Tom Barrass' choice to go to Hawthorn over West Coast & more...

[@patrickmaclean1524]

Will “for mine” Schofield 😆

[@uToobeD]

It's not the worst thing :D!

[@xSnappa]

Probs better than Harley “obviously” Reid 😂

[@uToobeD]

@@xSnappa Haha yeah it is

[@Ben-ij6zv]

Tbf I think what Tom said was fine. Bloke has limited time left and has to maximise his rem. The club would cut him in a heartbeat. He knows that He owes them nothing. Separately Gossage back tracked over his comments too. Said he reacted to a quote out of context.

[@addhmann]

Loyalty is the loyalty returned from the club you're at, which is a combo of 1) The value & length of the deal you're being offered, 2) The potential for success with the current group, plus 3) What is right for family (location etc), 4) Its also increasingly how your club looks after you as a whole person, mentally and physically. In this case I assume all the rest are equal I would guess its how the hawks are likely to perform in the next 2-4 years that would have weighed heavily, plus the move to Victoria.

[@sLiM411]

0:54 was actually the rock and kelce stole it

[@Theuppercrust9988]

Great Pod. Needs more politics though.

[@uToobeD]

I literally think it does haha. I love the Trump/Biden/Harris talk

[@BKWilliamsJnr]

Club loyalty is a thing of the past. Clubs dont back players like they once did so why be loyal to a club that would cut you in a heartbeat. If something is reported by the media, It doesnt even have to be true these days and you might get cut. Go and make your money, you pay with your body so go and play for the highest bidder! For the record, Kelmscott couldnt pay me enough to turn on Armadale before the U15 season so forget what I said above hahaha love the pod fellas

[@jogon9649]

thats nonsense, clubs are backing these blokes in with 9 year plus multimillion dollar deals, all for it to mean nothing when the player wants to move and teh club has no leverage.

[@BKWilliamsJnr]

​@@jogon9649 There is about 800 players in the comp (according to google) and maybe 2-3 are on the deal you are talking about. That isnt the norm mate. I see what you are saying though, Teams do invest well into the future for a player to just leave because of home sickness. Its def turning back into the players favour but that hasnt been the AFL way recently

[@ralphgomeze8873]

Club loyalty is only looked upon when you look at a players in history. Not in the present. Chris Judd as good as he was for West Coast will not be looked in the same way as John Worsfold as a Premiership Captain and a one club player. Juddy career had 2 halves and with 2 clubs. And the media remembers him more for Carlton than West Coast because that’s where he finished his career .

[@craigaston]

In 1982 Peter Moore and Kelvin Templeton were both captains of their clubs and chose to be traded for money. As long as money has been involved people have chose money over loyalty.

[@Den-pu6re]

I reckon TB can make a commercial decision for his family for sure, but he can't also say he felt stale, wanted a fresh challenge etc. He is entitled to maximise his earnings for the next 4 years, but don't give us mixed messages about it.

[@chinathesideyoudontsee8157]

Schoey " did we get half of the merch $ ? " if you want to go down that road did you pay half $ for the following , flights & accomadation , doctor/ medical expenses , staff wages, club construction and on going costs, footy kit, insurance and I could continue but I would imagine you are starting to get the gist of what I'm saying. I would think 50% is quite generous !

[@TerrifierStorytime]

Scuzzles, calm the farm, chief. Most WCE fans saw the writing on the wall in ‘22 when TB was working twice as hard as certain others who simply didn’t give AF. The fact that he stayed beyond that shows incredible loyalty. He owes WCE nothing and I think most of us are legitimately happy for him as he has done right by his family, as every man should. Now go have a nice cup of tea and think of some nice things to say about WCE in 2025.

[@uToobeD]

That's a fair point, probably more fair than I had considered up until this point hmm

[@shaneannandale457]

Bet skeet wish he bet on some of those predictions,great yr guys

[@Swai0069]

From everything I have heard or read, not 1 fan is upset over Tom leaving, the fans I have talked with have no ill will towards him, he owes the club and the fans nothing, I have a feeling, even though the club and players will miss him, it wasn’t an acrimonious exit, all sides(except maybe hawthorn) can hold their heads high.

[@uToobeD]

I think Barrass' best football will have been with us. Could be very wrong here, and I don't want him to play poorly, but that's what I think. I'm also going to say Jack Darling to have a nice 35-45 goal year, could be very wrong there too of course!

[@scotteye84]

There are lot of factors that go into perceived loyalty. I don't think anyone should begrudge a 29 year old TB asking for a trade for financial/family reasons. It didn't make sense for West Coast to extend him beyond his current deal and Hawthorn had to offer more years or more money per year to get him to move. Contracted or not he played 150 games, won a flag and a B&F and was a very good player for 7 or 8 years so he doesn't owe the club anything. I think the narrative would be different if West Coast were competitive and he was looking to go to a team at the bottom that could pay him a lot more (which is how a league with a salary cap is supposed to work). Moving for more money/contract security is also a bigger deal to players that aren't big names. Paddy Dangerfield is going to get $1m a year and endorsements, media opportunities in Adelaide, Geelong or anywhere else while other players might never make $1m over their whole careers and are out of the system by 25 or 30. Rightly or wrongly fans and media judge player moves based on football situations as well as financial. Nick Larkey who was mentioned can't win. Stays at North where he's won 14 games in 5 years and he's either loyal or comfortable/overpaid, bails and joins a top 4 side he would be disloyal and chasing success. The test for West Coast will be if Harley Reid wants to leave after 3 seasons. You can't force any out of contract player to stay but there's no way they will get full value in a trade if he goes. In my opinion the biggest issue with loyalty in the AFL currently is that players and player managers hold too much power. There seems to be an expectation now that if a better offer comes in players can just bail on their clubs and contracts but whether it is an Angus Brayshaw with ongoing concussion issues (obviously not his fault) or Clayton Oliver who has had off field issues and been out of form for two year that the club will support them financially. Some clubs are going to be burned by the recent 6, 7, 8 year contracts being handed out. Even for someone like TB if he' wasn't happy with the contract he signed then bad luck. If WC were competitive than having a player under contract that is underpaid relative to their output is good list management. The move just made sense for all parties. If he was on $1m a year and struggling to get on the park no one would have been calling for him to take a pay cut.

[@pob8225]

Club loyalty is one thing, it may or may not exist. But commitment to a signed multiple year contract doesn't appear to be worth the paper it's written on (not just TB)

[@Aussie3225]

There is no such thing as “ loyalty” anymore, just like contracts aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on.

[@BackChat]

9 years and 150 games isn't a bad innings...

[@Aussie3225]

@ what does that change about my comment? Nothing! And what about the 3 years left on his contract?

[@Ben-ij6zv]

West coast could have kept him to the contract. It gave them leverage in their trade to the hawks. I wouldn't be complaining about it. It worked out for both parties.

[@uToobeD]

@@Aussie3225 I like Barrass, but I agree with you. He was somewhat loyal, but not completely.

[@teacher1336]

Spot on about TB, he's not the future and the spot in the team is an opportunity for someone

[@broken_chairs7118]

Club loyalty is projected onto players by fans who love their club. They simply see "their" players as one of them. It's an in-group/out-group type beat.

[@AaronF9]

The loyalty factor is only ever raised by supporters who love the team but don’t understand it’s still just a big business

[@zachwybrow638]

Good on him, family first footy.is just footy.

[@BDub2024]

Loyalty certainly does exist. But its true that for many players they are not given the opportunity for loyalty. Whn someone wants to be a one club player then that is loyalty.

[@CryptoPlan]

The trade period is a game of chess, Barrass out gives Edwards the opportunity. Only time will tell if the trades and the picks we have will help us win games.

[@uToobeD]

If Edwards can consistently do what he showed in glimpses last year, and if Bazzo can show something, then we can look back and say it all went well, let's hope for that!

[@stephenplfcfan]

Agree with the loyalty thing- bit lost across a few sports codes now. NBA, European football etc. - but yeah on the AFL just not there. Edit- thanks for the like anyway Kevin Durant- been at several teams, few teams now in NBA. Russell Westbrook to 6th team maybe now. Now maybe definitely a few with him there aha- yeah anyway some examples there, over there

[@jogon9649]

Name me a better duo other than rum and coke? or by skeets standards a beer and a benson I reckon interstate comp would be huge if placed correctly, the proof is in the state of origin for rugby.

[@mathiusashurst235]

Doing it how the NFL do their Pro Bowl, would probably make the most sense. Aus already have a but of an unfair advantage, so I don't think a player or side will be that mad to miss it if they're playing a GF

[@sleekism23]

People want state of origin 500x more than international rules. If im free I’d watch international rules. I’m clearing the schedule for state of origin.

[@BDub2024]

My question is why not send 5 guys there, as it will help them long term.

[@graemeschubert6162]

He is the enemy now 😅

[@BackChat]

Still a backman!

[@graemeschubert6162]

@BackChat yeah it's all good , could never dislike the man even though he went wayward 😂

[@uToobeD]

Haha, it's going to be great seeing him play on Allen or Waterman... I am curious to see if they know how to play him, or vice versa due to the knowledge of one another

[@roncheong4198]

I would go one step further. Stop this loyalty bull crap and let clubs trade players all through the season like NBA. Your ruckmen go down, so you hit another club up for a ruckman that’s not getting game time. Etc etc

[@trentdavidson9847]

Barrass is probably the only player I won't boo when he plays against the West Coast. He's held himself to high standards and played the same way. Rioli, on the other hand, is a piece of trash. Club pays him during his suspension, finishes suspension, clubs not doing well, and then leaves. Pathetic. Why I'll always hope port never have any success

[@uToobeD]

Shame about the "No more politics", I personally found it interesting, but I completely understand how shitty people get about it *eye roll*. It's a shame because back in the day men would have spoken about sport and politics and we live in a generation that has so many things going on that people don't talk about what's going on in the world (and it shows). Hate to be so blunt, but that's how I see it.

[@chinathesideyoudontsee8157]

I think its great Barrras is gone , he is getting older , has a pretty serious on going back injury which is restricting the amount of games he can play and opens the door for a kid to step up ! But I definitely won't be cheering for him to do well , just like when silly Willy left us after we helped him through his silly saga .

[@bonmarriott2181]

Cant hate on a player for changing clubs. Its like anyone else changing jobs. As for the political talk, far out people are upset very easy these days 😅🤣

[@BackChat]

Ooops

[@JeffBurn-b1i]

Ok Tom Barrass has been playing long enough, that salary, endorsements, assists etc, must be $15 million plus by now. Living in beautiful sunshine Perth and he talks about his family's best interest and so forth. Yet I keep seeing more often at shopping centres and traffic lights people with cardboard signs saying I'm homeless please help me! It's because of this selfish entitlement from sports professionals and the likes of Gina Rinehart for not paying their share of tax, we have the social economic problem and that's the criticism I have against Tom Barrass.

[@rockdog4894]

Are those blokes with the cardboard signs any good at full back?

[@JeffBurn-b1i]

@rockdog4894 let's just hope you don't end up holding a cardboard sign.

[@Tony_Pepperoni_]

Wtf am I reading lmao

[@JeffBurn-b1i]

@Simmo_AU Well Schoey said he challenged anyone to comment on what is possibly wrong with Barrass moving to Hawthorn? I state he is being ungrateful about the good life he already had here. Players have no integrity anymore and it contributes to the inequality of society.

[@rockdog4894]

@@JeffBurn-b1i I plan to... that says Go the Hawkers!!!

[@Yo_Adriann]

Trump 24 🤣

[@uToobeD]

16 likes, that kinda says a lot of people do enjoy the politics!

[@Huntsy]

Hok