I would put a hunge in for an extra rookie, not sure how the club would go asking for it though as they were already fairly insistent about memberships. Maybe if all the fair weather supporters bit the bullet and got a membership we wouldnt be in this position...
I'm not sure this is really a total membership issue but it's probably more related to the speculation of things getting very tight. For example I could see a lot of people dropping down their commitment slightly but still being very active members.
Westerners moving to the Player Sponsors group
Players Sponsor moving to the Top Dog group
17 game members moving to 11 game members etc etc
I question the real need to get more rookies anyway. It would be nice but perhaps a luxury that we don't really need.
Western Bulldogs Football Club "Where it's cool to drool"
If we missed out on a Dean Cox or a Nathan Bock, I would be annoyed. The more players you have on your list the more opportunities you have of discovering a special talent.
Some would argue we should be able to identify one of the above in the 'main draft', some players mature later than others. This is why we need all selections in the rookie draft.
Good point, but im not sure I agree. I think everything starts from your membership base. The more members we have, the more chance we have of members over time upgrading their membership. Signing major sponsors would be easier. How attractive would it be to say to a potential major sponsor "Hey we have 35,000-40,000 members who sign up every year regardless. As opposed to only 23,000 when we are on the bottom of the ladder and 28,000 when we are on the top of the ladder.
In recent times we have successfully moved three players from the Rookie list to the senior line-up so the Bock and Cox examples aren't that relevant. Good recruiting should have had them on a senior list anyway.
Regarding the highlighted section, I'm not sure I agree with that either. The more players you have on your list means that a higher portion of them will be shunted into the Williamstown reserves for a longer period of times. Shaw and Mulligan couldn't crack it for a senior game even when Street and Skipper were out and I think White only played one or maybe two senior games for the season. 3 or 4 rookies getting a few senior games is in my opinion better than 6 or 7 guys getting just 2 or 3 games.
Given we have kept 3 guys from last year, adding Ogle and one more should be more than OK.
Western Bulldogs Football Club "Where it's cool to drool"
I understand where you are coming from. If Shaw, Mulligan and White were showing outstanding from, they would have managed more games and perhaps even elevation to the senior list if there was a spot available ie Harbrow (from 2nds at Werribee to Dogs seniors within 3 weeks. We'll have to agree to disagree.........
Was just reported on SEN that the club has found the funds to have a full list of rookies this year, so we won't miss out after all.
It's always a balancing act; we shouldn't forget that they (Willy) are subject to the same financial pressures that the Doggies face and on field success is the only long term answer, so they face their own imperatives, but I'm with you Willy seemed to manage it better, they gave a real chance to those who had earned it, I really can't think of too many who deserved a go and didn't get it ... and if they are losing a few more than expected in the off season it is likely to open up even more opportunities.
I believe there's nothing on this earth that we own. All we do is look after it for our children - Terry Wheeler
Signing a major sponsor, wouldnt that give us the money to get the rookies?
Hopefully happens soon.
As far as the rookies go when do we name them?