AFL Trade Period 2019 – Joe Daniher: To go or stay?
It disappoints me when a key player wants to leave the club you support, especially if the club has committed a lot of time and effort into the development of that player.
And IMHO Essendon has made that comittment with Joe Daniher, from the lead up to his recruitment and during his years with the Bombers. Although we have had little reward from Joe over the past two seasons due to his chronic injury problem, he is at the age, the stage of his career and development, if fully fit, to be playing his best football over the forthcoming years.
Players like Joe Daniher do not come along often and like many supporters I’ve been waiting for the eventuality of seeing Joe finally fulfilling his enormous potential playing for the Bombers but it’s beginning to look like I may be denied that joy while supporters at another club will accept that probability with open arms.
I’ve always felt Essendon gave in too easily in letting Paddy Ryder move to Port Adelaide and at the time they should have fought a lot harder to retain him. His move left a gaping hole in our team that I believe is yet to be filled. It’s difficult to fill the boots of good players quickly.
The Bombers must do everything they can to ensure Joe Daniher is retained at Essendon for the remainder of his footballing career, and, hopefully to be a part of many premierships to come.
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About Colin Ritchie
Retired teacher who enjoys following the Bombers, listening to music especially Bob Dylan, reading, and swimming.
Colin, it’s taken me a while to digest this situation as a Bomber fan but my feeling is that the Club is in this up to their eyeballs. we made him nervous. he asked for a contract extension and they declined. they want to see what his recovery looks like next season which is fair enough but he’s not to be blamed if Sydney then reaches out as they’ve done despite what Tom Harley has said publicly. they’re having a look at what’s on offer. if other trades play out (i.e.. if Papley gets to Carlton) Sydney will have 5 and 9. that’s what we’ll ask for. it’s entirely another matter that they’d part with them but it’s an intriguing prospect. there’s a particular key forward, as yet unsigned, playing in that neck of the woods, who might be levered out of his club. let’s see. do i want Joe to leave? not one bit. but don’t think for a minute that our club isn’t fully aware of what’s possible with the trading of a chronically injured player.
Thanks for the comments Trevor. I suppose the one thing that may make the parting of ways easier for supporters is the prospect that Joe may never fully recover from his injury and may not fulfil that potential we know he has, had. The Swans will be factoring this aspect into their negotiations I would imagine. We’ll just have to wait and see.
I feel your pain Col and as a Swans supporter I feel the same in regards to Tom Papley, a terrific young player who I feel will only get better. One can argue the value of a tall marking forward versus a small, though Joe and Tom are both valued members of their respective teams.
Part of me is delighted that Joe may come north but at what cost. And like you I don’t want to lose our Tommy.
Who knows how Joe’s injury problem will resolve. I suspect the deal will get done. Though I don’t discount both players staying where they are.
Worth noting that in 1978 South Melbourne Swans swapped one Terry Daniher (forward) for a centreman called Neville fields from Essendon. Other Daniher brothers followed their older brother to Essendon – Neale, Anthony and Chris. Chris and Terry played in 3 of Essendon’s last 4 premierships, and Terry Chris and Anthony played in the losing 1990 grand final. Neville Fields played stuffal for the Swans then drifted back to Essendon.
Time moves on and the Daniher clan produced 2 sons, Darcy and Joe, who played senior footy for Essendon. Now Joe is a hot property and subject of a tug of war between Essendon and the Swans of all places! You couldn’t write this stuff!
Hi George,
Fields played 60 games for South and was quite good in my view. Though of course he was not worth Terry and Neale Daniher. Right from when the deal was done, I knew we had given up a potential champion in Terry, though little did I know that Neale was just as good if not better. The hunt has been on for years to identify who was the fool who signed off on the deal.
We did not let Anthony pass through our hands initially and got over 100 games from him until the salary cap squeeze caused by our Edelsten era extravaganza pushed him out. Then to add insult to our appalling error it was expanded to a new generation when we could not convince Joe to come up north.
The first question that Essendon supporters must ask is “Why?”
Why does Joe Daniher want out, and with time left on his contract?
Smokie, if i may (in that this is Colin’s piece) i think we made him nervous. he wanted an extension and we said No. we want to see what the recovery looks like. Sydney have pounced, not surprisingly. there’s a lot to play out here yet.