Player manager Paul Connors on the era of the blockbuster trade deal
TOP player manager Paul Connors lifts the lid on what happens behind the scenes in footy trade deals, and recounts the day that AFL trades changed forever.
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IT WAS 15 years ago that the AFL trade landscape changed forever.
And I had no idea I’d be in the middle of it.
I knew something was up when my phone starting going crazy with a number of clubs ringing me, one after the other, from AFL headquarters where they were all meeting to kick off trade week.
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Hawthorn had put Trent Croad up for trade. It had blindsided everyone.
Back then everyone was a bit raw and new to the machinations of how the trade period worked but Hawthorn’s football manager John Hook and coach Peter Schwab were ahead of their time.
Croady was a favourite son and had just played in a preliminary final but the Hawks wanted to get into the draft which would later be dubbed the ‘Super Draft’.
Once the initial shock wore off, Croad and I met a few clubs and he was keen to get to Essendon, but didn’t realise the level of the angst between the two teams.
That didn’t happen and then Fremantle came in a hurry, offering the No. 1 pick in the national draft.
And the rest is history with pick No. 1 used on a boy from Colac called Luke Hodge who went on to captain the Hawks in three premierships.
When a player’s name was thrown up back then it was like an act of treason.
- Paul Connors 
In the end the Hawks received three picks in a transaction that saw Croad and Luke McPharlin head west. One of those picks was No. 36, which they used to select Sam Mitchell.
Never again has the No. 1 pick been traded.
The irony about the Croad trade is that after two years at the Dockers I got him back to Hawthorn in exchange for pick No. 10, which was used on Ryley Dunn. He then went on to play in a premiership with Hodgey.
The changes to the trading and drafting rules over the years have definitely improved it for everyone.
Another blockbuster trade which would have had a completely different result in the current environment was Chris Judd to Carlton.
Back in 2007 players couldn’t use the national draft to try to get to their preferred destination.
As we know the Blues were forced to let go a promising young Western Australian forward Josh Kennedy plus picks 3 and 20 to the Eagles for Juddy.
That same deal today would probably have been just pick No. 3 for Juddy, with Kennedy staying at Carlton.
Why do I think this?
The reason is the Blues had the No. 1 pick in the national draft, which they could have used as leverage or as a threat to get Juddy to go into the national draft.
However, Juddy wanted to look after the Eagles as much as possible so that scenario may not have eventuated.
Two years later the rule was changed and that’s how we got Luke Ball to Collingwood in the national draft.
St Kilda refused to do the trade and I remember in a last-ditch attempt to change their mind Luke came into Etihad Stadium on the final day of trade week to meet the club.
He had to come through a secret entrance, up stairs and through the kitchen to avoid the media.
Luke pleaded his case to coach Ross Lyon but the Saints refused to deal as they wanted a better deal from the Magpies.
There were a few slammed doors on the way out but we then went to work on finding a way to get Luke through to Collingwood in the national draft.
The dilemma meant the off-season break to Noosa turned into a workshop with Luke’s father, Ray, as we paced up and down trying to figure out a strategy.
It was the longest six weeks of Luke’s life and mine with dozens of phone calls to clubs trying to work out whether he would make it through to the Pies second round selection.
All the hard work paid off and he slipped through to No.30 where the Magpies took him and then a year later he played in a premiership, beating his old team.
That is the type of scenario that could happen with Jaeger O’Meara this year if Hawthorn can’t come up with a great trade for Gold Coast.
He’s got options in the national draft and pre-season draft but the Suns certainly hold the aces.
Clubs, players and agents have come a long way in 15 years.
When a player’s name was thrown up back then it was like an act of treason and it meant they had to leave.
Now players are a lot more open to exploring opportunities, but overall I would say players are a lot more loyal than clubs.
Clubs are getting a lot more savvy with their list management.
They’re willing to put names out there of players who might becoming restricted free agents the following year to maximise their trade value now.
It’s now a bigger beast than back in the old days, but the phone hasn’t gone crazy this year ... yet.
Paul Connors is a leading AFL player agent who has been in charge of Connors Sports Management for more than 15 years.
Originally published as Player manager Paul Connors on the era of the blockbuster trade deal
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