Geelong forward Josh Jenkins says AFL isn’t ready for players to declare trade intention mid-season

New Geelong forward Josh Jenkins, an avid fan of US sports, says the AFL isn’t ready for the mid-season trade requests which are commonplace in other sports including the NRL.

Josh Jenkins doubts the AFL is ready to embrace mid-season trade requests. Picture: Tim Carrafa.

The AFL isn’t ready for mid-season declarations of trade intentions, according to new Cat Josh Jenkins.

Jenkins, 30, had two years to run on his contract with the Crows but was traded from Adelaide to Geelong in October after a difficult year on and off the field.

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He said at the time that he had been considering a trade “for a while” but despite his strong interest in US and other sports where players or clubs show their hand but continue to play out a season, he does not believe the AFL is ready for such a model.

“I don’t think we are really ready for that, and it’s not a great look seeing the NRL guys throw a different polo on and then go back and play for their old team. It’s not great,” Jenkins said.

“So I think the way we do it now … it’s better. And it’ll probably naturally evolve. I think you can read between the lines a bit when you hear managers say ‘Josh is going to explore his options’. I think we should be smart enough to realise what that probably means.”

He also believes there needs to be a shift away from focusing on player salaries.

“There’s talk about how much guys get paid and I look at America – there’s a big dispute about should salaries be public,” the Geelong forward said.

“Over there, the fans don’t care how much people get paid. They just want to see their team do well.

“We’re sort of like ‘you get this, so you should be doing that … if I was getting paid this much, I’d be doing this’. We’re really focused on those sorts of things instead of just being supportive and positive.”

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Jenkins, who this week returned to training at Geelong, played in Adelaide’s heartbreaking 48-point loss to Richmond in the 2017 Grand Final.

But while he is hunting the ultimate success in the hoops, he is adamant that he would not be defined by whether he ends his career with a flag.

“I don’t think anyone should ever be defined by winning a Grand Final,” he said.

“But so much of premiership success is about luck. I’m talking individually. Look at someone like (Hawk and Demon) Jordan Lewis – he was a phenomenal payer and would have been at any club, but just happened to land at Hawthorn at pick 8, and if pick 7 had gone in his spot … it’s just sliding doors.

“And that’s not to detract from anyone’s career. But there’s so many things and so much luck that go into winning a premiership.

“If I won one, it’d be my most treasured memory in footy, for sure. But if the Cats win one and I don’t play, I will have played my part in some small way.”

Originally published as Geelong forward Josh Jenkins says AFL isn’t ready for players to declare trade intention mid-season