Roos need super deal to give up No.1 pick
KANGAROOS football boss Brady Rawlings has left the door slightly ajar to trade the club’s No.1 draft pick but warned rivals the offer would have to blow their socks off.
Adelaide and Richmond are among the clubs that unsuccessfully tried in the past week to lure the top selection, which will be used on muchhyped South Adelaide teenager Jason Horne-Francis.
The Crows offered three first-round draft picks, including Melbourne’s future selection, for the prized first pick
while expecting North Melbourne’s second-rounder in 2022 back as well.
The Tigers’ proposal centred around tall-forward-cumruckman Callum ColemanJones and is believed to have involved them also parting with three selections, including two inside the top 20.
Speaking on Monday, Rawlings said any package from an opposition club comprising only picks was unlikely to prise the No.1 selection from the Kangaroos.
“With live trading, obviously you can trade on (draft) night and you can trade your picks all the way up until draft night as well,” Rawlings told SEN.
“The next two days is not the deadline for receiving offers for a pick.
“But it certainly is if there was a player involved.
“It’s probably going to be hard with (just) a pick swap to get something done for pick one.”
As News Corp Australia reported on Saturday, Kangaroos list boss Glenn Luff and national recruiting manager Mark Finnigan met HorneFrancis, his family and agent Ben Williams for the first time at the weekend.
The meeting was over Zoom because of Covid-19 border restrictions but Rawlings said “everything went really well”.
He is also confident North Melbourne could present a strong environment for Horne-Francis to prevent him wanting to return home, as is the case with many young footballers who move interstate.
“We’ll back ourselves in with anyone we bring from any state to our club that they’ll come in, be cared for and hopefully be excited by the talent we’re putting around them,” Rawlings said.
“Hopefully, success comes in the near future that once you get a player in your club, and you love the players you play with and love your club, there’s no reason for you to leave.”