Essendon, Sydney impasse over Joe Daniher could spell trouble for rivals’ trade deals
Essendon and Sydney are a mile apart in talks over Joe Daniher and the impasse could spell trouble for one of the Bombers’ biggest rivals.
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Essendon has raised the names of Sydney superstar Isaac Heeney and young gun Nick Blakey in trade talks over Joe Daniher.
The Swans quickly rejected any prospect of either player being part of the deal to deliver Daniher to the Harbour City.
Heeney, 23, and Blakey, 19, are both contracted for another three seasons and regarded as untouchable by the Swans.
Essendon’s ambitious inquiry shows just how far apart the clubs remain as the count continues towards Wednesday’s 7.30pm trade deadline.
The clubs spoke three times last week but made little progress and the Herald Sun on Saturday revealed that Daniher’s teammates wanted club chiefs to hold him to his contract.
Sydney is now sensing that the trade could fall over, which Bombers list manager Adrian Dodoro would view as a big win.
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That would force Daniher to return to Tullamarine in 2020 against his wishes, although in the knowledge that he will qualify for restricted free agency at the end of next season.
Sydney believes it could then poach Daniher, 25, for nothing, which is how it lured Lance Franklin away from Hawthorn in 2013.
But if things got ugly, the Bombers could match a free agency offer for Daniher and force Sydney to — once again — try and strike a fair trade.
The Bombers have discussed pulling that lever, although they hope that Daniher will change his mind over the next 12 months and decide to keep his famous name at their club.
Dodoro is unlikely to agree to any trade unless the Bombers can bring in a quality player, either from the Swans or elsewhere in the league.
While Daniher told the Bombers when he asked for a trade that the decision wasn’t made on medical grounds, there was a sense of frustration with his management over the past two injury-riddled seasons.
In 2018 the Daniher camp suspected that he should have been booked for intrusive groin surgery, which is a big operation that takes several months to recover from.
But the Bombers instead opted for a non-surgical conservative approach, which included Daniher travelling to Adelaide to visit a physiotherapist who specialised in treating osteitis pubis.
But when that didn’t work, and Daniher again broke down in 2019, he flew to Sydney to have that groin operation.
Last month Daniher was completing cross-training, weights sessions and undergoing frequent physiotherapy in a bid to be ready for a full pre-season.
The Daniher deal is expected to affect several other trades. If it falls over then pocket rocket Tom Papley’s request to get from Sydney to Carlton could also be denied.
Out-of-contract Bombers including Michel Hartley are also in limbo.
MORE NEWS:
Essendon players lobbying the club to hold Joe Daniher to his contract
Gary Buckenara analyses Essendon’s list after the 2019 season
Cricket legend Shane Warne says Western Bulldogs trade target Alex Keath is made of the right stuff
If Daniher leaves the Bombers then Hartley would be a good chance to earn a new one-year deal.
Negotiations to get Papley and Gold Coast’s Jack Martin to the Blues were at a standstill on Saturday with plenty of work required to get those players through the door by the trade deadline.
The only player the Blues are certain to bring in is Eddie Betts, with a swap of 2020 draft picks set to return the fan favourite to Ikon Park.
The Betts deal could be finalised as early as Monday.