throwing in the towel at 3/4 time = pay less tax.
so the ATO were all over the Ds last week.
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I agree to maximise our benefit, and hope we get lucky, but this idea he is some level of decent player is hilarious
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So youāre saying that Draper injury free isnāt even a decent player.. but heās going to become the first ruck in the reigning premiers side and they will pay him $800000 + to do it. I agree heās probably worth more to Brisbane than us and there are good reasons to let him walk that suit us long term, but heās not a list clogger.
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There will potentially be changes with ruck rules next season with things like not waiting for rucks at throw ins. It may be that what is really needed in future is a more mobile ruck that could even be a little shorter with better running to be able to get to all ruck contests. If that is the case is Draper that guy? Would a player who is lighter and faster a better option? Could this be a really good move by Essendon and a big mistake by Brisbane?
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Achilles injury aside Iād say Draper is one of the more mobile ruckman in the game.
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I think the new rules will favour rucks like Sam and probably the major reasons Brisbane and Adelaide are prepared to take a risk on him
Love your work GT2 but on this one I disagree.
We already have one of the biggest salary caps in the comp & McKay will drop down to 500K/year from 2027 onwards, we only have one more year of Gresham on 700K, Shiel is otw out (maybe a Parish/Tsatas/Hobbs etc as well) and the cap will continue to keep rising each year.
We can easily still afford to re-sign Draper (front-ending his contract, like weāve been doing with others), along with anyone else coming out of contract over the next few years, and still chase some big fishies.
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How would you feel if a guy you worked with for seven years who only showed up half the time and only got serious about his job this year while also wasnāt in the ten best employees in company and then your boss decides we should overpay him and make him nearly one of the highest paid in his role for the next 5 years just to keep him around.
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Iād rather pay a fine for being below the cap minimum than overpay players just because we have the space.
We have made some poor decisions with contracts because we have had cap space to do it, you send a message to the entire playing group every time you do it.
Itās important that habit stops.
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We wonāt be challenging until that time
Thatās a big maybe post Merrett
Ugh. Comparing football clubs to a typical business makes me wince but ok.
In this analogy the company you work for already has tons of spare cash, has already budgeted for this person to stay, you yourself are already well-paid, keeping this person around wonāt impact your earning potential one bit, or the ability to continue to bring in more top employees, theyāre a much-loved member of the company, they make the company better when theyāre available to work, there is a weak pool of applicants to replace them, and rival companies that are far more successful but have less in the budget are offering that employee more to lure them across.
Iād feel fine about it. Especially if by matching the rival offer, it increases the chances of bringing in an elite replacement even if they do still decide to leave.
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Are there 10 players on our list better than Draper? Hard to think of them right now. Please donāt say Bryan.
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Except heās a UFA. Brisbane donāt have to structure his deal so it will earn first round compo.
Unlike Joe where they simply put him on a big deal to get him then renegotiated a lower deal later.
Brisbane will have their own cap concerns. Itās not like they donāt have some A grade talent that will want pay rises. They have that everywhere.
Iād be bracing for second round compo for Draper
The thing is they havenāt they reached their maximum budget and yet people just want to continue to increase the salary to keep him
Tbh I see increasing his salary offer as a way to (hopefully) get a far better replacement.
If Iām a player/employee, the question Iād be asking is āhow does losing this person make us better?ā.
(I really, really just want band one compo lol)
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I am pretty sure we are already there to get band one you only have to look at the battle contract from last year to see the bar set
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I hope so.
I think thereās a big spotlight on how compromised drafts are atm so I wouldnāt be surprised if the bar for band one compo is being raised in line with salary cap increases.
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They hinted on last weekās Sun Footy show that Tom Harley would be doing exactly that.
Re Band one compo
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As in this year? 
Or looking to raise it moving forward?
They will absolutely do it this year.
I think we are a shot at band one either way, or at worst end of first round