Tom Lonergan

[jeemak]

Re: Tom Lonergan

No doubt, though I wonder if Jmac was interested in the deal in the first place and whether anything at all was done to still lure him across.

[Bulldog Joe]

Re: Tom Lonergan

I don't really think we have missed on much. Its arguable that we may have been better in 2015, but it may have changed a whole lot of the dynamic.

We can't exist on what might have been, but look forward to what we can create.

[1eyedog]

Re: Tom Lonergan

Truth is, Tex probably would have gotten the ball up the ground he got against anyone - such was our ability to let the ball sling out of our backline that night. Suppose organisation and positioning may have been different with an older head in defence, hard to say. With him we may not have even had to worry about Tex first week of the finals.

Yeah true but I would have preferred this than him getting it wherever he wanted all night, esp within 50. Moving on...

[Mantis]

Re: Tom Lonergan

Would have our play for Tom Boyd been possible if Lonergan was acquired?

I'm happy with the play we made becasuse realistically our premiership window won't open until Lonergan would've retired and the next couple of years allows us to develop the young talls we have on our list.

But in 2 years time if we still have a gap to fill I would hope we would be hunting in the open market.. Much like the Hawks have done in acquiring Lake & Frawley.

[Sedat]

Re: Tom Lonergan

Yep, trading for Lonergan would have been a disaster for our list management over the next few years - there would be no Boyd, no Hamling, Griffen would probably still be on the list and (rightly commanding top dollar), so more than likely one of our young guns might have slipped through the cracks because we didn't have the cap space to satisfy him. And as Mantis has rightly pointed out, Lonergan would not be around (or would be below his best) when our next window approaches.

For the above reasons I'm absolutely stoked we didn't get him. It was only dumb luck we didn't, not to mention Bate, Dawes and others who would have added very little to our team but choked our salary cap.

[Greystache]

Re: Tom Lonergan

Would have our play for Tom Boyd been possible if Lonergan was acquired.

Yes. We had to pay a large portion of Gryphin's salary in 2015 just to make the minimum salary cap while keeping space open to bank a big chunk of Boyd in 2016. We could've spent that money paying a big front loaded chunk of Lonergan in 2015 and told GWS to get rooted. They'd have taken Griphin and pick 6 without the cash, they'd already over-committed themselves.

[Greystache]

Re: Tom Lonergan

I like the Lonergan deal at the time, and in hindsight still like it. It was never going to happen once changes were made but the deal was a good one.

[GVGjr]

Re: Tom Lonergan

I like the Lonergan deal at the time, and in hindsight still like it. It was never going to happen once changes were made but the deal was a good one.

Agreed, he would have been a good fit for us but it just wasn't to be.

[jeemak]

Re: Tom Lonergan

I really struggle to see how the recruitment of Lonergan would have been connected with our previous captain actually staying at the club, or with us not being able to secure Tom Boyd subsequent to that. The chain of events particular to our previous captain's departure started with him announcing his wish to leave and as far as I can tell, things snowballed from that with plenty of salary cap space to as - 'stache states - front load Londergan's deal after it was announced he was interested a day before the departure.

Yes, Joel Hamling wasn't required at his current club after that point, though was it actually due to Lonergan staying at the Cats? Surely if some of don't believe we'd need Lonergan in light of Hamling being a viable long term prospect, wouldn't the Cats see it the same way?

I've already stated it, though I think if we had Lonergan on our list for this year and next on $500K per season we could afford it, and we'd also benefit from a playing perspective to the point where his value would definitely help us moving from 5-8 to 1-4 on the ladder.