Bruce Requests trade to Dogs

[fugazi]

Bruce and D Mac for 12

[chook23]

So disappointing, any team needs warriors. Bruce has been that and more. I have no idea as to the inner workings of the club but they better have something really special in play to justify flicking Bruce to the dogs. Luke Beveridge is a smart guy, sees a weakness in the dogs set up and gets it sorted. We have now created the same gaping hole in our forward set up. A string bean yet to debut, a helmet wearing # 1 who can't get on the park .... Its a wonder Membrey hasn't wanted out in protest.

Bruce has flicked us..........

[Ghost Like]

Not happy at all. Hard working, bullocking, strong marking forwards who stand at 197cm tall are damn hard to find. It seems to me that the club opened the door on this and then the Bulldogs ripped it off its hinges. For those who thought this was a good idea....well........be careful what you wish for.

It's this stuff that gets me, why is it the belief "the club opened the door"? I suspect it could have been Bruce or his management that opened the door. I also suspect the handle to that door was tested during the second half of the season.

[prwilkinson]

Membrey, Battle & King could end up working nicely. I assume the snake is staying.

[takeaway]

Bruce and D Mac for 12

I reckon Dogs will use 12, but may use it to get both Keath & Bruce. 12 to Adelaide with 21 back, 21 for Bruce. Adelaide also has pick 26.

[skeptic]

Hopefully his new club will value him

[chook23]

Hopefully his new club will value him

he is the one requesting the trade......

He seems not to value us....

[skeptic]

Hopefully his new club will value him

he is the one requesting the trade......

He seems not to value us....

We put him on the market

[Waltzing St Kilda]

A sad loss but not a player we can afford to pay top coin to -- i.e. match the Bulldogs' offer.

I say that because of a forward line featuring Membrey, King (and maybe B. King) , possibly Battle and even Marshall. At a long shot even McCartin. Getting crowded.

[Enrico_Misso]

So did he leave or did we push him?

There goes the McCartin/Bruce twin towers that was going to dominate!

[skeptic]

So did he leave or did we push him?

There goes the McCartin/Bruce twin towers that was going to dominate!

He seemed to want to stay
We put him on the market
Bulldogs made him a major offer

And now we’re relying on a 19yo coming off a knee reco and other injury to fill the void... nothing against King but pressure or what

[freely]

Happy with this. We won nothing with him playing at his best can’t see him improving.

Well, you can say that for the whole team plus all past players for the last 50 years!

[Spinner]

what else can we really say sk ?

he journeyed here from elsewhere
so being a one club man was never on the cards

he certainly played hard for us whilst he was here
... and he deserves our gratitude for that

he was a bit of a fave of mine
... maybe thats why it stings a bit

Yes but he was still contracted, so the lure of more $$ is what has made him want to go. That's what makes it harder to accept. Still I'm no blaming Bruce exclusively for this decision.....the salary cap now imho is too excessive. If I had to pay $800K plus a year to a player on our list, I would rather Bruce get it instead of Hannebery or Billings. Bruce can still turn games and win them off his own boot. I doubt an injury prone Hanneberry in the twilight of his career will do that (we all know how hard it was for him just to get on the park this season) and as for Billings, he is a downhill skier, outside player who struggles to kick goals beyond 35m. Bruce will be a loss as he has physical presence, covers a bit of ground for his size and has shown how damaging he can be in the air. The Western Bulldogs and Beveridge aren't stupid to have offered him a more lucrative contract.

Sorry but Billing’s best is a lot better than Bruce’s best.

And at least Hannebery’s best is AA quality - injury only limiting him.

At no stage has Bruce shown any signs of being at that level so you are just severely overpaying a tall forward for no reason at all. At his age it’s unlikely he’ll reach improve further.

Hard working, tough, competitive player. But if you make him close to the highest paid on our list - they’ll be issues elsewhere.

Better off with kids in the forward line in that scenario.

[Laurie]

Good luck and thank you for your service as a saints player.
A good pick up by the the doggies will hurt to see him in another jumper will be a 40 + goal kicker for them.
Obviously not rated by our recruitment team and football club and more focused on picking up 31yo past their best slow ruckman and kamakzi player who has terrible disposal.
But hey thats St.Kilda .

[CURLY]

Good luck and thank you for your service as a saints player.
A good pick up by the the doggies will hurt to see him in another jumper will be a 40 + goal kicker for them.
Obviously not rated by our recruitment team and football club and more focused on picking up 31yo past their best slow ruckman and kamakzi player who has terrible disposal.
But hey thats St.Kilda .

Rubbish if that swipe was at Brad Hill. The bloke is a jet.

[Spinner]

Hopefully his new club will value him

he is the one requesting the trade......

He seems not to value us....

Apparently not offering a player an amazing extension is akin to putting them on the market...

[carn_sainter]

Well, there goes about 80% of the side's ticker. Bad outcome for the Saints. Should not have been considered as a trade. The mercenaries in charge continue to do as they please, more interested in their CV than the club, i often feel.

[tony74]

FYI. Josh was not one of the more popular members of the playing group. I’m sorry I’m not going to further expand on that but just trying to give you some reason for his movement.

[Joffa Burns]

FYI. Josh was not one of the more popular members of the playing group. I’m sorry I’m not going to further expand on that but just trying to give you some reason for his movement.

Fair enough tony74, perhaps there are deeper issues than the layman supporter has knowledge of.

If there are some issues, I hope the outcome is in line with the severity. One would hope we are not trading because he’s not the most popular or the nicest bloke.

Leigh Matthews and Don Scott famously disliked each other and didn’t speak off the field or outside of team meetings.

I assume your suggesting the trade is not going to have a negative impact on the group.

Still think it’s ludicrous to trade in Ryder and out Bruce, but will wait to see what/ who we get for him.

[Laurie]

@saintsational legend the swipe was at jones.
Boom boom

[SaintPav]

FYI. Josh was not one of the more popular members of the playing group. I’m sorry I’m not going to further expand on that but just trying to give you some reason for his movement.

Thought there was other stuff going on in the background.

Still, not great. He’s a required player as far as I'm concerned, though he’s no G train.

Any coincidence that Steven hasn't publicly announced that he wants to be traded and this has gone a bit quiet? Maybe still to play out.

[chook23]

Hopefully his new club will value him

he is the one requesting the trade......

He seems not to value us....

We put him on the market

Just as likely we got wind that his manager had been approached by dogs........His manager and bruce himself liked their offer

[chook23]

Hopefully his new club will value him

he is the one requesting the trade......

He seems not to value us....

We put him on the market

Just as likely we got wind that his manager had been approached by dogs........His manager and bruce himself liked their offer

[saintkid]

what else can we really say sk ?

he journeyed here from elsewhere
so being a one club man was never on the cards

he certainly played hard for us whilst he was here
... and he deserves our gratitude for that

he was a bit of a fave of mine
... maybe thats why it stings a bit

Yes but he was still contracted, so the lure of more $$ is what has made him want to go. That's what makes it harder to accept. Still I'm no blaming Bruce exclusively for this decision.....the salary cap now imho is too excessive. If I had to pay $800K plus a year to a player on our list, I would rather Bruce get it instead of Hannebery or Billings. Bruce can still turn games and win them off his own boot. I doubt an injury prone Hanneberry in the twilight of his career will do that (we all know how hard it was for him just to get on the park this season) and as for Billings, he is a downhill skier, outside player who struggles to kick goals beyond 35m. Bruce will be a loss as he has physical presence, covers a bit of ground for his size and has shown how damaging he can be in the air. The Western Bulldogs and Beveridge aren't stupid to have offered him a more lucrative contract.

Sorry but Billing’s best is a lot better than Bruce’s best.

And at least Hannebery’s best is AA quality - injury only limiting him.

At no stage has Bruce shown any signs of being at that level so you are just severely overpaying a tall forward for no reason at all. At his age it’s unlikely he’ll reach improve further.

Hard working, tough, competitive player. But if you make him close to the highest paid on our list - they’ll be issues elsewhere.

Better off with kids in the forward line in that scenario.

Sorry but I don't agree with you about Billings' best being better. Billings is rarely damaging in games that need to be won and regularly waits to receive the contested ball. He is not a ball winner or a goal kicker. As for Hannebery, 'injury only'? Well, that is still a huge factor for someone who struggled in the latter part of his Swans career, could only string a few games together this year and is turning 29 in February.

We were better off with a kid in the midfield too in that scenario, as you put it. Stupid decision to recruit Hannebury on a 5 year contract at $800K plus, after all the injury concerns he had at the Swans. I'd rather Bruce on the list that Hannebury any day.

[happy feet]

Like a lot of people, I’m saddened by Josh Bruce leaving.

I think many of our supporters like Josh. He’s not the best player, he misses shots at goal he probably should get, but he plays his heart out every week. That’s why I like Josh Bruce.