Just posing the question but if you knew they wanted to go then you should trade them out while you still have some bargaining chips. At the minute we have five high draft picks that could all potentially walk for nix and that should be a concern for every supporter.
Well it's hard to know at what point it became obvious that the homesickness was unmanageable rather than just something that could be overcome. It's hard to criticise too much without knowing.
If we traded any player the second they showed signs of being homesick, Chris Johnson, Simon Black and Luke Power wouldn't have been here beyond their initial contracts.
I imagine our player retention challenge would get even worse in the future if we established a precedent along the lines of "don't worry if you get drafted by Brisbane, just tell them you are homesick and they'll trade you after your first year".
If we aren't already a development nursery for other clubs, that sort of defeatist approach would certainly make us one once-and-for-all.