Why Port’s list managers have a much tougher job than Adelaide’s ahead of AFL trade week
ADELAIDE’S draft strategy is straightforward — let Mitch McGovern go address areas of need — but Port Adelaide must decide if it should top up again with established talent or trade for draft picks with a longer-term premiership plan.
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WITH the two local AFL clubs not playing in the 2018 finals series the usual talk around the October trade period has started early.
For Adelaide, Mitch McGovern has made it clear he would prefer to be elsewhere next year. While Port Adelaide’s Jared Polec wants out, hoping to get to North Melbourne who clearly rate his run and skill at a higher value than the Power.
But the player who has caused the most debate is the enigmatic Chad Wingard.
Ever since Port Adelaide President David Koch announced that every player is “on the table” debate about Wingard has raged.
After bursting onto the scene in 2012, Wingard announced himself to the AFL world the very next year winning the John Cahill Medal for Port Adelaide’s best and fairest, as well as earning All-Australian honours.
He backed it up again in 2015 with another All-Australian blazer, before three modest seasons by his standards in 2016, ’17 and ’18.
Those arguing for a trade say that his currency right now outside of the Port Adelaide Football Club is higher than his output suggests over the past three seasons. By cashing in now and receiving a high draft pick, along with compensation for Polec, Port could go to the draft with three picks in the top 10.
With live trading in play for the first time at the draft, that would give the Power an arsenal of picks to attack the elite SA talent on offer at the very pointy end of the draft, or at the very least give them a shot at taking home three highly talented youngsters to address the skill shortage at Alberton.
The other side of the argument points to the loss of outside run of Polec, the sameness about Port Adelaide’s big-bodied midfielders, and a lack scoring power in attack — all things Chad Wingard is capable of providing when fit and in form, taking him off the table.
The big question is, what came out of the end of season review? How close do the coaching staff and list management team think the Power are to their next premiership?
If they believe next year is a real possibility then they aren’t trading out Chad for a draft pick. A trade for a more consistent top-end mature-aged player such as Dylan Shiel, yes. An 18-year-old potential star of the future, no. That doesn’t help you win next year.
There is a different narrative, however, if the realisation at Port is that this group, in its current shape may not be good enough to get it done in the next year or two, and that a mini-reboot is necessary.
Three 2018 draft top-10 picks who, in three years’ time will be approaching elite status and ready to assist their captain, Ollie Wines, star defender Dougal Howard, midfield gun Sam Powell-Pepper, key forward Todd Marshall, all combining with veterans Robbie Gray, Tom Jonas, Charlie Dixon, Hamish Hartlett and Tom Rockliff. Then that would have merit.
The question surrounding the Crows and McGovern is a slightly different one. Adelaide has to win the flag in the next year or two before this current crop of stars gets to the wrong side of 30. The question is what does the forward set up look like for the Crows into the future? Taylor Walker, Josh Jenkins, Tom Lynch, Darcy Fogarty, Elliott Himmelberg and McGovern all played up front this year. With most sides reducing the number of talls in the forward half, is this an area of surplus for Adelaide?
Could McGovern wanting out provide the opportunity for the Crows to top up in areas of deficiency like speed and class? If the Crows can extract a premium for McGovern, he may have done them a favour.
The philosophies around trading are pretty simple.
Firstly, if you want to get something good, you will most likely have to give up something pretty good.
Secondly, if you are going to trade out a good player for a draft pick you’d want to be sure that the player you are going to draft with that pick is almost a sure thing.
Finally, retaining the players that you want is the most efficient way to build a premiership list. Adelaide’s effort last season to cover the loss of Jake Lever and Charlie Cameron was almost perfect with the emergence of Tom Doedee and Jordan Galucci. But it still had them below the output of their predecessors. Port faces a similar challenge in 2019, having to find a player to replace Polec with his skill, ready to finish top three in the B&F, just to break even.
Not an easy thing to do.