Adelaide Crows list boss Justin Reid on failed Callum Ah Chee trade, 2026 free agents and the draft
Adelaide didn’t back down from its stance on not trading a first-round pick for Callum Ah Chee – and it’s all part of a bigger picture plan. Go inside the club’s draft and trade strategy.
Adelaide list boss Justin Reid says it was important that the Crows kept its first round picks for the next three years to be flexible in this draft and going forward with some “tempting” players out of contract at the end of next year.
The stalemate between the Crows and Brisbane over dual-premiership player Callum Ah Chee could not be broken on the trade period deadline on Wednesday night.
The Lions wanted a first-round pick from the Crows, while Adelaide offered a future second and third round pick for the 28-year-old.
But with no resolution the Crows will walk Ah Chee to the pre-season draft.
Reid told The Advertiser it was disappointing but it wasn’t a surprising result.
“We are certainly disappointed,” he said.
“For Cal and his family that we couldn’t work through something with Brisbane but we will stay committed to each other.
“But I guess on the back of that we have our first round picks in 2025, 2026 and 2027, which will give us some flexibility in this draft period.
“Unfortunately it means we need to go the long route with Cal but that means we hold our round one draft position which we were firm on.
“Certainly not surprised (that it played out the way it did), but not one that you would think with a 28-year-old that is out of contract that should get to this.”
The Crows can ensure it gets Ah Chee in next month’s pre-season draft by front-loading the five-year contract he has been offered to put him out of reach of any potential rival.
Reid said the Crows did have a plan b in the scenario it did reach this, but right now they were focusing on Ah Chee’s welfare after the saga.
“It’s more around Cal’s welfare and making sure he feels supported, but we certainly had a plan b if it got to this,” he said.
“We’ve got support we can put around him, in conjunction with Ben Williams and his management.
“He is really clear on what things look like and how they hopefully will play out. So we will just take a deep breath and then we’ll work through that going forward.”
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The Crows’ plans for the draft
“We will stick to our draft order so we will go do that work with Hamish (recruiting manager Hamish Ogilvie) and the team,” he said.
“We’ve still got some list management decisions to make so we will get through the weekend, have some more conversations early next week.
“We will stick to our draft order and work out what that looks like.”
Their search for an A-Grade midfielder this trade period
“We had a lot of looks, a lot of conversations,” he said.
“We were pretty deliberate in what we wanted to do so we are not going to sell the farm.
“We think there is a lot of organic growth on the list itself.
“Late in the year with what Izak (Rankine) went through (his suspension) and Josh Rachele being injured we think they are two players who can add a lot through the midfield.
“Sid Draper having another pre-season and Dan Curtin we think can go back through the midfield so we think there are some players on the list that have some real upside so we want to continue to expose the list, that is very deliberate.
“But we are not shying away from if there was someone there that we really wanted to get in we would certainly look at that and we will continue to do that going forward but it has to line up..
“And if it didn’t line up we wouldn’t just trade for the sake of trading.”
How much next year’s free agency pool, including Zac Bailey and Ryley Sanders, influenced their moves this trade period
“Free agency is always tempting so that is certainly part of our plan and how we acquire as part of our strategy,” he said.
“But I need to take a deep breath, we just got through trade period so we are certainly aware of what that looks like.”
What Ah Chee will add to the team
“The versatility he brings, we obviously know that forward role that he can play,” he said.
“But what that does is give you some different levers with regards of what we can do with Jordan Dawson, Dan Curtin and others with what he can do on the wing on even behind the ball.”
The trade for young forward/ruck Finnbar Maley
“It was certainly an open transaction with North Melbourne and we worked through that quite quickly,” he said.
“In regards to his football that is something we had kept an eye on even when he was at Preston and coming through the VFL and then his development over the last two years as a rookie at North Melbourne.
“We have seen him develop, he is only 22-years-old so we think he has some development and upside.
“We are rapt to get him into the club, with the new ruck rules and five on the bench. He still has a lot of work-ons but we are excited about what he can bring in the ruck and possibly forward of the ball.”
How the Crows view this year’s draft
“There’s opportunity in every draft,” he said.
“So we will back in our team to make those decisions to bring in some high-end talent.
“At the moment it is pick 16 but a lot can change between now and draft night so we still have our future stock and there are some clubs looking to do some stuff between now and draft night.
“So we will still look to be active between now and the draft itself and how we position ourselves.”
Originally published as Adelaide Crows list boss Justin Reid on failed Callum Ah Chee trade, 2026 free agents and the draft
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