AFL 2021: Follow the latest Adelaide Crows trade and contract news
Talks over a trade for Sydney wingman Jordan Dawson have stalled. See the other clubs that could be part of a deal and the ace up the Crows’ sleeve.
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Adelaide football director Mark Ricciuto says getting Jordan Dawson through the pre-season draft is an option if the Crows and Sydney cannot finalise a trade.
Talks between the clubs have stalled after the Swans’ refusal to accept pick 17 and future selections as part of a multi-team swap for the 24-year-old South Australian.
Sydney wants more for a player it has called the best available on the trade market, but Adelaide believes it is a fair offer and is prepared to stand its ground, opening the possibility to secure the out-of-contract half-back/wingman via next month’s pre-season draft.
The Crows have knocked back handing over their pick 4. Pick 17, which is held by the Western Bulldogs, has been floated as part of a deal but it may not be on the table for long because it is of interest to other clubs.
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Discussions seem likely to continue over coming days, unless the Swans change their minds.
Adelaide, which also holds pick 23, is trying to complete a deal and the pressure is on Sydney to get one done because the pre-season draft looms.
The Crows used that window last year to recruit another South Australian, midfielder Jackson Hately from GWS.
But Ricciuto said clubs preferred not to use the pre-season draft to complete deals.
“They like to reward the club that had the player,” Ricciuto told Triple M.
“But I guess at the end of the day if it (a trade deal) doesn’t happen, I guess that’s an alternative.”
Robe-raised Dawson nominated the Crows over Port Adelaide last month after touring both clubs and requesting a trade to SA.
He played 23 games for the Swans this year then finished third in the club’s best-and-fairest.
After finishing fourth-bottom this past season, Adelaide does not want to part with pick 4 as it continues its rebuild.
Ricciuto said there was a lot of posturing by clubs during the trade period.
“Sydney have got to try and get their best deal, that’s what trade week is all about,” he said.
“It goes on for 10 days, there’s a lot of bluffing, it’s a game of poker a bit and (Sydney football boss) Charlie Gardiner is having a crack at this stage.”
The Swans recruited Dawson from Sturt with pick 56 in the 2015 national draft.
SWANS SAY DAWSON WORTH MORE THAN CERRA
Sydney has reminded Adelaide that it will not let Jordan Dawson go back to South Australia cheaply, with Swans head of football Charlie Gardiner labelling him as “arguably the best player on the market at the moment”.
Dawson turned down a five-year contract to stay at the Swans, with the long-kicking wingman nominating the Crows as his preferred destination to make a move back to SA.
The 24-year-old was drafted by the Swans with pick 56 in the 2015 draft.
But after a season in which he finished third in Sydney’s best-and-fairest has the Swans arguing he is the best player looking for a trade this off-season – placing him ahead of Fremantle’s Adam Cerra, who Carlton is expected to part with a top 10 pick for.
“Our view is he’s arguably the best player on the market at the moment,” Gardiner said on SEN.
“We think it’s only fair and reasonable that we expect strong compensation for him.”
The Crows won’t give up their first pick of the draft – pick 4 – and their next selection is 23.
The Western Bulldogs’ pick 17 could be key in unlocking a deal for Dawson, with the Bulldogs needing to find later picks to accumulate draft points for father-son prospect Sam Darcy.
Gardiner said the Swans would not back down over getting fair compensation for Dawson.
“I think we have to look at the overall situation,” he said.
“This is not about being difficult or playing hard ball. We just want to see a fair deal for a player we rate really highly and the competition rates really highly.”
The Crows and Sydney will spend much of the next 10 days haggling over the trade value of Dawson, who the Swans were devastated to lose after he finished third in this year’s best and fairest.
The Crows are determined to keep their No. 4 draft pick to secure elite junior talent and might attempt to hand the Swans their No. 23 pick and then sweeten the deal with a later pick swap.
That will be closer to 30 when father-son and academy bids come in, which is unlikely to satisfy the Swans.
Sydney believes Dawson was ready to explode as a long-term talent given he was ranked the No. 1 wingman in the competition from Round 16 onwards after starring at half-back earlier in the season.
The Swans have noted Carlton handed over pick 8 for rebounding defender Adam Saad, while the Crows were able to secure pick 12 for departing small forward Charlie Cameron after only four AFL seasons.
It is against the value of those trades that Sydney will request excellent compensation for a player leaving on a five-year, $650,000 per season deal.
While Adelaide secured GWS midfielder Jackson Hately through the pre-season draft last year players are mostly reluctant to use that route because of the wait to be listed until late November and the bad blood it can create with their old side.
Meanwhile, Sydney is on the verge of agreeing to a new deal for exciting forward Sam Wicks, but fellow forwards Sam Reid and Ben Ronke are yet to be offered deals.
The Swans are still working through their list decisions and now have cap space for a player after Dawson knocked back a five year deal on around $500,000.
John Longmire’s side has secured forward Hayden McLean and midfielder Dylan Stephens but failed to match Carlton’s offer for defensive midfielder George Hewett.
They secured end-of-second-round compensation (pick 39) for what they described as a “long-term lucrative offer” and now have a draft hand of 12, 31, 39 and 70 before securing a selection for the Dawson trade.
Crows list manager Justin Reid didn’t rule out trying to convince North Melbourne to part with the No.1 pick so they can get SA phenom Jason Horne-Francis – but said he expected the Kangaroos not to budge.
It is also expected to be a quiet period at Alberton.
Young ruck/forward Peter Ladhams is exploring his options with Port Adelaide not viewing him as a No. 1 ruck option yet.
He has received interest from rivals but the Power say it will take something significant for them to part ways with the 23-year-old.
Port have met with GWS and Hawthorn forwards Jeremy Finlayson and Tim O’Brien.
Finlayson is contracted for two more seasons at the Giants but wants to move to SA after he and his partner had their firstchild.
The Power haven’t decided if they will pursue Finlayson yet, and he won’t be a priority for them in the trade period.
O’Brien could still be delisted by the Hawks, which would allow the Power to bring him to Alberton for free.
While they have identified midfield depth as a priority in terms of their list, the Power are extremely unlikely to delveinto the trade market for this with a belief at Alberton that this will come from the improvement of talented youngsters such as Connor Rozee, Zak Butters, Xavier Duursma and even Miles Bergman in 2022.
Crows focus on Dawson, but dream of Horne-Francis
Adelaide list manager Justin Reid says the Crows’ main priority this trade and free agency period will be striking a deal with Sydney to get Jordan Dawson to West Lakes.
The Crows and Swans have had open conversations on how the 24-year-old gets to Adelaide.
Adelaide has pick No. 23 after its first pick of No. 4 in the draft.
Reid said when conversations resume on Monday, when the trade period stars, he would get a clearer idea of how the Crows could bring Dawson back to South Australia.
“We’ve sat down and had initial conversations with Sydney,” he said.
“We obviously have pick 23 but that is something we will work through when the trade period begins on Monday.
“We will pick up those conversations up on Monday with Sydney.
“We are keen and excited to get Jordan to the football club and that’s one we will work on over the next fortnight.”
Reid said bringing Dawson to the club will be the Crows’ “focus at the moment”.
A three-goal showing in a losing effort in last week’s SANFL preliminary final has only increased the hype around South Adelaide’s Jason Horne-Francis — who is expected to be the first “live” pick of November’s draft.
The Crows’ No. 4 selection, which will likely slide back to No. 6 after bids come in for father-son prospects Nick Daicos and Sam Darcy, won’t be enough to get Horne-Francis to West Lakes.
Reid said he believed it would be unlikely that the Kangaroos would part with a pick that can get Horne.
“Jason is a quality player and individual but I think North Melbourne have pick one, I can’t speak for them and I would love him to come to the club,” he said.
“But that pick usually doesn’t move, we will see how things will pan out but it is unlikely.
“You certainly have conversations and are always open minded, but it has been two decades since pick No. 1 has been moved.”
The next best South Australian prospect in this year’s draft is expected to come after the top 10.
Last year the Crows had a distinct focus on drafting SA players after taking Riley Thilthorpe, Luke Pedlar, Brayden Cook and James Rowe.
Reid said that did not mean they would go SA first again this year.
“It always is best available, it was the way the cards fell,” he said.
With the environment that Nicksy (Matthew Nicks) and everyone has put in place we will draft anyone from anywhere and back in our culture and environment.”
Reid also said the Crows were happy with pick No. 4 at the moment, meaning it could be a quiet trade period for Adelaide outside of getting a Dawson deal done.
“We are pretty happy where four sits … we are open minded but we are pretty happy with where it sits,” he said.
“We are always looking at the list and how we are moving with that going forward.
“But the focus at the moment is Jordy Dawson in the trade period and we will pick up any conversations post that period.
“We are 39 games into our rebuild so it is a real focus on the draft and rebuilding the list and when an opportunity like Jordy Dawson comes up we will look at it, but from a free agency point of view I would think it would be unlikely (that they are serious players).”
Crows’ coup: Premiership fitness guru signs on
One of the key architects behind Melbourne’s premiership run is heading to the Crows.
Darren Burgess will join Adelaide as its new high performance manager after serving the Demons in that role for the past two seasons.
Melbourne had one of the healthiest lists in the AFL this year and a strong record of running out games.
Burgess was keen to return to South Australia for family reasons after two previous stints at Port Adelaide, as well as working for English Premier League clubs Arsenal and Liverpool in similar roles.
His background also includes time with the Socceroos and Football Australia.
Burgess will oversee the Crows’ AFL and AFLW programs and he will start before pre-season resumes in November.
Adelaide football boss Adam Kelly said Burgess’ appointment was a major coup for the club.
“To have someone of Darren’s experience and expertise is a significant addition to our club as we look to fast-track the development of our playing group,” Kelly said.
“He has worked with elite sporting teams both in Australia and abroad for nearly two decades and has a thorough understanding of what is required for athletes to prepare and perform at a consistently high level.
“His arrival further strengthens our talented and hardworking high performance team.”
Selwyn Griffith will step up from being Melbourne’s head of strength and conditioning to replace Burgess as the Demons’ new high performance manager.
Melbourne’s general manager of AFL football performance, Alan Richardson, thanked Burgess for his “strong contribution” and was supportive of his reason for returning to SA.
Burgess said he was encouraged with how the Crows’ rebuild was progressing and keen to get started.
“It’s great to reunite with Matthew Nicks, who I have previously worked with when he was a player at the Swans and again as an assistant coach at Port,” Burgess said.
“I look forward to doing my bit to help him and the club achieve success.
“I would also like to thank Melbourne and all the players, coaches and staff, for what has been an incredible journey over the past couple of years.”
Adelaide has also hired Sam Dodge as its head of strength and power, after his experience with the Bristol Bears and Welsh Rugby Union.
Kangaroos’ surprise plan for axed Crow
North Melbourne is set to sign Adelaide’s Tom Lynch to its playing ranks to help bolster its development coaching staff for next season.
Lynch, 31, can be picked up as a delisted free agent meaning he could play for the Roos in either the VFL or AFL teams next year.
But News Corp has confirmed the main intention for Lynch is to join the coaching staff to help mentor and coach the Roos’ young players including their emerging forwards.
They include Nick Larkey, Charlie Comben and Jacob Edwards, with Callum Coleman-Jones set to arrive from Richmond.
The Roos are also eyeing Jason Horne-Francis with the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft.
Horne Francis, who sizzled in South Adelaide’s preliminary final on Friday night with three goals and 24 possessions, has been likened to Sydney Swans’ excitement machine Isaac Heeney.
Recruiting sources say Horne-Francis is a certainty to join North, where he would add some class and X-factor in the midfield and forward half.
The Roos are set to lose unrestricted free agent Robbie Tarrant to Richmond for next season while Shaun Atley and Trent Dumont are unsigned.
Port Adelaide has been linked to Dumont, while captain Jack Ziebell recommitted last week.
Lynch was one of the best leading forwards in the competition as Adelaide made the grand final in 2017, and wants to stay in football in 2022.
The former St Kilda and Adelaide goal kicker could play some VFL games once added to the primary list but it has been discussed only as back-up option.
Adding him as a delisted free agent follows a similar move from Port Adelaide, which nabbed former Collingwood veteran Tyson Goldsack last year for its coaching ranks.
Respected senior AFL agent Paul Connors has helped orchestrate both moves in a bid to oversee his clients’ transition from playing to coaching.
Clubs are looking for ways to add more resources under a tight football department soft cap for next season with reduced and overworked staff desperate for a break this post-season.
The AFL has advised clubs not to expect any significant uplift in the soft cap for next season.
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Originally published as AFL 2021: Follow the latest Adelaide Crows trade and contract news
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