AFLW - Bombers poaching Velcro - Maddy P and Georgia G set to flee

[DJC]

Just thinking about this in light of Gil stepping down. There was a short (but involved) list of things he's going to do this year before he goes and one of them was new CBA for the mens and for the womens comp.

Which got me thinking....
How can players be poached, when they don't know what the salary cap is going to be?

It may turnout that we could've quite easily matched bombers offers for the girls once the new figures come out, but we'll never know.

I've said it a million times, but until the comp is truly national, not a trumped up state of origin competition it will be a farce.

The thing is that Prespakis and Gee will be Essendon's marquee players and will corner a sizeable chunk of their TPP.  That may mean that Essendon will struggle to recruit/pay other highly-rated players and will go into the season with a couple of good players and a VFLW team.

I wrote in another thread that I thought that the way Prespakis goes about her footy, combined with the way she is hammered by her opponents and not protected by the umpires, is unsustainable and a short career is inevitable unless something changes.  Moving to Essendon is not the change that I envisaged and I don't think we'll see Maddy with a long career.

Gee is a smart player and I think that we'll feel her loss more than Maddy's.  However, Gee's strength is getting on the end of chains of possession and finishing off well.  I'm not sure that Essendon will have the ability to force opponents to play to Georgia's strengths.

[madbluboy]

Isn't the point of bring a marquee player is that part of your payment is outside the cap?

[LP]

Isn't the point of bring a marquee player is that part of your payment is outside the cap?

Not sure that is the case, to say it's "outside the cap" is not really accurate, there is a pool of funds that you can use for nominated marquee players, but it's still limited and under audit and has to be pre-approved by the AFL. It's not a free hit.

[tonyo]

Hun reporting that Grace Egan will also not be at the Blues next year after her Instagram gaff earlier this week.

[LP]

Hun reporting that Grace Egan will also not be at the Blues next year after her Instagram gaff earlier this week.

Do you reckon Prespakis set Greg up, Kruddler mentioned Greg is not the sharpest tool in the shed?

In my opinion, losing Greg is almost worse than losing Prespakis and Gee.

But I understand completely if Greg goes, Carlton people cannot recover from singing the CheatsFC song in public, it's a level of disrespect worse than blasphemy or treason. I think acts like this are what the old fashioned stocks are designed to remedy. She almost have to hand deliver Carlton a flag to make up for it!

[Mav]

At this stage of AFLW's development, its supporters don't buy into hating players who defect to other teams. Anything that improves the competition and offers more opportunity for young female players is good. Most female AFLW supporters don't batt an eye when stars walk out of the club they support - on the contrary, they're thrilled that the competition is expanding and star players are starting to earn more appropriate salaries. When the competition is mature and its ranks are filled with players who've been playing since they were in primary school, no doubt those supporters will be less AFLW supporters and more supporters of their own AFLW club.

[LP]

At this stage of AFLW's development, its supporters don't buy into hating players who defect to other teams.

AFL Club's are in a marketing war with each other, sponsors compete for the fan dollars, they won't give a rat's ar5e what feminist fanatics think, if a player gets pegged boosting the sponsors competitor the shizen must hit the fan!

We keep being told the AFLW players deserve to be paid like professionals, while too often acting like two bob amateurs!

Perhaps there are just too many in the current AFLW system that care more about their social media profile than then AFLW career! Maybe I'm old fashioned and just don't get it, maybe this is the new normal!

But I doubt you'll find much support for this amongst those of us here that follow it closely, we are gutted by the level of selfishness, stupidity or both!

I can't imagine team-mates are too happy, it's like you wake up to find the person you have fought for is pissing down your neck!

[Mav]

I didn't think I was referring to feminist fanatics but it seems my post was like an ink blot test.

[LP]

I didn't think I was referring to feminist fanatics but it seems my post was like an ink blot test.

So you think it's reasonable for these people to put their hand out to grab millions of fan dollars, only to grab the cash then slap the fans in the face, and we are supposed to say thank-you!

I'm a big boy I'll get over it, but I feel for all the little kids who got their club jumper embroided with a 19 or 4.

What is the takeaway lesson to the primary schooler, money talks and is most important!

I reckon Harford would feel gutted today, it's such a slap in the face!

[Mav]

Maybe the primary school girl would think that the AFLW isn't just window dressing any more and clubs are fighting to attract the best talent.