David Johnson to the Gold Coast?

Written By: Catman Forever on October 3, 2009 No Comment

We all say goodbye to ex-assistant Coach ken Hinkley with a heavy heart. He has been a terrific servant of the Geelong Football Club as a player and a coach. But there has been a disturbing trend of the Gold Coast trying to lure Geelongs successful people up north in recent times.

CEO Brian Cook was actively pursued for a while to take on that position at the newly formed club. Thankfully Cook decided that his mission to make the Geelong Football Club a powerhouse of AFL Football has not quite finished with yet. This is not the first time Cook has been offered positions elsewhere.

I know we wont keep him forever, but I hope we can hang onto Cook for as long as possible.

Next we see them offer our Gary $1.2 million AUD to come and play up north. Again not unexpected but I think they must feel that with Hinkley up there they can easily attract Geelong Players as well. This is the huge problem we face at Skilled Stadium. Many of our players are worth big bucks and are currently playing on less money, putting team success before personal gain.

But can this last? How long will it be before a player decides to go after the money now that they have 2 Premierships at Geelong? This is a gnawing worry for all fans, as ultimately we don’t want to see any players go. But economic reality must come into play sooner than we expect.

The club has warned this year that they may have to trade some name players in order to free up some salary cap room.

Recently one of our posters moondog21 reported that he had a conversation with Geelongs small backman David Johnson at the Carji Greeves Medal night and he told him that he is considering retiring at the ripe old age of 27. Retiring? Well not exactly, the lure up the north has struck, and DJ has been offered a player development role at the Gold Coast.

DJ apparently expressed his frustration at being the bridesmaid and never the bride down at Skilled Stadium and who could blame him. The little lion would get a regular spot in most other AFL line ups. Although his decision not completely made yet, the lure of Hinkley and possible playing role is weighing big on him.

Whatever DJ decides we wish him all the best for the future.

So it makes you wonder which player or coach or official the Gold Coast will try to lure from Geelong next? I hope they fail miserably to be honest. But time will tell whether the lure of the big money will be too strong to resist.

As a side note I would just like to welcome Blake Caricella down to Skilled Stadium as Hinkleys replacement. Blake has a great pedigree and has been pushed out at Collingwood due to Buckleys arrival next year. But we welcome him and wish him every success.