Gold Coast gives away equivalent of pick six — and flag hero Liam Ryan — in Eagles trade
GOLD Coast has lost one of its co-captains to Richmond, could lose the other and gave up pick 2 for Lachie Weller. But West Coast’s premiership has exposed an even bigger trade regret.
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GOLD Coast has lost one of its co-captains to Richmond, the other could leave as well and last year it gave up pick 2 for Lachie Weller.
But the Suns have an even bigger trade regret after West Coast claimed a surprise premiership on Saturday.
The flag was the worst possible result for Gold Coast, which effectively gave away pick 6 for nothing — and the player who set up the matchwinning goal on Grand Final day.
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The deal didn’t make a lot of waves when it went through late in last year’s trade period.
West Coast gave the Suns pick 50 and its future first-round pick in exchange for picks 21, 26 and 37 and Gold Coast’s future second-round pick.
It seemed lopsided then, and it’s even more disastrous now.
When they signed the deal the Suns would have hoped the Eagles slipped down the ladder, resulting in a likely top-10 draft pick this year.
As we saw on Saturday, that didn’t happen. The Eagles finished on top meaning that first-round pick comes in at No.18 — the final pick in the first round.
Compounding the pain, after Gold Coast’s four-win season the second-round pick it hands over to the Eagles is pick 20, just two selections later on draft night.
Under the AFL draft points system, the picks the Suns received are worth 1258 points. The picks the Eagles received are worth 3002 points — a difference of 1744, the equivalent of pick 6.
Gold Coast and West Coast swapped some picks across the 2017-18 drafts. After another miserable Suns season and the Eagles’ flag they are..
— Sam Landsberger 🗯 (@SamLandsberger) September 30, 2018
WEST COAST
2017 draft: 21, 26, 37
2018 draft: 20
GOLD COAST
2017 draft: 50
2018 draft: 18
Draft points equivalent of pick 6 for nothing.
The cherry on top is the three players West Coast selected last year with those former Gold Coast picks: Oscar Allen (21), Liam Ryan (26) and Jack Petruccelle (38).
Allen and Petruccelle showed promise in limited senior appearances this year. Then there’s Ryan.
The 21-year-old goalkicker played 12 games in his debut season, kicking 20 goals. He also played a key role in a Grand Final win.
Ryan’s acrobatic mark on the wing deep in the final term, and his decision to play on quickly, was a key part of the matchwinning play that ended in Dom Sheed kicking the goal that broke the hearts of countless Collingwood fans, and the Gold Coast recruiting department.
THE DEAL
West Coast received: picks 21 (878 draft points), 26 (729 points), 37 (483 points) in 2017 draft, Gold Coast’s second-round pick in 2018 draft (pick 20, 912 points). Total: 3002 draft points.
Gold Coast received: pick 50 in 2017 draft (273 points), West Coast’s first-round pick in 2018 draft (pick 18, 983 points). Total: 1258 draft points.
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