Melbourne is confident it will receive pick three as James Frawley departs for Hawthorn

MELBOURNE is supremely confident Hawthorn’s five-year deal for James Frawley will see it receive pick three as compensation.

AFL Round 6: Carlton v Melbourne at the MCG Melbourne 5th April 2013, Dees James Frawley gets a kick away

MELBOURNE is supremely confident Hawthorn’s five-year deal for James Frawley on around $600,000 a season will see it receive pick three as compensation.

The paperwork for Frawley’s move to the Hawks will be lodged in coming days, with his manager Alex McDonald telling of his relief at the decision.

Rivals believe a contract of that size is right on the borderline for a first-round selection but it seems the Demons have already been given an indication his contract will suffice for pick three.

The Bulldogs had hoped to receive a first-round pick as compensation for the loss of North Melbourne-bound flanker Shaun Higgins.

He was lured to North Melbourne on a four-year deal worth $400,000 but when the Dogs declined the right to match it they were awarded only pick 26.

That is a second-round pick and means it will be harder for them to use it in a package along with pick 5 to get Melbourne’s pick 2 to snare key talls Patrick McCartin or Peter Wright.

The AFL has told clubs it will give them an indication of what pick they could receive before players officially depart.

An end of first-round pick would have been pick 21, so the Dogs were not massively disadvantaged by the AFL’s decision.

The Bulldogs will get pick 26 in compensation for Shaun Higgins. Picture: Michael Klein

At least they got something - Carlton’s Jarrad Waite was 32 and on a two-year deal so the Blues received no compensation at all.

The only two criteria for free agency compensation picks are age and the size of a contract.

So while Waite is a dangerous forward who could play a part in North Melbourne’s premiership surge, the Blues never believed they would get a compensation selection.

Dogs list manager Jason McCartney said his club would be aggressive with the compensation pick.

“We believe the compensation pick for Shaun will further support our ability to trade over the next week,” McCartney said.

“Over the past three years we have, as a club, had a clear and deliberate strategy to draft and develop and that will continue.”

“We will however be proactively looking to address specific needs throughout this trade period, and this compensation pick strengthens our position considerably.”

The Demons are believed to be receptive to deals that would net them another high pick or quality player, even if they traded down pick two or three.

The Saints are also considering trading pick No.1 to secure another top-20 pick but would need a better deal than pick 26 and five to consider the Dogs offer.

The Gold Coast has picks 7 and 14 and might be tempted to consider giving them up for a top-three pick given expansion clubs have used that strategy before.

But Melbourne said last night it had not offered up any of its high picks for those two Gold Coast picks.

The AFLPA and AFL will review free agency after this year’s player movement period, with some player managers advocating the scrapping off all compensation picks.

But lower-ranked clubs like Melbourne would feel that is a recipe for disaster given they consistently have players poached under free agency.

In three successive years they have lost Jared Rivers, Colin Sylvia and now Frawley, all to clubs in the premiership window.

Originally published as Melbourne is confident it will receive pick three as James Frawley departs for Hawthorn