Nick's Collingwood Bulletin Board

A bad trade call.
There were rumors that all was not well before the trade.
It is a ruthless industry.
We have to get over the pull of ex players have on our recruiting.
It may have been a good trade but in reality it turned out a poor one.
And that is a fact.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

If every trade, or draft were made with the benefit of hindsight, what would we have to post over, what would be the what ifs? Would we all come to Nicks and sing kum ba yah?

The fact is that with any trade or draft pick, there is the risk of getting it wrong. I recall the first Beams trade and how we got 'fleeced' with the inclusion of Crisp. Had we commented with hindsight then, it would be a different matter.

You have to take risks to win, and when a (arguably) top 10 in the league talent wants to come to your club (with a little romanticism thrown in), you facilitate it.

No it doesn't look to have worked out on this occasion, but that's the risk.

Am I pi55ed at the club for doing it? Hell no. One thing that sets us apart from the rest of the mob is that we look after our own. We have built a strong culture of looking after our players, and it makes us (something of) a destination club. If the club was so cutthroat to cut bait now, I don't imagine in the era of mental health that many other players would be inclined to view us favourably.

Does it suck looking at the on filed effect of the trade? Absolutely, but what sucks more is what Beams is going through and the anxiety of potential supporter backlash for underperformance is absolutely a contributing factor (maybe not for Beams, but for many players).

Because judgements are influenced by rumoured off-field indiscretions and believed acrimonious exits. our view of this situation is similarly clouded.

The biggest tragedy here is a still young man, suffering the demons of mental health and needing the all the support he can get.

Side by side.

The Beams trade was questionable at the time and even more so now
.
If he wasn’t a Collingwood premiership player, would we have offered a 29yo with mental health issues as well as persistent niggling injuries a 4 year $550-600K contract?

It was a bad mistake and hindsight doesn’t dilute the fact that it was the wrong call. At the time, I couldn’t understand why we either needed him, or gave up so much for him.

A bit like the Wells and Mayne recruitments, very puzzling at the time.

The Beams trade was questionable at the time and even more so now
.
If he wasn’t a Collingwood premiership player, would we have offered a 29yo with mental health issues as well as persistent niggling injuries a 4 year $550-600K contract?

It was a bad mistake and hindsight doesn’t dilute the fact that it was the wrong call. At the time, I couldn’t understand why we either needed him, or gave up so much for him.

A bit like the Wells and Mayne recruitments, very puzzling at the time.

I'm pretty sure once he gets the right help, he'll be back.

Boogie Knights wrote:If every trade, or draft were made with the benefit of hindsight, what would we have to post over, what would be the what ifs? Would we all come to Nicks and sing kum ba yah?

The fact is that with any trade or draft pick, there is the risk of getting it wrong. I recall the first Beams trade and how we got 'fleeced' with the inclusion of Crisp. Had we commented with hindsight then, it would be a different matter.

You have to take risks to win, and when a (arguably) top 10 in the league talent wants to come to your club (with a little romanticism thrown in), you facilitate it.

No it doesn't look to have worked out on this occasion, but that's the risk.

Am I pi55ed at the club for doing it? Hell no. One thing that sets us apart from the rest of the mob is that we look after our own. We have built a strong culture of looking after our players, and it makes us (something of) a destination club. If the club was so cutthroat to cut bait now, I don't imagine in the era of mental health that many other players would be inclined to view us favourably.

Does it suck looking at the on filed effect of the trade? Absolutely, but what sucks more is what Beams is going through and the anxiety of potential supporter backlash for underperformance is absolutely a contributing factor (maybe not for Beams, but for many players).

Because judgements are influenced by rumoured off-field indiscretions and believed acrimonious exits. our view of this situation is similarly clouded.

The biggest tragedy here is a still young man, suffering the demons of mental health and needing the all the support he can get.

Side by side.

This I agree with entirely. Well said.

Many supporters all over the internet are bemoaning the loss of a first round draft pick in this latest draft (because of the Beams trade) but there's huge risk involved in draft picks too, as is well evidenced.

I just want to say, and I know it's an early call and anything can happen, but I think we did really well with the 3 players we drafted anyway. Time will tell, but if 2 of them come good, we wont be feeling the mistake so much. No pressure.

And I still have hope for Beams. Imagine the lift we'll get if he fights his way back.

Presti35 wrote:I just want to say, and I know it's an early call and anything can happen, but I think we did really well with the 3 players we drafted anyway. Time will tell, but if 2 of them come good, we wont be feeling the mistake so much. No pressure.

And I still have hope for Beams. Imagine the lift we'll get if he fights his way back.

Both Rantall and Bianco were (variously) predicted in mock drafts to be 1st rounders as high as the teens.

In a draft year where the was a clear top 5/6 and then throw a blanket over the next 20-25, it's about as good a year (if such a thing can be said) as any to not have a 1st rounder (apart from last year when we had matching right to IQ and Kelly).

The next couple years shape as pretty fruitful also with McInnes and Daicos coming through...

In these situations, it's clear the trend is to either trade above an expected bid (to get 2 x bites at the cherry); trade for a player with your 1st and match with later picks; or trade down or into the future.

Regardless of strategy, we're in a good position going forward.

slangman wrote:The Beams trade was questionable at the time and even more so now
.
If he wasn’t a Collingwood premiership player, would we have offered a 29yo with mental health issues as well as persistent niggling injuries a 4 year $550-600K contract?

It was a bad mistake and hindsight doesn’t dilute the fact that it was the wrong call. At the time, I couldn’t understand why we either needed him, or gave up so much for him.

A bit like the Wells and Mayne recruitments, very puzzling at the time.

We offered a 32 year old with no connection to the club and poor injury history a 3 year 600k contract just 3 years ago...

If we delisted Beamsy, would he lose the support network he currently has at the club? That must be a factor.

Hopefully he just wants to skip the preseason.

Mr Miyagi wrote:If we delisted Beamsy, would he lose the support network he currently has at the club? That must be a factor.

I had the chance to sit in a magistrates court this week. There’s some real sad cases amongst us, for the most part invisible. I won’t compare peoples pain or experiences but I’m less concerned about a 30 year millionaire after having seen some of the poor, uneducated, drug affected, mentally ill, lost, lonely and disaffected shuffling through court.

And those are just the lawyers.

Beams is doing Art Therapy, making his own pieces of art and started a business to sell them with a % of takings going to a mental health charity.

I'm wondering at what point, if any, his pay gets reduced.

AFL isn't like the real world. In the real world you get sick leave, if it runs out you don't get paid. If you have a work related condition/injury you can go Workcover. These don't apply to AFL footballers.

To be clear, I'm not saying we should cut his pay, just interested in how long someone can draw a salary while on sick leave. I assume if it looks like he's not coming back we have to negotiate a severance deal.

Pies4shaw wrote:And those are just the lawyers.

I know you’re making a joke and don’t want to spoil it .. who likes those corporate lawyer types?

But the other thing I got out of the experience was that most of the people turning up are using either the duty lawyer, a legal aid lawyer or an atsi legal service lawyer. Not paid well relative to their chums in the corporates but doing their best for their clients.

Anyway, wrong forum. Go Pies!