Adelaide filthy with Carlton after clubs can’t strike a deal for Bryce Gibbs
ADELAIDE badly wanted Bryce Gibbs but Carlton wouldn’t play ball. So the Crows didn’t mince their words once the dust settled on AFL trade period. PODCAST, REPORT CARD
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CARLTON has hit back at Adelaide following the bungled Bryce Gibbs trade with the Blues declaring the Crows don’t value the midfielder as highly as his current club.
Gibbs requested a trade back home to Adelaide for personal reasons but the two clubs were unable to reach an agreement.
Adelaide slammed Carlton’s stubborn refusal to trade Bryce Gibbs after the Blues held out for a king’s ransom for the wantaway midfielder.
The Crows emerged seething from deadline day talks at Etihad Stadium, venting their anger over Carlton’s “unrealistic demands” of two first-round draft picks.
But the Blues have hit back.
“We always were very honest with the Crows on what we were after and they couldn’t come to the party,” Carlton football boss Andrew McKay said.
“We obviously value Bryce more highly than they do. We see a 10-year player, 200 games and leader of the club and a really valuable player in the prime of his career. He’s a recent best and fairest winner and again polled really high in the best and fairest this year. He’s a very valuable player for us.
“Bryce has shown great professionalism through the whole process. We believe we’ll be able to ... not make him feel too awkward and play some really good footy for Carlton.
“He’s away at the moment with a number of players so he’s probably in the best spot he can be with all his mates around him.”
Gibbs will now return to play with Carlton next season and the Blues are hopeful he can put this trade period behind him and have another good season with the club that took him with pick No.1.
REPORT CARD: EVERY CLUB’S TRADE PERIOD RATED
“Time will tell of course, but we’re confident we can get some good support around Bryce and he can enjoy Melbourne and enjoy obviously Carlton,” McKay told SEN. “That hasn’t really been the issue - he’s enjoyed the footy club enormously in the past 10 years, he just has some other stuff going on in his life and we want to support him and get him through that.”
Adelaide list manager Justin Reid was fuming after failing to secure a deal to bring Gibbs to West Lakes, slamming Carlton for not agreeing to what he believed was a fair trade.
“At the end of the day, two round-one draft picks was pretty unrealistic and pretty irresponsible list management if we were to entertain that,” Adelaide list manager Justin Reid said.
“He is a quality player and person but, like in all trades, there has to be fair value for both parties.
“Where we positioned ourselves was really fair and equitable and if you saw a lot of the movement over the last fortnight, I think a lot of the clubs would agree with that.”
LISTEN: SAM EDMUND, MICK WARNER and ANTHONY HUDSON ON ALL THE MOVERS AND LOSERS DURING THE AFL TRADE PERIOD
Gibbs last week stunned the Blues by requesting a trade home to Adelaide so he and his partner Lauren would have family support networks around their young son, Charlie.
But the Blues weren’t willing to let the 27-year-old walk out on a contract with three years to run. They were also angered by Adelaide making Gibbs’ go-home wish public on the opening day of the trade period.
List manager Stephen Silvagni kept the Crows at bay and then left immediately after the 2pm deadline to board a flight to Italy.
Carlton football manager Andrew McKay said: “Adelaide was not able to come up to the level required to exchange Bryce Gibbs.
“We were very honest with Adelaide right from the word go and what it would take — and honest with Bryce and his manager.
“We’re look forward to Bryce donning the navy blue jumper next year. He’s a very professional player and the thing we need to remember is Bryce loves the Carlton Football Club.
“He’s got no beef with Carlton and he’ll play some really good footy for us next year.”
The Crows believed pick 13 was more than enough to get the deal done and despite later picks being thrown in, were left frustrated.
Gibbs’ manager Nigel Carmody said it was disappointing an exchange couldn’t be struck.
“We think the deal Adelaide put forward was more than fair and reasonable, particularly in comparison with some of the other deals that have been done during the trade period have looked like,” Carmody said.
“But we move on. Hopefully he can get things right and have a great season with Carlton next year.”
Gibbs will resume pre-season next month and attend captain Marc Murphy’s wedding later this year.
Insiders said there would be no awkwardness given his close relationships with teammates and because his motivation for leaving wasn’t football related.
McKay said the club would work on ways to “support him to the hilt”, but it was unclear last night how it would specifically seek to solve Gibbs’ family issues and avoid another trade demand in 12 months’ time.
“Bryce is a mature player and realises that he’s got a really good job to do for us,” McKay said.
“We’re very confident he’ll be seeing his contract out at Carlton.”
In a busy deadline day, the Blues used the future first-round pick acquired from Geelong in the Zach Tuohy trade, along with picks 45 and 58 to get GWS pair Caleb Marchbank and Jarrod Pickett and a future second-round selection.
Carlton then on-traded that second-round selection to Hawthorn for three later picks, allowing the Hawks to finally seal the deal for Gold Coast’s Jaeger O’Meara.
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