Nick's Collingwood Bulletin Board

richo wrote:Dale Thomas: "I want to stay a Pie"
By Brodie Russell on Fri, 11/02.2011

Dale Thomas is the first of Collingwood Magpies out of contract trio to say that he is commited to the club and that he does not want to go to the newest AFL franchise, Greater Western Sydney. Premiership player Dale Thomas, along with magical Collingwood midfield duo Dane Swan and Scott Pendlebury all come out of contract, for when the Greater Western Sydney Giants come into the competition in 2012. After rumours were started by Collingwood president that Melbourne youngster Tom Scully has already signed to the Giants, Greater Western Sydney coach and ex Essendon champion coach came out and stated that he will sign one player of the Magpies duo (Which would be the one out of contract player the Giants could take from Collingwood, with the rule stating they can select only one from a club).


The big topic that all of this speculation raised is - 'Money in Football'.


How much of an impact does the money have in where a footballer plays and where he will sign on in the upcoming seasons. We all seen the Gary Ablett Jr saga go down in the last year, which ended in Ablett signing for the Gold Coast Suns, the first club to be put into the AFL in the new expansion. Gary Ablett Jr has told the press over and over again that while the money was an impact in his decision the major thing that made up his mind was the challenge that the Gold Coast Suns would bring him, to finish his AFL career after a dominant era with Geelong Football Club, the club his father and AFL great Gary Ablett Sr played for. The big question is "How much of an impact does money have in AFL" and how much is too much to deny.


What we have seen by Dale Thomas' recent words is that money is not everything in football and that football is played for other reasons than just to pick up some money and do it the easy way. Thomas mentioned that he would love to stay at Collingwood Football Club for the rest of his career or for as long as Collingwood would have him.


Thomas told Nova FM radio "you can tell Collingwood to start talking contracts if you like, that would be fantastic" and that he does not think this will be his last year at Collingwood FC.


Dale Thomas was asked if he thinks that he will be playing for the Magpies in 2012 to which he replied.


"Do I want to be at Collingwood? Yes, for as long as they will have me."


In reply to this, the interviewer continued by asking Dale if the money that Greater Western Sydney Giants can offer is something that can't be denied, which saw Dale Thomas laugh and reply "it's not all about money Kate"


When asked what else it is about Thomas was heard saying "The football buisness is about winning premierships" something that Collingwood have done in 2010 and have a great chance of doing in future years.


Dale Thomas has proved with these comments that, the AFL is not all about money and that footballers still want to play for success and they want to honour their commitments to their current clubs instead of just run away to another club just because they can offer you more money to play for them. Thomas is yet to put pen to paper, but he still has a full year to do so and with this, he has mentioned to the club that he would be happy for the Magpies to start talking to him about contracts for future years. Thomas the 2nd pick in the 2005 draft has proved himself to be a very important member for the Collingwood team especially through the 2010 finals series and in both Grand Final's with brilliant performances and every Collingwood fan and Collingwood official would love to see Thomas sign on for many years. If Thomas signs a new contract and the remaining out of contract stars follow his lead, it is a promising future for the reigning Premiers.

Streak wrote:I'll say the same thing I said about Gablett: Thomas should take the offer and go to GWS.

I love Thomas, admire the way he plays, and I think he has a very bright future, no matter the jumper he pulls on before a game. He'll always be one of Collingwood's favourite sons because he played in a Premiership side, played a few supreme finals campaigns, and his early promise gave us hope when we bottomed out as a club.

But footy's a predator's life. You have to make what you can in the time you have. If Thomas is capable of earning double at GWS, he should absolutely go for it - set himself up well while he's young.

No doubt he'll captain the AFL's newest team, too. That's quite a prize - to be the first captain of a new club makes him a significant part of AFL history. I doubt he'll ever captain Collingwood if he stays.

So if he accepts an offer from them, good on him and all the best to him. No hard feelings. My respect for him will not drop one iota, and I will watch his career with great interest.

If he knocks them back, though... it'll really say something to me about the kid's character, and his internalization of the club's values. We talk alot about how Collingwood is a special environment, but that's something every club says. If Thomas stays, that'll prove to me that there really is something special about the place.

And now to totally contradict myself... I just hope we don't lose Spidey...

Black_White wrote:I'm calling it
Thomas to GWS.
Lock it in Ed.
Done deal.

Sultan of spin wrote:Yes just saw a news update saying Pendles and Thomas are set to resign but no details were given, anyone have any further info?

Sultan of spin wrote:Yes just saw a news update saying Pendles and Thomas are set to resign but no details were given, anyone have any further info?

jack_spain wrote:Geez! There's a few people who posted on here who should frankly be ashamed of themselves.

Fancy doubting Daisy would want to be anything but a Collingwood player.

Money isn't everything. When you're on 400-500K a year, what's another few 100K? Seriously, when you own one Ferrari, why do you need another?

If a footballer can't set himself up for life earning even 200K a year he is either Brendan Fevola or he needs to see a good financial advisor.

Streak wrote:You wouldn't leave your job and go work for a competitor for double your salary? Well, I would. And i wouldn't blame anyone for doing the same thing.

I'd hate to lose Dale Thomas, but I wouldn't hate him if he left, particularly considering this illusory "club loyalty" only works one way - great players are expect to be utterly devoted to the club... unless, of course, they have a slow couple of years, at which point the club can dump them without a second thought.