Nick's Collingwood Bulletin Board

Seth wrote:

Rd10.1998_11.1#36 wrote:The Beams trade was a gamble. It didn't pay off. End of story

So why take the gamble...?

To win the ultimate prize: another flag

Seth wrote:Dont think we traded out 2 first round draft picks for Ball.

Ball nominated for the draft and we picked him up there

We did use 2 Top 10 picks on Chris Egan and Nathan Freeman though, which goes to show that first round selections are also a gamble that don't always pay off

^ Thanks for that.

I love Beams but I'm hearing other things. <snip> Please try to avoid the defamatory speculation - the Mods. We will look after him, that's the culture.

Not that Jon Ralph, or anyone in the media, is necessarily right, but worth noting a few points from the article Ads reposted:

Ads7 wrote:Only time will tell whether those selections and cap space cost them the players that might have been the difference...The $2 million salary handed to Beams might be more problematic long term than the two first-round picks Collingwood handed up for the midfielder.

Ads7 wrote:If you want to kick the Pies you can say they handed over picks that in 2018 gave the Lions exciting midfielder Ely Smith and the Power in 2019 likely Round 1 debutant Mitch Georgiades

Ads7 wrote:If Quaynor turns into an elite half-back and former basketballer Tom Wilson can fire after a strong pre-season as a Category B rookie, it’s not the lost first-round selections that will hurt. The sum total of their gains and losses from the two-year period might be a break-even.

Smith and Georgiades yet to play a single AFL game

Rd10.1998_11.1#36 wrote: Smith and Georgiades yet to play a single AFL game

So what????

Many thanks for posting this Ads7. An interesting read for sure and one which again shows how complex the Dayne Beams situation is, both for him

Beams’s mental ill health was multifaceted and borne out of more than grief for his father’s death

and the club.

Wonka wrote:

Rd10.1998_11.1#36 wrote: Smith and Georgiades yet to play a single AFL game

So what????

Some people are saying we 'wasted' two first round picks on Beams

I say we 'wasted' two Top 10 picks on Egan and Freeman

Point is, first round picks are no guarantee of success

Rd10.1998_11.1#36 wrote:

Wonka wrote:

Rd10.1998_11.1#36 wrote: Smith and Georgiades yet to play a single AFL game

So what????

Some people are saying we 'wasted' two first round picks on Beams

I say we 'wasted' two Top 10 picks on Egan and Freeman

Point is, first round picks are no guarantee of success

Of course there are no guarantees but are two first round picks any more of a risk than 29 year old quality footballer with well publicised mental health issues and a poor injury profile.
The issue for me was never the quality of the player involved. It was the clubs decision to leave us with an ageing quality midfield ( Pendles, Sidey and Beams ) and two less first round picks to replace those players with.
And as for Beams being the difference between a flag or not.
Maybe Dangerfield, Buddy, Gibbs, Ablett and co are in the best position to answer that question.

When Beams decided to 'fresh air' the Copeland in his last season with us that would have been it for me. No chance he would have been back in Black & White if I had a say in proceedings.
He nailed his colours to the mast that night!

Pies2016 wrote:

Rd10.1998_11.1#36 wrote:first round picks are no guarantee of success

Of course there are no guarantees but are two first round picks any more of a risk than 29 year old quality footballer with well publicised mental health issues and a poor injury profile

I'm not saying they're more of a risk but I can say this: the picks we gave up for Beams wouldn't have helped us win a flag now, which was the objective

For the record I was against the Beams trade because I didn't think we needed another 30yo mid

Pies2016 wrote:as for Beams being the difference between a flag or not. Maybe Dangerfield, Buddy, Gibbs, Ablett and co are in the best position to answer that question.

Or should we ask Ball & Jolly? Or Trent Croad?

Rd10.1998_11.1#36 wrote: Or should we ask Ball & Jolly? Or Trent Croad?

We didn't pay that for Ball & Jolly.

^ Count me as the last person to support the decision to bring Beams back but we gave up pick 30 for Ball, which was unders (he would have been cheap at pick 1, given what he brought to the Club) and IIRC we gave up 14 for Jolly (having previously given up about 18 to get Cam Wood). There's no problem with topping up to have a crack at a flag - the problem is what you top up with. Beams was hardly Shaun Burgoyne.

The point is not what we paid for Ball or Jolly, or even Beams.

The strategy was clearly to bring in a player who the decision makers at the club felt could help get us over the line after a narrow miss in 2018. You can say that was the wrong strategy, or Beams was the wrong player, and those are valid opinions. Obviously the strategy didn't work in the short term, whether and how much it hurts us in the mid-long term remains to be seen. But keeping the 2 picks would not have helped us win a flag in 2019 or 2020

Rd10.1998_11.1#36 wrote:The point is not what we paid for Ball or Jolly, or even Beams.

The strategy was clearly to bring in a player who the decision makers at the club felt could help get us over the line after a narrow miss in 2018. You can say that was the wrong strategy, or Beams was the wrong player, and those are valid opinions. Obviously the strategy didn't work in the short term, whether and how much it hurts us in the mid-long term remains to be seen. But keeping the 2 picks would not have helped us win a flag in 2019 or 2020

That's a fair point, to be sure. Topping up for a tilt at the flag was a sound strategy. However, the process and the actions, as much as the player chosen, was flawed and that has defined the club. Choosing to accept back a player that openly disrespected the club (by refusing to attend the Copeland and instead go to the pub - in his last season with us before departing) has done damage to our culture and standing, in my opinion.
I am one who did not want to see the Beams return deal done and I am not happy about the outcome for many reasons.