Crows and Blues to battle for the Pick Swap Cup after historic Liam Stocker trade at last year’s draft
It’s judgment day — in more ways than one — for the Crows and Blues at the MCG on Saturday after last year’s historic Liam Stocker draft pick swap. But it might be years before we know the true winner.
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Rarely has a Round 19 game had so much riding on it for the Adelaide Football Club.
When the suddenly-struggling Crows play a rejuvenated Carlton, which is finally showing signs of life after six years in the doldrums, at the MCG on Saturday, they are not only playing for a finals spot this season but a draft pick that could have ramifications for a decade.
Eight months on from a blockbuster trade that dominated the first live trading in AFL history, Adelaide will confront its trading partner, the Blues, for the first time with so much at stake for both clubs.
As the 2017 grand finalist Crows were on the clock with pick 19 at Marvel Stadium last November, Carlton — coming off a wooden spoon — made the draft’s jaw-dropping move by jumping on the phone to list manager Justin Reid to orchestrate a swap of its 2019 first-round pick for selection 19 and Adelaide’s 2019 first-round pick.
The Crows, having already taken exciting midfielders Chayce Jones and Ned McHenry with their first selections at nine and 16, could not say ‘yes’ quickly enough.
The Blues made the controversial move to draft strong-bodied Victorian midfielder Liam Stocker — a player not on Adelaide’s radar who they rated as No. 6 on their draft board — while backing themselves to jump up the premiership table this year.
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In contrast, the Crows, coming off a 12th-placed finish following a nightmare injury run, backed themselves to return to the top four and contend for the flag.
In the back of their minds would have been that they could conceivably win the flag and have the No. 1 pick at the 2019 draft if the Blues fail to rise and take the wooden spoon again.
“There’s always bit of risk but with that also comes reward,” Reid said at the time of the trade that stole the draft show.
“An opportunity presented itself and I guess you can’t (judge it) until you get to 12 months time and we know what positions we sit in the draft. Time will tell.”
Blues list boss Stephen Silvagni, who already had this year’s AFL Rising Star favourite Sam Walsh tucked in his back pocket with pick one, appeared offended at suggestions that the Crows had won the trade hands down.
“What happens if we finish on top of the Crows?’’, Silvagni said of his two-for-one trade.
“The season will take care of itself and what we do know is we’re really happy to bring a good player through the door.
“We had him (Stocker) inside our top 10, probably a bit higher than that. We think we’ve got a really, really good player.
“This (live trading) is going to happen more and more — if you travel to the (United) States, this happens a lot. I’m comfortable, because I know I’ve got a good player.”
The trade left the Crows — and their army of fans — barracking against Carlton, a club it has had so much trade history with, highlighted by the Bryce Gibbs and Mitch McGovern deals, all year.
There has been so much interest in the pick swap that a Twitter account, @CrowsPick, has been dedicated to it, tweeting updates with every result that affects first-round selections.
Update
— Carlton/Crows pick swap update (@CrowsPick) July 20, 2019
Pick 3 - Adelaide
Pick 11 - Carlton
The Carlton/Crows pick swap update after round eight had Adelaide getting pick one and the Blues pick 16 — a massive win for Reid and his team.
At that stage, the Crows, who also have Carlton's second-round selection this year — another reason for their fans to barrack against it — had overcome a rough start to the season to be flying high in third spot with a 5-3 win-loss record.
The Blues, meanwhile, were languishing rock bottom with just one win and pressure was mounting on under-fire coach Brendon Bolton.
But how the teams’ fortunes have changed.
With just five minor round series remaining and judgment day looming, Adelaide has lost three of its past four matches to slump to eighth.
Carlton, which sacked Bolton after the round 11 loss to Essendon, has won four of its six games under new mentor David Teague, who ironically was the Crows’ much-respected forward coach prior to joining the Blues last year, to move up two places to 16th, ahead of Melbourne and Gold Coast.
Significantly, this year’s national draft is said to have two jets — Victorian midfielders Matthew Rowell and Noah Anderson.
Rowell has been likened to star Geelong captain Joel Selwood and Melbourne powerhouse Clayton Oliver while the taller Anderson’s has drawn comparisons to Fremantle Brownlow Medallist Nat Fyfe.
Prior to Saturday’s much-anticipated clash at the MCG, dubbed the “Pick Swap Cup’’, Adelaide owns pick 3 and Carlton pick 11 — the smallest gap between the teams since the start of the season.
Crows co-captain Rory Sloane said his side was just focused on winning, not draft picks.
“We’ve rarely had a pick inside the top 10, it’s never really fussed me and I don’t think it’s fussed this footy club,’’ he said.
“Whatever pick we end up with is just how it is, we’ll get the best player that suits our system.’’
But Reid and Silvagni will know there is so much more at stake.
Right now, little separates the teams when it comes to the AFL's Draft Value Index — a system used to calculate the value and fairness of trades.
Pick three that Adelaide will currently receive is worth 2234 DVI points.
Pick 11 this year and the No. 19 pick Carlton used last year to secure Stocker, who has played five AFL games this year, are worth 2277 points.
This is a difference of 43 points the Blues’ way.
Former Hawthorn recruiter and triple premiership player Gary Buckenara says the trade’s winner won’t be known for “two to three years”.
But the higher the draft pick the Crows glean from Carlton the better off they should be, adding to the intrigue of Saturday’s encounter.
The first-round selection Adelaide gets from the Blues is certain to be the highest it will ever take into a national draft, having never before picked before No. 7.
It wasted that 2000 selection on Victorian ruckman/forward Laurence Angwin, who failed to play an AFL game at the club before being released after two years and joining Carlton.
Complicating this year’s draft order — the Crows could look to trade their top pick for a seasoned star such as Collingwood’s Brodie Grundy — is that the bottom-placed Suns, who have lost their past 13 matches, are poised to ask for a priority pick at the top of the first round.
This would likely land them picks one and two and put them in prime position to select both Rowell and Anderson, who are good mates.
While Rowell and Anderson are the standouts of the 2019 draft class, AFL talent ambassador Kevin Sheehan said there was, as usual, some “terrific players’’ at the top end of the draft.
These include Victorians, midfielder/forward Caleb Serong, and defenders Hayden Young and Lachie Ash, WA ruckman Luke Jackson, who Sheehan says is an athletic, high-disposal ruckman who reminds him of Grundy, and several Croweaters, Andrew Gaff-type midfielder Dylan Stephens, dual All-Australian under-18 defender Will Gould and classy forward Cameron Taheny.
CROWS’ TRIPLE TREAT
Adelaide has three selections in the first two rounds of this year’s AFL national draft.
Based on current premiership table order, they are:
No. 3 (from Carlton, as part of Liam Stocker trade)
No. 21 (from Carlton, via GWS after swapping second-round picks at the 2018 draft)
No. 29 (Adelaide’s own second-round pick)
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