Former St Kilda coach Grant Thomas has thrown his support behind AFL captains who seek moves away from battling clubs, arguing that a shock exit could be the wake-up call those organisations need.
His comments follow a spate of high-profile cases: West Coast star Oscar Allen is set to join Brisbane as a free agent, Essendon skipper Zach Merrett has been linked to Hawthorn, and North Melbourne’s Jy Simpkin is reportedly testing the waters with rival clubs.
‘Players can sack clubs’
Thomas told SEN Breakfast that clubs complaining about player loyalty should instead reflect on why leaders want to walk away.
“I think they should just go, and all look in a very big mirror,” he said. “I mean, players can go where they want to. Clubs can sack players during contracts, so players can sack clubs during contracts. Get with it. I mean, that's what it is. Instead of looking outwards, look inwards and think, ‘What are we doing wrong that players don't want to stay here?’.”
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He argued that the growing desire for players to chase premierships is healthy for the game, forcing clubs to lift their standards. “I think there are two types of clubs in the competition. There are clubs, and there are usually about four or six, that are in the premiership business, and that's the game we're in. There are too many clubs that are just happy to play AFL,” Thomas said.
“More than ever, they want [a premiership medal] on their CV, especially the great players, and they're not prepared just to win best and fairests and be lauded as a superstar at an underperforming club that never plays finals. I think it’s shifting, and I think it's great. It puts pressure on the club to start to look at their processes and their programs and see where they can be better.”