cap in all of this. You should know that a club is obliged to pay at least 92% of its salary cap. If we traded or delisted all the above players that would leave us well below this amount or are you suggesting we pay Courtney Johns $200000 a year to cover this ?
Just one more thing. Essendon have had the most top 20 picks (along with Carlton) over the past three seasons. But I guess that isn't rebuilding and doesn't sell any papers....
Congratulations. You managed to get talkback radio going yesterday. It was based on absoloutly nothing but in this day and age of supposed journalism I am not surprised at all.