Gibbs in limbo

Mix-up puts cloud over Crows move

A DRAMATIC mix-up surrounding the finer details of a Carlton-Adelaide trade has put Bryce Gibbs’s return to South Australia in jeopardy.

Gibbs had waited a year to be traded to Adelaide and was just minutes away from officially finding his new home at 4pm yesterday.

It was revealed yesterday Carlton had committed to a deal that it believed would set up a trade bonanza.

That deal included securing Adelaide’s pick 10 and a 2018 first-round selection and also swapping their secondround picks next year.

That second-round pick next year — potentially as late as 36 — would have seen the Blues secure Greater Western Sydney midfielder Matthew Kennedy this year.

But in a startling development, a misunderstanding over the specifics of the trade saw the Crows refuse to include the future second-round pick.

Carlton was last night still hopeful it could resuscitate the deal and find a way to secure both Kennedy and Geelong’s Darcy Lang for a later 2017 pick.

Lang yesterday declared he wanted to get to Carlton after talking to board member and former champion midfielder Chris Judd and will find his way to the Blues. THE year-long negotiation to return Gary Ablett to Geelong will roll on into the final day of the AFL trade period.

But all parties close to the deal last night maintained the champion midfielder would be released to the Cats before today’s 2pm trade period.

Ablett’s manager Liam Pickering yesterday repeated his firm belief the Ablett deal would be completed today, but the deal will involve an exchange of draft picks rather than a straight swap of players, after fringe Geelong midfielder Lang chose to move to Carlton.