Match Day Rnd. 7. Sydney V Brisbane. 13.10 pm SCG.

[Bloody Hell]

The Lions operated just fine with a retention allowance. Taking it away has set them up for continual failure. Its really that simple.

With a retention allowance they can compete with poaching offers from vic clubs, and offer parity (overall) deals for players on the market. This enables them to get a foot up the ladder which then makes it easier to retain players.

A way to stem the poaching issue would be to make the Vic clubs accountable for an additional 20% in their salary cap for poached players for their first contract when bringing them home. Say someone pries Rockcliffe out of Brisbane for 1m a year, it counts for 1.2m in their cap (Rockcliffe only get's the 1m). Even if they weren't poached, say if a player wanted to leave voluntarily, it would greatly aid with player retention.

Applied to all Northern Clubs.

Actually, it could be fairly applied to all clubs, if say the Swans poached a NSWelshman home....

[CureTheSane]

Matt's problem was , as you say, unrelenting off topic posting. It wasn't overly offensive but it became incredibly tiresome the way he continually hijacked threads and told us all how we should feel about Kochie, Eddie or some business model. If anything it was just weight of numbers that did him in the end.

People can be too uptight over this kind of thing.
You could say the same with Ludwig and Tom Derickx.
Generally off topic and I'm sure annoying to some.

Surprising that 09183305 is suggesting that M@@t80 should have been suspended rather than banned, given that they were one of the main complainants.

In fact wasn't there an automatic ban in place for typing his user name?

***goes back and edits post***

[dimelb]

The Lions operated just fine with a retention allowance. Taking it away has set them up for continual failure. Its really that simple.

With a retention allowance they can compete with poaching offers from vic clubs, and offer parity (overall) deals for players on the market. This enables them to get a foot up the ladder which then makes it easier to retain players.

Barry, I agree with you 110% on this one. I think Eddie McG led the lynching, and it is still a disgrace to the AFL that it has been allowed to remain.

[barry]

It is sad and it's hard to know when they will turn things around but I will say that a merger with the Suns is not the solution.

For starters surely clubs drafting first round draft picks should have the security of at least a three year deal with these kids. The idea of Schache, who had an OK but not outstanding first year, having his head turned at the end of his first season with $700K s year deals is just outrageous. The fans at the Lions just have totally zero to look forward to and it must be very hard fronting up there and watching them every week.

The only way forward for the Lions IMO is to build a home grown list via their academy and it needs to be at 50% asap. I'm just not quite sure the depth of talent is there though and the Broncos are king up there.

The Lions operated just fine with a retention allowance. Taking it away has set them up for continual failure. Its really that simple.

With a retention allowance they can compete with poaching offers from vic clubs, and offer parity (overall) deals for players on the market. This enables them to get a foot up the ladder which then makes it easier to retain players.

[Mug Punter]

Matt80 was far less provocative/inciteful, but it went on far longer, was at times quite unrelenting and off topic, and several accused that once banned kept returning under different aliases. He was generally good spirited and good humoured though.
Perhaps suspensions are initially better than bans though?

Matt's problem was , as you say, unrelenting off topic posting. It wasn't overly offensive but it became incredibly tiresome the way he continually hijacked threads and told us all how we should feel about Kochie, Eddie or some business model. If anything it was just weight of numbers that did him in the end.

[Mug Punter]

As good as it was to finally get a win and get off the bottom of the ladder, the plight of Brisbane's list, after all these @@@@ years, saddened me. Talk of more players walking at year end again too.

It is sad and it's hard to know when they will turn things around but I will say that a merger with the Suns is not the solution.

For starters surely clubs drafting first round draft picks should have the security of at least a three year deal with these kids. The idea of Schache, who had an OK but not outstanding first year, having his head turned at the end of his first season with $700K s year deals is just outrageous. The fans at the Lions just have totally zero to look forward to and it must be very hard fronting up there and watching them every week.

The only way forward for the Lions IMO is to build a home grown list via their academy and it needs to be at 50% asap. I'm just not quite sure the depth of talent is there though and the Broncos are king up there.

[0918330512]

Don't have an issue with the treatment of Jonesy (?) in this thread but I also think the banning of Matt80 was pretty harsh

Matt80 was far less provocative/inciteful, but it went on far longer, was at times quite unrelenting and off topic, and several accused that once banned kept returning under different aliases. He was generally good spirited and good humoured though.
Perhaps suspensions are initially better than bans though?

[dejavoodoo44]

A very cunning plan by AFL HQ. This is Gill at his best. Plays the long game. Its about time the AFL had a win against bloody foreigners.

At the airport:
Gill: Best of luck on the trip boys, here is a little parting gift as ambassadors of good will.
Players: Cool!, a new boogie board.
Gill: Now dont take them out of the bags until you get there, you dont want to lose the tie rope.
Gary Ablett: But I hate the surf.
Gill: Jesus Gary, you're an ungrateful little @@@@. Take it.

Never to be seen again.

Nah, fellas, honestly, it's a great Chinese tradition, to moon the leader of the Communist Party.

[dejavoodoo44]

Surely the players would also need some good headphones to take along as well for the trip....

Damn! You beat me to my reply.

[mcs]

A very cunning plan by AFL HQ. This is Gill at his best. Plays the long game. Its about time the AFL had a win against bloody foreigners.

At the airport:
Gill: Best of luck on the trip boys, here is a little parting gift as ambassadors of good will.
Players: Cool!, a new boogie board.
Gill: Now dont take them out of the bags until you get there, you dont want to lose the tie rope.
Gary Ablett: But I hate the surf.
Gill: Jesus Gary, you're an ungrateful little @@@@. Take it.

Never to be seen again.

Surely the players would also need some good headphones to take along as well for the trip....

[barry]

The Gold Coast Suns and Port Power will be detained in China and not permitted to return to Australia. Brisbane franchise relocated to Adelaide and renamed the Powerful Lion-Bears. Problem solved.

A very cunning plan by AFL HQ. This is Gill at his best. Plays the long game. Its about time the AFL had a win against bloody foreigners.

At the airport:
Gill: Best of luck on the trip boys, here is a little parting gift as ambassadors of good will.
Players: Cool!, a new boogie board.
Gill: Now dont take them out of the bags until you get there, you dont want to lose the tie rope.
Gary Ablett: But I hate the surf.
Gill: Jesus Gary, you're an ungrateful little @@@@. Take it.

Never to be seen again.

[KTigers]

Yep, and he'd win the B & F in his first year, kick 60 goals and be an All Australian again.....and we'd love him for it....

Teehee! But does that mean we would have to have Toby Greene??

[caj23]

Absolutely agree! Banning Matt80 was a disgrace.

Don't have an issue with the treatment of Jonesy (?) in this thread but I also think the banning of Matt80 was pretty harsh

[Flying South]

I agree that seems logical (although not sure it would completely solve the problem). But then there would be an incentive to even up the number of teams again. So where do you think the new team would come from?

Hmmm. Good question. A few years ago I would have said merge kangaroos and bulldogs and have a 16 team competition. That's not going to happen now after the Bulldogs success. Commercially there would be no appetite for a bye or 16 teams. So a new team in Tassie would be the only option I suppose. But too much involved for this game day thread.

[Ludwig]

The Gold Coast Suns and Port Power will be detained in China and not permitted to return to Australia. Brisbane franchise relocated to Adelaide and renamed the Powerful Lion-Bears. Problem solved.