GERRY: If we get rid of Ted we can put Mowbray in as Vice-President and make Tanner an honorary life member.

LAURIE: Where’s his twenty-five years active service?

GERRY: We’ll get around that. Shit, Laurie, let’s not be bush lawyers when there’s this sort of money involved.

LAURIE: What sort of money?

GERRY: Two hundred thousand each for starters. If we can’t buy ourselves a premiership with that nobody can.

JOCK: We’ll collect a bit of cash from our sales as well.

LAURIE: What sales?

GERRY: (glaring at JOCK) I was going to discuss the possibility of offloading one or two of our older players who are still looking good but who are just about over the hill.

LAURIE: Such as?

GERRY: I don’t know. I’m just an administrator, you’re the expert. Given that we get Donaldson, Dimisch and Payne, who could we do without?

LAURIE: Tony Harper, I suppose.

GERRY: Hardly worth the effort. His market price is somewhere under five thousand.

LAURIE: Market price?

GERRY: I’ve been making a few enquiries.

LAURIE: They’re men, not pigs.

GERRY: All right. If you want to mince words we’ll call it something else, but the fact remains that there is a market mechanism operating, there is a price on every player and the price on Tony Harper is so low it’s not worth negotiating his sale. The only player we’ve got that has big money on his head is Danny.

LAURIE: We’re not selling Danny.

GERRY: Why not? With the players we’re getting do we really need him?

LAURIE: (angry) Yes of—

GERRY: It’s a question. I wouldn’t know whether we need him or not. I’m just the administrator and you’re the expert. There’s no need to get angry. I’m merely posing a question.

LAURIE: We need him.

GERRY: Fine. A few of the wise heads around here seem to think he’s looked better than he really is for years because he hasn’t exactly been playing in a team full of champions. They’re worried that if he plays too many more games like last Saturday a lot of people will start to realise it and his market price, or whatever you like to call it, will plummet.

LAURIE: Which of the “wise heads” around here believe that little theory?

JOCK: I do. I say sell him while he’s still worth something. Let’s face it, Laurie, when we were winning our medals it was in a team full of champions. Danny’s little more than a talented hack.

LAURIE: Come off it, Jock. He’s bloody near as good as either of us were in our day. I know what’s worrying you. If he stays around for another couple of years he’ll beat your two hundred and eighty-two games.