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B.M wrote: ↑Sun 24 Mar 2024 5:56pm
Don’t think he’s an elite player in the comp
He’s a very handy HF/Wing more HF - so for the position he plays. He is very good. He’s better than Phillipou
Has loads of talent and his numbers are very consistent at 20 and a goal - which for a HF are very good - almost elite (depending on what you do with them.
Billings has a touch of class, given his skill level. And reads the game well.
Set shot goal kicking has held him back from being an elite HF
Wow!!
8 years in AFL system and Billing’s is better than an 18 year old whose had 1 year…high bar stuff right there…
Geez we jump on them quick ..
But good ole Jack whose sone sweet FA in 8 gets the golden ticket??
He’s an average AFL footballer - Jack Newnes level about right on output
Jack Newnes - who was a decent role player for a while
Is at Frankston playing VFL earning about 50k and working for a living
Billings is at Melbourne earning 500k playing in a better team
We are paying half of that
I compared him to Phillipou because that’s who kept him out the team last season - wrongly
Not because I don’t think Phillipou can reach that level - although he is a bit on the nose now and I’d be happy if he played 155 games and averaged 20 right now
B.M wrote: ↑Mon 25 Mar 2024 4:48pm
Jack Newnes - who was a decent role player for a while
Is at Frankston playing VFL earning about 50k and working for a living
Billings is at Melbourne earning 500k playing in a better team
We are paying half of that
I compared him to Phillipou because that’s who kept him out the team last season - wrongly
Not because I don’t think Phillipou can reach that level - although he is a bit on the nose now and I’d be happy if he played 155 games and averaged 20 right now
So spell it out.
What scenario are you hinting at that should be in place.
Saints pay Billings $500k to play VFL?effectively ruining his longer term prospects.
Billings should have been retained and now replace Pou?
Or what do you see as being the right circumstances.
Perhaps go back in time and change Billings contract. What? or is it just taking a cheap shot complaining about a least worse arrangement that nobody thinks is optimal but helps Jack and the club. What would you have done for this year.
In regard Billings, Gresham and Coffield whose place do they take absent injury giving them opportunity?
Billings as a small forward is in direct competition with Higgins and Butler
Gresham ditto
And Coffield (who I rank above the other 2) is in competition with Sinclair and Wanganeen-Milera off half back
Then you get to the ability of Billings and Gresham to impact as mids as and when required
Where they are behind the emerging Phillipou, Windhager, Owens and now Wilson not only on ability but taking to account what we are building, each of those 4 critical to our immediate future so needing opportunities at AFL level, not behind Billings and Gresham therefore playing VFL
Before you get to Hill, Woods, Henry and even Byrnes as wingers
Which begs the original question
Who do each of Billings, Gresham and Coffield play instead of?
I think the real question is why are Dees paying half of Jack’s salary? Why did he go at basically the afterthoughts of the draft last year? I mean surely the other clubs with all their professional talent scouts someone as well as Melbourne would have wanted him ?
The fact of the matter is no one really rated him in the industry. We grossly overrated and overpaid him. Similar to the Pies 3 years ago, we had a fire sale making room in our salary cap and on our list.
Yeah, it’s bloody frustrating paying part of his salary, that’s the penalty you pay when you misjudge your list. He and Gresh in particular were on our list for 7-10 years and I reckon we were justified in making an assessment as to whether they would take us to another flag.
Spot on moods. Billings and Gresh have had a chance to peak, and we believe that our draftees have a higher ceiling.
If you're picking best 22, Gresham and Billings would be blocking guys like Wilson and Collard getting games. By game 50 they should each be better than those two we got rid of.
Billings is averaging 20p and .7 goals.
There's no doubt in my mind Darcy has him covered and will eventually be a level above.
Billings is a mid/forward and only just both.
He has top 10 endurance but not good enough for the wing and not strong enough for mid/clearance work. He is just a good outside footballer with the ability to play that role in a system that looks for him out there
Well yes, better than a 19yo draftee that has played one VFL game and sat on the bench.
Not as good as the other two by a long shot. And they have massive upsides.
In 12 months not as good as Lance either.
B.M wrote: ↑Tue 26 Mar 2024 5:59pm
I am talking this season!
Right here right now
Billings is better than Phillipou, Wilson, Collard
- and comfortably
The fact that we are paying HALF his wage to play at a rival club which is better is embarrassing
You are about the only one embarassed about it.
The initial contract was embarrassing.
Regardless of who is paying his salary, Phillippou and Wilson are being paid only a fraction.
His last 2 years at St Kilda cost 4 times as much and produced SFA. Better to cut your loses and move on.
But there's no convincing you.
You werent fawning after his first game and I'll wait for at least another 10 before I come remotely close to changing my mind.
Are you suggesting it’s good economic management to pay players to play elsewhere?
We pay 250k out of our salary cap - to pay a player to get 24 touches and kick a goal - at another club?!
That’s not embarrassing management?!
I’d be ok if we got a reasonable draft pick for paying his wage ie/ bought the selection
If Billings was worth around pick 50 we receive something like pick 35-40
I also rate Gresham - but happy to let him go as a FA as he wasn’t worth the contract he was after 600-700k
We got Collard for Gresham - happy to see how that pans out?
Actually no it wasn’t. Finally a coach that saw past the fraud like reputation Billings had that he was an elite kick, and realised not only is he an average kick but he doesn’t impact games. Right now he’s doing well at Dees ( and good luck to him) but it was unfair on Jack to hold onto him. He was entitled to hold the club to his contract but no club was going to pay him what we were. The poor economic management occurred when we signed him up, not when we released him from the club
B.M wrote: ↑Tue 26 Mar 2024 10:24pm
Are you suggesting it’s good economic management to pay players to play elsewhere?
We pay 250k out of our salary cap - to pay a player to get 24 touches and kick a goal - at another club?!
That’s not embarrassing management?!
I’d be ok if we got a reasonable draft pick for paying his wage ie/ bought the selection
If Billings was worth around pick 50 we receive something like pick 35-40
I also rate Gresham - but happy to let him go as a FA as he wasn’t worth the contract he was after 600-700k
We got Collard for Gresham - happy to see how that pans out?
But Billings
That was a clusterfuck
That was Billings choice. He was contracted and knew he was a huge financial risk and had no future under real player management strategies. Melbourne would have been foolish to turn it down and Billings clearly wanted out. NO ONE ELSE WAS PREPARED TO RISK EVEN HALF HIS WAGE. FACT.
His mental health was at stake and he is on his last legs.
I wish him well personally but glad he is no longer with us. His next injury may be his last unless he redeems himself, which is possible but not likely.
If you think he will win tight matches for Melbourne you are delusional.
Stop comparing him to Phillipou too. His future is in the hot zones, Billings is a passenger.
We foolishly penned an offer when Essendon made a play 3 years ago. Daddy's support at Essendon and his gutless manager set us up and Richo feel for it hook line and sinker. He isn't a fraud, he can play but half his contracted amount is about right. It is what it is.
Clearly we are managing without him and have a number of young players and cleared a lot of deadwood. We played finals last year and Billings was not required.
Save breath and instruction. Once tunnel vision has set you are never going to change the chant. If a person can't see that maintainIng the status quo was the worst path there is no way to argue otherwise.
Of course it could just be a wind up.
A very sad situation for Coffield. Another injury blow. This will put him out for most of the season. The poor bloke can't take a trick. A promising career derailed by injury.
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