Welcome Welcome to Hawthorn, Chad Wingard. 200 games! Announces retirement (2 Sept 2024)

[cryptor]

Any concept about paying him a good wage because it's the right thing to do seems weird to me personally.

He has been clocking $750k+ for the last 5 years from the Hawks and we probably only got $750k level footy in maybe 2 years out of those 5 (and that's being generous).

It's not his fault we overpaid him but neither is it the clubs fault he is constantly getting injured. Life's just like that sometimes.

We had Ricky Henderson come to the club for absolutely peanuts and I'd argue we got more output from Hendo in those three years he was tearing up and down the wing than we got in five years from Chad who cost us an arm and a leg both in trades and $$$.

We need to be like a share trader and cut out losses. No point doubling down again on a losing trade.

I'm not meaning to make this sound harsh but since when have the Hawks ever been prone to emotion in list management? I'd argue we have been one of the most pragmatic in this space for a while now (look what we did with Lewis, Mitchell (x2) and Hodgey).

Even if he hadn't got this injury he would've almost certainly been looking at a considerable pay-cut compared to his last deal.

 

[Flag08]

Any concept about paying him a good wage because it's the right thing to do seems weird to me personally.

He has been clocking $750k+ for the last 5 years from the Hawks and we probably only got $750k level footy in maybe 2 years out of those 5 (and that's being generous).

It's not his fault we overpaid him but neither is it the clubs fault he is constantly getting injured. Life's just like that sometimes.

We had Ricky Henderson come to the club for absolutely peanuts and I'd argue we got more output from Hendo in those three years he was tearing up and down the wing than we got in five years from Chad who cost us an arm and a leg both in trades and $$$.

We need to be like a share trader and cut out losses. No point doubling down again on a losing trade.

I'm not meaning to make this sound harsh but since when have the Hawks ever been prone to emotion in list management? I'd argue we have been one of the most pragmatic in this space for a while now (look what we did with Lewis, Mitchell (x2) and Hodgey).

Very generous. We got a handful of decent games out of him. Move on.

 

[Sixpence]

Not sure why people concern themselves so much with what he was paid? It's not like our cap was bursting and his salary was stopping us from picking up other players.

 

[Nathan Detroit]

Wouldn't it be possible to re-sign him based on what we felt was fair for the return to form (say 300 - 500K or something in that area) and then place him on LTI so we wouldn't lose a roster spot giving him a full year and a half to recover. We could then re-evaluate and go from there...

Seems win win with so much cap room and our commitment to the future. Just a thought.

 

[Cyril says]

Wouldn't it be possible to re-sign him based on what we felt was fair for the return to form (say 300 - 500K or something in that area) and then place him on LTI so we wouldn't lose a roster spot giving him a full year and a half to recover. We could then re-evaluate and go from there...

Seems win win with so much cap room and our commitment to the future. Just a thought.

Probably the right idea.

My kids loved watching him play. He’s a galvanising force off field with the indigenous men. If the club thought an off field role would be a net positive, I’d love to see him keep wearing the Hawks gear.

GO HAWKS.

 

[Lickmesocks]

Chad may decide to call time and take it out of our hands completely.

 

[LeBuddyRoughShow]

AFL is a tough business. Easy decision, Wingard out.

Advice to players: don't wait until your "contract year" to perform

 

[Simon Crawshay]

Wouldn't it be possible to re-sign him based on what we felt was fair for the return to form (say 300 - 500K or something in that area) and then place him on LTI so we wouldn't lose a roster spot giving him a full year and a half to recover. We could then re-evaluate and go from there...

Seems win win with so much cap room and our commitment to the future. Just a thought.

I might do that with a gun 25 year old who has just done his achillies but that seems a super risky move for an injury prone, 30+ player who has just done his achillies on top of multiple calf issues.

Plus as I have said before Sam Mitchell does not strike me as a sentimental type, he is purely and soley focused on winning a premiership and we have all seen what happens with teams that keep ageing, injury prone vets on their list just for the vibe (West Coast)

 

[Flamin Joe]

I might do that with a gun 25 year old who has just done his achillies but that seems a super risky move for an injury prone, 30+ player who has just done his achillies on top of multiple calf issues.

Plus as I have said before Sam Mitchell does not strike me as a sentimental type, he is purely and soley focused on winning a premiership and we have all seen what happens with teams that keep ageing, injury prone vets on their list just for the vibe (West Coast)

We're talking about one player here in a team which has two 30+ year olds. What other injury prone vet is there?

 

[Lickmesocks]

AFL is a tough business. Easy decision, Wingard out.

Advice to players: don't wait until your "contract year" to perform

This is a brutal take and will annoy a lot of people.

 

[Simon Crawshay]

We're talking about one player here in a team which has two 30+ year olds. What other injury prone vet is there?

That's still not an argument to offer him a spot on the list.

I can see that since Sam has taken over he has been ruthless with his list management and played the percentages with his draft picks going for sure bets like Ward, Mackenzie, etc.

Giving someone like Chad another year when he won't even play next year most likely just seems so out of character with the direction the team is going.

Let's put it this way if this was any other player apart from Chad would we even be entertaining giving him a spot on the list with his last five years combined with the new Achilles injury? No way in hell is the answer to that.

 

[Nugett]

With his injury now, our options are pretty much, delist or keep another year as a LTI. I can see reasons for both options.

If we need list spots for this year then I can understand and support if he is delisted. If we right for list spots, then with our salary cap, I think a two year deal, where it’s front loaded for next year, with a reduction in the second would be fair.

In 2025 I think we can have a real crack at being competitive in finals again. A fit Chad Wingard

20

Chad Wingard

Age

31

Ht

183cm

Wt

80kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

18.3

5star

K

11.0

4star

HB

7.3

5star

M

3.5

4star

T

2.9

4star

G

1.5

5star

No current season stats available

D

10.2

3star

K

4.6

2star

HB

5.6

4star

M

1.6

2star

T

2.0

4star

G

0.2

3star

will help with that. Next year, I’m expecting improvement from us, where we can be challenging to play finals, but won’t quite be there yet.

 

[Cyril says]

This is a brutal take and will annoy a lot of people.

If it annoys a couple of 22 year old future champs, then it wouldn't be worth it. In fact it would be stupidly short-sighted.

Our standards should be high but humane.

Ask any people-business: Nickel-and-diming your staff always bites you in the arse in the long run.

 

[Randy Campbell]

That's still not an argument to offer him a spot on the list.

I can see that since Sam has taken over he has been ruthless with his list management and played the percentages with his draft picks going for sure bets like Ward, Mackenzie, etc.

Giving someone like Chad another year when he won't even play next year most likely just seems so out of character with the direction the team is going.

Let's put it this way if this was any other player apart from Chad would we even be entertaining giving him a spot on the list with his last five years combined with the new Achilles injury? No way in hell is the answer to that.

Come what may you'll find us striving.

Sam is ruthless in his quest for improvement.

If Sam can see the value to the improvement of the list from Chad's input over the last five years.
To me that would have to include the improvement to the list caused by his leadership ability and not necessarily the improvement to his possible playing ability.

As for a contract for next year. The injury also changes the narrative regarding his playing on possibly being a reason for slowing the development of the younger players.

If Chad wants to and he can continue to improve our list he stays on it.

 

[Simon Crawshay]

Come what may you'll find us striving.

Sam is ruthless in his quest for improvement.

If Sam can see the value to the improvement of the list from Chad's input over the last five years.
To me that would have to include the improvement to the list caused by his leadership ability and not necessarily the improvement to his possible playing ability.

As for a contract for next year. The injury also changes the narrative regarding his playing on possibly being a reason for slowing the development of the younger players.

If Chad wants to and he can continue to improve our list he stays on it.

Personally though I think the whole Wingard leadership thing is a bit overblown.

Chads never actually been part of our leadership group at any stage during his time here if I’m not mistaken? He strikes me more as a guy who just wants to play. Nothing wrong with that of course but he doesn’t strike me as someone who is passionate about footy ( he’s on record as saying just this).

Also I’m pretty sure the other indigenous players like Impey and Amon would be fine if Chad left (I’m making the assumption Brockman is heading back West). Those two seem like very well adjusted young men who are thriving in the club environment and Melbourne.

Really the cold hard facts are every year he has been at the club his output has steadily diminished. He’s rising thirty and just done his Achilles with a long road back at which point he will be pushing 32.

It would be nuts to offer any player a contract in that scenario and anyone thinking it’s going to happen probably needs to understand it’s a pipe dream.

 

[Mopar Jason]

I hope that Chad is able to overcome this latest setback but at 30 years of age and facing up to 12 months on the sidelines I think the club may be reluctant to offer him a new deal.

 

[CHUBBSS]

Personally though I think the whole Wingard leadership thing is a bit overblown.

Chads never actually been part of our leadership group at any stage during his time here if I’m not mistaken? He strikes me more as a guy who just wants to play. Nothing wrong with that of course but he doesn’t strike me as someone who is passionate about footy ( he’s on record as saying just this).

Also I’m pretty sure the other indigenous players like Impey and Amon would be fine if Chad left (I’m making the assumption Brockman is heading back West). Those two seem like very well adjusted young men who are thriving in the club environment and Melbourne.

Really the cold hard facts are every year he has been at the club his output has steadily diminished. He’s rising thirty and just done his Achilles with a long road back at which point he will be pushing 32.

It would be nuts to offer any player a contract in that scenario and anyone thinking it’s going to happen probably needs to understand it’s a pipe dream.

If you watched Sam on 360 you’d have to disagree with this, think wingard has a lot to give/offer and not just on the field.

If his body could keep up with his mind…

 

[Turly]

AFL is a tough business. Easy decision, Wingard out.

Advice to players: don't wait until your "contract year" to perform

Get in the bin.

 

[Simon Crawshay]

If you watched Sam on 360 you’d have to disagree with this, think wingard has a lot to give/offer and not just on the field.

If his body could keep up with his mind…

End of the day a player on a list is expected to perform on the field. And honestly it's long odds whether he will ever get back out there if we are being objective.

If we value his off field stuff so much then give him a coaching/mentoring role.

Every spot on the list is super valuable, the Hawks more than anyone should know this given our best three players (Sicily, Lewis and Newk) were picks 56, 76 and a MSD pick up.

If we give him a list spot for two years it reduces our ability to get the next Newk, etc.

I just don't see the payoff.

 

[Randy Campbell]

Personally though I think the whole Wingard leadership thing is a bit overblown.

Chads never actually been part of our leadership group at any stage during his time here if I’m not mistaken? He strikes me more as a guy who just wants to play. Nothing wrong with that of course but he doesn’t strike me as someone who is passionate about footy ( he’s on record as saying just this).

Also I’m pretty sure the other indigenous players like Impey and Amon would be fine if Chad left (I’m making the assumption Brockman is heading back West). Those two seem like very well adjusted young men who are thriving in the club environment and Melbourne.

Really the cold hard facts are every year he has been at the club his output has steadily diminished. He’s rising thirty and just done his Achilles with a long road back at which point he will be pushing 32.

It would be nuts to offer any player a contract in that scenario and anyone thinking it’s going to happen probably needs to understand it’s a pipe dream.

For pipe dreams to become true you must first believe that they can make a difference.



I believe.

 

[CHUBBSS]

End of the day a player on a list is expected to perform on the field. And honestly it's long odds whether he will ever get back out there if we are being objective.

If we value his off field stuff so much then give him a coaching/mentoring role.

Every spot on the list is super valuable, the Hawks more than anyone should know this given our best three players (Sicily, Lewis and Newk) were picks 56, 76 and a MSD pick up.

If we give him a list spot for two years it reduces our ability to get the next Newk, etc.

I just don't see the payoff.

But you can give a one year deal and put him on the LTI list and it wouldn’t hamper the list in any way. Cap space wouldn’t be an issue.

This all depends on how bad the injury is and if Chad wants to play again, I don’t think it’s a straightforward call

 

[thehardway]

Any concept about paying him a good wage because it's the right thing to do seems weird to me personally.

He has been clocking $750k+ for the last 5 years from the Hawks and we probably only got $750k level footy in maybe 2 years out of those 5 (and that's being generous).

It's not his fault we overpaid him but neither is it the clubs fault he is constantly getting injured. Life's just like that sometimes.

We had Ricky Henderson come to the club for absolutely peanuts and I'd argue we got more output from Hendo in those three years he was tearing up and down the wing than we got in five years from Chad who cost us an arm and a leg both in trades and $$$.

We need to be like a share trader and cut out losses. No point doubling down again on a losing trade.

I'm not meaning to make this sound harsh but since when have the Hawks ever been prone to emotion in list management? I'd argue we have been one of the most pragmatic in this space for a while now (look what we did with Lewis, Mitchell (x2) and Hodgey).

Any concept about paying him a good wage because it's the right thing to do seems weird to me personally.

He has been clocking $750k+ for the last 5 years from the Hawks and we probably only got $750k level footy in maybe 2 years out of those 5 (and that's being generous).

It's not his fault we overpaid him but neither is it the clubs fault he is constantly getting injured. Life's just like that sometimes.

We had Ricky Henderson come to the club for absolutely peanuts and I'd argue we got more output from Hendo in those three years he was tearing up and down the wing than we got in five years from Chad who cost us an arm and a leg both in trades and $$$.

We need to be like a share trader and cut out losses. No point doubling down again on a losing trade.

I'm not meaning to make this sound harsh but since when have the Hawks ever been prone to emotion in list management? I'd argue we have been one of the most pragmatic in this space for a while now (look what we did with Lewis, Mitchell (x2) and Hodgey).

And Tucky was dirty on the club for retiring him after the 1991 premiership.

 

[Randy Campbell]

And Tucky was dirty on the club for retiring him after the 1991 premiership.

I guess you can also say that our first draft pick in the 1991draft did go onto win a premiership.

 

[HedgeFund]

For pipe dreams to become true you must first believe that they can make a difference.

View attachment 1778575

I believe.

We took Dew as our last selection in the 2007 draft when our list was well settled - and most importantly we had made the semi finals the year before.

He was a bit of very handy icing on an already well baked cake.

The club is in a vastly different position right now.

 

[The Spirit of Cricket]

players around the league will notice if we cut chad. it might not bite us in the ass as im sure plenty of players understand that footy is a really tough business. but there would be some that don't like it.