Adelaide

IAmTheWarrior wrote:I'd say there's no Danger of another one this week Ginge!

We just need Geelong to be completely uncompetitive and get caught up in an off field drama for the rest of the season.

Yes, well apparently on 5AA this morning he's said that he won't be signing anytime soon.

It looks like he'll be doing a Travis Boak and waiting until the end of the season to make a commitment. Hopefully it will be the same outcome as the Boak situation and he'll stay rather than go.

Interesting that in the NRL, a player can sign for a rival club mid season if he wishes to and play out the season with his current club. The AFL seems a long way from that level of maturity at the moment..

If I were Dangerfield I would be doing exactly the same as he is, it is the prudent way for a first class players manager to handle negotations, the AFC need Dangerfield far more than he needs them. Continious harrassment from the club might well be a factor in how he makes his decision.

Its also worth noting that he made his own descision in his first year at the AFC to remain in Victoria and travel to SA and train in the clubs structure when he felt ready to do so. Clearly his character is that he makes his own decisions in the manner he chooses, personally I think that is a quality to be admired and if the AFC do win his signature they can rest in the knowledge that he is committed them by choice and the jumper, not just coercion or manipulation.

Ben W wrote:Its also worth noting that he made his own descision in his first year at the AFC to remain in Victoria and travel to SA and train in the clubs structure when he felt ready to do so. Clearly his character is that he makes his own decisions in the manner he chooses, personally I think that is a quality to be admired and if the AFC do win his signature they can rest in the knowledge that he is committed them by choice and the jumper, not just coercion or manipulation.

Well said mate.

I think he genuinely just wants to make the decision at the end of the year in a calculated manner, no doubt with the help of his partner, close friends and family, and without the noise and distraction of the season.

It's hard as a supporter to cop that though.

Gingernuts wrote:Hopefully it will be the same outcome as the Boak situation and he'll stay rather than go.

You want him to end up at Port??

I've been very impressed with Jake Lever's appearances in the Seniors this year. (Partly because my kids are doing Auskick at his old club so we take a bit more notice of him). Tonight they interviewed Rory Sloane on the radio over here and mentioned Jake as a likely rising star nominee before the season's end. After a few years where we couldn't get a nomination for anyone, we've had recognition of a lot of our youngsters in the past few seasons. Hopefully it's a sign that the club is on the right track.

Yes, we've had quite a few nominations in the last 3 years.

Lever has been excellent to watch. You can tell he has that innate ability to read the play, and he has the confidence to take on the game and back himself in despite being in only his first year.

Very few players start out with these attributes. If he's showing this much talent now, imagine what he'll be like with a couple more pre-seasons under the belt.

What is the gut feel now Ginge?

With the signings last week of two big names in Sloane and Douglas ( who I think would both command good $$'s ) and then Laird, do you think that is on the back of a Dangerfield decision being made?

ie - He's told them he's going and they've started to dish out the coin to other key members of the side?

TBH my gut feel changes on a daily basis!

The speculation scares me a bit, and I think generally the supporter base is very nervous as we've had so many exits over the last few years - but I still think he'll stay personally.

I think he genuinely wants to wait until the end of the season to make the final decision. He seems like he wants to go through the process thoroughly and involve family and friends in the discussion, and he probably wants a full season under Phil Walsh to ensure the club has truly got it's **** together.

That's all fair enough IMO. Let's be honest - the AFC has made a bloody hash of the last 5 years.

All that said - I'm reasonably confident that we'll make finals, and maybe make it a week or two in, and I think he'll sign and stick with his mates.

Unfortunately history has shown "go home" free/restricted agents that haven't signed by now have moved on.

It seems Dangerfield has a bit to think about in regards to his partner and her wishes as well, which makes me think he might perhaps be looking at it more of a career ( job ) move than a football move.

Luke Brown signs on for two more years.

Gingernuts wrote:TBH my gut feel changes on a daily basis!

The speculation scares me a bit, and I think generally the supporter base is very nervous as we've had so many exits over the last few years - but I still think he'll stay personally.

I think he genuinely wants to wait until the end of the season to make the final decision. He seems like he wants to go through the process thoroughly and involve family and friends in the discussion, and he probably wants a full season under Phil Walsh to ensure the club has truly got it's **** together.

That's all fair enough IMO. Let's be honest - the AFC has made a bloody hash of the last 5 years.

All that said - I'm reasonably confident that we'll make finals, and maybe make it a week or two in, and I think he'll sign and stick with his mates.

So much depends on this.

Firstly, the external forces at play. Can GWS hold onto a spot? Can Richmond defy logic and play finals? The Bulldogs, Geelong, North and Port are either a game or percentage out of the 8, how many of them do you have to play again? ( Edit - How does the draw work? You've got 11 games left and play the Eagles, Geelong and Brisbane TWICE in that time? LOL )

Port, Gold Coast,Sydney, Essendon and Richmond as well.

I'll give you two wins over Brisbane, one over Geelong, Gold Coast, Essendon and Port. Thats 12 wins and pinch one more over Geelong or Richmond, 13 wins.

I think put the Eagles two and Sydney down as losses.

Crikey, makes the Showdown important! As are the two with Geelong as they'll be trying for 7th/8th like you are.

Booney wrote:Unfortunately history has shown "go home" free/restricted agents that haven't signed by now have moved on.

It seems Dangerfield has a bit to think about in regards to his partner and her wishes as well, which makes me think he might perhaps be looking at it more of a career ( job ) move than a football move.

Losing Dangerfield would just put us back in our development again. It would hurt the club so much. We just can't afford to lose a premier 150 game player.

We've had it happen to us too much over the last few years. To have another player leave, particularly of Danger's calibre, would just be a knife to the heart of the Club and it's supporters.

I will be absolutely devastated if it happens.

FW : .... Gunston .....
CHF : .... Tippett ....
C : .... Dangerfield ....
CHB : .... Davis ....
FB : .... Bock* ....

Foll : Maric Vince

* Retired

Booney wrote: So much depends on this.

Firstly, the external forces at play. Can GWS hold onto a spot? Can Richmond defy logic and play finals? The Bulldogs, Geelong, North and Port are either a game or percentage out of the 8, how many of them do you have to play again? ( Edit - How does the draw work? You've got 11 games left and play the Eagles, Geelong and Brisbane TWICE in that time? LOL )

Port, Gold Coast,Sydney, Essendon and Richmond as well.

I'll give you two wins over Brisbane, one over Geelong, Gold Coast, Essendon and Port. Thats 12 wins and pinch one more over Geelong or Richmond, 13 wins.

I think put the Eagles two and Sydney down as losses.

Crikey, makes the Showdown important! As are the two with Geelong as they'll be trying for 7th/8th like you are.

It's on a knife edge for sure - but I feel like we're not far away from putting our best footy together. We've been playing average/good footy and getting results, if we can just use the ball a bit better we can get the wins we need.

The Showdown is a massive game. In retrospect dropping the first one because of poor finishing could cost us dearly come the end of the season.

Booney wrote:FW : .... Gunston .....
CHF : .... Tippett ....
C : .... Dangerfield ....
CHB : .... Davis ....
FB : .... Bock* ....

Foll : Maric Vince

* Retired

Yep. Ouch.

I think we have recruited reasonably well to replace these players - but every time you lose one the aggregate experience/leadership within the squad (basically your 'premiership window countdown clock' IMO) takes a backward step.

All that time and effort you put into developing a player, you have to do again. Meanwhile another club cashes in.

Booney wrote:FW : J Griffin Jack Gunston .....
CHF : .... Kurt Tippett Tony Armstrong
C : .... Patrick Dangerfield# ....
CHB : .... Phil Davis Aiden Riley
FB : .... Nathan Bock* ....

Foll : Maric Vince Knights

* Retired

#Not gone yet

Some not so ouch...but more ouch than I first thought!

In retrospect, to cover the losses of the big men in Tippett, Griffen and Maric in the ruck and KPP players Davis and Gunston and not drop to the bowels of the ladder has been a pretty good effort.

Geez. don't you blokes have work?

Tony Armstrong loss hurts us.....

Think we might beat West Coast here. It's been awhile since we have.

Paul wrote:Geez. don't you blokes have work?

Tony Armstrong loss hurts us.....

Think we might beat West Coast here. It's been awhile since we have.

I sure do. I type really quickly and have an excellent memory.

Booney wrote:In retrospect, to cover the losses of the big men in Tippett, Griffen and Maric in the ruck and KPP players Davis and Gunston and not drop to the bowels of the ladder has been a pretty good effort.

Not to mention having to trade a club champion due to the fact the we had no first or second round draft picks for 2 years.

When you consider clubs like Carlton & Melbourne have had quality picks for the best part of a decade and are still propping up the ladder, I think our recruiting team has worked miracles over the last 5 or so years personally!

One thing Adelaide do better than anyone in the comp is work the rookie list. Have found and continue to find some absolute gems using that avenue.

Paul wrote:Geez. don't you blokes have work?

Tony Armstrong loss hurts us.....

Think we might beat West Coast here. It's been awhile since we have.

I reckon we can give most teams a shake in the second half of this season.

In the wake of the Phil Walsh tragedy, interim coaching arrangements have been announced.

Scott Camporeale will be senior coach, with John Worsfold stepping to support as director of coaching.

Good luck Scott on what could quite possibly be the toughest coaching gig ever to faced at AFL level.

A big thank you to John Worsfold for stepping in also, it means a lot to me just as a fan, so I'm sure it would mean the world to the players to know that you are willing to help them in their time of need.

Toughest gig in football right now.

I can't imagine the pain behind the doors at Footy Park at the moment. just a thought, perhaps they should have a twilight / afternoon training session and ask members, supporters and people interested to come along and show support to each other and the players?

Booney wrote:Toughest gig in football right now.

I can't imagine the pain behind the doors at Footy Park at the moment. just a thought, perhaps they should have a twilight / afternoon training session and ask members, supporters and people interested to come along and show support to each other and the players?

Depends what the players want I guess. They may want to keep things behind closed doors this week. I think playing away from home will turn out to be a good thing for them this week.

I tell you what, the thought of them running out on Saturday night gets me misty eyed already. When it actually happens I think I may be weeping like a baby. God knows how they are actually going to do it, just getting out onto the field will the a massive emotional task, let alone lining up to play.

They have an open training session on Wednesday in the morning