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The grass may not be greener on the other side

9th October, 2015
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9th October, 2015
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With another season over, attention invariably turns to trade week, where the ‘will he go or will he stay’ scenarios capture the attention of the media and the football public.

Players leave clubs for a variety of reasons – some to return ‘home’, others for the elusive premiership success, while others to get that extra year on a contract in order to extend their career.

Throughout the year, there has been a major focus on the future of Patrick Dangerfield. With confirmation several weeks ago that he will leave Adelaide to return home to Victoria, it seems he will be the most high profile player with a new home next year.

Last week’s grand final result was a triumph for Hawthorn’s James Frawley, who achieved premiership success in his first year in his new club, after taking advantage of his unrestricted free agency. Brian Lake has profited from the trade to Hawthorn three years ago, when he was looking to win a premiership, by winning his third flag in three years.

David Hale, Josh Gibson and Shaun Burgoyne have also all benefited handsomely after switching clubs to win a flag. It’s the stuff of fairytales.

These stories are not just a product of the modern era of football, with the 1975 North Melbourne premiership team including John Rantall, who had left South Melbourne after ten years (174 games) and Stan Alves who left Melbourne after 12 years (226 games), in a bid for premiership success. Interestingly Rantall promptly returned to South Melbourne in 1976 having tasted the ultimate success.

Greg Wells was another player, who having not played finals in 12 years (224 games) with Melbourne, achieved premiership success with Carlton in 1981.

These success stories, however, do not represent the experience for all long-serving players who leave in search of success at a new club. The experiences of other players should serve as a cautionary note to players contemplating a move over the summer.

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There have been some notable players who have left their original club, but have found the going tough.

Warwick Irwin left Fitzroy after 206 games in 11 years and joined Collingwood, after Fitzroy finished last on the ladder in 1980. After sitting out the first half of the season while seeking a move to his new club, Irwin ended up playing in a grand final, albeit a losing one.

The path to the grand final also involved defeating his former club Fitzroy by a point in the 1981 first semi final.

I remember at the time reading Irwin expressing feeling humbled by this, knowing what a win would have meant to his former club. Sadly, after one year at Collingwood, Irwin sustained a serious knee injury, missing all of 1982, before Collingwood sacked him at the start of 1983.

While he was then reunited with Fitzroy, he played only a further 7 games. I have also read that at the Fitzroy Team of the Century function, he expressed sincere regret about leaving Fitzroy.

Another player who may well regret his late career move is Dermott Brereton, who after 189 games in 11 decorated seasons at Hawthorn, played a season at Sydney (7 games), but missed 14 games through suspension, and then spent a year at Collingwood, managing 15 games. While he finally reached the 200-game club, his last two seasons did not provide him with the bookend to his career that his time at Hawthorn deserved.

There have been many other long serving players who have ended their careers less gloriously at other clubs. These included Scott Camporeale who played 233 games in 11 years at Carlton, including a premiership in his first season.

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He later crossed to Essendon and played only 19 games in 2 seasons, having left Carlton, following his desire for a three-year contract, when Carlton would only offer a two-year contract. Geoff Raines was never the same player after leaving Richmond for Collingwood, then Essendon and then Brisbane in the 1980s.

More recently Dale ‘Daisy’ Thomas left Collingwood as a 26-year-old, after eight seasons and 157 games. He utilised free agency to cross to Carlton, but injury has restricted him to only 25 games in two seasons. He has not been able to replicate his form at Collingwood. He also reportedly described that it was really tough to leave the Magpies.

Another playe, who hasn’t found it easy since switching clubs is Kurt Tippet. He played 104 games in five seasons with Adelaide before crossing (controversially) to Sydney, where he has played only 48 games (out of a possible 74) in three seasons.

He missed 11 games through suspension for his role in Adelaide’s salary cap breaches and draft tampering. He has also missed around 15 games through injury. While he has played in a grand final for Sydney, he hasn’t tasted the ultimate success.

Brendan Goddard also hasn’t found the success he would have hoped for since going to Essendon. While he has expressed that he would have preferred to stay a Saint if the right deal had been offered, he has said he has no regrets in moving to Essendon. It has not been an easy time, with the supplement saga, and a lack of on-field success in 2015.

Gary Ablett also hasn’t achieved the team success he would have hoped for after five seasons at the Gold Coast Suns. While he has added a second Brownlow Medal, and three Best and Fairests, he has missed 28 games through injury, and the team has only won 24 out of 82 games he has played.

At the same time, his former team Geelong has added a flag without him, and has won 84 out of a possible 118 games (including 9 finals). Had Gary stayed, he might have reached 300 games and played in three (or even more) premierships by now.

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While it is great to see a one club player, there are players who switch clubs after being delisted, or who seek a trade to get more opportunities, if they have struggled to get games at their first club.

I do wonder, in this age of free agency, if there are some players who start to look elsewhere simply because they can, who otherwise would have been very content to stay at their original club.

Switching to a high performing club doesn’t guarantee success from one year to the next, unless you can land at Hawthorn! A range of factors can impact on how a player adjusts to a new club. The experiences of many players who change clubs highlights that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

Many players maintain a strong loyalty to their original club – often ending up there in off field roles, post career – such as Dermott Brereton at Hawthorn, who served as a Director for eight years. Many players have returned to their original clubs on field as ‘prodigal sons’ to finish their careers, with Chris Tarrant being a recent notable one.

There are other players who would have had the opportunity to go to stronger clubs but remained loyal to the end, despite very little on-field success, with Robbie Flower (272 games for Melbourne and only 3 finals) and Trevor Barker (230 games and no finals for St Kilda) coming to mind. In addition, Chris Grant stayed at the Western Bulldogs rather than accepting an offer to join Port Adelaide. He proudly remained a one club player, finishing a stellar career with 341 games.

So as trade week unfolds in the coming days, beware the greener grass. It might be worth checking the colour of the grass on the side you are currently on.

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