Adelaide remains open to trading both of its top-15 draft picks for a higher selection
ADELAIDE will remain open to trading picks eight and 13 together for a higher selection up to and including AFL Draft night, Crows list manager Justin Reid says. But Port has warned Gold Coast it will play the waiting game to land the top SA talent.
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ADELAIDE will remain open to trading picks eight and 13 together for a higher selection up to and including AFL Draft night.
Crows list manager Justin Reid said the club would consider exchanging its first-round picks if an attractive proposition opened up as it continues to find a way to snap up highly touted South Australian talents Jack Lukosius, Izak Rankine and Connor Rozee.
He said this extended to the November 22 draft, during which teams would be given a five-minute window for live trading of picks on the night.
“We’re open-minded,” Reid said, speaking at the PWC Connors Sports Trade Breakfast in Melbourne on Monday.
“Obviously there’s a fair bit of play out.
“We’ve got the next three days and then … we can trade picks up until November 16 then live trading on draft night.”
When asked directly, Reid said Adelaide would consider swapping picks eight and 13 for St Kilda’s selection four or Brisbane’s pick five.
Port Adelaide currently holds picks six and 10 and its list manager Jason Cripps said he backed his club to lure the South Australians back to the club later on.
“If Lukosius and Rankine end up going to Gold Coast, we’re probably pretty happy to try to get them back in a few years’ time,” Cripps told the same breakfast.
“It’s interesting, because then it just becomes a two-horse race between us and the Crows, as opposed to a Victorian kid that wants to come back home, who has potentially got 10 options.
“That’s part of the discussion and strategy, but right at the minute, we’re really comfortable with pick six.”
Given the likelihood neither Lukosius or Rankine will fall to pick six, Cripps said the Power would have no concern pickingfrom Victorian Metro trio Max King, Bailey Smith and Ben King.
“We’re happy with any of the Victorian boys. We’re going to back ourselves in,” he said.
“It’s quite interesting at the moment because we’ve traditionally been really strong with retention, especially with Victorian guys.
“We’ve actually got a little bit of a challenge at the moment. We’re losing some South Australians in Jared Polec and Chad Wingard, which is a little bit unique.”
Crows board member Mark Ricciuto said the decision to swap first-round picks for a selection higher up the draft would be a tough one for both of the SA clubs.
“You’ve got to make that decision if you give away several picks to get one real high pick,” Ricciuto told Triple M on Monday.
“If you get one real high pick you’re probably going to get a really good player.
“But if you give away two or three other picks you’re eliminating the chance to get two or three really good players.
“Some teams would be happy to have four good picks and some happy to have two really high picks. There are different strategies for different clubs.”
Reid remained confident the Crows got a strong deal out of trading forward Mitch McGovern to Carlton in exchange for pick 13 and Sturt talent Shane McAdam last week.
“It was a good result for the club,” Reid said.
“I think Sos (Blues list boss Stephen Silvagni) and I were both happy to get it out of the way early.”
Silvagni, who was heavily involved in the negotiations which eventually took midfielder Bryce Gibbs from the Blues to the Crows during last year’s trade period, agreed.
“Both clubs have come out with good results,” Silvagni said.
“We’re thrilled to have him (McGovern) on board.
“He’s a player that’s really hard to match up on.
“With Mitch and Charlie (Curnow) up forward, and also Harry McKay, our forward line looks fairly potent for the future.
“But Mitch can also play down back so he gives you that flexibility.”