For most football fanatics, the AFL free agency and trade period is an exciting time of the year. Hopes and nerves are high as every fan’s beloved club takes a gamble or three to improve their stocks for the upcoming season.
However, throughout this chaotic three-week period, I could not help but feel that it is the game itself which is trading away one of its own key tenets: loyalty.
It has been one week since the latest free agency-trade period came to a conclusion.
Thirty-five players found new homes across the 21 days, as did numerous draft picks. For a number of these footballers, this time of year provides an opportunity to gain a fresh start and redeem their careers at a new club.
Though, at the same time, there are a number of established players who left their club behind for – seemingly – little more than money.
Lance Franklin and Dale Thomas are, of course, two notable examples of this in the most-recent trade period.
Franklin, a figure synonymous with the brown-and-gold of Hawthorn, played nine seasons and won two premierships with the club before shocking the football world with a switch to the Sydney Swans in a nine-year deal reportedly worth $10 million.
Sure, it is crazy money. Most would not think twice about accepting such an offer. And with 580 goals to his name, as well as two Coleman Medals and four All-Australian appearances, some would say Franklin owed the Hawks nothing.
But, is that really the case? Do football clubs mean little more than a bit of leisure and a source of income these days?
Driving this point home more strongly is the case of Thomas.
A long-revered figure among the Collingwood faithful, the 2006 Harry Collier Trophy-winner delivered a stern slap-in-the-face to his fans (including yours truly) when he announced he had accepted a four-year deal to move to hated enemy Carlton.
Yes, a switch from Collingwood to Carlton!
If not astonishing enough in itself, the lack of media commentary questioning Thomas’ move was even more puzzling. Indeed, to the untrained eye, it seemed as though the switch to the arch nemesis across town was really nothing out of the ordinary.
While Franklin’s move to Sydney could be somewhat explained with a possible desire to escape the media spotlight in Melbourne, Thomas is unable to deploy such an excuse.
Media reports suggest the former Magpie was insistent on getting a fresh start away from Nathan Buckley’s tenure. If this is true, there are plenty of other options within Melbourne that would have avoided causing such a stir.
It is not an excuse merely because former coach Mick Malthouse now sits at the Carlton helm.
Thomas’ decision to move from Collingwood, an outfit which developed his career and paid his wages for seven years, to a staunch rival (be it Carlton or Essendon, for that matter) is like a knife to the stomach of VFL/AFL tradition.
Yet, is this standard practice in what has come of our modernised game?
Where colours and clubs mean precious little in the face of “superstar” players and their wage demands? Where century-old rivalries no longer mean anything?
Here’s to hoping this trend will be reversed.
Some things are sacred in footy. Well, at least I thought they were.
Bring back the days where footballers bled for the club and colours they played for.
Floyd Calhoun
Guest
Hawthorn didn't exactly dump Ablett snr. There was more to that than met the eye.
Jack Smith
Roar Guru
Blind Loyalty is right. By the way, those suggesting Franklin did it PURELY for money is wrong. I know yes, some of it would be money. But also..Bondi Beach.... Franklin was getting paid 1.11m at Hawks. 10 m in 9 years is not much more. To those who say he will get more as he goes along, have you seen the contract?
Blind Loyalty
Guest
If we are all honest with ourselves at the end of the day we follow the "Club" and the Jumper, very few follow the players as such, yes we rejoice when they do amazing things for "our team" but players come and go the Team and the colours are the constant in our lives. At the end of the day it doesnt matter so much who is wearing our jumper and representing our team, because we would be cheering anyone out there wearing our colours.
Jeff
Guest
Hawthorn showed their loyalty. Dumped Gary Ablett Snr and you could say as a result lost Gary Jnr. They didn't value the Tuck name either and dumped one to Sydney. Collingwood showed their loyaly and dumped Malthouse for Buckley. Geelong have dumped Chapman and Hunt, premiership champions etc etc. If clubs want loyalty, they must show loyalty. You can't blame Thomas for following Collingwood's ethos of loyalty. Look what they did to Reece, and now Heath. What if fans each year decided to switch loyalty? That would be a problem! It seems only the fans remain loyal while at times suffering through eras of disloyalty by both club and player. Maybe the loyalty thing is overblown a bit, although when we see it, we really do value it.
Avon River
Guest
These US sports also have private ownership. However loyalty is best exhibited by Nick Riewoldt and Drew Petrie and Mathew Pavlich, Lenny Hayes and Boomer Harvey. It is usually the luxury of the successful but even then as with Paul Chapman there may come a time when it ishammered home that playing for a club is a privilege and not a right.
Brendon the 1st
Guest
That might have something to do with other clubs being wary of picking up players with a potential ban hanging over their heads as well.
Yank Paul
Guest
Major league baseball, the NFL, the NBA and the NHL have all had free agency for years and years. Some players chase dollars, some change teams to chase a championship, some to extend their careers, some to get a better opportunity to play and some don't ever change teams. After awhile, we here in the U.S. became used to free agency and still support our favorite teams. You folks in Oz will do the same. That was my entire point.
Dorothy
Guest
The media pundits predicted Essendon players would scatter "because of the awful things that had happened" but instead the lads were re-signing as quickly as they could. We only lost two injury-prone players - the rest are willing to "bleed red and black" for the jumper. Funny about that - could it be loyalty?
Ronny
Roar Rookie
The NRL's crowds are just low compared to the AFL, but lets face it, the NRL is really in so many ways, a poor cousin of the AFL, and has been for over 100 years.
duncan
Guest
You only have to look at the Port premiership side to find loyalty seven players and obviously Mark Williams who had played with the club at SAFNL level. Jonathon Brown is another one who has shown loyalty to Brisbane. Same goes for Daniel Kerr, Matthew Scarlett, Dustin Fletcher. It exists but players will go were the money is, it's been that way in Europe and the United States for decades now and will be the norm here. One of the reasons the draft was brought in was because the AFL was concerned that Hawthorn would dominate the comp like Man United have dominated the EPL. And in a one country competition like the AFL that sort of domination would destroy it
best twins
Guest
I can't believe the old worn out argument about loyalty is still being discussed. As some punters above have pointed the bleeding obvious, it's a two way street. AFL is a massive industry and business now , so what is there to "get" about loyalty ???? Coaches get sacked long term
Floyd Calhoun
Guest
Things are changing, yes. But hopefully we don't get to the stage that the NRL now finds itself. The market there is so 'free' that a key player's manager will inform the media after round three or so, that his client has signed a contract with another club for next year. Enjoy the rest of this season with Joe Blow, because next season, he's elsewhere. He doesn't care, the manager cares even less, and all you loyal supporters should just harden up. The NRL wonders why crowds are so poor?!
Ronny
Roar Rookie
Tradition and loyalty is not gone, there are many instances where players stay with a club and pass up big money offers. Football has just kept pace with the world it exists in, how often do you hear of people working at the same place their entire lives these days, as happened in years gone by.
Ronny
Roar Rookie
In general the game at the highest level has never been amatuer, it has never been like RU, it has been a game where people have made their living, now is a time when more people than ever make their living from the game. There is amatuer leagues, but most leagues, bush and city pay players, sometimes monetary, sometimes cosy jobs, sometimes enticing players with offers of working at the local pub, buying cheaply into a business etc. When peoples mortgages, lives are at stake, they would be wise to make the most of what is usually a limited career, and of course with in that group, there will be greedy people, but on the other hand, there is also a group ( probably larger) that are not greedy and generally (within reason) are loyal, and will take lesser money. If we go back to the 1890's and earlier leagues in SA and particular Kalgoolie and Perth were offering great wages for footballers, and enticing them west.
Judy Morris
Guest
Days of VFL the players didn't play for money only.,and they all had normal jobs .They were proud to play for their particular team. Collingwood ,Fitzroy ,and Carlton were arch rivals and so were we fans. As a Fitzroy Brisbane now supporter ,even though I was disappointed at our young guys leaving.especially to Carlton and Collingwood I can understand why. They have to want to stay at a club or it doesn't work.With AFL,, money speaks all languages and the players need to do whats best for their careers and future.Once they're no good they're out in the cold, as we saw recently with some clubs,very cut throat. Very few footballers today would pass up millions if offered.Tradition and loyalty has gone.I wonder if any of the footballers in all clubs have fun playing anymore, with the pressure to win at all costs.Football has become a job, no longer a sport.As a spectator its still the best game around.
Gurudoright
Guest
So you are basing your ideals of loyalty on two clubs that have had at most 3 years of playing experience at the AFL level. That is sound! Will they be so loyal when it comes to generational change at the club
Gurudoright
Guest
So you are basing your ideals of loyalty on two clubs that have had at most 3 years of playing experience at the AFL level. That is sound!
Matt F
Roar Guru
+2. I'd also add that free agency hasn't killed loyalty, it's simply proven that loyalty under the old system was rather artificial. It's easy to 'remain loyal' when changing clubs is so difficult (i.e. either have to be traded or run the draft risk). Now that players have a little bit more freedom which, to be honest they're entitled to, we're starting to see a glimpse of the real situation
Lroy
Guest
Well I think the draft and salary cap have a lot to do with it. A kid gets drafted to the other side of the country for 3 years then gets the boot (as most of them do).. if he is any good he has to accept less money than he is worth.. why wouldnt they jump at the chance to make some real money? Im always fascinated that the highest paid individual in the AFL is Andrew Demetriou... how does that work again? Administrators should get free market rates, while players have to endure a salary cap.. ??
bilbo
Guest
Players wanted Free Agency and they got it, but the clubs said "it works both ways". In its second year of operation, plenty of veteran players found they were out the door much sooner than they anticipated, and years on your contract (tenure and security) meant nothing. The notion of cherry-picking from someone else's list would have been anathema not so long ago when seven trades was considered 'enough'. Clubs have answered the threat of Free Trading by cherry-picking anyone else's list. This is not about the question of loyalty and diverting player's attention away from fatter pastures, its more crucially about DESTABILISATION, of club memberships, club supporter base, club identity and heritage and tradition. But when a coach like Malthouse leads the way, why shouldn't players? Obviously, the club rivalry doesn't matter. When Barassi left Dees, it ripped the heart and soul out of the club, to the point now where they are just a twitching at life. Club rivalries are the fabric of the game. I just don't want to see the NFL example followed, whereby from one year to the next, you don't know who'll be playng in the squad, or coaching the team.