Geelong says its trade offer to Carlton for Charlie Curnow was ‘best offer we could do’
Geelong says it will turn its attention to the draft after its best possible bid for Charlie Curnow was knocked back, ruling out offering players to sweeten the deal for Carlton.
Geelong football boss Andrew Mackie says the Cats cannot give any more for wantaway star forward Charlie Curnow after Carlton rejected their offer.
The two-time Coleman medallist remains eager to leave Carlton despite being contracted for another four years and Sydney is also in the mix for him.
Geelong offered its top picks from the next three AFL national drafts for the brilliant goal kicker, but it was not enough to satisfy the Blues.
Carlton wants early picks for Curnow, not the Cats’ three picks which the Blues suspect will all be late selections in the first round.
It included the pick 19 in this year’s draft, as well as two future selections.
Pick 19 was originally offered to St Kilda in an offer for ruckman Rowan Marshall, which was knocked back by the Saints.
Mackie said the Cats still remained interested in bringing both Curnow and Marshall to the club, but conceded he wasn’t sure what a potential deal would look like.
“It (Curnow offer) was the best offer we could do, it was our three first-round picks, we couldn’t do any more,” Mackie said on AFL Trade Radio.
“Unfortunately it got knocked back, so here we are with those picks.
“We’ve always been a lover of the draft, so if it means getting to the draft with those picks a couple of years before Tasmania comes in then we’re excited about that too.
“As far as Rowan Marshall goes, we’ve had that first-round draft pick (19) on the table there (on) Monday.
“I had a chat with SOS (Stephen Silvagni) to see where it was at and if they were willing to do a deal, and he said it’s less likely and they wanted to keep Rowan.
“Later that afternoon we put our energy into Charlie and offered up the picks that we did.
“We’d be confident we’d find ways to do the deals, but it was clear this morning (Friday) that Carlton weren’t doing that trade.
“We’ll see where it lands, but right now their (St Kilda’s) stance is they want to keep Rowan Marshall, and we’ll keep exploring that if Rowan’s keen to get down here, which we think he is, and we’re keen to bring him in.
“We’re not exactly sure what the Saints would want the deal to look like for them.
“They weren’t that clear, to be honest, on what it was (they’d want).
“(We) tried to get a deal done in good faith, obviously that hasn’t happened to this stage.”
Carlton is willing to hold Curnow to the remaining years of his contract, with new footy boss Chris Davies expecting the relationship to remain intact if a trade could not be completed.
Mackie categorically ruled out offering a high-calibre player like Gryan Miers.
“We haven’t had a player come to us and ask to be traded, someone like Gryan and others we just love having a part of our team,” he said.
“There’s a lot to like and a player like Gryan is important to that.
“I haven’t heard other clubs wanting our players but I get that there is speculation there.”
Originally published as Geelong says its trade offer to Carlton for Charlie Curnow was ‘best offer we could do’
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