Will the Western Bulldogs have some salary cap issues in the coming years?
That is the scenario that Kane Cornes is forecasting given the amount of key position players and potential stars on the club’s list.
The main point of focus is ruckman Tim English who was this year selected in his first All-Australian team following a career-best season.
English, a Western Australian native, is contracted with the Bulldogs until the end of 2024 but could quite possibly be the subject of a significant offer from the West Coast Eagles at some stage.
Cornes wonders whether English is the sort of player the Dogs could part with considering they will need to pay a number of others in the next few years.
“I would be a little bit nervous, if I was the Western Bulldogs fans, about his long-term future,” the said on AFL Trade Radio’s The Early Trade.
“Clearly nothing is going to happen in this trade period, but he will get big offers from the teams in Perth. Probably not Fremantle because they’ve got a couple of big ruckmen already, but certainly the Eagles. He’s going to get a big pay deal regardless.
“For the Dogs, is he one you can let go?”
Club legend Brad Johnson cannot see a world where the Dogs would allow 26-year-old English to walk away from The Kennel.
“No, I don’t think so, because he’s the number one, he’s the All-Australian ruckman,” Johnson replied.
However, Johnson understands that English’s partner, Rudi Ellis, is playing Super Netball for the West Coast Fever in Perth so there might be a go-home factor involved in the near future.
“I also understand the personal side of this scenario as well, being separated from his partner because of sport,” he added.
“At some point that is going to come together and they’re going to find common ground, I would think, in terms of being together in the same state so they can both fulfil their dreams of playing sport at the highest level.
“We get that, but that’s just another layer of decision making for the English family.”
Those players Cornes expects to attract decent money from the Dogs include Aaron Naughton, Bailey Smith and developing youngsters Sam Darcy and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan.
He believes that if they want to keep most of the band together, then they will have to give something up in order to fit key pieces in.
“If you look at Naughton and English, they’re going to have to pay big money to (them),” he added.
“Bailey Smith is a player who is going to need a large contract, then you’ve got Sam Darcy and if he comes along and improves, key position players will get big money. Jamarra is probably nearing on a million dollar player.
“So how do you fit them all in? I don’t know, so for me, I’m thinking English may be the one that gives us a bit of (salary cap) relief and we can go and get a Darcy Cameron (type) to ruck for us.”
Johnson sees this as a very important period for the Bulldogs who narrowly missed finals this year.
He says getting the player payments right in order to keep the core of their list together is paramount for success.
“The club needs to look at the Geelong model in some aspect,” the club’s games record holder said.
“I know some of the recruits for the Cats are getting a reasonable clip now and it’s started to adjust a little bit.
“But when you mention five or six players that could demand really big coin in the competition on huge lengthy deals, that becomes a really interesting conversation internally at the Bulldogs because they need to set that up.
“You’ve already got ‘Bont’ (Marcus Bontempelli) who is the number one player and then there’s a tiny bit of daylight to the rest. ‘Libba’ (Tom Liberatore) will demand a good income as well.
“So you’ve got some really key players that will have to play and stay for less. They might get an extra year, potentially, but they will have to stay for less so everyone can get in.
“That’s why next year is so big for the footy club because they need to show that they’re on a path to the next premiership and that is playing finals again, that is taking huge strides forward, so that these players are more comfortable taking a bit less to stay.”
Cornes also believes that key forward Naughton needs to fully deliver on his potential to warrant a lucrative pay day.
“For Aaron Naughton, the onus is on him to become the player we think he can be, because he’s nowhere near that yet,” he said further.
“I thought he was disappointing this year despite showing that he’s tough, he’s competitive, he’s a good contested mark, but he doesn’t influence games often enough.
“So if he does want a really big pay deal, he’s going to have to put a season together like Charlie Curnow has done the last two years. Go from kicking 44 to 75 goals.
“That’s the jump and the leap that he needs to make before he can command those big offers.”
Listen to the chat on Trade Radio below: