Gold Coast launches ambitious plan to poach superstars

[Rocket Science]

Gold Coast launches ambitious plan to poach superstars (http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,25272152-19742,00.html)

Andrew Hamilton | April 01, 2009 12:00am

GEELONG champion Gary Ablett is the confirmed No. 1 target of the Gold Coast team.

Football director Graeme Downie made the bold claim after the club was awarded the 17th AFL licence yesterday, which came as a complete surprise to some media.

Ablett, Lance Franklin and Nick Riewoldt, who come out of contract at the end of 2010, are firmly in the Gold Coast's sights.

Under the AFL's list building concessions, the club can sign one uncontracted player from each of the 16 clubs.

"My view is you go for the best player," Downie said. "Any club would love to have Gary Ablett, he is an amazing player. Everyone says how good his father was. I'd have Gary before his father."

The Gold Coast's core philosophy will be to build a team from the ground up with younger players.

But Downie has drawn on his experiences with the Brisbane Bears and Lions to demand recruiter Scott Clayton find a leadership core of between five and eight players in their mid-20s with about 150 games' experience.

He has ruled out players in their late 20s or 30s, but an exception would be made for Riewoldt, a local hero who has been earmarked as the side's first captain.

Clayton has already presented leading player agents with an ambitious recruiting plan the club says can deliver a premiership to the region in 2014 - its fourth year in the competition.

"Scott Clayton's main focus seems to be ensuring every player in the competition is out of contract at the end of 2010," Downie said. "If it works out, we'll have a few to choose from."

It is believed Clayton, the ex-Bulldogs football manager, favours Bulldogs Ryan Griffen and Adam Cooney, and Collingwood's Scott Pendlebury.

Former Queenslanders Brent Renouf (Hawks), Ricky Pettard (Melbourne) and Gavin Urquhart (Kangaroos) are also on the radar.

Downie said the club's next appointment would be a football manager.

AFLQ chief executive Richard Griffiths, a former Melbourne football department head, and assistant coach and former Lions football administration manager Marcus Ashcroft are contenders.

WHAT THE CLUB GETS

17-team league from 2011 means a bye each week

Gold Coast will have access to one uncontracted player per club at the end of the 2010 season

In the 2010 national draft, Gold Coast will have the first pick in each round. In the first round, it will have picks 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15

Via the 2009 national draft, Gold Coast will be able to sign 12 17-year-olds

In the 2009 rookie draft, Gold Coast will have selections 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

AFL commitment: $100m over 6 years

Salary Cap: 2011 $9.21m ($1m more than rival clubs), 2012 ($800,000 more), 2013 ($600,000 more), 2014 ($400,000 more)

=========================

While I'd argue their concessions are bloody excessive, and their logo is heinous, you'd expect the footy media will flog this "they're coming to get your stars" line like a rented mule for the next two years.

Certainly lends added interest to our individual contract negotiations over the next 12-24 months.

[The Coon Dog]

Negotiating with player managers over the next few years is going to be an absolute nightmare. The key in my view to retaining good players is having a culture of success where your guns just say, 'I want to stay at this footy club' as Lance Franklin did yesterday.

[BulldogBelle]

Negotiating with player managers over the next few years is going to be an absolute nightmare. The key in my view to retaining good players is having a culture of success where your guns just say, 'I want to stay at this footy club' as Lance Franklin did yesterday.

We just have to be succesful and hope the players want to stay around the club.

Here's hoping.

[Mantis]

Both Adam & Ryan have stated in the past that they want to be one club players, let's hope they are true to their word.

Watching both in action on Sunday was mouth-watering, if they stick around they will rip sides apart for the next 6 to 8 years.

[BulldogBelle]

When most expansion clubs of recent times started, they didnt land many superstars

Ie Port got Wanganeen (Brownlow meadalist)......Freo got no one (maybe Allen + Mann but no superstars)

Who wants to put a premiership at risk and run to a fleding club that wont play finals for 4-5 years

Am sure the GC will land one very decent star, but it wont be someone of Cooney/Griffins ilk

[The Underdog]

Not meaning to get all philosophical, but if Adam Cooney plays football on the Gold Coast and nobody's there to see it, does he really play at all.

[Go_Dogs]

Both Adam & Ryan have stated in the past that they want to be one club players, let's hope they are true to their word.

Watching both in action on Sunday was mouth-watering, if they stick around they will rip sides apart for the next 6 to 8 years.

Yes, both have stated how happy they are at the Bulldogs. I don't see that changing in the near future.

If this group wants to become very, very successful they need to stick together. Hopefully they can all see that, and see that the success is not far off.

[Rocket Science]

Both Adam & Ryan have stated in the past that they want to be one club players, let's hope they are true to their word.

Watching both in action on Sunday was mouth-watering, if they stick around they will rip sides apart for the next 6 to 8 years.

There was a brief but exhilarating passage of play last Sunday midway through the 1stQ where Griffen and Cooney, both flying in top gear, linked up while streaming forward and consequently goaled, the passage demonstrated with such lethal brilliance you could almost see the Freo players spectating while thinking "Wow".

The 'one-club player' line tends to roll off the tongue a little too easily for mine especially when they're south of 25 where so many future factors can play into that scenario (individual and team form, player manager attitudes, etc) but you can only take blokes at face value I suppose.

I just hope someone at the club has some compromising photos of Scotty Clayton somewhere.

[DOG GOD]

Time will tell i guess. Some players play for their team mates and the jumper. Others play for money. Will be interesting to see what our players and others for that matter decide. Don't be suprised if Hahn and Williams is also on the radar there somewhere (and any other queenslander we have).

[Mantis]

There was a brief but exhilarating passage of play last Sunday midway through the 1stQ where Griffen and Cooney, both flying in top gear, linked up while streaming forward and consequently goaled, the passage demonstrated with such lethal brilliance you could almost see the Freo players spectating while thinking "Wow".


I certainly did (say wow), as did the other people I was watching the game with. Many of these fine chaps hate us, but couldn't be more impressed by watching these 2 in action.

[Desipura]

Time will tell i guess. Some players play for their team mates and the jumper. Others play for money. Will be interesting to see what our players and others for that matter decide. Don't be suprised if Hahn and Williams is also on the radar there somewhere (and any other queenslander we have).

With all due respect, I would not be overly disapponited to lose Hahn in 2 years time.
A fit Williams on the other hand would be a different story.............

[hujsh]

I don't quite get how the 'one uncontracted player from each club' bit works. Does it mean they can just offer them a contract without the regular or pre-season draft being involved?

[The Coon Dog]

I don't quite get how the 'one uncontracted player from each club' bit works. Does it mean they can just offer them a contract without the regular or pre-season draft being involved?
I heard Scott Clayton this morning describe it as a limited form of free agency. If an uncontracted player elects to join GC17, then a panel assess (no idea who) what form of compensation is paid, taking into account the players age, where he was drafted, his salary, performance in the clubs B & F etc...

[LostDoggy]

I hate this Gold Coast team already.

[hujsh]

I heard Scott Clayton this morning describe it as a limited form of free agency. If an uncontracted player elects to join GC17, then a panel assess (no idea who) what form of compensation is paid, taking into account the players age, where he was drafted, his salary, performance in the clubs B & F etc...

Sounds like bad news for us.

[The Coon Dog]

Sounds like bad news for us.

Why are we any different to the other 16 clubs?

[hujsh]

Why are we any different to the other 16 clubs?

I didn't mean to say we were and in many ways we aren't. I suppose it could be argued that it would be easier to compensate us less fairly than Collingwood or Sydney for example but really it's not a great situation for any club.

[Sockeye Salmon]

I simply don't understand why they have done it the way they have. It could have been so much easier and cleaner if they had just let me do it.

1) Scrap the PSD. Uncontracted players that want to leave their club go into the National Draft.

2) Give GC every odd number draft pick.

3) Tell 'em to trade.


Job's done.



I would also reduce the draft age for this year as they are, but next year when GC come in, I'd return it back to where it is temperarily. That would increase the number of kids available for the GC entry year.

[azabob]

I simply don't understand why they have done it the way they have. It could have been so much easier and cleaner if they had just let me do it.

1) Scrap the PSD. Uncontracted players that want to leave their club go into the National Draft.

2) Give GC every odd number draft pick.

3) Tell 'em to trade.


Job's done.



I would also reduce the draft age for this year as they are, but next year when GC come in, I'd return it back to where it is temperarily. That would increase the number of kids available for the GC entry year.

The players association would argue that if you scrap the PSD that is the only real avenue players have to get to the club of their choice.

They most likely will trade some of their top picks away anyway.
So you would give them every odd pick in the draft? As in every second pick? That is worse than what is proposed now.

[LostDoggy]

The players association would argue that if you scrap the PSD that is the only real avenue players have to get to the club of their choice.

They most likely will trade some of their top picks away anyway.
So you would give them every odd pick in the draft? As in every second pick? That is worse than what is proposed now.

How so? Under the current system they can go and cherry pick players and let some arbitrary panel (with KB on it probably) decide how much a player is worth. If they have to trade their picks for players clubs will get closer to the natural market value for the player, and GC won't be able to trade pick 51 for Tom Williams, for example, so they will naturally get a spread of talent based on draft pick positions, ie. either get five picks in the top 10 or five uncontracted players worth a top 10 pick (or a combination of the two) but not both.

That way they'll end up with a list with a spread of talent from 'top 10 pick' level all the way down to pick 90 or whatever, either through drafting or trading, which is a fairer reflection of a typical AFL list rather than some frankensteinian concoction of player greed, crazy tribunal rulings, and compromised drafts which will take 10 years to balance out while they win 5 premierships in that time.

I'm not a believer in laissez-faire economics, but this is a perfect case study of letting the utility of market forces determine price/value of players rather than some arbitrary centrally controlled pricing panel. The Soviets can tell you that centrally controlled pricing is a recipe for over-regulation, arbitrary valuations, and disaster.

SS has hit the nail on the head with this one.

[LostDoggy]

With all due respect, I would not be overly disapponited to lose Hahn in 2 years time.
A fit Williams on the other hand would be a different story.............

One day, perhaps when Hahn is no longer a member of the playing group, we will appreciate just how valuable this bloke is to the team.

Hopefully!!

[Sockeye Salmon]

How so? Under the current system they can go and cherry pick players and let some arbitrary panel (with KB on it probably) decide how much a player is worth. If they have to trade their picks for players clubs will get closer to the natural market value for the player, and GC won't be able to trade pick 51 for Tom Williams, for example, so they will naturally get a spread of talent based on draft pick positions, ie. either get five picks in the top 10 or five uncontracted players worth a top 10 pick (or a combination of the two) but not both.

That way they'll end up with a list with a spread of talent from 'top 10 pick' level all the way down to pick 90 or whatever, either through drafting or trading, which is a fairer reflection of a typical AFL list rather than some frankensteinian concoction of player greed, crazy tribunal rulings, and compromised drafts which will take 10 years to balance out while they win 5 premierships in that time.

I'm not a believer in laissez-faire economics, but this is a perfect case study of letting the utility of market forces determine price/value of players rather than some arbitrary centrally controlled pricing panel. The Soviets can tell you that centrally controlled pricing is a recipe for over-regulation, arbitrary valuations, and disaster.

SS has hit the nail on the head with this one.

For a pair who started out argueing with every post each other wrote, you've become my new best friend.

[Scraggers]

Not meaning to get all philosophical, but if Adam Cooney plays football on the Gold Coast and nobody's there to see it, does he really play at all.

\ \ \ \ \ \

The sound of one hand clapping ... :)

[LostDoggy]

For a pair who started out argueing with every post each other wrote, you've become my new best friend.

It's weird isn't it. I think that's how a lot of people get married.

[Desipura]

One day, perhaps when Hahn is no longer a member of the playing group, we will appreciate just how valuable this bloke is to the team.

Hopefully!!
He is a very valuable player who's bullocking work certainly does not go unnoticed. In 2 years time if the Gold Coast were interested in a 30yo Mitch Hahn for a draft pick, we would be crazy not to take it!

[LostDoggy]

Here's hoping that Griff and Coon are both one player clubs.

[azabob]

Here's hoping that Griff and Coon are both one player clubs.

One would think if they were to leave, they'd go to Adelaide clubs not the Gold Coast.
I think the key is for the interstate players to settle down with local girls/boys that way their partners cannot pressure them to go home for family reasons.

[bornadog]

Whether we like it or not, we will lose someone to GC17.

[The Coon Dog]

Whether we like it or not, we will lose someone to GC17.
Will we? Do they have to get one from each team, or is it only if they can lure one who's uncontracted?

[LostDoggy]

I'm not sure of the legalities of the situation, but i'd be surprised if the AFL said, "oh, BTW Mitch, you have to go play for GC17. Pack your bags, sell your house, relocate" and a player had to follow suit against their will. You'd think only those uncontracted players who were interested would move.

[The Coon Dog]

Gold Coast dominates teen scene (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25578398-5012432,00.html)



IF you're 17 and can play Australian football, there will be no place to hide from the AFL's newest club, the Gold Coast.

Not even if you are from the backwaters of Western Australia or the wilderness in Tasmania.

One of the Gold Coast's priority concessions for its start-up is its ability to list a dozen 17-year-olds in November this year. The 12 young players must have birth dates between January 1, 1992 and April 30 in the same year.

While the most of 17-year-olds will probably come from this year's intake of AIS-AFL Academy squad, consisting of up to 30 elite juniors from around the country, the Gold Coast is confident it will identify the very best, from wherever.

And even if the youngsters or their parents indicate a reluctance to become part of the AFL's 17th club, they will have no choice if they want to play at senior level before leaving their teen years behind.

If the industry cackle is any guide, some AFL clubs have already spoken to parents about keeping their eligible sons low-key for at least a year and out of reach of Scott Clayton, the highly respected and long-time recruiter, who is now the Gold Coast's list manager in charge of compiling a team for a 2011 start.

Clayton yesterday scoffed at suggestions some clubs would consider conspiring with reluctant parents to cheat the system.

"That was how some people at clubs did business in the 1980s," Clayton said. "That's not the modern era.

"And as well as having the advantage of using AFL resources, we've got a lot of people on the ground, enough anyway to know what we're doing."

AFL general manager of national development, David Matthews, said yesterday the rules, which would also be similarly applied to a team from Sydney's west for entry into the competition in 2012, were designed specifically for the best young talent to enhance the expansion clubs and was not a workplace restraint.

"Seven clubs were on the working party and we went through a thorough process of consultation so they understood the rationale and practical effect of the rules," Matthews said.

"We've given the Gold Coast the opportunity to stagger building its playing list over three years so that 48 players don't all turn up at once."

Clayton's philosophy is to pick the best 12 players, no matter what, and they will be bound to the Gold Coast for two years.

"If that means some want to stay home to finish school, we'd still sign them to a contract and have them here the following year," Clayton said. "If we want them bad enough, we'd sit."

The Gold Coast's eligible 17-year-olds this year are too young to be in November's national draft and the only way a reluctant recruit could move on is if the Gold Coast agreed to trade him out in either 2010 or 2011.

This year's priority dozen will be either contracted for a minimum of two years or be listed for one or two years.

If contracted, they could play in either the QAFL competition in 2010 or in the VFL, as it has not yet been established which league the Gold Coast will play in next year, in their second season after exposure in this year's under-18 TAC Cup.

Among this year's AIS-AFL Academy are 13 teenagers who are eligible to be taken by the Gold Coast, but three of them are either from Queensland or the Northern Territory and are therefore eligible to be selected as zone players at the end of next year.

Clayton said he had no knowledge of any reluctant young player, but described the academy players as being excited at the prospect of being able to play together.

"We're going to list players by our timing, not anyone else's and we're very positive," he said. "The AIS group are excited. They have a bond together and are very tight, which will be valuable for us."

Clayton said his club's preference was to have most of the 17-year-olds on the Gold Coast next year for development.

"But everything's about 2011 and if some of these boys are going to have 10- to 15-year careers, their first few months pale into insignificance," he said.

The Gold Coast's initial senior list in 2011 will be 48, plus nine rookies, which will gradually work to the same list sizes of other clubs.

[The Coon Dog]

I get the feeling all clubs supporters are going to despise GC17.

Keeping Tippett an uphill battle: Crows (http://news.realfooty.com.au/breaking-news-sport/keeping-tippett-an-uphill-battle-crows-20090611-c4ri.html)

Adelaide coach Neil Craig admits his club face an uphill struggle to keep Kurt Tippett from choosing the comforts of a Gold Coast AFL home when his contract expires at the end of 2010.

Tippett, a Queenslander, is rapidly emerging as one of the league's most promising key forward/ruck prospects, kicking seven goals in the Crows' round 11 victory over Essendon and also plucking a contender for mark of the season.

He is most definitely on the radar of GC17 scouts, and would appear ideally suited to the expansion club's need for a strong start-up squad as he should be in the prime of his career when they enter the national competition in 2011.

Speculation about Tippett's future has intensified in direct proportion to his on-field exploits for Adelaide, while he added fuel to the talk this week by knocking back the offer of a contract extension.

Tippett also has a Queensland-based girlfriend, and Craig said that in this case, the go-home factor was significant.

"The go home factor is big, put yourself in his shoes, would you like to be able to play AFL football in your home state? Yeah. So we understand that," Craig said on Thursday.

"It's something which is a challenge to us and that's not going to change, because he's from Queensland and they're actually going to have a team on the Gold Coast where he comes from, about as close as you can get.

"In the end all we can do is create an environment to give Kurt the coaching we're trying to give him, create an environment that includes relationships with management, teammates, Adelaide, the whole thing.

"And then you take your chances on it ... we can only do what we can do."

Adelaide's young players have spoken confidently and often about their desire to grow together and ultimately win a premiership - the sort of corporate spirit that will dissuade many of the club's interstate recruits to stay on through homesickness.

But Tippett's links to the Gold Coast make him particularly vulnerable, especially now that their previous No.1 target, St Kilda forward Nick Riewoldt, has ruled himself out via a new deal with the Saints.