Carlton trade report card: Every player who has arrived or left the Blues since Mick Malthouse era
AFTER running the rule over Collingwood and Richmond, we take a look at Carlton’s more recent ins and outs. And Blues fans might want to look away now. HAVE YOUR SAY
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THE Carlton entry in the Herald Sun 2011 trade period report card was brief: “Gained: Nothing. Lost: Nothing. Must try harder.”
The Blues must have taken the message to heart, trading since then at a rate unmatched by any other club.
NUMBERS: WHO’S UNDER THE PUMP AT YOUR CLUB?
BAROMETER: EVERY CLUB’S INJURY LIST
DRAFT RE-RANK: WHERE DOES CRIPPS COME IN?
In total 30 players have traded places to or from Carlton in the past four trade periods.
The mass moves were sparked by the arrival of Mick Malthouse as coach at the end of 2012 — when the Blues thought they were topping up for a tilt at a premiership — then the signing of Brendon Bolton three years later when the focus switched to a rebuild and the search for “green shoots”.
Club great Stephen Silvagni returning home from GWS as list boss was also a significant milestone — is it a coincidence that of the 12 players to join the Blues in trades in the past four years, nine are former Giants?
Ask the proverbial man in the street about Carlton trades and they know two things: the Blues have a lot of players from GWS, and they gave away almost an entire forward line.
Eddie Betts, Jarrad Waite and Jeff Garlett were Carlton’s top three goalkickers in 2013 — now all are stars for other clubs (we won’t rub salt into the wound by including two-time Coleman medallist Josh Kennedy, who was part of the Chris Judd deal at the end of 2008).
Most painful for Blues fans is they have absolutely nothing to show for losing Waite, Betts or Garlett.
They didn’t receive any compensation when Waite left as an unrestricted free agent or for Betts — whose loss was cancelled out by the arrival of Dale Thomas under the AFL formula.
Garlett was a trade — the Blues received two late draft picks from Melbourne in return for the skilful but inconsistent goalkicker. They used one on Clem Smith, who was delisted at the end of last year, and passed on the other.
So the overview isn’t good. But is that the full story?
We have already run the rule over Collingwood and Richmond’s trading under their current coaches, but the Carlton story is a bit more complicated thanks to the Blues’ shifting status in relation to the premiership window.
The full strip-it-down-and-start-again rebuild has been underway for less than two years under Bolton and more renovations are expected at the end of this year.
But here is our assessment of every player to arrive at and leave Carlton in the Malthouse-Bolton era.
ARRIVALS
Sam Docherty
A positive, Blues fans! A homesick Docherty left the Lions at the end of 2013 in a swap for pick 33, a great investment on a player who has already won a best-and-fairest. Even better, the Blues obtained that pick from Richmond in a swap for Shaun Hampson, so they effectively traded Hampson for Docherty — a huge win. The Lions used the pick on Tom Cutler.
Andrejs Everitt (end of 2013 plus pick 39 for pick 32)
Malthouse flew to Port Douglas to convince Everitt to join the Blues after stints at the Bulldogs and Sydney. He played 39 games in his first two seasons at Carlton and kicked 31 goals in 2015 but fell out of favour under Bolton, playing 13 matches and copping the axe at the end of last season — signing off with a memorably terrible Instagram post.
Dale Thomas (free agent end of 2013)
Injuries have never allowed Daisy to showcase the talent at Carlton that made him one of the best players in the comp as a Magpie. Should the Blues have known better? Given their huge investment and the fact Thomas had ankle problems when he arrived, you can make a good case. The call to prioritise Thomas over Eddie Betts will haunt Carlton for a while.
Liam Jones (for pick 46 — Caleb Daniel)
Interviewed at a December 2014 training session, Malthouse gave the following assessment of recruit Liam Jones: “Every now and again you come across things and you think, ‘I know this player’. I’ve watched him now at training and I’ve seen one of the most explosive animals that I’ve ever seen and I mean that — he is totally explosive ... I’ve got the utmost faith that Liam will make a massive impact for us.” Fair to say Jones hasn’t lived up to that hype, playing 17 games for 16 goals over two seasons. Making matters worse, the Blues gave up pick 46 for him — which the Dogs used to recruit Caleb Daniel. Jones has made big strides as a key defender in the VFL this season.
Kristian Jaksch
Former GWS defender already behind two other former GWS defenders in Caleb Marchbank and Lachie Plowman in selection queue. After six games in his first season he played just one game last year and none so far in 2017. Out of contract at the end of the year and on very thin ice.
Mark Whiley
Arrived as the steak knives in the Jaksch deal but was quickly relegated to the picnic cutlery set. Delisted at the end of last year after nine games at Carlton. The Blues gave up pick seven for the pair plus pick 19. They used that selection on Blaine Boekhorst (18 games so far, none this year) and GWS used pick seven on Paul Ahern (zero games), who was himself traded to North Melbourne at the end of last year for pick 69. Can we just forget this happened and move on?
Matthew Dick
Former Swan given a second chance as a delisted free agent at the end of 2014. Didn’t work out, playing just six games. But has a unique place in history after making his debut against St Kilda in New Zealand — as the sub.
Jed Lamb
Part of a mega deal with GWS (who else?) involving four players — Lamb, Andrew Phillips, Lachie Plowman and Liam Sumner — joining the Blues in a swap for a suite of drat picks. Former Swan played 15 games last year, booting 13 goals, but is now struggling to break out of the VFL.
Andrew Phillips
Returned in Round 5 from a foot injury that wiped out his pre-season but was back in the VFL the next week. Played 16 games last year but Matthew Kreuzer’s brilliant form makes it hard to break into the team.
Lachie Plowman
The pick of the awesome foursome, he looks like a long-term key defender. Is one success from four a win?
Liam Sumner
Clever, skinny small forward clearly has talent but hasn’t cemented a spot in the team. After 16 matches last year (eight goals), he was promoted for his first match of 2017 last weekend, gathering eight disposals. Deserves more time.
Sam Kerridge
Had a great 2016 season after crossing from Adelaide but Bolton has preferred others this year despite great VFL form. Swap for Troy Menzel looking a bit dodgier now.
Daniel Gorringe
Former Gold Coast ruck-forward signed as a free agent but has been cruelled by injury, playing just four games. Not clear where he fits into the best 22.
Matthew Wright
Smart pick-up after he was delisted by the Crows, winning the Blues goalkicking in 2016. Not a superstar but definitely in the “win” column.
Caleb Marchbank
Another mega deal with GWS at the end of last year involved Carlton sending picks 45, 58 and a 2017 first-round pick (which they received from Geelong for Billie Smedts) to the Giants in return for Marchbank, Jarrod Pickett and a 2017 second-round pick. That makes winners and losers hard to untangle but Marchbank has had a very good season and shows great potential as an intercept marking defender. Could be the best of Carlton’s ex-Giants.
Jarrod Pickett
The positive spin is Pickett is a former No.4 draft pick (2014), so he must have talent. But in five games this year he never managed more than 11 disposals and is now back in the VFL. Way too early to call it a fail but results so far are underwhelming.
Billie Smedts
Another former first-round pick who didn’t make it at his original club — in this case Geelong. The Cats look like clear winners after Zach Tuohy’s strong form this year but the Blues also received a future first-round draft pick in the deal — which went to GWS to get Marchbank and Co. Smedts, meanwhile, has been in the system for six years and needs to show something soon.
Rhys Palmer
An isolated deal in which Palmer arrived in a straight swap for pick 135 — the latest draft selection ever used in a trade. Consistently in the best for the Northern Blues but has played just one senior game. Now 28.
DEPARTURES
Jordan Russell
Originally a top-10 draft pick in 2004, Russell played 116 games for the Blues before being traded to Collingwood for a late draft pick at the end of 2012. He played nine games in his only season as a Magpie then went on to captain Footscray’s VFL team to two premierships.
Eddie Betts (free agent end of 2013)
Look away now, Blues fans. Betts has kicked 220 goals since joining the Crows after Carlton opted not to match an offer believed to be worth about $500,000 a season. “To be honest, I didn’t want to leave Carlton. I love the club. I’m a life member, he told Mark Robinson last year. “(I told Carlton) even if you could try to match it a little bit, I will stay, 100 per cent I will stay because I love the club so much. But in the end, it didn’t work out like that and here I am in Adelaide.” The Blues chose to let him go and signed Dale Thomas on a big money deal, negating any free agent compensation. The rest is history.
Jeremy Laidler
Fell out with Mick Malthouse and couldn’t get a game for the Blues in 2013 but has been a solid contributor at the Swans, playing in 59 games including last year’s Grand Final. Has battled an elbow injury this year but clearly a win for Sydney.
Shaun Hampson
Facing an overflow of ruckmen, the Blues might regret letting Sam Jacobs go to Adelaide (in 2010), but Hammer — who left three years later — hasn’t burnt them like Sauce. And Carlton used the pick it received from Richmond to get Sam Docherty. Cha-ching.
Jeff Garlett
Another goalkicker gone. Garlett requested a trade after a 2014 season that produced just 12 goals and a nightclub altercation, with a swap of late picks getting the deal done. He has been a regular at Melbourne and kicked 40 goals in 2015 and a bag of five last weekend.
Jarrad Waite (free agent end of 2014)
The Blues were left empty-handed when the son of premiership player Vin Waite left as a free agent at the end of 2014, based on his age (31) and contract offer. Injuries followed Waite to Arden St but he has kicked 79 goals in two-and-a-bit seasons including matchwinning bags of six and seven. No reminder necessary of Carlton’s goalscoring problems in that time.
Mitch Robinson (free agent end of 2014)
Technically not a trade, Robbo was signed by the Lions as a delisted free agent after being axed by Carlton for lying about an ugly incident at the Big Day Out. Richmond offered him a one-year deal but a two-year offer and the chance to get out of Melbourne lured him to Brisbane, where he has become one of the club’s most reliable midfielders. Had 39 disposals in a game against West Coast last year and can do shutdown roles if required.
Chris Yarran
This one worked out OK for the Blues. Yarran played 119 occasionally brilliant games but wanted a new start. Sadly, injuries and mental health battles cut short his AFL career without playing a game at his new club, Richmond. Carlton wanted pick 12 for Yarran but settled for pick 19 which was used to recruit David Cuningham, who has shown promise in his five senior appearances so far.
Lachie Henderson
The first player swapped for a future draft pick, Henderson — who originally arrived at the Blues as part of the infamous Brendon Fevola trade — left for Geelong at the end of 2015 in a swap for a first-round pick the next year. The Blues then traded that to GWS in return for a pick they used to recruit Harry McKay. Meanwhile, Henderson is going pretty well at Geelong but hasn’t been a matchwinner.
Troy Menzel (for Sam Kerridge)
The surprise move to trade the unfulfilled talent seemed a wise move last year when Menzel battled in the SANFL as Sam Kerridge, the player who arrived at Visy Park in the deal, rebooted his AFL career. This year the picture isn’t so clear as Menzel, 22, tries to cement a spot in the Crows’ supercharged forward line. Jury out.
Tom Bell
Bell is an honest footballer but you wouldn’t say losing him has hurt the Blues too much.
Zach Tuohy
The Irishman originally recruited with pick 73 in the rookie draft played 120 games at Carlton over seven seasons, but left after being presented with what he described as an “almost insulting” contract offer. He has fitted in beautifully at the Cattery. Billie Smedts, who left the Cats for Carlton in the deal, is a better fit for the rebuilding Blues’ age profile, but has a long way to go to prove he can match Tuohy as a player. A swap of draft picks tips the balance slightly back towards Carlton but there is still a big question mark over this one.