Crows appear winners for list management in trade battles with Carlton
ADELAIDE and Carlton have worked some super plays in the AFL trade period for several years — and the Crows appear the early winner in the Mitch McGovern swap.
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APOLOGIES to Steven Spielberg, but it is hard to avoid taking his Bridge of Spies drama as the concept to describe the long-running AFL trade plays between Adelaide and Carlton.
Somewhere over the river Yarra in Melbourne — rather than the Havel in Potsdam — Crows list manager Justin Reid and his Carlton equivalent Stephen Silvagni have stood on opposite sides of the bank for the past three Octobers to exchange players and draft picks.
First, Silvagni would not let contracted midfielder Bryce Gibbs go in 2016; then he released him last year, pretty much for two first-round draft picks and some loose change.
In this double-play Reid has very much lived the script Tom Hanks has in Bridge of Spies in gaining two while handing up one.
Along this trade bridge, the Crows have gained an All-Australian-contending ruckman in Sam Jacobs; a cult-figure, All-Australian small forward in Eddie Betts, the most-consistent Gibbs and the little-seen Troy Menzel.
Carlton now has McGovern after earlier taking Sam Kerridge (42 games with the Blues after 27 with Adelaide) and Matthew Wright (65 games with the Blues after 94 with Adelaide where he returns as an SANFL player next season).
So many of the draft picks Reid and Silvagni have exchanged are still to play out — and will need to be measured across full careers, as everyone has learned in assessing the Josh Kennedy-Chris Judd deal between West Coast and Carlton a decade ago.
But right now, Silvagni has the PR victory for how he stood firm with Gibbs in 2016, leaving every other Carlton player to understand the consequences of seeking an exit from a long-term contract before the half-way mark.
And Reid has won the list-management strategy.
McGovern was a No. 43 pick in the 2014 AFL national draft. Four years on, Reid has upgraded his value to No. 13 — and gained a promising SANFL-proven player in the bargain. Any draft pick earlier than No. 14 would have been a win for Reid. To add McAdam to the deal is the bonus — and not the “steak knives” as some would suggest.
McGovern’s exit, just one year into a three-year deal, still has questions that become even sharper by the West Australian’s parting message on social media.
McGovern wrote: “Thank you to all the Adelaide Crows members and supporters for my time and love at your club. I don’t want to name any people in particular, so to everyone that may have had the smallest or largest impact on my career at the Crows, I thank you so much.
“To the whole playing group and support staff, thank you so much for all you have done for me as a player and a human.”
No mention of the coaches — so this leaves doubt on how McGovern felt about senior coach Don Pyke, particularly after a stern word in Perth late last season. No mention of the administration — so this brings into question how McGovern reflects on signing that three-year contract last year.
Like Bridge of Spies, there is always some intrigue in the cold war between Carlton and Adelaide.
michelangelo.rucci@news.com.au