Beams and Club send message to Trav

[ClokingDevice]

No 'i' in Beams

By Jennifer Witham

Travis Cloke remains out of contract despite several other Magpies re-signing
Beams happy 'to pay price'

"[THEY have put] their careers over and above everything else."

That was the declaration of Collingwood's director of football Geoff Walsh when announcing Dayne Beams had joined others in recommitting to the club.

Whether intended or not, one of the by-products of the Travis Cloke saga is that any word coming out of Collingwood referring to contracts can be interpreted as a dig at the unsigned forward.

It's been three weeks since the Pies declared contract talks with Cloke were on hold until the season's end after drawn-out negotiations that had spilled into the public arena became too consuming.

Still, the situation surrounding his future remains glaringly present.

On Thursday, the Pies confirmed Beams' three-year contract extension, which was all but finalised a month ago, and the fact they're nearing more announcements.

The finer points nutted out, the club held a press conference with Beams and Walsh to formally discuss the news.

This wasn't unusual. A re-signed player is usually given the opportunity to talk about why he chose to remain at his club - earlier this year, Scott Pendlebury, Heath Shaw, Lachlan Keeffe and Steele Sidebottom spoke of their new deals on the Pies' Foxtel show, The Club.

What was a little different was the fact Walsh opened the press conference with a statement that firmly emphasised how delighted the club was with Beams' commitment.

"He joins a number of players who this year have underlined their commitment to the footy club, and who have put the fact they want to be part of something that hopefully produces some great results in their careers over and above everything else, whether that be financial reward or anything else you'd like to talk about," Walsh said.

"Dayne's the latest example of our players committing to the club and to what they hope may be some success around the corner."

Nudge one, one minute in.

Beams' turn.

He was asked how good it felt to get it out of the way, given the time of year.

"It's out of my mind and I suppose that's a good thing going into finals. You want to have as little distractions as possible and it's good to get it done and get a good result," Beams said.

Nudge two, although slightly more subtle.

It's no secret Cloke has been struggling with his form, and many believe it's because of the lingering contract situation.

Back to Walsh, where he directed a comment towards players who craved personal success.

"[Beams], like the other guys that have committed, are looking at team success and knowing that if we get team success, the individual success will follow," Walsh said.

Then, when asked if Cloke's halted talks enabled Beams' signing: "It has nothing to do with it. We work to a plan, we plan these things fairly meticulously, more than a year out.

"We've got a plan that hopefully everyone who wants to be part of Collingwood, we'll be able to accommodate them.

"The thing is, you've got to want to be part of Collingwood, so if you want to be part of Collingwood, we'll be able to accommodate you."

And, from Beams, when asked if his actions delivered a message to his out-of-contract teammates: "I don't know what goes on inside other guys' heads but for me it was just, if you want to be at a successful organisation, I think you've got to pay a price sometimes.

"I think we've seen over the years at Geelong, with those teams and successful sides, all their players have stuck together and as you can see now, they've been a really successful team for a long period of time.

"That's where this club wants to get to and that's where hopefully I fit into it, and I want to be a part of it."

Nudge, nudge, and shove.

While Cloke was never mentioned by name by either Beams or Walsh, he didn't really need to be for the message to be read as such - it's your call, and your loss, in our eyes, if you decide to go.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/144794/default.aspx

[burnsy17]

Similar sentiment from walsh on SEN this evening... He Emphasised that we'll accomodate players who WANT to be with us.....

There is bad blood towards Cloke, anyone who thinks otherwise wears the same rose coloured glasses essendon supporters wear

[RudeBoy]

It should be clear to everyone now that he is gone. The only question is who to? I still reckon he'll join Malthouse at the Blues.

[ClokingDevice]

Whateley on AFL 360 says he's gone, said there's no other way to read it

[Collingwood 4 eternity]

Another Travis Cloke thread

[ClokingDevice]

[VicParkTragic]

Yep, gone and all the best to him.
Next..................

[Steve86]

out of that i would take more that they are having a dig at him for not just signing up now and getting it over with rather then them saying he is gone. But good on beams, exactly what I would think, if you want to be somewhere make a sacrifice otherwise fk off

[Deja Vu]

[ClokingDevice]

[The Prototype]

It's all opinion, and speculation, people have been claiming he's gone for months now... I'm more concerned on this season, not next season.

[Piesnchess]

Beams has shown great loyalty and foresight. Great for the young fella, well done young man.! Cloke should tell Demir to get knotted and sign as soon as he can like Beams, grow a set and tell Demir to f-ck off pronto.

[ClokingDevice]

[burnsy17]

This comment is the most telling. And he said EXACTLY the same thing when interviewed on SEN:


"The thing is, you've got to want to be part of Collingwood, so if you want to be part of Collingwood, we'll be able to accommodate you."


Seriously, if that wasnt directed at Cloke, i dont know what was!

[ClokingDevice]