Our strategy had to be an ultimate attempt to keep him. Show him lots of public love and that everything coukd br worked out to the extent we would redraft him if we coukd not trade him. Tippett and sydney had to believe this to be a real option.
Exactly! You come out in the media and say Tippett is a great player and whilst we are unhappy to see him go we want to work together to get a mutually beneficial trade. Based on other somilar trades we think a pick around 10 is about right. If that can't happen we know that Kurt is still well respected by our playing group and everyone knows he has a great working relationship with Walker so we would gladly take him back if it comes to that.
The Swans now have to make a trade. We could have worked out a better deal than 23 + White but we didn't have to. If we didn't want to improve on that, you don't care. We can't just hang around and with a bit of luck you get us to pull out knowing we can't get him in the PSD. Then suddenly Brisbane and pick 8 (or whatever it is) start to look attractive.
It was like we were playing chicken and the Crows veered off the road before we even put the keys in the ignition.
Anyway, it's all hypothetical but we just had the easiest trade ever for a top player because we were completely in control from start to finish.
You guys were screwed by GWS as well. I hope your club had no involvement in that because it would have been another mistake. A lot of Crows fans thought it swung things there way but it did the opposite. Them saying they were interested allowed Kurt's people to say no. Perfectly legal. This then removed the PSD threat. No way they would pick up a player that already turned them down. If they had said nothing the Swans would be sitting around going WTF will GWS do in the draft? Even if they said, we won't trade for him but if he was available in the PSD then we would have to think about it then Tippett can't say no I won't play for them. Draft tampering.
I actually think that you may get more out of White than many Crows supporters think. Whilst we have good record of giving players a second chance, I actually think a lot of it is because we are always willing to take the risk. Any player on an AFL list can play. We give guys a second chance. Josh Kennedy wasn't a spud at Hawthorn. We just gave him the chance to show how good he really is.
You guys did the same thing with Stevens. White has a lot of talent and if you give him a second chance and get the best out of him you will have a gun.