Suns hard nut Hugh Greenwood responds to Mark Ricciuto after big win over his former club
Hugh Greenwood had a few choice words for Adelaide great Mark Ricciuto, who commented on his trade earlier in the week. And Ricciuto just couldn’t help himself, giving Greenwood a clip back.
Crows
Don't miss out on the headlines from Crows. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Gold Coast hard nut Hugh Greenwood has hit back at Crows great Mark Ricciuto after his side’s demolition of his former club.
Greenwood was traded to the Suns in last year’s trade period for a future third and future fourth-round pick.
Ricciuto, a Crows director, weighed into Adelaide mass off-season exodus earlier this week, claiming that 28-year-old Greenwood was not “in our next premiership side.”
“That was probably more our call. He’s 28 this year and not going to play in our next premiership side so we are trying to get draft picks in to rebuild,” Ricciuto said on Triple M.
Greenwood responded in kind after a glaring stat showed he had one less clearance than the entire Adelaide team at one stage of their 53-point win.
Eight of the midfielder’s 10 disposals were clearances, laying a whopping 13 tackles and scoring 116 KFC SuperCoach points.
“If only I were younger and quicker @markricciuto,” Greenwood tweeted.
If only I were younger and quicker @markricciuto 🥴 https://t.co/GkchBn1p91
— Hugh Greenwood (@HGreenwood3) June 21, 2020
Ricciuto saw the lighter side but just couldn’t help himself, taking aim at Greenwood’s low possession tally in a clip back to the former Crow.
“Haha all good enjoy the win mate!! By the way if you were quicker and younger you might have got more then 10 touches as well...” Ricciuto tweeted.
Haha all good enjoy the win mate!!
— Mark Ricciuto (@markricciuto) June 21, 2020
By the way if you were quicker and younger you might have got more then 10 touches as well...
Goodwin rubbishes Ricciuto’s Lever claim
Tim Michell
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin has moved to correct suggestions from Crows great Mark Ricciuto that defender Jake Lever was poached on a mega deal worth more than $800,000 a season.
Adelaide board member Ricciuto said on Tuesday the Demons had paid significantly more than Lever was worth to prise the defender from the Crows.
Lever departed the Crows in 2017 to return to his home state in a deal Ricciuto said was worth $800,000-$850,000 a season.
Goodwin rubbished the figure on Wednesday.
“The thing that we probably need to make sure is right is that the term of the contract is not right. The number is not right,” Goodwin said.
“They are the things we have got to put on the record, to straighten that up a little bit.
“But also, the fact that we actually love Jake. We want him at our footy club. We’d probably pay him whatever we want to pay him now to have him here.”
Kayo is your ticket to the 2020 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. Watch every match of every round Live & On-Demand. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
Ricciuto said he as “very comfortable” the club did not match the terms offered by the Demons.
“Jake Lever got a five-year deal on $800,000-$850,000,” Ricciuto said on Triple M.
“Very comfortable that we let him go on that money. He’s probably a $500,000 player.”
Goodwin said he had not spoken to his former teammate Ricciuto since his public defence of the Crows’ list strategy.
He said the Demons were thrilled to have Lever on board and were confident he would develop into a top defender.
“We love Jake. We want him at our footy club,” he said.
“He’s been really fantastic for us and he’s only going to get better and better. But there’s some things in that discussion that were put out there that just aren’t right.”
Meanwhile, Ricciuto said Adelaide was “comfortable” it traded forward Mitch McGovern to Carlton, suggesting he was offered terms similar to Lever.
Ricciuto said defender Alex Keath was offered “more than double what he was on at Adelaide” by Western Bulldogs, while a portion of Eddie Betts and Josh Jenkins’ wages were still being paid by the club.
“All the people saying, ‘whack all those players into the current Crows side’, you wouldn’t have had Rory Sloane stay and you wouldn’t have had Tex Walker sign at that time,” he said.
“You wouldn’t have had Tom Doedee, probably. That’s how it works.”
He conceded small forward Charlie Cameron, who joined Brisbane Lions three years ago, was a player the Crows tried to hold onto.
MORE AFL NEWS:
Who’s hurt, who’s in the selection mix at your club for Round 3
KFC SuperCoach Round 3 trade ratings: Which players should you bring into your team?
Rookie ratings: KFC SuperCoach rookies you must buy ahead of Round 3
“He got a very, very good contract from Brisbane who were down the bottom of the ladder and had plenty of money in their salary cap.
“(We) couldn’t match that.
“This was at 2017. When you’re at the top of the ladder and your salary cap is chock-a-block, you haven’t got much room to move have you?
“If you pay someone overs or a massive amount of money, it means you have to lose someone else. We didn’t want to lose him but we lost him.”
RICCIUTO ON:
Patrick Dangerfield
“Dangerfield was never going to stay. We would have paid whatever we could to keep Patrick Dangerfield. He’s absolutely loyal and loves Moggs Creek.
“We couldn’t have anyway because we were at the top of the cycle there. The salary cap was full. He never even got to money.”
Charlie Cameron
“Charlie Cameron was one that we didn’t want to lose. One of few that we were happy to not let go. He got a very, very good contract from Brisbane who were down the bottom of the ladder and had plenty of money in their salary cap. Couldn’t match that.
“This was at 2017. When you’re at the top of the ladder and your salary cap is chock-a-block, you haven’t got much room to move have you? If you pay someone overs or a massive amount of money, it means you have to lose someone else. We didn’t want to lose him but we lost him.”
Jake Lever
“Jake Lever got a five-year deal on $800,000-$850,000. Very comfortable that we let him go on that money. He’s probably a $500,000 player.”
Mitch McGovern
We love people that contest in the forward line and have got plenty of speed and we need speed in the forward line. But once again, $800,000. Has he delivered for Carlton yet? No. Comfortable that he went.”
Eddie Betts
“We need to get some youth into our side. He’s 33. We were comfortable for him to go.
“That was a mutual agreement.”
Josh Jenkins
“Very happy for him to go. Once again, age in our forward line. We needed to get some youth into our forward line. We are even paying part of his contract. Same with Eddie Betts.”
Hugh Greenwood
“That was probably more our call. He’s 28 this year and not going to play in our next premiership side so we are trying to get draft picks in to rebuild.
Alex Keath
“Alex Keath got offered a massive amount of money to go to Western Bulldogs. A large amount of money. More than double what he was on at Adelaide. More than double. That’s what he wanted and if we kept him we would have lost more players.”