Fox Footy Jury Trade Edition: Will the Essendon exodus continue? Could Brad Crouch land at Carlton?
One footy legend believes the additions of Zac Williams and Adam Saad at Carlton will lead to big things next season. But there is still one piece of the puzzle missing that needs to be addressed during the trade period.
Essendon
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Dominoes are continuing to fall on the trade front as more talks heat up after two further teams were bundled out of finals.
We asked two Fox Footy expert commentators in Western Bulldogs legend Brad Johnson and former Hawthorn and Melbourne champion Jordan Lewis for their takes on the week’s hot topics.
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WHAT IS WRONG WITH ESSENDON AND DO YOU FEAR THE EXODUS WILL CONTINUE DURING THE TRADE PERIOD?
JOHNSON: Essendon reminds me about where Brisbane was at a few years ago. Ultimately, I think they need a calming influence to also come in. Ben Rutten’s got his work ahead of him and we wait and see whether he will be successful with that, but he’s got an opportunity to be successful and he will have a changing dynamic in his team and can start from scratch with that. But they need to also have that influence either around him or around the club in a really positive way that can really make the players love footy again. That’s what it comes back to for me. It looks like the Bombers need someone that loves the game, that’s passionate about it and can get in there and make them feel good about themselves and play good, attractive footy. The likelihood is they will lose a couple more the way it is tracking. But you’ve got to go, ‘That’s okay, we’re losing some good players and it’s going to take time to rebuild’. But you get people that want to be there.
LEWIS: I think the exodus might stop because players are in contract and those players potentially might not get more money somewhere else. It is hard to move and takes a bit of courage to move so I don’t think we will see many others leave. But I think the Bombers missed a real opportunity to play Tom Bellchambers in the last match. You might look at that and say it’s not a big deal, but it shows the coach has empathy. With that you create some goodwill and you can use that for other tough decisions or harder things you need to do within the organisation. So, I think they missed an opportunity there and I think they need to create their own brand again. We hear a lot about Ben Rutten and Blake Caracella and what they did at Richmond. Nobody really cares what happened at Richmond. It’s all about what they can do at Essendon and build that identity rather than trying to be Richmond.
WHAT HEIGHTS CAN CARLTON REACH IN 2021, WITH THE EXPECTED ADDITIONS OF ZAC WILLIAMS AND ADAM SAAD?
JOHNSON: They’re great additions. They’re exciting, they’re quick. They’re going to add a really strong flair to an already strong, developing team. I think they’ll push for finals next year, the Blues. And we can’t forget about Charlie Curnow either in terms of not seeing him for some period of time. They’ve got the speed there but they need to replace the likes of Matthew Kreuzer as well, although Marc Pittonet did quite well this year at times. But other than that they’ve got the makings of a side that can really push hard in 2021 to be quite successful.
LEWIS: Each year, quite often two sides jump into the top-eight and two sides jump out. This year there was really nothing between 5th and 12th or 13th. It’s just your ability to win close games and injuries play a little bit of a part and the way the season unfolded in terms of fixturing. But if the Blues can acquire those two players and then you add Charlie Curnow back into that line up, I would think finals would be a minimum benchmark.
SHAUN HIGGINS WILL START NEXT SEASON AGE 33. WOULD HE BE A WISE PICK-UP FOR GEELONG?
JOHNSON: I think Higgo’s got some really good footy still in front of him. He’s finished the season really well, he’s healthy. So he’ll be a good addition for any club. If it is the Cats – and he is from down that way – that would be a significant pick up for a couple of years. He can play inside but he’s got class on the outside, too. With Gary Ablett retiring, he might fill that void around that half-forward/wing role.
LEWIS: Geelong are playing in a preliminary final so clearly they are close and still in that premiership window. Shaun Higgins would make them a marginally better side so I think that’s a risk worth taking for the right price. I think he can be a good acquisition. He’s not going to be a star for them but he adds depth, he adds class and he adds some outside game which would complement the likes of Brandan Parfitt and Joel Selwood and Cam Guthrie and those types of players. If I was Geelong, I would certainly look at it.
DO HAWTHORN NEED TO BE AGGRESSIVE IN TRADING OUT OLDER PLAYERS TO ACCELERATE THEIR REBUILD?
JOHNSON: I think the draft picks are really important for Hawthorn the next couple of years and I think they’ll position themselves well to do that. But you’ve also got to have a close eye on what could come into the club in terms of mature players. They may lose some stars at the back ends of their careers, but that’s okay. But when you’ve made big calls on your best ever players in Luke Hodge and Sam Mitchell and Jordan Lewis, it makes it easier to have conversations with guys that are coming towards the end of their careers.
LEWIS: I think it’s a balance. They’ve already lost a lot of experience with James Frawley and Ben Stratton now, so to get these young guys in but also have some A-grade quality there is really important. What you get in return for if, say, Isaac Smith wants to leave would play a big part in that. Hawthorn would be mad to let him go because he’s such a great player and has a wealth of knowledge and is a leader around the football club. But you do need to make hard decisions and I think if they were to look at trades for A-grade players at the ends of their careers that would certainly accelerate the next generation of success.
WHO MOST NEEDS ADELAIDE MIDFIELDER BRAD CROUCH IF HE IS TO LEAVE THE CROWS?
JOHNSON: With what Paddy Dangerfield’s doing as a forward, I think that excels what he could add to Geelong a little bit and the changing dynamic of the midfield at the Cats. But Gold Coast would love him, GWS would love him, even the Sydney Swans with their type of midfield that has been so similar for so long. I think there’s a handful of sides that would like the services of Brad Crouch if they can make it happen.
LEWIS: Carlton keeps coming up because they don’t have the inside bigger bodied midfielders. So someone to help Patrick Cripps would be a great acquisition for Carlton. We know they’ve got a bit of money, but how aggressive they do go after him I’m not too sure. I think Essendon would be a good side for him as well to bolster their midfield stocks.
IS SMITH NEXT OUT THE DOOR AT BOMBERS?
Orazio Fantasia has become the third Essendon star to walk in eight days with the club’s mounting player exodus to be a focus of a scheduled Bombers board meeting on Thursday night.
But the besieged Dons will retain Michael Hurley and Matt Guelfi despite speculation over their futures, as captain in waiting Andy McGrath signed on for two more seasons on Monday.
Injury-plagued forward Fantasia joined Joe Daniher and Adam Saad on the get-out list on Monday, while Devon Smith has also been linked to a potential move.
Essendon’s hierarchy believes it will stem the bleeding at Fantasia, Saad and Daniher, with coach Ben Rutten and football boss Dan Richardson to front the board to outline the strategy for the upcoming trade period.
Richardson, the club’s general manager of football since December 2017, is considered to be under the most pressure at Tullamarine.
The Herald Sun understands the Dons are not chasing Collingwood’s Jordan De Goey or Adelaide’s Brad Crouch, but North Melbourne key forward Ben Brown remains a strong consideration.
The Bombers are looking at replacement options for Daniher and are expected to meet with Brown about potentially joining the Bombers.
But Essendon would not hand over a first-round pick for a player which was put up for trade by North Melbourne against his wishes, with clubs sensing the chance to secure the spearhead for a bargain-basement pick.
Brown is driving home from Queensland and is keen for long-term security after the Roos pulled a three-year deal earlier this year.
Fantasia has long been linked to a return home to Adelaide, with his issues stemming more from homesickness than the club’s cultural issues.
Those issues were laid bare by retired Essendon midfielder Brendon Goddard, who said on Sunday there had not been clarity over the club’s game plan, with no “hard-nosed culture” of success.
The Herald Sun revealed last week that Fantasia had passed independent tests on his body after a series of quad, calf, knee and hip issues.
It means Adelaide and Port Adelaide will consider whether to launch bids for the talented but injury prone player, who kicked 39 goals in 2017.
Adelaide wants to recruit players in the right age profile who grew up in the state, while Port Adelaide wants to be able to push Connor Rozee and Zak Butters into the midfield in coming seasons.
Fantasia’s contract has another season to run, but while Essendon would want an early pick for the player, his injury history would mean South Australian clubs would be wary about giving too much for him.
Adelaide football boss Adam Kelly confirmed he wanted to return home.
“We understand he wants to come back to South Australia,” he said.
Essendon has lost interest in inside midfielder Crouch, but list analyst Gary Buckenara said if Adelaide matched a bid on the free agent the Dons should try to secure him in a trade for Fantasia and defender Aaron Francis.
“At his best you would say Fantasia is worth a first-round selection but he hasn’t been durable so he might get something in the second round,” he said.
“Essendon need a big body like Crouch, and Fantasia and Francis are both Adelaide boys. That would make a lot of sense to me to trade them for someone like Crouch.”
Sources told the Herald Sun said the Roos may have to accept a second-round pick for Brown on the back of a season-ending knee injury and subsequent surgery.
The Bombers want to keep their top picks and have their eye on a number of tall targets including West Australian gun key forward Logan McDonald and South Australian key forward-ruckman Riley Thilthorpe.
The 196cm McDonald has won comparisons to St Kilda champion Nick Riewoldt for his running power and competitiveness, while 200cm Thilthorpe has been hit by groin problems after a dominant 2019 season.
However, McDonald and Thilthorpe are both likely to be taken in the first three selections, meaning Essendon, which holds pick No. 6, would have to trade up the order to nab one of them.
Essendon’s draft compensation for free agent Joe Daniher is tipped to come at the end of the first round based on Daniher’s new wage at the Brisbane Lions.
Club legend Kevin Sheedy will formally replace Dons director Katie Lio at Thursday’s meeting, indicating on Saturday that he would play a hands-on role in reshaping Essendon’s football operations.
MORE AFL:
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MATCHING DANIHER BID COULD BACKFIRE FOR BOMBERS
MCGRATH RE-SIGNS AS FANTASIA CONFIRMS EXIT
LIVE TRADE Q&A: JOE DONE AS WAR BREWS AMID DONS’ DISASTER
Originally published as Fox Footy Jury Trade Edition: Will the Essendon exodus continue? Could Brad Crouch land at Carlton?