Trade Week 2010 reflections

Last week, we pondered the effects, a year on, of Brisbane coach Michael Voss’ brainsnap decision to recruit Brendan Fevola by offering up Michael Rischitelli and Daniel Bradshaw.

 

Well, the jury is in. Only the Tigers deemed it necessary to offer a player up without his asking for a move. It’s not all that clear to us why they would have done so, since a team that relied so heavily for scoring on one player, Jack Riewoldt, would seem to be in need of a forward foil with some goal sense. Andrew Collins has seemed, on the few viewings we’ve had of him, to have looked like he could provide a useful contest and some goal sense. Shaun Grigg seems to be more of a defender come midfielder. Curious. Nevertheless, we are Damian Hardwick fans, so we’re prepared to see what happens.

 

What has been stranger to watch has been the merry-go-round of assistant coaches this year. Of course, they all arrive at their new home terribly “excited” about their new team’s prospects.

 

Gavin Brown’s exit from Magpieland and Brendan McCartney’s “defection” to Essendon were the biggest surprises sprung. Outgoing Geelong President Frank Costa seemed resigned in a television interview tonight to the viewthat Mark Thompson will also bob up at Bomberland sooner or later.

 

Brown is probably the more interesting move. His three years coaching the Magpies’ ‘magoos’ suggests he harbours senior coaching ambitions. This year’s Malthouse–Buckley slow-motion coup agreement would appear to close off any avenues at the “Which sponsor do we have this year” Centre. We wouldn’t have thought that assistant to Ratten would look terribly impressive on a CV, but perhaps no-one better credentialed made an offer. Will Brown’s blood boil, or his head spin ’round a la Linda Blair in The Exorcist, when he has to sing We are the navy blues. . .?

 

The framing of the media coverage on the McCartney change has been interesting. A “defection”? Of course the spectre of Thompson turning up as Hird’s mentor, and persistent reports that it has been on the cards for months, seems to suggest some labyrinthine machinations, but defection? We should also note that McCartney had been ‘demoted’ from an assistant role at Sleepy Hollow to overseeing up and comers in the Academy squad this year. It’s hard not to conclude that Thompson had a significant part in that decision. The coach’s rooms at Windy Hill might be an interesting place to be if McCartney and Thompson are to be reunited.

 

On a recent visit to the grandly-titled Windy Hill ‘Precinct’, we didn’t detect anything resembling Checkpoint Charlie (younger people click here for an explanation), so would that mean that the Bombers are on the side of freedom and the Cat Empire are the forces of darkness? Well, cold-war defection did go both ways and we are thoroughly red and black! :-)

 

And there’s only 110-odd or 120-odd days ’til we’re back into the pre-season footy!!  :-(  We can only hope that the Ashes Tests will offer something more diverting than recent summers have managed. The Poms look to have put a decent squad together and the Aussies attack and batting have more holes than a colander. Please let it be close with a series win to the Aussies on the last day of the last Test.