Gold Coast begins to entice players north

[BulldogBelle]

Looks like Scotty Clayton has started his speel to entice players up north and is chatting to player managers, the clubs will be working hard to secure and re-sign their stars....

Gold Coast begins to entice players north
The Age
Jake Niall | March 16, 2009

MORE than two years before the club is slated to become the AFL's 17th club, the Gold Coast has already started preliminary talks aimed at luring uncontracted players from the 16 clubs.

Sources confirmed yesterday that the Gold Coast bid's recruiting and list manager, Scott Clayton, has started talking to the competition's leading player managers about players coming out of contract at the end of 2010. The Gold Coast team is scheduled to enter the competition in 2011.

While the Gold Coast bid group, GC17, has yet to secure the 17th licence and there are questions about whether the economic outlook could delay the new team's introduction, Clayton and the Gold Coast leadership recognise that they need to lay groundwork for an assault on uncontracted players during 2009 — well before it enters the AFL.

The clubs, mindful of the buckets of cash that will be offered to players coming out of contract in 2010, have been preparing to re-sign key players in the hope of heading off a Gold Coast raid and avoiding inflated deals.

But the Gold Coast bid, too, recognises that it needs to have a pool of good players available and is encouraging managers to ensure players come out of contract in 2010.

A higher-than-usual proportion of the game's biggest names come out of contract at the end of 2010, including Lance Franklin, Gary Ablett, Nick Riewoldt, Jarryd Roughead and Matthew Pavlich.

Some managers have sought to have their players coming out of contract then in the knowledge that the Gold Coast will create enormous leverage for them.

Hawthorn is expected to seek to re-negotiate the final two years of Franklin's contract, boosting his pay in 2009 and 2010, and contracting him beyond 2011 — a move that would stave off any Gold Coast or other club's bid for its superstar goalkicker.

Under the expected recruiting rules, the Gold Coast will have the right to sign one player from every club, and there will be a compensation formula involving draft picks, the age of the player and his remuneration.

Some managers and clubs believe that the Gold Coast could even create a rugby league-like situation in which players are known to be leaving their club and heading north a year or so before they depart.

This view is based upon the industry belief that the Gold Coast will need to secure uncontracted players very early, otherwise they will be re-signed before the new club has a chance to strike.

The Gold Coast will have draft picks 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 9 and nine of the top 15 selections in the 2010 draft, plus access to the 12 best 17-year-olds — who cannot be drafted this year — in 2009. Both picks and the 17-year-olds will be tradeable.

[MrMahatma]

I'm still staggered by those draft concessions...

[LostDoggy]

Staggering.

[Go_Dogs]

I'm still staggered by those draft concessions...

My understanding is that the quite a few of those early picks will act as bargaining chips to secure high quality, ready made players from other clubs at the close of 2010. The 17 year olds (who under the new draft rules are not eligible this year) are also tradable.

It's not like they will start a team with 40 18 y.o's on their list. They'd get killed every week.

[LostDoggy]

This aint the year to tank..bottom 4 get sfa in 2010, dont wanna be stuck down there for the next few years

[mighty_west]

This aint the year to tank..bottom 4 get sfa in 2010, dont wanna be stuck down there for the next few years

We are in the fortunate position of being around the top of the table and a load of quality young players coming through, plus we should do well over the next few seasons with father/son picks, so it's a double bonus for us.

[Dry Rot]

I wonder if any Dogs regulars who are not untouchables might be traded by mutual agreement?

Clayton does have some knowledge of our list , and if players like Reid and Wood really come on then maybe players like Boyd might be considered for a good pick from GC to top us up?

[comrade]

I wonder if any Dogs regulars who are not untouchables might be traded by mutual agreement?

Clayton does have some knowledge of our list , and if players like Reid and Wood really come on then maybe players like Boyd might be considered for a good pick from GC to top us up?

Maybe we could package up Wight and Skipper for a top 10 pick...

Maybe pigs will fly?

[Dry Rot]

Maybe we could package up Wight and Skipper for a top 10 pick...

Maybe pigs will fly?

I'm hardly talking about those guys.

[comrade]

I'm hardly talking about those guys.

Sorry, I was extracting the urine. Should've chucked an emoticon at the end

[azabob]

I wonder if any Dogs regulars who are not untouchables might be traded by mutual agreement?

Clayton does have some knowledge of our list , and if players like Reid and Wood really come on then maybe players like Boyd might be considered for a good pick from GC to top us up?

To be honest I think Clayton knowing our list as well as people think he does will work against us, rather than work in our favour.

[Dry Rot]

Sorry, I was extracting the urine. Should've chucked an emoticon at the end

No probs.

To be honest I think Clayton knowing our list as well as people think he does will work against us, rather than work in our favour.

You could be right. But I wonder how many of our players are genuinely "untouchable" and how many might be traded for a very good pick?

[Sockeye Salmon]

Mitch Hahn would be my first choice.

[MrMahatma]

Mitch Hahn would be my first choice.

He'll be pretty old by then.

[KT31]

Mitch Hahn would be my first choice.

I think Clayton will already have Bulldog players in mind and it wont be fringe players.
He has great inside knowledge of who gets paid what and what will entice players across.
Best thing that could happen to us is he suffers amnesia for a couple of years.