I don't think it is costing us too much in terms of salary cap pressure, which is all I care about. Whilst it may cost a little $$ wise, that is not a problem for us. I would imagine we would have quite a bit of space in our salary cap given our lack of established stars. Assuming we have front loaded his contract this is a great pick up as it allows us to use the excess salary cap space.
On first thoughts I say - you beauty (until you think about how he is a 27 year old that has already played 200 games)
I'll take your word on the salary cap pressure. I don't know enough about their situation. We have a lot of good quality juniors coming through and I hope it doesn't jeopardise our ability to keep them. In a recent article in the Herald Sun, Essendon were ranked No 1 in terms of quality of players under 23 years of age with less than 50 games experience.
I'm like Kennas - not many players play their best footy between 210 and 300 games. They are solid contributors who more than hold their spot in the side, but their ability to control or dominate a match starts to diminish.
One thing in Goddard's favour is that he has been a slow developer. People forget that for years he was a much maligned player at St Kilda (mainly due to the pressure of being a No 1 draft pick). His early development was not as quick or exciting as people expected. Then almost overnight, everything clicked and he became a "superstar". Maybe he will burn brighter for longer.
As a side note - will he be the first No 1 Draft pick to ever play for Essendon? I know Essendon has never had a No 1 pick themselves, but I don't recall us even drafting a No 1.
I'm not unhappy about losing Monfries. He will be a good player at Port or another club, but he has been treading water for some time now. Either he doesn't fit with the game style that Essendon plays, or Essendon are not using him correctly. Either way something has to change.
Duckman