Wheeling, dealing gives new homes
TWO No.1 draft picks – Bryce Gibbs and Luke Hodge – and premiership forward Jake Stringer have all found new homes on the final day of the AFL trade period.
All the major mooted deals of the trade window were wrapped up yesterday
Like Gary Ablett, Gibbs won a move to his home state.
The Blues’ 2014 best-andfairest winner will bolster the losing grand finalists’ midfield in 2018 after the Crows had agreed to deal two AFL firstround draft picks to Carlton.
The Blues receive Adelaide’s No.10 and 16 draft selections after consenting to part ways with Gibbs and a 2018 third-round pick.
Adelaide had attempted to snare Gibbs 12 months ago but were ultimately unwilling to part with two first-round selections. The Crows declared the deal presented “much better value” than what was proposed last year.
“It’s a great result for the Adelaide football club and great to have Bryce and his family join the club,” Crows list manager Justin Reid said.
“We’re really happy with the deal itself and where it positions us in the 2018 draft.
“I think you’ve got to look at the value and what comes back in return.”
Gibbs joins on a four-year deal. Stringer was the last of three major signings to fall into place for Essendon, after Greater Western Sydney’s Devon Smith and Adam Saad from Gold Coast.
Hodge’s move to Brisbane, where he will work with exHawks mentor Chris Fagan, had been widely telegraphed and finalised in the last hour of the trade window. Brisbane also signed Charlie Cameron in the final 20 minutes of the trade window, when Adelaide accepted their offer of pick 12.
The Lions did lose promising tall Josh Schache in the final minutes, with the Bulldogs giving up picks 25 and 40.