Carlton misses out on top trade targets Tom Papley and Jack Martin
Carlton entered the trade period with high hopes of securing gun smalls Tom Papley and Jack Martin, but they’ve come away only with a little-known Hawk and the romance of an ageing Eddie Betts. What’s next?
Carlton
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Carlton was last night reeling after its trade plans went up in smoke on a dramatic deadline day of dead ends.
The Blues were collateral damage in the failed Joe Daniher trade — with the Swans blatantly refusing to deal Tom Papley to Carlton once Essendon held firm on the Dons’ key forward.
Then, Gold Coast’s determination not to be pushed around at the trade table saw them dismiss Carlton’s offer of a future second and future third round pick for Jack Martin.
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As the clock expired, Blues list manager Stephen Silvagni’s grand plans of a revamped forward line bursting with small pressure goalsneaks was in ruins.
The Suns’ stance on Martin came despite knowing they could lose him for nothing in the pre-season draft.
“Obviously Jack is an uncontracted player so we’ve still got an avenue to either get him in the national draft or pre-season draft,” Silvagni said.
“We’ve got an option to do that. Whether he arrives at our club or not time will tell, but we still feel we’re in a strong position.
“He’s told us that he wants to get to our football club.”
Under a swag of scenarios, Gold Coast were prepared to give Martin and their pick 15 to Carlton for pick 9 and a future second-round draft pick, but the Blues said no.
Suns list manager Craig Cameron said the Suns would now debate their next move, saying redrafting Martin was “an option”.
But Cameron suggested Gold Coast was happy to lose Martin for nothing given they have a bevy of strong picks in the next two national drafts.
“We set the level early on that we were looking for something that included a first-round selection,” Cameron said.
“He (Martin) was keen to go to Carlton. Is he disappointed? You could probably ask two clubs that question.”
The Papley trade never gathered momentum given Sydney’s refusal to let their leading goalkicker go without prying Daniher out of Essendon.
Silvagni said pick 9 was “involved” in a series of deals put to the Swans that were all rejected.
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“We were told from the start that if the Daniher deal didn’t happen then it was highly unlikely that Tom would get to our football club,” Silvagni said.
“Obviously with Tom, he’s a contracted player and we worked really hard to get a deal done there. We always knew it was going to be difficult.
“Obviously it’s disappointing and disappointing for Tom. It didn’t work out, but we’ve got to move forward.”
Earlier, the Blues sanctioned Andrew Phillips’ trade to Essendon in the first player exchange between the two rivals in 16 years.
Phillips turned down a one-year offer from Carlton to join the Bombers in a deal that saw the Blues send the ruckman and picks 61 and 72 to Essendon for pick 57 and 70.
Carlton had earlier secured Phillips’ replacement, giving up picks 54 and 63 — acquired from Sydney — for Hawthorn big man Marc Pittonet and pick 61.