Intrigue surrounds Collingwood trades with GWS Giants involving Adam Treloar and Tim Golds

INTRIGUE surrounds Collingwood’s recruiting of Greater Western Sydney battler Tim Golds a month after the contentious Adam Treloar trade was sealed.

Collingwood midfielder Adam Treloar put through his paces at Olympic Park. Picture: Michael Klein

INTRIGUE surrounds Collingwood’s recruiting of Greater Western Sydney battler Tim Golds a month after the contentious Adam Treloar trade was sealed.

The Herald Sun can reveal an arrangement was struck between the Pies and Giants’ football boss Graeme “Gubby”Allan to send Golds to Collingwood during last year’s trade period.

Golds made the unusual decision to delist himself from the GWS primary list with a year to run on his contract and throw himself at the mercy of the draft.

He became a Magpie with selection No. 55 in November’s rookie draft.

Golds manager, Paul Connors, on Wednesday confirmed Collingwood had given assurances it would rookie list the 192cm defender before he agreed to walk away from the Giants and a guaranteed $120,000 contract.

By agreeing to leave GWS, Golds freed up crucial salary cap space for the AFL expansion club, but both Collingwood and Connors insisted on Wednesday the Golds transaction was not in any way linked to the Treloar deal.

Tim Golds. Picture: AFL

“We gave an undertaking that if Tim was available in the rookie draft we would select him ... but it wasn’t linked to the Adam Treloar deal,” a Collingwood spokesman said.

Richmond and North Melbourne were also chasing Treloar’s signature but were beaten by the Magpies.

Collingwood announced on Tuesday night that Allan, 61, had also defected from the Giants and taken up a new job at Collingwood overseeing the club’s academies and women’s football and netball programs.

The bumper Treloar deal saw Collingwood surrender its first-round pick in last year’s national draft and this year’s draft as well as pick 68 in exchange for the Giants’ young gun and pick 28.

The trade was announced on October 21.

Golds was delisted on October 30 and rookied by Collingwood on November 27 after being given permission to train with the club by the AFL.

Footage on Collingwood’s website shows Magpies teammates celebrating the news of Gold’s recruitment on the day of the AFL rookie draft.

“I think it’s definitely a feeling of relief,” Golds told the club’s website at the time.

“I’ve sort of had a little inkling that it might happen (because) I’ve obviously been training here. But I’m extremely relieved to have my name called out.”

Golds, 22, played just six games for the Giants over four years. He is yet to play a game for Collingwood’s senior team.

Treloar’s move back to Melbourne came amid a backdrop of tension and mistrust between the Pies and Giants after it was revealed the star midfielder had undergone a secret operation on his injured groin in Tasmania without the knowledge of the Giants.

Collingwood insisted it played no part in arranging the procedure but it later emerged a diagnosis by Magpies doctors during Treloar’s medical examination with the club prompted his decision to go under the knife