Adelaide veteran Eddie Betts could yet leave Crows and return to Carlton

As talk of Eddie Betts’ future at Adelaide ramps up, former teammate and new Carlton coach David Teague hasn’t closed the door on what might be a remarkable return to the Blues.

Eddie Betts with Don Pyke after the Round 22 loss. Pic: Sarah Reed

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Carlton coach David Teague has not closed the door on a remarkable reunion with Eddie Betts amid reports he will find his way back to Princes Park.

Teague said he would “love” to get cult figure Betts back to Carlton after coaching him at the Crows himself as recently as 2017.

It was believed the Blues had closed the door on Betts given their list demographic and the fact Betts turns 33 in November.

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Eddie Betts with Don Pyke after the Crows’ round 22 loss. Pic: Sarah Reed

Could Betts again wear navy blue?

But The Australian reports Betts would play at Carlton next year, despite offers from Gold Coast.

Betts’ manager, Garry Winter, was not “making any official comment” when contacted on Thursday night. The Crows have also been contacted.

Despite his flagging pressure ratings and a lack of goals against elite sides in 2019, Betts remains a game-breaker at his best.

He kicked 37 goals this year — 12 of them against Gold Coast in two outings — but it was still a bigger output than Carlton’s Harry McKay (26 goals), Mitch McGovern (22), Charlie Curnow (18) and Levi Casboult (15).

Carlton’s small forwards were led by Michael Gibbons (16 goals) and Jack Silvagni (13 goals), with Alex Fasolo delisted this week along and Jarrod Garlett and Jarrod Pickett also moving on this year.

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The Blues are suitors for Gold Coast’s Jack Martin and Essendon’s Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti as they attempt to bolster their forward line, although the Bomber is tipped to stay at Tullamarine.

They had believed they were still in the race for free agent Stephen Coniglio until the weekend when they were informed he was likely to stay at GWS.

Betts was one of the most popular Carlton players in recent memory but was lured back to Adelaide by a bumper free agency deal.

Teague wouldn’t rule out recruiting Betts but admitted it was a challenging decision.

“Personally, I love him,” Teague told RSN.

"I'd have to step back a little bit because I'm a close friend."

David Teague steps back from the possible recruitment of Eddie Betts #RSNBreakfastClub pic.twitter.com/WyeloTiWUs

— RSN Breakfast Club (@RSNBreakfast) August 29, 2019

“I spent three years at Adelaide with him and he’s a really close friend so I’m biased.

This is where the list management side of things will come in, but we need to balance up our list and make sure we’re probably looking down the track so it’s probably a hard one to answer and I’d have to sort of step back a little bit.

“I’m a close friend and love him as a person. It’s hard for me to talk from a football club point of view.”

Betts said yesterday he didn’t have an official offer as he considers his future, having one year to play on his Adelaide contract.

“I can say right now there has been no offer,” Betts said.

“There has been interest, but no offer … That’s where it’s at.”