If the AFL is happy with the current trade climate, then there are major issues
IF the AFL says it's satisfied with the denial of contractual obligations, then it has a major problem, writes Mark Robinson.
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A MATE sent photographs of his friend's son taking down Ryan Griffen posters from the bedroom wall.
The boy is in his Bulldogs PJs and he squashes the Griffen posters into a bin. Heroes are everything when you're seven and the kid's face is hurting. He's probably confused, too.
Why Griff? Why the captain? Why does he want to go there?
Who knows what dad said to the boy but it's fair to say a new order in football is upon us.
It's not the first time a young fan will be hurt in footy's fortnight of selling and buying, bidding and lying — remember Tony Lockett, Chris Judd, Barry Hall — but clearly after an eventful and sometimes spiteful trade period, football has changed forever.
Player power — and the managers — has swarmed the AFL.
Jeff Kennett said the AFL had lost control of the game and it's difficult to disagree.
In fact, if the AFL says it's satisfied with the complete denial of contractual obligations, then the AFL has a major problem, for player contracts are AFL contracts and when players walk out on a contract, they also thumb their nose at the AFL.
In other words, there's no honour in contracts.
Exhibit A and B is Patrick Ryder, Ryan Griffin, Tom Boyd and Dayne Beams. After initial whimpering and whingeing, Essendon, the Western Bulldogs and Greater Western Sydney agreed to trade. What could they do? Keep them when they don't want to be there?
It's rubbish.
Hopefully, it's not the start of a free-for-all.
I fear for GWS. Only Tom Boyd skipped this season, but clubs are $1.02 to claw all over GWS next year. Who's next? Cameron, Treloar, Smith, Hoskin-Elliott?
The Bulldogs are the most intriguing. Tweeted on Wednesday: “Dogs lost captain, coach, No.6, integrity, respect and generally lost their way. And they bring in Boyd on a mill a year ... #good luck.''
Fair to say Dogs fans were not happy, including Neighbors actor Scott McGregor, who joined the cyber attack squad.
It was initially confronting when the captain announced he wanted out, but the Bulldogs managed to sell hope and dreams to their supporters with the Boyd signing.
It is a big play. Massive. A nine-gamer broke his contract and moved for squillions. It maybe be bold, but it's out of whack with the worth of players.
Port Adelaide's Kane Cornes tweeted: “Roughead, Cloke, Hawkins, Riewoldt just spotted shaking their heads.”
Now that it's over, perhaps it best president Bulldogs Peter Gordon take a step back and analyse what happened and what was said. You'd think he do some things differently.
The trade period did achieve its intention and that is to give players the opportunity to play senior football.
Mitch Hallahan, Kyle Cheney and Luke Lowden from Hawthorn, Jon Giles from GWS, Jeff Garlett from Carlton and Liam Jones from the Bulldogs found new homes and new opportunities.
The Bombers lost Ryder, and picked up Cooney and Giles and kept Winderlich and Howlett.
North Melbourne is filthy, though. The Roos thought they had Cooney and then Cooney chose Essendon, which meant Essendon traded Ryder to get picks No. 17 and No. 37, the latter which went to the Bulldogs.
North finished with Jarrad Waite and Shaun Higgins, which makes them better.
Geelong won't have a ''tall'' problem for a decade and climbed to pick 10th in the draft, which is a tick, and Collingwood cried for a week over Beams, but they made the best of a bad situation.
WINNERS & LOSERS
Mark Robinson calls three key transactions
Essendon v Port Adelaide
The Bombers lost this one because they lost Patrick Ryder who, they said two days ago, was the best ruckman in the league and today, they said, is a fraction better than Tom Bellchambers. Go figure. Port Adelaide is smiling. Ryder, Schulz, Westhoff, Wingard, Neade and Monfries is their starting forward line, with Ryder back-up to ruckman Matthew Lobbe. Big tick.
Geelong v St Kilda
Perhaps the most intriguing trade was Rhys Stanley for pick No.21. Has played 58 games for 40 goals and the Saints said a month ago, that when Stanley played well, St Kilda played well.
Clearly, he didn’t play well enough. I’m with St Kilda here. The Cats will make him a better player and maybe he will blossom to become more than a cameo forward. But I’d take the 21.
Collingwood v Brisbane
Brisbane might be the winner of all clubs. Dayne Beams and Allen Christensen join Daniel Rich and Matthew Leuenberger, who barely played last year, as basically a fresh starting midfield. Then there’s Rockliff, Zorko, Redden, Taylor, Hanley, Aish, Mayes and Martin. Oh boy.
The Pies were scuttled and then came up for air and landed Roo Levi Greenwood, Cat Travis Varcoe, pick No.5 and young Lion Jack Crisp. Still, the Pies lost Beams, so Lions win.
Originally published as If the AFL is happy with the current trade climate, then there are major issues
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