I do find it interesting that weāve never (my memory is not great, so Iām happy to be corrected if necessary) traded our first round pick.
I wonder how many other clubs havenāt.
Looking throught it, every other team has traded their assigned first round pick since 2014. We havenāt done it since at least 1997 (I got bored and stopped there)
Most recent ānaturalā first round pick trade
adelaide - 2014
brisbane - 2016
bulldogs - 2015
carlton - 2014
collingwood - 2016
fremantle - 2016
geelong - 2017
gold coast - 2015
gws - 2015
hawthorn - 2017
melbourne - 2015
north - 2015
port - 2017
richmond - 2016
saints - 2016
sydney - 2016
west coast - 2015
One thing both Jbomber and I agree with is that EFC hasnāt been great at the āvalueā trades (unless theyāre old and good for one year). Especially huge win ones. Hopefully Stewart is the start of changing that trend. But on some of who youāve mentioned:
ADELAIDE
B Crouch: really just equivalent to getting pick #2 as part of losing Davis. Not hugely different to us getting #5 for Carlisle.
Jacobs/Jenkins/Lynch/Brown: all cheap trades with great upside. Essendon need more of these types of trades, hopefully Stewart is one.
Betts: how is he different to Goddard?
Seedsman: good mid-priced trade for a mid-cost. No current EFC equivalent.
We do have Dea, McKernan, Leunberger and Green as fringe 22 players as well.
RICHMOND
Nankervis/Townsend/Grigg/Houli: low cost trades, with decent to great outcomes.
Prestia: paid a lot for a decent player.
Caddy: mid-priced decent player
Neither side has been aggressive traders. Richmond did one major trade for with pick #6. Adelaide upgraded the Davis compo with a first round pick for Brown and #2. That is the extent of their major trades. Everything else has been mid-priced or cheapie trades or FA.
It only takes one trade for us to be on that list obviously (and seems somewhat likely to happen), and those trades arenāt all the same (some are pick upgrades, some are pick downgrades, some are player trades, some are pick and player trades), so itās not as if thereās one philosophy and weāre the only ones not doing it.
Iād say though that it does at least suggest that our approach to the trade period is unusual.
No Team would sue AFL for Restraint of Trade, as when it comes to players the Team and AFL are the same body.
Players could over the draft, the rules have been challenged before when a player was refused a clearance to play for another Club and he won, so the AFL would be nervous. Many Employment Lawyers reckon the AFL would be in serious trouble if challenged over draft and the contract boys ( and often their Parents) sign to enter the draft.
We would also be one of the few teams to never get anything like a pick upgrade from the points system, lots of other clubs have used that to their advantage for sure. Guess that must fall in the hard to deal with basket. This thread fascinates me as really when you go back our drafting can be argued either way it seems, maybe the recent drafts will decide Dodoroās fate though, if we get nothing from Lav, Lang and Francisā¦ but the trading is a big difference.
One thing I was thinking while watching Adelaide, in light of Jbomber and my discussion on failed picks vis-a-vis development. When we convinced Edwards to join us, his other suitor was Adelaide. He then got picked up by Sydney after us. Two of the best (if not the best) recruiting teams.
Does anyone else wonder if Edwards had chosen Adelaide he might be running out on the G next Saturday and be considered a good AFL footballer like Knights, Greenwood etc?
Weāll never know of course, just a thought exercise.
Since 2012 weāve traded/FA brought in Goddard, Giles, Edwards, Aylett, Gwilt, Chapman, Cooney, Dea, Kelly, Stewart, Leunberger, and Green. On the flip side going out weāve also traded out Jenkins, Crameri, Giles, Gumbleton, Carlisle, Ryder, Melksham and Hibberd. If the definition of an aggressive trade is quantity, then weāre right up there.
My definition of āaggressive traderā would be one making a lot more trades than that OR using lots of significant draft currency to do so. I wouldnāt count players leaving unless the club initiates the trade (otherwise Brisbane would be aggressive traders ). I wouldnāt consider us aggressive traders.
Hawthorn and Geelong would be the two clear big ones. Port possibly, although not as much the last few years. Melbourne probably as well.