The Coon Dog
30-03-2008, 10:54 PM
In the wake of the announcement by Israel Falou that he's decided to move home to Brisbane next year to be closer to his family & accept the lucrative offer of squiilions from the Bronco's it just made me wonder how we would reactif that happened in the AFL?
It's very different in the AFL where player movement between teams is now restricted to certain periods in the calendar after the season has been completed.
No such thing in rugby league where you can play for a team one year, but part of the way through the season, announce that you're playing for another team the following year (a few seasons ago the coaches at Parramatta & Newcastle had both been signed to coach the other team after their existing contracts expired, so they swapped clubs, but everyone knew about it well in advance of it eventuating). I suppose it seems inconceivable to followers of the AFL, but is accepted as part of life in NRL circles.
Players will say that they are loyal to whichever club they represent at a specific time & you'd have to agree. I suppose it irks the fans whose loyalty is very much to their club & hate seeing some of their better players tempted with lucrative offers from 'cashed up' clubs.
Could you imagine the hue & cry in WA if Matthew Pavlich said after round 4 that he wants to move back to Adelaide the following year to be closer to his family? Or Adam Cooney/Ryan Griffen siad the same?
In the AFL, if a player did come out & say early in a season he wanted out to return home after the season, how his club & their supporters would react to that? Would his mind be focused on the job at hand?
Different sports, different cultures.
It's very different in the AFL where player movement between teams is now restricted to certain periods in the calendar after the season has been completed.
No such thing in rugby league where you can play for a team one year, but part of the way through the season, announce that you're playing for another team the following year (a few seasons ago the coaches at Parramatta & Newcastle had both been signed to coach the other team after their existing contracts expired, so they swapped clubs, but everyone knew about it well in advance of it eventuating). I suppose it seems inconceivable to followers of the AFL, but is accepted as part of life in NRL circles.
Players will say that they are loyal to whichever club they represent at a specific time & you'd have to agree. I suppose it irks the fans whose loyalty is very much to their club & hate seeing some of their better players tempted with lucrative offers from 'cashed up' clubs.
Could you imagine the hue & cry in WA if Matthew Pavlich said after round 4 that he wants to move back to Adelaide the following year to be closer to his family? Or Adam Cooney/Ryan Griffen siad the same?
In the AFL, if a player did come out & say early in a season he wanted out to return home after the season, how his club & their supporters would react to that? Would his mind be focused on the job at hand?
Different sports, different cultures.