By Daniel Cherny and Michael Gleeson
Less than a year after acrimonious talks over a deal for Jye Caldwell, Essendon will work to facilitate a trade with Greater Western Sydney before Wednesday night’s deadline after Giants small forward Bobby Hill chose the Bombers as his desired new club.
On Sunday, industry sources confirmed that Hill, 21, wanted to play for the Dons in 2022 despite being contracted to the Giants.
Bobby Hill of the Giants is tackled by Nick Vlastuin.Credit: AFL Photos
Hill, who is from WA and also known as Ian Hill, wants to play for a Victorian club on compassionate grounds as his cousin Bradley – with whom Bobby is close – plays for St Kilda.
Several Victorian clubs had shown interest in Hill after his management group made it clear in recent days that the goalsneak was keen to move.
Sources said Hill met with Essendon, North Melbourne and Hawthorn over the weekend but landed on a preference to try to move to Tullamarine.
While not as active in this year’s trade period as they have been in recent seasons, Essendon have been in the market for a small forward, having courted Gold Coast’s Malcolm Rosas jnr before the Territorian chose to stick with the Suns.
The Giants have yet to decide what they will do about Hill, who is contracted for next year, and were surprised by the timing of his request a month after the season ended and mid-way through the trade period.
They are not required to trade him but will listen to what Essendon has to offer to interest them in a trade. The Bombers did not chase Hill but made the approach after it became clear the player was interested to move to Victoria.
While GWS will consider a trade with the Bombers they know that Hill’s primary desire was to move to Victoria, so are also open to remaining in dialogue with the Kangaroos and Hawks as well.
The Dons and the Giants agreed to an 11th-hour deal last year for midfielder Caldwell in which GWS received pick 29 and a future second round in return for Caldwell, picks 44 and 74.
GWS football boss Jason McCartney criticised Essendon’s conduct in the aftermath.
Bombers president Paul Brasher then hit back at McCartney. “I thought it was sour grapes and I thought it was unprofessional, and it was a bit like, you know, the kid going home and crying to mum that the other kid didn’t play fair,” Brasher said.
Sources indicated McCartney privately issued some “home truths” to Bombers powerbrokers in the immediate aftermath of the deal.
The Giants have interest in bringing Rory Lobb back to the club but have a tight salary cap and have said from the outset their interest was contingent on some of Lobb’s contract being carried by the Dockers. The Giants were approached about their interest in Lobb, they did not initiate the contact.
The Dockers are still in discussions with Geelong about Jordan Clark. The Cats are keen for their pick 19, while Freo has been open to trading their pick 22. The Dockers value 19 highly as it is the first pick of the second round in the draft and so the first pick on night two of the two-night draft.
The first pick on night two has been considered valuable by clubs on the occasions like this year when the draft has been staggered over two nights. During the 24-hour break between rounds one and two clubs spend time assessing players still available and plotting changes. Being able to get in with first pick on night two has therefore held value as a tradeable commodity.
Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti is the Dons’ primary small forward, but he struggled towards the end of the season and turns 29 in April. Irving Mosquito had been a player of promise but retired following an ACL tear.
Port Adelaide meanwhile is unlikely to pursue a trade for Jaeger O’Meara from Hawthorn with the club not having spoken with Hawthorn, the player or his management. The Power are likely to only explore a trade for Peter Ladhams to Sydney.
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