The 2023 Toyota AFL Premiership season is over, but Damian Barrett’s Sliding Doors is still moving forward at full speed.
So buckle up and take it easy as Damo removes his gloves and fires at your team while you’re on the ride.
You can’t say that, Damo, can you? So what is he saying about your team and the AFL? Check it out below.
It turns out that Clayton Oliver wants to play for the Crows because of fitness expert Darren Burgess.
He would be entitled to a sizable spotter’s fee.
If they were to sign this four-time best-and-fairest winner and three-time All-Australian, the Crows would begin the 2024 season among the top five chances for the flag.
In the Grand Final, some well-known Lions performed below par.
Big Joe was a brilliant man, but not. Also enormous was Hugh McCluggage.
The Blues were eager to investigate the Clarry possibilities, as were 17 other Australian Football League clubs.
In contrast to the majority of their competitors, they have Harry McKay as a strong starting-point broker.
Demons are in desperate need of a crucial forward, and like Oliver, McKay has a contract that expires in 20.
In 2023, the Pies expanded. Collingwood won last Saturday with the third-oldest team, while Geelong won the flag last year with the oldest team ever put together in a Grand Final. Simple advice to all competitors: respect the greatest elders and capture flags!
goes again, directed by Dimma, to the struggling Hawks.
the key forwards (McKay, Lynch, Naughton) and midfielders (Martin, Oliver, Petracca, Coniglio, Whitfield, Kelly, Taranto, Hopper) have been the players getting the in-vogue seven and eight-year contracts
key defender Sam Taylor deserves the first 10-year deal since the Bears’ offer to Alastair Lynch in 1994.
the Hawks used the 2022 trade period to send the message to the footy world that they weren’t intending to win many matches in 2023 .
no surprise that they’re getting a lot of rejections from high-end talent in this year’s trade period from players wanting to find new homes.
And Tom Mitchell says thanks for not just phasing him out of operations in 2022, but forcing him out at its conclusion and then choosing to pay him to play for this year’s premiers, Collingwood.
Ten contested possessions – and official votes in the Norm Smith Medal – for Mitchell in the Grand Final, 12 in the prelim final, 10 in the qualifying final.
The type of player who could help shape a developing club
Clarry and Aker are poles apart as people …
they’re similar as elite football talents and in how their football clubs have chosen to view their character.
In the 2000s when they were winning flags, the Lions were prepared to tolerate, sometimes turn a blind eye and even defend Aker’s annoying ways.
And then only when the winning stopped did they want to make a stand on such behaviour.
Aker never changed.
His club’s views on him did, though. Now, doesn’t that sound familiar after the events of this week.
In exchange for winning flags, the Lions were willing to put up with, occasionally ignore, and even defend Aker’s annoying behavior.
They only wanted to take a stand against such behavior after they stopped winning. Aker never altered.
However, the opinions of his club changed.
That sounds familiar after this week’s events, doesn’t it? He might turn out to be a great investment.
was excellent at times during Sydney’s 2022 Grand Final campaign.
Xavier Duursma, Connor Rozee, and Zak Butters were all tracking at one point early in their careers.
Injury and a subsequent lack of opportunities have severely slowed that advancement.
Duursma’s desire to switch clubs appears likely.
Port Adelaide initially showed interest in Ivan Soldo, but it soon waned.
It’s likely that he’s still open to a move.
Liam Henry, Paddy Dow, and Dylan Shiel are all likely to be the new Saints.
With Gresham and Billings expected, a good deal of talent will also have to leave.
Follow this space up until the trade deadline on October 18 by keeping an eye on it.
What a waste of time that turned out to be. both sounded and appeared like a hostage. He’s sorry, indeed.
Yes, he is regretful. Yes, the horse was no.
All of that was already known to us. However, refusing to provide an explanation was a terrible media ploy.
Even after offering Dev Robertson a deal that was more valuable than what the Lions offered, the Eagles were unable to persuade him to join them.
It served as yet another illustration of how far this formerly powerful organization has sunk.
Since his debut match in 2018, I’ve been a big fan of Aaron Naughton’s playing style.
I’m also hesitant to sign him to a contract that would commit him to nine seasons through the end of 2032. ranked only ninth overall in the 2023 best-and-fairest standings and only once (2022) in six seasons.
The Dogs were eager to close this deal quickly and make the announcement at Wednesday’s Charles Sutton Medal ceremony after a humiliating round 22 loss to the woeful West Coast in Melbourne cost the club a spot in the finals.
When he was first introduced to the game 11 years ago, the free agent was supposed to be the big ticket item in the player movement space.
The “pre agent” quickly usurped the free agent’s position.
Clubs are able to take back control at all times.
Managers of players are always acting in their own best interests.
And self-interest and control always find a way around obstacles.
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