Nick's Collingwood Bulletin Board

AN_Inkling wrote:^^Eh, mostly just Rudeboy . And the every breath related to: "(e.g. around 7:18 and 7:27, listen to the quiver and tight breathing).".

My previous post probably reads harsher than intended, I've no problem with speculation.

RudeBoy wrote:I want to be able to say "f*ck off back to Adelaide, we don't need another half back flanker anyway". However, if he commits to Collingwood, I'll be the first to declare him a future Brownlow medalist and the heir apparent to Pendles. That might seem contradictory, but that's just me I guess.

K wrote:

Neil Appleby wrote:... but when pressed and asked directly by Mick McGuane if he wanted to stay at Collingwood, his reply was, to me at least, underwhelming:

"Yea, I'm really enjoying being back playing, it's a lot better than being stuck in rehab. I'm really enjoying being out there with the boys and as I say, just to get as much senior footy under my belt before the end of the year would be great."

Mick McGuane: "So when will these (contract) decisions take place? Because it would be a priority for Collingwood to put your signature away."
Shaz: Yeah, I think from my point of view, as I said, I'm just putting my footy first and that gives me the chance to perform to the best of my ability and that will be better for the team and I'm sure that it will play its course.....and yeah,,,umm, that it will get sorted out."

Now that's a bit concerning to my ears. He was given a direct question about staying at Collingwood and he chose to give a non-answer; a politicians answer. He could have said things like, the club has been fantastic to me and my signature is a lock as soon as the season is over, but yeah, I'm definitely keen to stay.......he said nothing like that. It sounded like he had been schooled in how to answer the question and how to avoid a direct answer.

From that interview I get the impression Matt is off home come October.

RudeBoy wrote:A normal response would have been to say something like, "I definitely want to stay at Collingwood and repay them for the investment and support they've given me over the past 2 years while i've been recovering from injuries, but I'll be leaving it up to my manager to sort out all the details at the end of the year."

Instead, we got an incredibly carefully scripted and non-committal response. I might be totally wrong about this kid, indeed I hope I am, but I sense from his manner, as well as the way he plays, that he is not emotionally committed to Collingwood. ....

I agree with Neil and Rudeboy. It sounded very bad. His scripted non-answer avoided any mention of Collingwood at all. He didn't need to give the really committal responses Neil and Rudeboy suggest, but in reply to the direct question "Do you want to stay at Collingwood?", it's simple and natural just to say "Yes, I do" -- with, or without some extra fluff, such as "... so hopefully my management and the club can sort out the details".

Other footballers in this situation have said that. And one doesn't need to be an extrovert to say that. And, being non-committal, it doesn't weaken your negotiating power.

The tone of his voice at that part of the interview also seemed a worry (e.g. around 7:18 and 7:27, listen to the quiver and tight breathing).

John Wren wrote:shrenberg, schrenberg, scharnabeg, scharenburg, scharnbeg, schernberg, scharenbug.

any chance, whatsoever, some could make the effort to spell or type the lad's name correctly?

RudeBoy wrote:To be perfectly honest, even though he got quite a few disposals in his first game, most of them were hand-passes, often of the hospital variety to teammates under pressure. Also, for someone who was drafted as a great kick, his kicks are pretty ordinary from what I've seen in the VFL and last week. Added to that, he's a half back flanker, which in his own words is his best position, and we have a number of those in Oxley, Ramsay, Sinclair, Marsh and Maynard. Finally, he appears to be very introverted, and rather unemotional. I think football demands players who are passionate and display their commitment to the team, in a way which becomes infectious. So all in all, despite his relatively good debut last week, I'm rather underwhelmed by him. In my mind both Marsh and Maynard offer much more to our team. So, sadly, I think we could have done better at the draft table than draft an introverted, slow half back flanker, who is an ordinary kick.

Having said all that, I never thought Swanny or Heater would make the grade as AFL players, so my track record suggests I know SFA.