List build - where are we? Where are we going next (Part 1)

Cash me inside, how bow dah?

I hope we target both as the method to recruit both is different.

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No it doesn’t.

Then we take Berlin.

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If I heard correctly, Essendon has apparently got away without factoring in the pay rises next year into our current contracts, where many other teams have it factored in. This would mean we are well placed to make a splurge. Provided JD, Zaha, Parish, McKenna and other players coming out of contract don’t get too carried away. The only huge signing we have to worry about is JD with the others having potential to get medium sized.

But footy teams don’t operate in a 1-year vacuum. What happens today, effects tomorrow. There was a cap. There still is one. The number of players in a team hasn’t changed. It’s swings., roundabouts, Peter and Paul. There is no ‘magic extra cap’. The fight for more pay wasn’t made only by, and for, the highest paid players. And pressure to retain your players is still, and will always be there. Ability or opportunity to spend more on a quick plug-in player, is matched by another team stealing one of yours. If the cap suddenly went up to $50m, the same would apply, as everyone jockeyed for their (rightful) share. And- on top of all that - we all know that when push comes to shove - player contracts are not worth a damn.

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So much spare salary cap sloshing around that every club has buying-power?

May be true… so hopefully that means that player movement comes down to other factors, like opportunity (I hope)…and right now we have a obvious midfield opening for anyone that wants to come and claim it…with a ready made forward line to finish off your work, and a ‘decent’ defense (still have to replace Kelly and Bags to settle it with longevity).

Hopefully that can convince some prospective mids to come and take the TVSC guided tour come off season…need a real impressive PowerPoint presentation (or whatever software the kids use these days).

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There is still a minimum amount teams can spend on their players. The most you can have sloshing around, is 5%, give or take buffering from past/previous year (iirc). So the % of cap you have spare is never going to be comparatively great - it’s designed so it won’t be. The way you free up cap is not by it being greater than it was, but by trading/delisting players on your list.

Agree that the payrise doesn’t mean anything poaching wise because every team gets it, but if it’s true that three or four clubs including us have structured our contracts to not include automatic pay increases in line with the new CBA, then we do effectively have a little ‘magic extra cap’. Definitely not “we can afford Martin for free” but maybe “we can get tip the balance on some mid-level deals” type money.

Let’s say we’re after Zak Jones, and at the start of the year were roughly in the same salary position as the swans (as you point out, everyone’s paying most of the cap). Hooker’s on 5 years @ 700k, so is Heeney. New CBA is signed, Heeney’s now on 5 years @ 840k, Hooker’s still on 700k. Now whatever the swans offer Jones, we can add up to an extra 140k before we’re having to give up as much, relatively speaking, as the swans.

The effect is likely more muted than that given how many players come out of contract compared to the number on long, large contracts, but it’s possible that over the next few years we will have an extra bit of cash compared to most other teams. Not a war chest, but at least a wallet.

All this is true and correct. The thing to add to it is, contracts are continuously being lapsed, resigned, and remade, while teams are constantly vying for the services of contracted players from other teams, managers are peddling their clients, young stars are improving and becoming more valuable, etc etc. This makes for a far more complex landscape than most people think.

Agree, hence the rest of my hedging. I’m thinking of it as kind of on par with the difference between finishing 6th or 8th in terms of attracting players, a minor advantage that might get a deal over the line, but hardly the advantage of being the reigning premiers.

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I would expect any increase in the cap would be offset by an equal increase in players expectations (or a contract that automatically increases by the increase). If the cap increase was to put a good player at a destinct disadvantage their manager would be onto the club to fix it or negotate a trade. Effectively there is zero difference.

If Essendon players did not negotate a ‘cap increase clause’ in their contract it was either because they are loyal, or the contract this year had a considerable ‘bonus’ for signing on, which was expected to be reduced by the cap increase next year .

Having players who play for unders to stay at a club, and/or clearing cap space with retirements/delistings are the only way to create a ‘war chest’ even so, evidence has shown it won’t work unless the player wants to leave anyway.

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http://www.theroar.com.au/2017/06/29/recruits-draftees-going-essendon-part-1/

How the Recruits and Draftees are going: Essendon (Part 1)
ConorRoar Rookie
By Conor, 29 Jun 2017 Conor is a Roar Rookie

How the Recruits and Draftees are going: Essendon (Part 1)
Andrew McGrath is one of many new faces in the Essendon squad this year. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)

Related coverage
Essendon Bombers news
Recently, I discussed how Collingwood’s recruits and draftees are going. In today’s article, I am moving on to look at how Essendon’s recruits and draftees are travelling 11 rounds into the season.

Josh Green – delisted free agent from Brisbane
Green was delisted by the Lions last season after struggling with injuries and form, but has seamlessly slotted into the Bombers line-up. He has played all but two games this season, which he missed with a hamstring injury, and has collected 115 disposals and 12 goals playing in the forward line. The 24-year-old certainly looks like being an important part of the Bombers future.

James Stewart – traded from GWS for Pick 77
Stewart, traded to the Bombers after playing only 18 games in four years at the Giants, has been solid in 2017. He started the year in the VFL, kicking eight goals in four games. Since coming into the senior team, he has played six games and kicked nine majors in that time.

Andrew McGrath – Pick 1, 2016 AFL Draft
McGrath received high interest from the Giants, with him being the reason for GWS trading up the draft order. However, the Bombers took him with pick one. He has so far been impressive, averaging 19.4 disposals and slotting a major. He certainly looks like a star of the future.

Andrew McGrath Essendon Bombers AFL 2017
(AAP Image/Julian Smith)

Jordan Ridley – Pick 22, 2016 AFL Draft
Ridley has struggled to get out on the field this year, with a stress fracture in his foot keeping him out for a large chunk of the season. He has looked promising in his last two games, but doesn’t look like making a debut this year.

Josh Begley – Pick 31, 2016 AFL Draft
Begley has looked nice at VFL level, playing ten games and slotting 14 majors. He is one who can slot in as a winger and small forward in the Essendon line-up in the future and will be hoping for a debut later this year or early next year.

Kobe Mutch – Pick 42, 2016 AFL Draft
Mutch is looking like a classy player in the VFL in 2017, being named in the best twice and kicking two goals in nine games. He’s developing nicely in his first year on an AFL list.

Dylan Clarke – Pick 63, 2016 AFL Draft
Clarke, the brother of North Melbourne midfielder Ryan, has looked nice this year, playing ten games in the VFL, kicking two goals, and being named in the best once playing as a midfielder. He will be wanting to push for a debut later this year or early next year.

Sam Draper – Pick 1, 2016 AFL Rookie Draft
Draper has been a quality player in the VFL this year, averaging 16.5 hit outs per game. He is a player who can develop to be Essendon’s number one ruckman in a few years.

Given how many quality ruckmen have come through the rookie draft, such as Aaron Sandilands, Dean Cox, and Majak Daw – the latter yet to take advantage of his potential – history is on Draper’s side to become a quality ruckman.

Ben McNiece – Category B Rookie, 2016
McNiece has looked nice this year, playing off half-back after being recruited as Category B Rookie from Essendon’s VFL side. He made his debut in Round 5, playing two games and averaging 12.5 disposals.

There you go, Essendon’s recruits and draftees so far. Comment your thoughts so far, and keep an eye out for the Fremantle article.

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… nice … everyone looks nice.

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That could be the worst write up I have ever read:grinning:

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‘Slot’

Quality ruckmen like Dean cox, Aaron Sandilands and… no, not Sam Jacobs, or Mumford, or Ben Hudson, or Stef Martin, or even MIke freaking Pyke…

That guy who’s played about 3 games in ruck and sucked in all of them… he proves the point.

I reckon I spent longer writing this than the author of that article spent.

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I hope all 4 of the old guys (Watson, BJ, Stanton, Kelly) don’t retire at the same time. We are seriously lacking in experience if they do. My preference would be to plead with Goddard to stay on for 1-2 more. And Kelly. Watson and Stanton are at sitck-a-fork-in-them level basically. Hocking and Howlett aren’t up to it.

You won’t have to plead with Goddard because a) he has a trigger clause in his contract which he’s about 3 games off triggering and b) he strikes me as a guy who won’t retire so much as be forcefully escorted from the premises screaming that he’s got one good year left in him.

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That review could have been reduced to a list of their Dreamteam points, surely?

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