Jesse White’s future is in limbo after Adelaide turned down a deal with the Swans as part of the Kurt Tippett trade.
The first day of what we expect to be a frenzied final week has concluded, but it was a case of all quiet on the trading front today as clubs assembled their decks.
The main news today was in fact a case of no news, in two cases. The first was that after rejecting Sydney’s offer of Jesse White and their first round pick late last week, Adelaide’s Kurt Tippett talks once again stagnated. It’s understood there is, of course, plenty going on behind the scenes, but White remains in limbo as the Crows picked up Angus Graham last Friday while White was in South Australia.
Tippett and the Swans will be desperate to get a deal done lest he slip to the pre-season draft and get snapped up by Greater Western Sydney, but as each day ticks over it becomes more and more intriguing as to how events will eventually unfold.
The other ‘news’ was the no-show of Gold Coast Suns players at their first pre-season training session today. Josh Toy, rumoured to be heading back to Victoria and Tom Hickey, rumoured to be going to the Saints were both not with the group as they took to the track on the Gold Coast. It adds credence to the rumours and we can expect deals to be done if parties can come to a deal. The Saints do not want to part with a first round pick for Hickey, but it seems that’s what the asking price from the Suns is as it stands.
Greg Broughton, the Fremantle defender, was another name bandied about in the rumour mill today. Broughton has had success in defence for the Dockers but suffered badly when shuffled around positionally during the 2012 season. Port Adelaide are believed to be the front runners after losing Troy Chaplin to free agency and delisting Jacob Surjan; the 26 year old Broughton would be a handy replacement to bolster their defensive stocks.
It’s also believed the Saints have expressed interest, but their sights remain firmly set on grabbing Hickey and luring West Coast defender Mitch Brown over.
On that front, there was no movement from the ‘will not be traded’ position by the Eagles today. If St Kilda can manage to get him over they will no doubt pay a hefty price, and it’s unlikely any deal involving Brown will also involve homesick young midfielder Jamie Cripps.
Finally, the fallout from the compensation picks awarded for free agency has not been a good look for the AFL, with Hawthorn and Adelaide fuming for receiving barely anything for what they believed to be quality players. Brian Cook of Geelong and many members of the football media are joining the chorus to abolish the picks, saying that rewarding teams goes against the player oriented movements of free agency.
As the week goes on heading to the final deadline of 2pm Friday, there will no doubt be scrambling to get deals done. Join BigFooty News each evening for the wrap-up.
