The Adelaide Crows could land No. 1 pick in next year’s draft after live trade with wooden-spooner Carlton
Adelaide stands to have the No. 1 pick in the 2019 national draft if wooden spooner Carlton finishes in the same position next year after a blockbuster live trade.
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Adelaide stands to have the No. 1 pick in the 2019 national draft if wooden spooner Carlton finishes in the same position next year after a blockbuster live trade last night.
The Crows took two midfield tackling machines in Chayce Jones from Tasmania at No. 9 and Ned McHenry from Geelong at No. 16 but their biggest win could take 12 months to materialise.
In the most significant move of live trading which was introduced for the first time in Melbourne last night, the Crows gave Carlton Pick No. 19 and their first-round selection next year.
In return they received Carlton’s first-round selection in 2019 — which if the Blues finish bottom like they did this season — would be the No. 1 pick.
Carlton was desperate to get its hands on Victorian midfielder Liam Stocker who it took with Pick 19, and offered its first round pick next year in a deal that was three days in the making after talks between Adelaide’s list manager Justin Reid and his Carlton counterpart Stephen Silvagni.
“We had that as a plan, that was an option for us. That’s been on the go for two or three days then this morning that firmed as a chance,” Crows recruiting manager Hamish Ogilvie said.
“It was a bit about what was there for them and for us, we were ready for it. There’s some risk but there’s some chance of some pretty good reward too.
“We thought that (Stocker) was their bloke but they never told us who the player was.
“We were pretty happy the deal went pretty smoothly.
“We’ve still got one more (pick) and we’re in a really good position so that helps our cause.”
The Crows have the second pick of the second round, which currently stands at No. 24, when the draft resumes in Melbourne on Friday.
“We’ll see what happens but if we can get another really high quality player at the next pick that will be a pretty good haul for us,” Ogilvie said.
Adelaide tried to work its way up the draft as late as Wednesday night and Thursday morning but was not surprised to be turned away. Ogilvie wouldn’t reveal what it offered to what clubs.
The two players it did draft are both noted tacklers in a sign the Crows are eager to ramp up pressure around the footy.
“They’re both ultra competitive, when you look at Ned’s running and Chayce’s defensive transition and his performance at the combine, they’re both really well performed,” Ogilvie said.
“They know each other too. Chayce’s mum is from Adelaide and they were both in the AFL Academy together.
“Chayce missed a fair bit of his under-17 year (with injury) but hardly missed this year and played a lot of senior footy, there is no query on the ankle, the doc ticked it off.”
Adelaide went into draft night with Pick 8 but that became Pick 9 after it bid for Tasmanian midfielder Tarryn Thomas and North Melbourne matched the offer for its academy prospect.
The Crows then selected Jones who overcame a badly broken ankle last year to shine at this year’s draft combine with his explosive sprint and jump.
Jones is an All-Australian under-18 midfielder who averaged seven tackles a game this season.
He played seven league games with Launceston in Tasmania and only five in the regular season but still finished second in the player of the year award after jagging three best-on-ground honours.
McHenry is a small forward/midfielder from the Geelong Falcons who was ranked No. 1 in the under-18 national championships for tackles with 10.8 per game.
WHO THE CROWS PICKED
CHAYCE JONES
Pick 9
Age: 18
Height: 180cm
Weight: 74kg
Position: Midfielder
Recruited from: Launceston (Tas)
NED McHENRY
Pick 16
Age: 18
Height: 178cm
Weight: 71kg
Position: Midfielder/small forward
Recruited from: Geelong Falcons (Vic)
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