That.. was a breathtaking interview. Poorly advised Lachie.
People need to understand what being a 'contracted player' means. A contract provides employer and employee with security, and that security goes both ways — if you suffer a horror injury, or like Chris Mayne or Todd Goldstein fall in form or out of favour, and still have one or two years left to run on a deal, the club must honour your wages; equally, if you get your head turned by interest elsewhere, it's the club's right to hold you to the final year of that if they judge that the offer to trade you is not equal to your value in the side next season. It's not right to say only players are held in chains of bondage by being contracted players: they get financial certainty in a way ordinary members of the workforce do not.
Weller was asked if Pick 2 was a fair deal (an unsurprising question if you're going to go on radio in the middle of trade negotiations), and he basically took Gold Coast's side, that the deal on offer now was fair value. That's not his place to say, and Charlie Cameron, Bryce Gibbs and all the other contracted players wanted by their clubs have never done anything so brazen in recent years.
He's a fine player, it's nothing personal, and we're all disappointed he doesn't want to stay and be a Fremantle player for life — but his actions with that interview have now challenged the club in an unprecedented way, and Lloyd are Co. are perfectly within their right to take 'overs', or hold him to the final year and have RL banish him to the WAFL if his attitude affects the rest of the list.
We cannot set a precedent of allowing interstate players to be able to do this in contract: there's not enough WA talent in practical terms (or draft access opportunities) for Fremantle or West Coast to do that, and if we want to win premierships, it will come from a mix of WA and non-WA players, meaning we'll need the Darcy Tuckers and Lachie Neale's of this world to stay.
I support the club playing hard ball now, and I'll support RL if he sends Weller to back the reserves all year.
