GWS grant Cameron McCarthy idefinite leave

Mattyb - see Cripps have extended his contract another 2 years taking him to the end of 2019. (I did predict he would extend his contract again before the season was out) His first contract effectively only just finished (2 years) and he has already extended it twice. Sounds like he is desperate to get back to Freo!!

I think you over estimate Freo's needs and McCarthy's value. He's good...just not that good. More to the point, you under estimate what Freo has already.

Now, now Don, it's not like you to be pompous and go on the personal attack instead of dealing with the observations objectively. ?

The deals GWS received for Boyd and Treloar were considerably far more enticing. Realistically, Freo didn't offer enough to GWS for McCarthy. Simple.

That's the Melbourne nedia...and you sound like you've been drawn into its thinking. One would wonder why you would just repeat someone else's thought rather than express your own. A top team like Freo doesn't need cast offs. Its own list, drafted, trained and long term Freo is good enough...outstanding, in fact. Gumbleton, Taylor, Clark and McCarthy are West Aussies. Attracting them to WA is not the issue. I doubt Freo ever wanted Cloke. The fans certainly didn't. Taylor is a defender. McCarthy will come but he is just a good player...not a star. Bennell is a star. That's why our top draft pick went there. There is much you don't know about Freo Dougie. Perhaps you should abandon the Melbourne media as your primary research point. Freo Roarers know more.

Sorry jax but none of that made sense to me.

You're implying Western Sydney is unliveable ? Doesn't seem to be a problem for the Wanderers, you know - a team that people actually want.

Players do not get sacked all the time. In fact no player ever gets sacked without breaching their contract. Coaches do. And have their contract paid out in accordance with the obligations of the contract.

The Melbourne media enjoy pointing out each year that Freo continually fails to attract players. Freo has been chasing a proven key forward for many years to support and replace Pav, but have only landed Scott Gumbleton and Chris Tarrant in the last 10 years. They've missed out on Cloke, Harry Taylor, Mitch Clark and now Cam McCarthy. The only recruits Freo have got in the past decade - apart from young blokes via the national draft - are blokes offloaded by other clubs, such as Harley Bennell. Fair enough, you can argue a successful strategy in recruiting young blokes. But I think the implied suggestion Freo is a 'club of choice' is not supported by evidence. Clearly Freo had to offer more to tempt GWS but hoped they could get away with an inadequate offer. As you and DC have pointed out, you didn't have much leverage and weren't prepared to sacrifice some existing quality players for a key forward. You have to give something good to get something good in this world (unless you get a player via free agency or you're Carlton - the Yarran deal!).

It's not a great problem at all. There are 60 or 70 kids coming into the system each year and this happens very rarely. GWS has taken their stance and, although their stance remains debatable, they are now supporting him. These things are isolated and not very common. It's fine. The AFL need not act on this.

Yes it seems almost a cultural thing within the AFL. These American kids come straight out of high school and straight into the college system, invariably away from home. There are also lots of Aussie kids who head over there on scholarships. Homesickness would seem to be a small price to pay for the opportunities they are afforded. Don't know the specifics of the McCarthy situation, but this seems to happen regularly in our game and as far as I can tell to a much lesser extent elsewhere. In general terms, there seems to be at least an element of wanting to have your cake and eat it too in all this. it's a problem for the AFL.

Freo's trading has been excellent. To offer more would have been to offer players they want to keep. People mentioned Barlow.. he wants to stay. People mentioned Crozier, he signed a two year deal before the draft. This is a club players love. McCarthy is good but no star yet. He was dropped last year in a very good year. He is up there with Taberner...not better. Freo needn't pay overs. When he does come to Freo, under Freo's quality environnent, he WILL become that good.

Doesn't happen with any regularity, in the NFL, MLB, NBA or NHL and all have draft systems.

Big deal. I have moved cities or countries every 5 or so years since I was quite young. About to do it again in 2 weeks' time. I don't assume that everyone copes the same way as I do

I haven't jumped to any conclusions. I haven't ruled anything in or out. I am pointing out that others have. You need to consider reporting your boss... most people have access to sickness benefits through their company, their superannuation fund or at the very least the workers compensation system we all pay for. I am shocked your employer is so deliberately flouting the law.

Some are bigger sooks than others, and unlike some on this site, I've actually been away from home, doing sport when I was 19 professionally so have a basis for comparison. Given your interesting stats on what a keyboard does to a person, may I add that it increases the amount of PC nonsense by around 47.5% of in. 50% of the population. See I can make up rubbish stats to.

Again, let's jump straight to, oh he has a mental illness. If you can make that leap then surely I can make the leap that he's just soft. Mental illness sucks, yep, but at the same time, people have to work, their alternative is to claim centrelink benefits. Say I have clinical depression, do I say to my boss tomorrow, I can't come in indefinitely? No, they would need to pay another person to do my job, I could most likely use up my sick and annual leave, that would be all. So why are blokes with more money, who get paid to be fit and paid well treated so differently?

Don't you know Balt that a keyboard and an internet connection increases your prescience of other's feelings and drives by an extra 30%. Unfortunately there's a higher chance it wilt also decrease your level of character by 43%. If he was just having a sook, he's making a huge decision to put his career on hold/at risk to do so.

OK, excellent. You know a couple of sooks so there is no possibility there is more to the story than that. Methinks you're pre-judging the situation more than those you criticise.

hmmm. Just say he's suffering severe, clinical depression that has only manifested itself after he signed an extension (and I have no idea whether he is or not). Try telling someone suffering an all-engulfing mental illness to "cheer up mate. You could be in Syria". I'm thinking they won't respond well to this treatment because, well, they have a mental illness that is severely impacting their life. For that reason you can't possibly tell someone to harden up if you don't know - intimately - what is the cause of their behaviour. you're welcome, Dr Balt.