Aaron Francis asks Essendon to trade him home to South Australia
FORMER No.6 draft pick Aaron Francis wants to leave Essendon but faces the prospect of being held to the contract he signed 12 months ago.
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AARON Francis wants to leave Essendon but faces the prospect of being held to the contract he signed 12 months ago.
The Herald Sun can reveal that the 2015 No.6 draft pick, who grew up supporting the Bombers, has asked the club to trade him home to South Australia.
Francis, 20, is contracted at Tullamarine until the end of 2019 and list manager Adrian Dodoro said last month he wanted to keep the utility.
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But trading Francis would aid Essendon’s task of striking deals for Devon Smith (GWS), Adam Saad (Gold Coast) and premiership star Jake Stringer (Western Bulldogs).
All three are eyeing moves to Tullamarine.
The Bombers currently hold draft picks 11, 28 and 46 as well as their selections in the strong 2018 draft.
They believe pick 11 is too much to pay for Stringer, 23.
Francis attended Thursday night’s best-and-fairest — won by Joe Daniher — and then flew home to Adelaide.
“He would prefer to return home,” Francis’s manager, Michael Doughty from TLA, said on Friday.
Doughty said Francis has asked Essendon for a trade, but conceded it appeared “unlikely”.
It is unclear at this stage whether Adelaide or Port Adelaide will show greater interest.
Power does not have a first-round selection, although it could receive an extra pick if it trades the contracted Jarman Impey home to Victoria.
The Crows hold No.16 and are likely to also receive No.10 from Melbourne as part of the Jake Lever deal.
Ironically, Francis was compared to Stringer by Dodoro just hours after he was drafted with the selection received for Jake Carlisle.
“He’s a Jake Stringer-type,” Dodoro said.
“He’s got power, speed, great hands and our fitness staff were absolutely rapt because the easy part is getting the endurance.
“The power and speed is the hard part to get, and obviously his footy brain.
“The sky is the limit for him.”
But Francis has endured a slow start to his career. Fitness remains a problem and he has managed only five AFL matches in two seasons.
Francis kicked a goal in the Anzac Day win against Collingwood and then was unsighted after Round 7.
Francis lost his brother, Hayden, to cancer in 2014 and is it believed he is battling homesickness.
“He’s a contracted player for the next two years and we have extremely high regard for him as a player,” Dodoro said last month.
“When we drafted him we knew there’d be some limitations initially because of some injury issues.
“We’ve got him to a point now where his fitness is really good, he runs games out exceptionally well and we’re expecting a really big year from him next year.
“I’m pretty sure it’ll be at the Bombers and our fans should be happy to see him playing some really strong footy next year.”
Originally published as Aaron Francis asks Essendon to trade him home to South Australia
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