AFL free agency: Bombers receive pick No. 7 as compensation for Joe Daniher as Zac Williams officially joins the Blues
Joe Daniher is officially a Lions player but his big-money contract at Brisbane means the Bombers are set for a huge win. Here are the details of the deal plus Zac Williams’ move to Carlton.
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Essendon hit the free agency jackpot on Friday night, securing the No.7 overall pick for Joe Daniher after Brisbane offered a three-year deal with around $2.5 million of guaranteed money.
Daniher’s manager Nigel Carmody last night told the Herald Sun the 26-year-old had agonised over the decision given his mateships at Essendon and his family’s history at the club.
And Carlton has officially got its man in free agent Zac Williams, happy to pay up for nearly $5 million on a six-year deal to turn him into Patrick Cripps’ midfield sidekick.
On a day where a host of big deals dropped late, Geelong lodged free agency paperwork for Jeremy Cameron and North Melbourne also secured 195cm GWS defender Aiden Corr.
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The Giants secured pick 10 for Williams and a second-round compensation - currently No. 30 - for Corr and are expected to match the deal for Cameron and force a trade.
Brisbane football boss David Noble told the Herald Sun last night the Lions would back themselves to keep Daniher on the park.
He also has incentive-based clauses and games-based triggers to hand him a deal longer than three seasons but the guaranteed money ticked off the AFL’s first-round compensation.
He has played only 15 games in three years but because of their disastrous season the Bombers received a quality pick they can use in dealings to secure Jye Caldwell and possibly Bulldog Josh Dunkley.
The Lions had to calculate a deal that would put him in the top five per cent of paid players but were happy to sidestep 10 days of torturous haggling over a trade by elevating their three-year deal.
Carmody said last night it had been agonising for a member of one of Essendon’s most famous football families to leave.
It’s official! 👊
— Brisbane Lions (@brisbanelions) October 30, 2020
We’ve signed 200cm key forward @joedaniher06 for at least three years!#Uncaged pic.twitter.com/TeF12kYFNV
“It was a really tough decision and that’s not being glib. There is the family name and the length of time he has been attached with the footy club as well as his mates and the journey they have been on,” he told the Herald Sun.
“They have played finals, they went through all that stuff in 2016 (with Essendon ASADA bans), and we have seen plenty of guys who have left clubs and the clubs have done well in their absence.
“But in the end the new challenge was something that was really significant for him.
“Brisbane is a different challenge and it was a different set of circumstances on and off the field and in the end he made the decision that it was the best place for him.”
He paid credit to Essendon for their patience in not rushing his injury this year and said Daniher was confident he had put in enough work to believe he was over his long-running groin injury.
Lions boss Noble said the club had finally been able to meet Daniher face-to-face last week.
“He adds to our firepower and we will back in our program to keep him on the park,” he said.
“He got back and played this year, if he hadn’t that might have added a level of doubt but he got back playing well. He and (partner) Adele are a ripping couple so it adds to the profile of our club holistically.”
FRENZY: RECAP ALL THE DAY 1 FREE AGENCY ACTION
Given first-round compensation picks are handed out to clubs based on ladder position, in recent years, Melbourne secured pick three for James Frawley, Hawthorn pick 19 for Lance Franklin, St Klida pick 13 for Brendon Goddard and Collingwood pick 11 for Dale Thomas.
At Carlton, Williams has accepted a six-year deal on around $800,000, with incentives to push him closer to $900,000 - an astonishing amount of money for a running defender.
But the Blues are prepared to pay a premium given his free agency status, with GWS certain not to match the bid.
It’s time to play the game. 🕹 pic.twitter.com/kvdXJgusS0
— Carlton FC (@CarltonFC) October 30, 2020
Carlton believes he has the breakaway speed and elite ball-use to give its midfield a new dimension - one it has not had with one-paced Cripps, Ed Curnow, Marc Murphy and Will Setterfield.
By the time the Blues secure Adam Saad on a $650,000 per season, five-year deal they will have added a dynamic attacking edge and two of footy’s most exciting players for the net loss of only pick seven - and perhaps a later pick in return.
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