Geelong to demand top-10 pick in trade for gun midfielder Tim Kelly from West Coast or Fremantle
GEELONG will drive a hard bargain in talks with both West Coast and Fremantle over Tim Kelly, with the Cats firm in their belief he is worth a very high price after his brilliant debut season.
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GEELONG’S approach to the Tim Kelly situation will be clear cut.
Unless the Cats receive a top-10 pick as a minimum for the gun midfielder, they will attempt to keep him at the club next season.
As much as Kelly, 24, wants to go back home to a Western Australian club so his partner and three young children can be closer to family, Geelong will only do the deal if they can secure a commensurate swap for the brilliant ballwinner.
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And when the Cats meet Fremantle and West Coast officials on Monday to kick-off trade talks about the mature-age revelation, that will be the very clear message.
It’s a pick inside the top-10, or Kelly is held to his contract.
That’s how highly Chris Scott and his crew rate Kelly, after he missed out on the Cats’ best and fairest by only half a vote to Mark Blicavs last week.
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Andrew Gaff’s decision to stay at West Coast will make it tougher for the Eagles to pull-off a deal as they prioritise a ruck replacement for Scott Lycett.
The Eagles have picks No.19 and No. 20 (Lycett compensation) and may have to bundle them up in a swap to secure No.10 from North Melbourne to satisfy the Cats.
Geelong may also inquire about 195cm key forward Jarrod Brander, the first year goalkicker who was taken with pick No.13 last year and played one AFL game.
But it will still have to be Brander and a decent draft pick as well, rather than a straight swap for Kelly.
Gaff’s decision is a boost for Fremantle.
The Dockers are tipped to lose Lachie Neale to Brisbane and will have picks No.4 and No.5 to target Melbourne’s Jesse Hogan and Kelly in a one-two hit.
But Melbourne want both picks for Hogan, potentially tying the Dockers’ hands on Kelly.
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This is all somewhat new territory for the Cats, who have been on the receiving end of very few trade requests in recent years.
Ruckman Shane Mumford received a bonza deal to go to Sydney in 2009, Gary Ablett also walked to the Suns for a truckload more money in 2010 and captain Leigh Colbert sensationally departed for North Melbourne in 1999.
But that’s about it, four big guns in two decades.
No doubt, there is an awkward back drop to the Kelly situation because he loves playing his football in Geelong, and has absolutely flourished in his debut AFL season.
But the reality is Kelly’s partner, Caitlin Miller, has been homesick.
Miller said mid-season she was struggling in Geelong because “I have no family or friends here.”
“It’s boring for me,” Miller said on social media.
“Our family are super tight and back home we all lived in the same neighbourhood I could just walk to see them all.
“It’s very hard but I’m not unhappy just miss them.”
But the Cats have already made clear to the South Fremantle product that it will only release him over the next fortnight in return for an amazing deal.
Like Gary Ablett at the end of 2016, when he played one more season for the Suns against his wishes, Kelly is contracted for another season.
And we know the feeling in the industry is that clubs need to gain back some power in the player movement market.
Too many contracts are being torn up, as players pick and choose their new homes, most often for more money.
We know the Cats have been a very kind and compassionate club in the past, throwing their full support behind their players through all sorts of issues.
But their position on this one is concrete.
Originally published as Geelong to demand top-10 pick in trade for gun midfielder Tim Kelly from West Coast or Fremantle