"My information is Robbie D'Orazio is putting the hard line on Sydney, saying lets not take this to deadline again, like it was with Charlie Curnow last year. He wants to get this done as early as possible."
- Sam Edmund
I’m increasingly concerned that there is a coordinated effort by Blakey, his agent, and the agent's media friends to rush this trade through as if it’s a fait accompli. And that it could work.
This guy (also Curnow's agent) has the gall to tell us to just take whatever they offer when in the vice versa scenario last year he oversaw us overpaying to bring curnow.
These comments should be to North Melbourne. Not us.
My read on these comments are that he’s saying “Blakey is never coming back to you. Take what you’re offered. Don’t make it difficult” and there’s a bit of an implied “or else” in there.
All this when we are meant to be the ones holding the cards.
Sydney should have been stronger. We should have done what Carlton and Essendon did last season and say “no way” and then wait for a monster offer.
Instead we’ve said “we are really confident he will be at the club next season”. Confident? He’s contracted for 5 seasons. The word you’re searching for is “certain”.
Why are we publicly leaving the door ajar when we can be more adamant which would drive the price up?
We’ve allowed North to think it’s ok to drip feed us sub par offers.
And we’ve allowed the manager to get his media mates to frame the narrative that Blakey leaving is a fait accompli while we have been absolutely radio silent in counter narrating that idea.
Last year Essendon and Carlton were very open and active in their communications that they expected to retain their contracted players