Adam Saad’s bombshell trade request from Essendon to Carlton broken down

Adam Saad’s decision to leave Essendon for Carlton has left commentators fearing for the future of a once powerhouse club.

Adam Saad is saying goodbye to the Bombers. (Photo by Matt Roberts/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

Perhaps the only surprise we should have felt about Adam Saad’s decision to leave Essendon was his choice of Carlton as a destination club.

The star defender’s trade request on Tuesday sent shockwaves through the AFL as commentators like former Bomber Tim Watson and AFL 360 hosts Gerard Whateley and Mark Robinson feared for the future of a once proud club.

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“The simple answer is he’s lost faith in where the club is going,” Watson told SEN.

“If this was a bellwether moment as it felt to me for a player who had a choice between believing still what was being sold at Essendon or wanting out for the vision elsewhere,” Whateley said on AFL 360, “then the vote was heavily against Essendon.”

“This is a very, very, very big negative towards the culture and the direction at this football club,” added Robinson.

“He’s 26 years of age, you don’t have players walking out at 26 when they’ve got a five-year offer on the table from Essendon … is this the first, or the last?

“Ben Rutten the coach, Xavier Campbell the CEO and the football department have to ask themselves, have they got a cultural problem at that football club?”

But isn’t this exactly what we should expect at a club that hasn’t tasted finals success since 2004?

Saad is flying away from the Bombers.

When players choose to leave clubs like North Melbourne, Fremantle or the Gold Coast we put it down to them taking control of their limited time to chase a premiership.

If September stardom is what someone like Saad craves, then Essendon can hardly argue it‘s the best place for him to achieve it.

It doesn’t necessarily have to be about culture either – although as Watson noted where there’s smoke there’s fire and the growing list of Bombers wanting out suggests something’s up.

But for Saad it could just be about an assessment of the playing list at Bomberland and whether it’s better positioned than the squad at the Blues to play finals in 2021. Most would agree Carlton has better cattle.

The former Gold Coast Sun has lived up to his end of the bargain since moving to Essendon in 2018, achieving top three best and fairest finishes the past two years.

But the dream that was sold by the Bombers to lure him south hasn’t been delivered and it shouldn’t be any surprise he’s opted to walk.