I would like to propose a sequence of events that makes all the key players, Swans officials, Adelaide officials, the player & his manager’s actions seem reasonable & competent. It will likely be dismissed by readers on both sides of the discussion but to me it seems more likely than officials being totally incompetent &/or dishonourable as is being alleged here. Anyway here it goes.
1. (Sometime before the Ball trade) An AFL official (AO) talking to the commission (C). AO: Look we’ve had legal advice that our trade rules won’t stand up to employment laws & if tested in court they would be thrown out without question. The problem is that employers (whether the AFL or the clubs are considered the employers) in Democracies cannot dictate to an employee the place where they are employed when they are no longer under contract. As far back as the 70’s the Dennis Tutty case provided an Australian precedent & in the 90’s it was further confirmed by the Bosman ruling. Once an employee is no longer under contract they are effectively a free agent & they can work for whoever they want at a location of their choice. C: This is bad news indeed. It is important to the League that these rules are in place, it would be chaos otherwise. I tell you what, keep this a secret & we will continue on as normal. AO: But the players & their managers are not stupid what if they threaten to take it to court. C: Don’t worry about it. 17 yo draftees are so keen to be picked they won’t kick up a stink & we can have a quiet word with older players & I am sure that they will see that the AFL is more important than an individual & back down. AO: But what if they insist ? C: Well if it comes to that what we will do is tell them to go into the draft & we will make sure that they make it through to the team of their choice. We will get on the phone to the other chairmen & tell them to not pick him, after all they have as much to lose as us if the rules get thrown out by the court, they will play along.
2. (During the Ball trade) An AFL Official (AO) talking to Eddie Maguire (EM) & Luke Ball (LB). AO: Eddie we can’t have this, we have to protect the rules so we are asking you to back off for the good of the game. EM: I don’t care, Collingwood is the only thing that matters to me & we want him. AO: OK Luke, we are asking you to accept the rules for the good of the game. LB: I am sick of playing for a club that just can’t get the job done, this is my career you are talking about, my advice is that you can’t do this to me & if necessary I will take it to court, I have been assured that I will win. AO: OK, OK you win. Look put yourself into one of the drafts & we will make sure that you get to Collingwood, just don’t tell anyone. Deal ? LB: Deal!
3. (At the end of the 2011 season) AFC talking to Tippett’s manager (TM). TM: Look Kurt is just not happy down here & he wants to be traded closer to home. I have spoken to Brisbane & they are willing to trade pick 8 for him. Will you let him go ? AFC: Look we really want to hang onto him. I tell you what, let him play out the 2012 season with us, we will do our best to get him settled down here & if he is still unhappy we will make sure that he gets to a club of his choice (Thinking GC or Brisbane) for, say, a second round pick. TM: OK I think I can get Kurt to agree to that (Thinking club of his choice).
4. (Sometime during the 2012 season) A conversation between John Longmire (JL) & Swans Recruiter (SR). SR: Look have you seen this report about Tippett being keen for a move, should we look in to this ? JL: Of course he would be a great asset but we would not have the trade pieces to get him. SR: But didn’t you know, AFC said they will let him go for a 2nd round pick. JL: Doesn’t sound right to me, but no harm in asking.
5. (August 2012) Tippett’s Manager (TM) & Swans Recruiter (SR). SR: I hear that KT is looking to get out of Adelaide ? Would he consider the Swans ? TM: Well he was looking to move up to QLD to be with his family, but his main aim was to get away from the spotlight that is the AFL states. So if your offer is good enough I am sure he will be interested, after all he would be a better chance of fulfilling his dream of a premiership with you than either of the Qld teams. Look, he is thinking nothing else other than doing his best for the AFC at the moment but work out what you are willing to offer & I will arrange a meeting after the season. SR: The only thing is that we don’t have much to offer in a trade, we don’t have a lot to offer Adelaide, at best it would be our first round pick & a fringe player. TM: Don’t worry about that, they promised that they would let him go for a second round pick. SR: Great, speak to you after the season.
6. (After the 2012 Grand Final) Swans list manger (SLM) and AFC List Manager (ALM). SLM: Wanted to talk to you about KT. We have spoken to him & agreed personal terms. I know you only want a 2nd rounder for him & we are happy to pay that. ALM: Hang on a second, we did have such a deal for him but it was for him to go to one of the Qld clubs only. We would be silly to let him go for so little to a strong club such as yours, we would need a lot more to release him to you. SLM: Well we could come up with something better. How about our 1st round pick & a fringe player or so. ALM: that won’t do it either, we would need to first round picks or your 1st rounder plus one of your starlets like Reid, Rohan or Parker. SLM: We couldn’t let any of them go, I am under strict instruction that they are to be retained. How about White or Lamb ? ALM: Nowhere near enough, I would end up being lynched if I accepted that trade. SLM: We will do our best to see if we can arrange something better but if not we will have to take our chances if he ends up in a draft. Sorry we couldn’t do business.
7. (Sometime in the last couple of weeks) AFC Chairman (AC) and AFL Official (AO). AC: We have been dealing with Sydney re KT. They have refused to make a reasonable offer, they tried to trade for something better but unless they are willing to let a premiership player be involved they just can’t come close to offering enough. AO: Well do the trade with someone else. AC: We have tried but KT has said he will only go to Sydney. In fact he has threatened to take us to court over it. AO: That is entirely different. We cannot risk putting the entire Draft, Trading & Free Agent system at risk, you can see that can’t you ? My advice to you is take what you can get, if not we will have to use the Ball solution again where he goes into the draft & we make certain that he gets through to the club of his choice. AC: That is totally unfair, we will end up a laughing stock. How about you put the pressure on Sydney to withdraw their offer ? AO: Can’t be done, the offer is already common knowledge, if we take that route KT will likely take us to court anyway. You will just have to make the best of it & take their offer, don’t worry we will do something for you down the track a bit, after all you have as much to lose as anyone if our rules are thrown out, remember a high percentage of players come out of Victoria & it would be the end of the national comp if 17yo can choose to join a Melbourne club. AC: Ok I understand, but it will cause our supporters to lose respect for us. You better come good when we need a favour in the future.
I am aware that most will dismiss this as total crap but it is the only way I can see to reconcile the actions of all parties involved, especially from the AFC perspective.
All I ask is that you go easy on me....