How first-round 2019 pick-swap will ignite old tensions between SOS and the Crows
Adelaide’s draft day deal with Carlton to allow the Blues to claim Liam Stocker in exchange for a pick swap next year is the latest in a history of intense rivalry between the clubs.
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The 2018 AFL draft is done for another year and there were few surprises.
Plenty of hype, but no surprises.
The top 10 went almost to script and now we wait for the show to start. Four months and counting.
Live trading of picks was the big difference and the Crows and Carlton rolled the dice first.
We will have to sit and wait for most of the 2019 season until he winner of that deal is known, but full credit to Blues list manager Stephen Silvagni for having the courage to make the first move. Loved him as a player. You must admire him in his current role.
“SOS” has seen something in Sandringham Dragons youngster Liam Stocker and like a gambler in Las Vegas, he pushed all his chips into the middle of the table to secure the teenager’s passage to Princes Park.
The Blues exchanged their first-round pick at next year’s draft with the Crows to seal the deal.
It could be pick one, but it might not be.
A glimpse at Stocker’s highlight reel shows why Carlton wanted him so desperately.
They considered him a top-10 selection. Certainly too good to ignore with pick 19.
This young man is excellent in traffic. He stays over the ball. He doesn’t fumble and his execution by hand and foot is of good quality.
Injury robbed him of a full year of football in 2018 but he still managed some good numbers despite missing the Under-18 National Championships.
History shows this type of player has the greatest development in his game.
James Hird, for one, suffered significant injury during his youth and slid into the 70s come draft day.
We know how that turned out for Essendon.
Silvagni’s courage and decision making were key factors in his selection as full back of the century and it could make him list manager of the century if the choice of Stocker proves to be a masterstroke.
The Crows have a potential trump card in this as well and it sets up a mouth-watering clash between the two teams in round 19 at the MCG.
There will be much more than the four premiership points on the line.
Much more than Mitch McGovern up against his old team.
Much more than Bryce Gibbs, Eddie Betts and Sam Jacobs against former team-mates.
It could well be the “Kreuzer Cup” Mk 2.
The Crows couldn’t accept Carlton’s offer for Stocker quick enough and they appear to have the stronger hand.
If both teams finish where they did this season the Crows will have the coveted No. 1 pick at next year’s draft — and Silvagni may be looking for a new job.
But he will also know what type of talent is coming in 2019.
The Blues have backed themselves in to win more games than the Crows or at least make significant improvement and despite the tedious nature of draft night, this swapping of picks and the gamble both clubs have taken is exactly what was needed.
Lets enjoy both clubs’ courage to take a risk not really knowing the ultimate reward.
It continues a great history between the two clubs since Adelaide entered the AFL back in 1991.
The Blues handed the Crows their first-ever loss. Stephen Kernahan kicked five goals as Carlton got home by 23 points at Football Park.
Later that season the Crows would turn the tables on the Blues and win by seven points on a wet Princes Park — Adelaide’s first win on a traditional VFL suburban ground.
Two years later Carlton would hand the Crows their first finals defeat with a three-goal victory at Waverley Park courtesy of some inaccurate kicking by the Crows.
Revenge came quickly in the first game the following year when the one and only Tony Modra kicked 13, most of them on Silvagni, and the Crows won by a whopping 84 points.
Maybe that still sits in the back of SOS’s mind.
Seven years later, in 2001, Carlton did it again and eliminated Adelaide from premiership contention in the elimination final.
They’ve traded a few players, assistant coaches and even the odd administrator since, and while the Crows have got the better of the exchanges in recent times few have been as significant as this one.
Not a player, not a coach — but a draft pick.
The AFL’s dream of dominating the headlines for 365 days a year is all but complete.
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