Im sure crows would have looked into his availability either way and it would have been silly for them not too. If port had the money to offer him i would have wanted us to have a good look at him.
Felt both parties had a right to reject the trade as value were just off. I would have traded our original pick 9 for him in a straight swap. Crows were also hampered in finding value to trade as they lost 2x first and second round picks with the tippett saga so I can see how it was hard for them.
Yeah, if you listen to Ross Gibbs, the Crows have been into Bryce for years. The whole
11th hour stuff from Reid was smoke and mirrors. Gibbs may have agreed to request a trade at the last minute, but the idea the Crows had never entertained a trade until that moment is bullshit.
I think you've got a better handle on both rejecting the trade than most in this thread. Had the Crows got Gibbs for pick 15 and chips their supporters would have been very happy, which is a pretty good indication it wasn't a fair price. If you wanna snatch a contracted player from another club, you've got to expect a little bit of pain. Same in reverse had Carlton got two first rounders straight up. In the end, a fair price could not be agreed upon.
Irony is crows should have had hi min the first place with a father son pick, the eligibility rules were pretty harsh on the SA clubs back then.
Funny that, given you're a Port supporter and it was Port who alerted the AFL to Gibbs F/S ineligibility. Pretty sure the Crows forgot to repay the favour too, with Brett Ebert not eligible but Port drafting him as a F/S anyway and the AFL being asleep like they were initially with Gibbs. Correct me if I'm wrong.