As day three of the AFL’s trade period comes to a close, Adelaide has been involved in a four-way pick swap while remaining focused on striking a deal with Sydney to secure 24-year-old South Australian Jordan Dawson.
Adelaide General Manager List Management and Strategy Justin Reid and the Crows’ recruiting team has held discussions with several clubs about player movement and the exchange of picks since Monday and that led to a deal on Wednesday.
The Crows bolstered their draft hand by securing a second first-round selection in 2022 via a deal with Melbourne, which also involved St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs.
But Reid said the Club’s priority remained securing Dawson and he has continued talks with the Swans on an appropriate deal for the wingman who has declared he wants to continue his career at West Lakes next season.
Dawson has played 64 games since being drafted with Pick No.56 in 2015 and nominated Adelaide as his club of choice after touring facilities and meeting coaches and players last month.
“It’s fantastic for the whole Club that Jordan wants to come to Adelaide but we need to work through with Sydney what we think is fair and reasonable and appropriate,” Reid said.
“We have a good relationship with Sydney’s list manager Kinnear Beatson and we will continue to work on that together.”
For the second year in a row the AFL’s trade period has a new look due to Covid-19 restrictions.
In previous years Clubs have held a series of speed-dating style meetings at Marvel Stadium, but due to the pandemic those discussions are being conducted virtually with the AFL’s ARC serving as a central hub whereby trades are submitted via an online platform.
The trade period deadline is 7.30pm on Wednesday, October 13, and clubs can exchange picks until the national draft which is held across two days on November 24 and 25, before the pre-season and rookie drafts on November 26.
“There are three components to the off-season, there’s free agency and the trade period which we are currently in, and then there is a pick swap period whereby you can move picks around up until the draft itself,” Reid said.
“So we look at the next four to eight weeks with the view of ‘what’s the net result at the end of it?’ Not just the trade period itself but what is the net result of all those periods once we get through the draft.
“We’ve been to the draft the last two years and are 39 games into our rebuild, and now it’s about getting another full season into the list and exposing them, building more cohesion and adding to that with some high-end quality talent.
“We started this at the end of 2019 and I think we are seeing that come through now, I know a lot of the players have formed really strong relationships and we have a squad mentality, it’s not just the 22 that runs out every week, so certainly Nicksy and the assistant coaches the environment and culture they’re building is exciting going forward.”
As part of the pick swap on Wednesday, the Crows will receive Melbourne’s Round 1 selection next year as well as Picks 33 and 75 in this year’s draft.
In exchange Adelaide has given up Picks 23, 37, 44, 62 and 66 in this year’s draft as well as its Round 4 selection next year.
It means the Crows’ 2021 national draft hand is now Picks 4, 33 and 75.
Looking ahead to next year, the Club will have two first-round selections, as well as picks in the second and third rounds.
