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Thread: Shane Crawford

  1. #25
    Salt future's rising SimonH's Avatar
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    Everything in this crazy ol' life involves risks- they might succeed or not. The real question is whether you're getting value for money, i.e. whether you're backing a nag at 10-1 that will only win once every 20 outings.

    Unless we got an absolute freakin' bargain on the deal, it's hard to see the value in trying Crawford as a short-term fix.

    The evidence is here on this very website.

    Here's the history of players drafted/traded who had achieved at least a little something at their old club, but were (known to be) over the hump in their careers, put into 3 categories:

    Successes: Tony Lockett (1994 obviously, not 2002!), Paul Roos, Schwatta, Jason Ball, Paul Williams.
    Failures: Rudi Mandemaker*, Paul Hawke (in 1991), Phil Krakouer, Richard Osborne, John Hutton, Brad Hardie (!), Dermie, Shannon Corcoran, Scott Russell, Brett Allison, Stephen Tingay, Nick Daffy.
    Call it square: Darren Kappler, Dean McRae, Derek Kickett, Kevin Dyson.

    I might have missed more obscure players, especially in the early years. Where it's not obvious, I've called a player 'over the hump' if they were over 25 yoa at the time of first playing for us.

    I've only tracked whether the player was a success for us, as it's impossible to determine whether players who played very little for us and were then traded away (and played some decent footy after that) got us value with their replacements. For example, Richard Osborne.

    It's true that Crawfod is a more talented player than most of the above. Nonetheless, in 17 years of trying (and trying, and trying), bringing in older players from other clubs has worked on very few, select occasions. The difference between successes and failures are those who are prepared to work hard and start afresh, rather than expecting to just drift through on natural talent and reputation- but that's a question-begging criterion, 'cos you only really know if they are going to buckle down once they arrive at the club. Well, except for Brad Hardie! Whose brain exploded that day?

    If he comes here, Crawfie might be one of the successes. I hope so. I just don't like our chances so much.

    * There's a slight typo on RWO where they call him 'Mandemacher'; and sure, he wasn't that old in 1988, but big Rudi was over the hump after about the 2nd season he played footy. I cacked myself when I found out that Sydney recruited him!

  2. #26
    Living in 2005
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    Add Shauble to the list of good and Barry Hall was 25 wasn't he?

  3. #27
    RWO Life Member ROK Lobster's Avatar
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    Originally posted by Damien
    Add Shauble to the list of good and Barry Hall was 25 wasn't he?
    Was Schauble 25?

  4. #28
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    Originally posted by ROK Lobster
    Was Schauble 25?
    Actually think he was 23/24...just looks older

  5. #29
    Salt future's rising SimonH's Avatar
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    BBBH 24 at time of coming here, Schauble just 23!

    (I grant you that on a strict reading you might be able to squeeze in BBBH as he turned 25 before he played his first match; but he was widely regarded as being still on the upward slope of his career when he came here.)

  6. #30
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    Originally posted by SimonH
    (I grant you that on a strict reading you might be able to squeeze in BBBH as he turned 25 before he played his first match; but he was widely regarded as being still on the upward slope of his career when he came here.)
    Some would argue that he's still on the way up.

  7. #31
    Bit surprised you see Dyson and Kickett as only "call it square".

    In both cases they were recruited just to play two or three seasons, and they were both outstanding for the short time they were with Swans.

    Also Hardie and Krakouer were never going to do anything for the Swans. In those days such speculative picks weren't uncommon . . . they didn't really cost anything . . . and weren't really on the "failed" side of the ledger.

    Just a matter of definitions, I guess?

  8. #32
    Taking Refuge!! NMWBloods's Avatar
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    I would have thought Dyson and Kickett were very good for us.

    I also though Osborne was okay for us.

    Daffy and Tingay probably shouldn't be included in any list like that.
    Captain Logic is not steering this tugboat.

    "[T]here are things that matter more and he's reading and thinking about them: heaven, reincarnation. Life and death are the only things that are truly a matter of life and death. Not football."

  9. #33
    Ego alta, ergo ictus Ruck'n'Roll's Avatar
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    Originally posted by Captain
    I have heard from several people in the footy industry that Shane has always been keen to come and play with the Swans.
    Then why didn't he come north before we traded his brother to Hawthorn?


    Originally posted by Captain
    IWhilst I don't think we should go after him
    Agreed, a 30 year old key big man would be ridiculous, a 30 year old injury prone on baller with acting ambitions would be a tradgedy!

  10. #34
    Salt future's rising SimonH's Avatar
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    A fair point re Dyson and Kickett. While neither of them were even close to being champions, you don't need to set the world on fire to fulfil the brief that you came to the club with.

    Looking through the draft list, it really struck me how many ancient (by today's standards) players were regularly picked up in the past. How times have changed.

    Today's trivia fact: John Stevens was 25 (and pushing close to 26) when he played his first AFL game!

  11. #35
    Ego alta, ergo ictus Ruck'n'Roll's Avatar
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    Originally posted by SimonH
    A fair point re Dyson and Kickett. While neither of them were even close to being champions, you don't need to set the world on fire to fulfil the brief that you came to the club with.
    I think Dyson may be the most apt comparison for Crawford. One season fulltime, one season part-time then adios ~ due to a "totally unexpected" development of his outside business interests.

    I'm it's good that his post football career took off, but lets not fall for the same thing twice.

  12. #36
    Support Staff Old Royboy's Avatar
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    An AFL team finished around 4th in 2002 and decided that to go the last step all they needed was a quality dominant forward. They went and got him, well he was 30-31 had a big ego & a few past injury problems and cost a trade bundle, but what the heck ? go for it..

    Result after 2 years?

    No premiership, dominant forward has retired mid contract, club has missed the five, coach is sacked, and dominant forward's original club used part of the trade deal to select a gun recruit with superstar written all over him

    Do we want Crawford? You have got to be kidding.
    Pay peanuts get monkeys

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