Out-of-contract forward Kurt Tippett must justify price tag

IF Kurt Tippett was from Gippsland and not the Gold Coast, would the Lions and Suns be so red-hot about the out-of-contract Crow right now?

IF Kurt Tippett was from Gippsland and not the Gold Coast, would the Lions and Suns be so red-hot about the out-of-contract Crow right now?

Maybe they would. Maybe they shouldn't.

Tippett was clearly, and understandably, very rusty on Saturday night at the Gabba in his comeback from a month on the sidelines following a third bout of concussion.

He was also playing in a Crows team that was providing diabolical service into the attacking 50 for the best part of the last three quarters, which meant that his return of seven possessions, three marks and one behind was not entirely his fault.

Credit must go to the outstanding effort from Lions fullback Daniel Merrett for shutting Tippett down.

Rest assured, Tippett can play.

Tippett is a tremendous athlete. He is aggressive, physical, competitive  and all in a 202cm tall and 104kg package and would be a great recruit for Brisbane, the Gold Coast or any other AFL side.

But his worrying history of head knocks, sometimes errant kicking in front of goal and asking price in the vicinity of $600,000 a season means clubs have every right to ask some serious questions.

Players commanding around that figure must stand up and have an impact on contests on a regular basis.

They have to really own games and have an influence.

Is Tippett in that category yet? No.

He may well take that step in the future but the big paypackets go to those who perform under pressure not those with potential.

Lions chairman Angus Johnson said on Saturday night that a directive handed to the club's recruiting department could be summed up in two phrases of three words each  "strengthen our list" and "don't stuff up".

The rumour doing the rounds last week was about an alleged three-way trade with Brisbane sending Daniel Rich to West Coast, the Eagles sending Mitch Brown and Koby Stevens to the Crows and Tippett packing his bags for Brisbane.

It is hard to imagine this rumour containing a shred of truth.

Even if there was something in it, nobody in Brisbane's football department would be silly enough to contemplate trading away Rich to get Tippett.

If they did, they should be sacked for "stuffing up".

Rich is the centrepiece of Brisbane's rebuilding program and arguably their best player at the moment.

The Lions and Suns have a responsibility to recruit the best possible players regardless of where they hail from.

Tippett may well be the best player up for grabs this off-season.

If the player is a home-grown Queensland product then that's a massive bonus.

But they shouldn't be selling the farm to do so.