Carlton took Tom Papley and Brandon Ellis on a tour of Ikon Park — without list boss Stephen Silvagni’s knowledge
Carlton courted Brandon Ellis and Tom Papley for much of 2019, eventually pulling the pin on its pursuit of the Tiger. The only issue? Someone forgot to tell Stephen Silvagni the pair were touring Princes Park.
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If pinpointing the time when Stephen Silvagni’s tenure with Carlton became irreversibly strained, look no further than earlier this season when Brandon Ellis and Tom Papley were first sought by the Blues.
Ellis, who ultimately left Richmond for the Gold Coast, and Papley, who remained with Sydney, were identified as key components in Carlton’s planning for next year.
They were feverishly targeted by the Blues earlier this year, a courting that was said to have gone as far as tours of Ikon Park.
But problems arose because Silvagni, the General Manager of List Management and Strategy, was not part of the process, leaving him “bitterly disappointed”, according to one Carlton insider.
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Once that trust had been broken, something or someone was going to give.
And that someone is expected to be Carlton Hall of Fame Legend Silvagni, who was lured back to the club in 2015 to help rebuild a basket case.
Silvagni typically declined a request to be interviewed yesterday.
He began by drafting Jacob Weitering (pick No.1), Harry McKay (No.10), Charlie Curnow (No.12), David Cunningham (No.23) and his son Jack (No.53) as a father-son selection.
Four years on and it’s looking more and more likely that the 2015 national draft haul will be looked back on as a catalyst for future success.
In the same period Silvagni has overseen the transformation of an ugly salary cap to one that currently has room to comfortably include a high-priced recruit.
So what has changed since Silvagni was seduced by Carlton president and friend Mark LoGiudice to return home after a successful tenure as the architect of GWS’s initial AFL forays?
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It began when Cain Liddle was appointed CEO and Brad Lloyd was recruited to become head of football.
Liddle and Lloyd are no different than most people in business, expressing a desire to put their own people in place.
Their “own people” included Mick Agresta as list manager — a title perhaps dangerously close to that of Silvagni’s General Manager of List Management — and football operations boss Len Villani.
The positive view is that Liddle has constructed a harmonious team working towards a common goal.
The opposite view is that it creates a group of “yes” men.
Sydney’s recruiting and list manager Kinnear Beatson is another name recently linked to the Blues.
Naturally enough it has produced a different environment than 2016 when Silvagni worked with relative freedom alongside 1995 premiership teammate and head of football Andrew McKay as well as Sam Power, who now runs recruiting and list management with the Western Bulldogs.
As a result Silvagni’s power base has steadily eroded, and reports concerning his future continue to surface.
It will see the likely departure of Silvagni after this year’s national draft, despite a reported contract having been put to him, albeit at a reduced rate.
He is believed to have been in discussions with LoGiudice concerning an exit plan, which initially was aimed for 2020.
Back to Brandon Ellis — a name that repeatedly crops up when 2019 politics at Carlton are discussed.
Silvagni was said to have been open to Ellis joining the club, but only at the right price, which was a fair way short of the $550,000 Gold Coast is alleged to be paying him.
When Ellis went north, Silvagni signed St Kilda’s Jack Newnes on a base salary at a third of the cost.
Josh Deluca, who played six games after being taken in the 2019 mid-season draft, may well have been another bone of contention.
Deluca, who has since been delisted, was not believed to have been on Silvagni’s wishlist as a senior player.
Eddie Betts was another case in point, with Silvagni’s interest said to be warm, and that was based more on what he could bring to develop Carlton’s indigenous program rather than the goals and tackling pressure his 32-year-old legs would provide.
In the cases of Betts and Deluca, Silvagni was effectively overruled, whereas the attempted recruitment of Ellis and Papley may well be looked back upon as the straws that broke the camel’s back, and ended over 20 years of service from the man known as SOS.
What next for Silvagni?
There will be interest given his recruiting track record with both GWS and Carlton matches up against most in the past decade, but one source close to the family suggested he is unlikely to be involved in football next year other than watching his sons Jack and Ben play for the Blues.
If Silvagni ever does speak, and don’t hold your breath as he has been famously publicity shy throughout his career, he would certainly point to a breakdown in trust as the critical component in his departure from a club that first boasted a Silvagni when his father Sergio debuted 61 years ago.
Originally published as Carlton took Tom Papley and Brandon Ellis on a tour of Ikon Park — without list boss Stephen Silvagni’s knowledge