Sydney coach John Longmire lifts the lid on why the Joe Daniher deal fell flat

Two first round draft picks generally equates to an A-grader. GWS have to release such players due to salary cap pressure -- I do believe their drafting strategy is faulty in that it will always lead to salary cap pressure. They should be using more of their high draft picks to secure good support players who won't blow their cap. I will concede that Walla needs to be more consistent and Fantasia needs to be on the park more to be rated as A-graders. Who knows how Daniher will perform next year, that is dependant on his commitment. Perhaps he has more important things in his life in a similar way to Tom Boyd, but at least Boyd made the necessary commitment in the Bulldogs premiership year.

So Shiel is an A-Grader, too? GWS certainly didn't rate him that highly. Tipper an inconsistent A-Grader? Is there such a beast? Yes, Fantasia needs to get his body right . . . can't be rated A-Grade at least on that basis. Sustained performance just hasn't been on show . . . ever! Sure, support players are required and need to play a role but if you have 9 bona fide A-Graders plus a fit and focused Daniher who you rate top 3 in the league then the Bombers are a shoo in for top 4. Hmmmmm. Nup. Just not seeing it.

I forgot Shiel. As I mentioned, Hooker needs to be managed as most players do need to be late in their careers. Fantasia needs to get his body right and McDonald-Tipungwuti needs to be more consistent. We all tend to under-rate the support players and also the value of on field leadership.

We're certainly a l-o-o-o-o-ng ways apart in our assessments of Daniher. He will determine his value I suppose. As far as A graders, well that would have you in the top 4 no problems. Good luck with that.

If he does a Tim Kelly he would be worth $6m over 5 years and I think Essendon should match it unless an appropriate trade can be arranged — on the lines of Dangerfield to Geelong from Adelaide, but two first round draft picks. If Daniher is unprofessional in 2020 he might get $500k plus bonuses and would be worth a fourth round draft pick. As far as A-graders at Essendon are concerned — McGrath, Merrett, Hooker, Hurley, Saad, McDonald-Tipungwuti, Fantasia. Heppell is just short. Hooker is coming to the end of his career and needs to be managed but is still A-grade. I think Essendon’s major problem is a lack of on field leadership and I suspect that was one reason why McGrath was drafted.

Great interview that one. Have a lot of respect for Tom Boyd. As far as Daniher being top 3 in terms of ability we'll have to agree to disagree . . . I have him nowhere near those lofty heights. Another Bomber Roarer has Essendon with 8 A-Graders. Herein lies the problem. Those outside the EFC just can't see it, I'm one of those. As for Daniher I agree that we'd all like to see him injury free. He aint no messiah though. Are you happy for the EFC to match the Swans offer next year and pay him well overs to maybe continue to demonstrate a lack of commitment and professionalism?

I don't blame Essendon for playing hardball. Daniher absolutely would have been #1 draft pick had he been available on the open market the year he was drafted. He's worth more than what Sydney were offering.

I rate Daniher's ability as being in the top 3 of the AFL, so far he has been an unfulfilled talent. High talent is rare, the commitment to exploit it to its full potential is rarer still. A lack of commitment to a sport is often associated with injuries to the sportsperson involved. I would be happy to see Daniher play to his full potential whether that be at Essendon, Sydney or anywhere else. Mike Sheahan's interview of Tom Boyd is worth watching in terms of the commitment required of AFL players.

Yes. I certainly understand your thinking. From where I sit, outside the club, all the more reason to offload him and take the two first round picks on offer and let the 'buyer' deal with his lack of professionalism. You obviously don't rate Daniher as highly as others do . . . what is the real benefit of keeping him long term? Or even for one year which is the more likely scenario?

If Daniher had checked with Sydney they would have told him that it would be unlikely that they would be able to do a deal with Essendon in 2019. Daniher has been unprofessional in the way he has gone about this. If his kicking for goal is anything to go by then he has been unprofessional in his approach to football. Players who have never had a real job but earn $14,000 a week and feel hard done by don't register with me. There are players who want to change clubs because they won't make the commitment to be the best player they can be and I can name 2 examples from the last trade period who switched clubs and have been very disappointing in their commitment to their new teams.

Once again Essendon overrate themselves and their players making them impossible to deal with. Anything above a 7 or 8 finish in 2020 would greatly surprise, much more likely to drop out of the 8 with or without Daniher. Essendon? Laughable!

Essendon weren't prepared to lose a quality player in Daniher without getting a quality player in return from Sydney or elsewhere. This was understandable given that Essendon believe they are in a finals window. Sydney were never going to return a quality player to Essendon so the deal was never going to get done. Two first round draft picks wouldn't have produced a quality player in the short term either through trading or through the draft. This was obviously driven by Daniher, he should now concentrate on having the best season he can have and demonstrate his professionalism in a highly paid profession. The future will look after itself.