Wayne Carey reveals how the Sydney Swans traded him for $10,000

After being named in the NSW AFL greatest team of all time, AFL legend Wayne Carey has retold the remarkable story of how the Sydney Swans traded him away for nothing.

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He might be the greatest player of all time, but Wayne Carey still recalls the day the Sydney Swans traded him like a bonus set of “steak knives”.

North Melbourne had successfully negotiated a deal with Sydney to bring gun NSW junior John Longmire to the Kangaroos, and in what remains one of the most remarkable untold stories in AFL history, the Swans nonchalantly threw “King Carey” in on top, almost as an afterthought — for the measly fee of $10,000.

It was a decision that could have changed the course of history for two clubs, but yesterday the old firm of Carey and Longmire were fittingly named as the key forwards in the greatest NSW AFL team of all time — on the strength of their era of dominance at the Kangaroos.

North Melbourne paid Sydney $10,000 for Wayne Carey.

Swans’ premiership royalty Paul Kelly, Brett Kirk, Leo Barry, Kieren Jack, Jarrad McVeigh and Dane Rampe all made the prestigious best ever team, but as was the case throughout his illustrious career, Carey took centre stage.

Post ceremony, Carey made the emphatic prediction that the Swans would rebound and make the top eight next year and declared Longmire was the man to lead the revolution — dismissing speculation linking him to a romantic return to the battling Kangaroos.

But amid Sydney’s current predicament, it was hard not to reflect on what might have been way back in the late 1980s when the Swans bade farewell to two local heroes.

“John was a prodigious talent as a junior so every VFL club as it was then, chased Johnny. I’d moved from Wagga Wagga to Adelaide at the age of 13, so I was out of state, out of mind, so to speak,” recalls Carey.

“So when North Melbourne were trying to do the deal to buy Johnny off Sydney, they said, ‘why don’t you throw in this kid, he’s from Wagga Wagga, but he’s been playing in Adelaide for the past few years, why don’t you throw him in as well?’

“And they said, ‘yeah, no worries, 10 grand.’

“So I was the steak knives thrown in on the deal.

From left, members of the NSW AFL Greatest Team: Brett Kirk, Dennis Carroll, Paul Kelly, John Longmire, Leo Barry, Jarrad McVeigh, Kieren Jack and Dane Rampe. Picture. Phil Hillyard

“You often have those thoughts (about how things could have been different), but it wasn’t to be.”

The Swans’ one-that-got-away story has taken fellow Wagga Wagga great Kelly — who stood opposite Carey on the grand final dais back in 1996 as two men from the same NSW town — a bit longer to get over.

“It was worse when I was playing against them,” said Kelly. “We all knew it and it wasn’t much money!”

Carey said North Melbourne wouldn’t be the only ones to come knocking if Longmire decided he wanted a fresh start when his Sydney contract expires at the end of 2020.

But Carey’s expectation is Longmire will lead a rapid comeback for the Swans.

“I don’t see (them coming back this year), but in saying that, they will rebound very quickly,” he said.

“I have them in my top eight next year.

“Has he missed the finals yet, Horse? There you go. They’ve been a great club for a long time. The youngsters they have coming up underneath … are at a really good age. I think their future is bright.

“John is a pretty loyal guy and I don’t see him leaving the Swans any time soon.”

Wayne Carey and John Longmire at Thursday’s luncheon to celebrate the naming of the AFL Greatest Team in History. Picture. Phil Hillyard

Greatest NSW team of all time:

B: Chris Lethbridge, Leo Barry, Ross Henshaw
HB: Jarryd McVeigh, Gordon Strang, Dennis Carroll
C: Shane Crawford, Lenny Hayes, Neil Davies
HF: Terry Daniher, Wayne Carey, Luke Breust
F: Paul Kelly, Bill Mohr, John Longmire
R: Bruce McGregor, Brett Kirk, Haydn Bunton
I/C: Mark Maclure, Isaac Smith, Kieren Jack, Tom Hawkins