The start of each AFL season invariably brings with it the annual merry-go-round of contract speculation.
We see it every year – out-of-contract players announce early in the season that they are putting off contract talks until the end of the season in order to ‘concentrate on their football’ (more accurately, leverage the best deal they can for themselves come contract time).
This invariably fuels the speculative fires of AFL commentators and puts clubs under pressure to retain their players.
Each year, one club seems to be more affected by this contract rollercoaster than others. Last year, Gold Coast had to deal with speculation over Jaeger O’Meara’s future until the closing moments of the trade period, when he made his way to Hawthorn.
Melbourne experienced the same thing several years ago with James Frawley, while Adelaide is arguably the biggest victim of this in recent times, spending a year fending off questions about Patrick Dangerfield’s future before his move to Geelong.
This year, the team that looks to be most impacted is the Western Bulldogs. With the manager of last year’s Norm Smith medallist, Jason Johannissen, announcing recently that he would defer contract talks until the end of the season, much to the perplexity of his coach, the Bulldogs enter an interesting phase in their list management cycle.
Simon Dalrymple and his recruiting staff have made the Bulldogs arguably the best-performed team at the draft and trade table in recent times, assembling a talented, hard-working, deep list.
However, getting the players in the door is only half a club’s work, and some might argue even the easiest part. The second and harder part is retaining players.
So often, clubs put the initial time and effort into developing a player after drafting them, only to have them leave after a few years, either for more money or greater opportunity.
The Bulldogs’ flag win last season was a triumph against the odds. Most teams with the number of injuries they had would have limped meekly out of the first round of finals.
Their replacements, far from wilting under pressure, fitted seamlessly into the team, highlighting the list’s amazing depth.
Players like Zaine Cordy, Josh Dunkley, Toby McLean, Fletcher Roberts, Clay Smith and Joel Hamling were called into the team and didn’t miss a beat.
In many other teams, they would have been merely bit-part players in any of their side’s victories, but in the Bulldogs’ case, all played a role in securing the flag victory.
The upside of this, of course, is the Dogs have unearthed a freakish depth of talent to their list. With this, however, comes salary and retention challenges.
Having played an integral role in the premiership triumph, these less experienced players have increased their value and would be within their rights to seek more lucrative contracts next time around.
The Bulldogs have 20 players coming out of contract at the end of 2017, including Johannissen, Smith, Roberts, Dunkley, Kieran Collins, Marcus Adams and Mitch Honeychurch.
All are talented players, in either the early or prime stage of their careers. Given their potential, most could both earn more and be guaranteed more game time at other clubs, and it will be fascinating to see how club and management evaluate their worth come contract time.
Johannissen has started the season as he left off last year – in excellent form. He’s also showed his versatility, sneaking forward in the first two rounds to chip in on the scoreboard.
Johannissen and the club reportedly remain some way apart in contract negotiations, with his Norm Smith-winning feats seemingly enhancing his monetary worth, in his management’s eyes.
Media speculation suggests he could command around $600,000-700,000 per season at another club. The Bulldogs face the task of evaluating, on the basis of their list profile, whether paying Johannissen that much would be a sensible investment, given it could mean losing another player.
As a Norm Smith medallist, he is clearly a talented and influential player, but with the Bulldogs’ depth in defensive fifty, and the flexibility of all their players, would his departure leave a gaping hole?
Clay Smith, in particular, is an interesting case. His has been an injury-ravaged career, with three knee reconstructions limiting him to 47 games in six seasons.
He had a superb season last year, and had a huge impact in the grand final, but has found himself out of the team for the first two rounds this year.
Whether this is due to poor form or depth is unclear. However, if Smith finds himself unable to break into the team it could make a decision on his net worth difficult.
Out of the players named above, Honeychurch seems the most likely to try his luck elsewhere, having found his potential role in the team taken by Caleb Daniel.
However, as we’ve seen with the champion Hawthorn and Geelong teams of the past decade, creating a winning culture, a tight-knit on and off-field bond between players, and having coaches who are respected and get the best from their charges make football clubs extremely attractive places to be.
Former Geelong coach Mark Thompson has spoken publicly about how champion Geelong players sacrificed six-figure pay increases to remain at the club and pursue more premiership success.
In recent years, both Ryan Schoenmakers and Brendan Whitecross from Hawthorn rebuffed trade offers from other clubs, despite not being guaranteed a spot in Hawthorn’s best 22.
Schoenmakers, in particular, made it known that he was desperate to stay at Hawthorn, and was prepared to fight for a spot in the team.
The Bulldogs have all three of these things in spades, and that factor alone may outweigh any contractual values.
Some have already stated their desire to stay, with midfielder Lin Jong turning his back on offers from rival clubs at the end of last year, citing his happiness at the Bulldogs and desire to remain a part of that culture as his motivation, and has clearly benefitted, with strong showings in the first two rounds suggesting he will be hard to dislodge from the team this season.
Despite struggling with homesickness last year, Adams has also stated his strong desire to stay at the Bulldogs, with the culture a major factor in that.
The strong culture and support of the coaching staff will make the Bulldogs a ‘destination’ club over the next few years. Expect their players to follow the examples of Hawthorn and Geelong, accepting lesser remuneration for the chance of scaling the premiership mountain once again.
Robert K
Guest
I'm wondering if the Tippet injury allowed Campbell to look like "a decent ruck"
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
Yeah but Roughead and Tom Campbell were missing from our Round One side. We only had Tom Boyd and Travis Cloke and neither of them are rucks. Campbell showed in Round 2 when he came into the team that he's a decent ruck.
Robert K
Guest
from memory of the first game, Collingwood had 30 more clearances from stoppages than the Doggies which indicates real ruck weakness when there's no third man up. This led to a close game assisted by Collingwood's playing the boundaries and "accidentally" or otherwise leading to numerous boundary throw ins. Hence my assertion that the Doggies desperately need much better rucking quality.
Philthy
Roar Rookie
Roberts and Hamling are both low possession defenders and I don't believe this fits into Beveridges ideal game plan. Hamling left, so no biggie as Adams is big bodied and a higher possession winner. Not the same as, but similar to, a certain Brian Lake. I think Roberts will come under pressure if Collins can develop.
Philthy
Roar Rookie
Zaine Cordy has played just 13 games. Not everyone takes off like Marcus Bontempelli. Just ask Liam Picken. Maybe suspend judgement until he has played 50 games. Watch him carefully and you will see what is evident that he has been taken under Dale Morris' wing and is already displaying some of the one on one skills that Morris has.
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
AP, I agree with your observation about awkward-looking disposal, but I disagree about poor decision-making. I reckon he has excellent decision-making and his disposals generally find a teammate. He has a great combative and determined temperament and is a real, no-nonsense team player. Give Keiran Collins a bit of time. I see no reason why we can't fit them both in. Roberts was pretty unconvincing on the weekend - seemed like whoever they moved him on to enjoyed getting a few yards space and kicking goals.
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
Not a bad idea Matty. I see Wallis's strengths as being a contested ball winner and therefore potentially more valuable going through the midfield, but there's no reason why he couldn't rotate from the backline. He could certainly replicate Boyd's ability to read the play. I think it's just a matter of getting the right balance in the backline and having one person of Wallis's ability is a good idea, provided there are sufficient players with line-breaking leg speed and searing disposal to compliment him, in addition to the talls and physical wrecking-balls.
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
Good quote Robert. Whilst it would be nice to have Max Gawn in our side, I reckon Tom Campbell is okay in the ruck and the return of Roughead gives us a great mobile ruck option. We proved last year we could succeed at the stoppages with makeshift rucks.
mattyb
Guest
Paul,have you seen much of Collins at Footscray? I want him in also but from what I've seen I have some concerns. Not sure if he suits the modern game where the mobile defender playing zones rather than one on one suits him. I really hope I'm wrong and he is still very young,fingers crossed with young Collins.
Robert K
Guest
QUOTE This year, the team that looks to be most impacted is the Western Bulldogs. With the manager of last year’s Norm Smith medallist, Jason Johannissen, announcing recently that he would defer contract talks until the end of the season, much to the perplexity of his coach, the Bulldogs enter an interesting phase in their list management cycle.UNQUOTE I don't think Jason Johannissen contributed as much to the grand final win as Kennedy did to the Swans resistance. And though he is great athlete, Jason turned the ball over a few times, as Bevo has pointed out. And being caught with the ball on Friday night v Swans by a rookie indicates he may not be as great as he thinks he is, or as thought by his agent. Jason now looks like a money grabber. I doubt that Bevo is perplexed by this situation. Take or leave the Bulldogs offer, is more likely to be Bevo's recommendation. A great team can make a player look great and a poor team can make a player look bad, as we see with an inspired Cloke. List management is more likely to concentrate on the need for acquiring better ruckmen.
I ate pies
Guest
I see Roarke Smith as the likely replacement for Bob, if he can stay on the park. Wallis would be a good replacement for Boyd. Moz is irreplaceable, but a backline of Cordy, Roberts and Adams is big enough and flexible enough....On another note, it was great to see big Adams back this week. He really does fit straight in, and he's one of the few blokes who has the strength to take on the big forwards.
Another Paul
Guest
Wow, I had never considered that. I think it's a good idea, I think the reason Boyd has worked so well down there is because as a midfielder once the ball hits the deck he has so much experience in working in tight spaces that he just naturally flourished and I have to say forwards aren't as good at tackling as midfielders in general so he found himself with just a smidge more time. So in that way Wallis is probably not a bad idea although he hasn't always been a very clean user of the ball, then again I guess Boyd wasn't either.
Another Paul
Guest
I have to say I haven't been a fan of Zaine Cordy, always felt like he made bad decisions under pressure and he has a very awkward disposal, it isn't inaccurate or bad just looks like it going to go horribly wrong. but watching on the weekend my brother stated he like him in the team and so I reevaluated and decided that maybe it was just a couple howlers that gave me that view of him, so now I'm ready to give him another chance and I agree that he is versatile he just really needs to add a layer of polish. Also I guess I disliked him because I want to see Keiren Collins lock down a spot, he always seemed the most gifted of the defensive big men we had. In the games he has played he has been calm with a decent disposal and that tackle on Patton is still awesome. I hope he gets some chances soon.
mattyb
Guest
That's pretty much how I see the replacement set up going for the big three. I've had a bit of a left field want for Wallis to eventually replace Boyd though.Small part logic,big part just an instinctive hunch. Anyone care to comment on this suggestion?
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
I think Zaine Cordy is an ideal replacement for Morris. He was excellent against the Swans and is pretty versatile. Bailey Williams and Lukas Webb are classy ball users so I think they will be good replacements for Bob and Matty down the track, if we can keep them. I'm amazed other clubs didn't target Webb during the off-season.. But I'd love to see Bob play again in 2018.
I ate pies
Guest
Hopefully those blokes will hang in there. You'd expect at least two of Bob, Boyd and Morris to retire at the end of this year. That will leave a big hole in our backline.
mattyb
Guest
Yes, excellent article and I discussed a few things about JJ the other day which I don't need to go over in great detail again except to say Jason Macartney either does his job or we find someone who has the skills required to do it. I haven't heard the figures speculated in the article but these are around the figures I'd speculate and I think they are what JJ deserves. I think as the article suggests it is going to be as much about opportunity as it is going to be about money with so many good players coming through who are all so young. Dale,Williams and Webb are also players who would be getting games at a lot of other clubs but are a long way back at the dogs. Agree that Honeychurch might be one to try elsewhere,just as Hrovat and Stevens did this year. Pressure is on Macartney here,he has already lost Hamling which is fair enough but his job is to retain wanted players more than lose them. Dalrymple has done a great job putting this list together,and now it's up to other backroom boys to keep it that way.
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
Great article Maddy. The Doggies certainly do have looming retention problems, given the depth of talent they have in the VFL team. Hence we lost Koby Stevens, Nathan Hrovat and Joel Hamling last year - all decent players. JJ is an exciting player, but we have players like Bailey Williams and Lukas Webb constantly performing well in our VFL team, and the emerging Brad Lynch, who can all potentially come into the side and replace JJ. Most likely, those players can't wait for Bob Murphy and Matty Boyd to retire, for their opportunity. Zaine Cordy looks ready-made to replace Dale Morris and we've got plenty of similar players (e.g. Clay Smith) who can replace Liam Picken. I love all those senior blokes and am rapt to see them keep playing, but I'm just saying that we have depth sufficient to cover their retirements when they happen. And that depth must be getting personally frustrated at some points about not getting selected currently. In JJ's case, it's more about leveraging his market value during a short career. Your point about being a Destination Club is important. It frustrated me for years that players wanted to be traded to Hawthorn and the Hawks could give-up less to get them in the door. It seemed unfair. Now, for the first time ever, the Doggies have become a Destination Club and it feels great! It's not just because of our recent premiership success that we've become a Destination Club. As you say, it's our culture. McCartney had a bit to do with this, but Beveridge is the main factor. Other people like Dalrymple, Jason McCartney, Chris Maple also help select the right players (i.e. players with good character) and set the right culture internally. It's a big advantage, but you need to get those senior appointments right in the coaching, football department and management, and recruit future leaders among the playing group.
Marty Gleason
Roar Guru
Excellent article. Jong was an obvious example, I thought he was gone. Surprised to hear Adams has changed his tune.