winning at the trade game,,,,,

[stinger]

Coming up trumps in the trade game

8:39 AM Fri 19 October, 2007 | Back

By Jason Phelan

Exclusive to AFL BigPond Network
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"THE RECENT cattle trading fair that is the AFL's player exchange period always attracts plenty of interest from fans and also sparks a healthy debate as to its the relative merits.

Can you really build a premiership side around other club's cast-offs? How much 'baggage' does a potential trade target bring with him? Is it him or the club driving his move toward the exit door? Why?

There are plenty of arguments for and against being an active participant in trade week, but reigning premiers Geelong provide an interesting case study.

Tom Harley held the trophy aloft as the Cats' skipper and it's a fair bet he didn't envision that outcome when he began his AFL career at Port Adelaide back in 1996. Harley, along with Cam Mooney and Brad Ottens, are excellent examples of prudent trading.

Six other players that helped form one of the most dominant combinations in recent memory – Paul Chapman, David Wojcinski, Steven King, James Kelly, Corey Enright and James Hunt – were drafted using picks sent to the club in exchange for players.

The Crows of 1997 offer an even greater endorsement of active trading with 10 of their premiership-winning 21 of that year coming from other clubs.

Each case is different, of course, but below are just a few examples of players that have not only played well at their new clubs, but taken their games to an entirely different level.

In most cases it would be unfair to cast aspersions on the clubs who have moved these players on for relatively meagre returns with many factors, including homesickness, forcing their hands to some degree.

Sometimes a player just needs a new environment and they might have never have gone on to achieve such great feats if they'd stayed put.

But regardless of the reasons, there are a few recruiting managers who you'd reckon would think twice before pulling the trigger on some of these trades if they had their time again.

It's also worth noting that some trade deals may involve more than the two clubs listed, making it difficult to make a value judgement on the transaction.

Nathan Bassett
Original club: Melbourne – 0 games
New club: Adelaide – 187 games
Traded for: Matthew Collins and Brent Williams in 1997
Despite an undistinguished start to his career with the Demons, the Crows were delighted to get Bassett into the fold. After keeping an eye on the rebounding defender right through his junior career, a poor season in his draft year saw Adelaide pass on him before he was rookied by the Dees. Both Collins and Williams were happy to go home to Melbourne, but the trade balance ended firmly in Adelaide's favour with Bassett earning All-Australian honours and still going strong.

Cameron Mooney
Original club: Kangaroos – 11 games
New club: Geelong – 133 games
Traded for: Leigh Colbert and draft selection 53 (Clayton Lasscock) and 67 (ontraded to Adelaide, Robert Shirley) in 1999
It was the Kangaroos' desire to snare Colbert that saw Mooney – as well as a raft of early draft selections – end up at the Cattery where he has gone on to become a cult figure. Mooney certainly wasn't thrown in as an after-thought as he was highly-regarded at Arden St, and while it took a little while for him to find his feet, his career has taken off at Geelong.

Andrew McLeod
Original club: Fremantle – 0 games
New club: Adelaide – 283 games
Traded for: Chris Groom in 1994
Fremantle had the rights to McLeod, who burst onto the SANFL scene as a small forward with electrifying pace for the Port Adelaide Magpies in 1994. But a meeting with the club's foundation coach, Gerard Neesham, left both parties unimpressed, leading the Dockers to trade him to the Crows for tall forward prospect Groom.

Brenton Sanderson
Original club: Adelaide / Collingwood – 6 games / 4 games
New club: Geelong – 199 games
Traded for: Draft selection 47 (Robbie Ahmat) in 1994
Sanderson's is one of the feel-good stories of trading. A journeyman forward unable to cement a spot with the Crows or Collingwood, 'Sando' went on to become one of Geelong's favourite sons as a defender after he found what he still regards as his football home.

Tom Harley
Original club: Port Adelaide – 1 game
New club: Geelong – 158 games
Traded for: Draft selection 37 (Adam Morgan) in 1998
After failing to make an impression at the Power, Harley was picked up by the Cats, where he continued to struggle until late in 1999 when he broke into the senior side and played the final nine games of the season. He has been a fixture in defence ever since.

Nathan Buckley
Original club: Brisbane – 20 games
New club: Collingwood – 260 games
Traded for: Draft selection 12 (Chris Scott) in 1993
Brisbane certainly didn't move Buckley on willingly as the sublimely talented onballer had an escape clause in his contract with the Bears that allowed him to leave after one year. But despite losing out on one of the greatest players to ever play the game, Brisbane can't be too unhappy with the deal in hindsight as Scott went on to become a dual premiership player and club stalwart.

Matthew Robran
Original club: Hawthorn – 7 games
New club: Adelaide – 130 games
Traded for: Draft selection 11 (Jonathon Robran) in 1992
In one of the great ironies of the modern trade/draft system, Matthew Robran's desire to return home to Adelaide saw his brother move to Melbourne to start his career with the Hawks.

Sean Wellman
Original club: Adelaide – 34 games
New club: Essendon – 178 games
Traded for: Draft selection 45 (Scott Hodges) in 1995
Highly-regarded at Adelaide, Wellman's departure for Windy Hill was an integral part of the incredibly complex deal that saw Darren Jarman become a Crow. Not entirely happy to be moved on, Wellman was determined to make his mark and went on to forge a decorated career that saw him receive All-Australian honours and play in a premiership.

Matthew Lappin
Original club: St Kilda – 55 games
New club: Carlton – 196 games
Traded for: Draft selections 22 (James Begley) and 53 (Troy Schwarze) in 1998
Lappin is certainly a player who benefited greatly from a change in scenery with his move from Moorabbin to the Blues allowing him to take his game to the next level.

Jeff White
Original club: Fremantle – 32 games
New club: Melbourne – 221 games
Traded for: Draft selections 2 (ontraded to Richmond, Brad Ottens) and 18 (ontraded to Western Bulldogs, Mark Alvey) in 1997
The 'go home' factor drove White's move away from Fremantle, but the Dockers appeared to soften the blow with the early picks they got in return from the Dees. He was certainly worth the price paid by Melbourne where he has been the lead ruckman for the past decade.

Anthony Rocca
Original club: Sydney – 22 games
New club: Collingwood – 208 games
Traded for: Ben Wilson, Mark Orchard and draft selections 14 (Brett O'Farrell) and 33 (Will Sangster) in 1996
Another go home guy, Rocca strongly resisted his move to Sydney in the first place and surprised no one when he opted out of the Harbour City after two years played under sufferance. The Swans managed to get 22 games out of him but he was never going to excel until he was back in familiar surrounds.

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL."

[saintDal]

Matthew Robran
Original club: Hawthorn – 7 games
New club: Adelaide – 130 games
Traded for: Draft selection 11 (Jonathon Robran) in 1992

Thats pretty amusing. Imagine being traded for a draft pick that ends up being your brother.

[Bowey Boy]

Could not win with Lappin. A slow starter with the Saints and every time he got into the seniors had no luck. I remember him finally getting a game and getting pinged twice against West Coast in Perth for deliberate out of bounds decisions. Decisions the umpires in the Fremantle (Away) 2005 match would have been proud of. However still had a very good season in 1997. A very nice winning goal against the Swans if I remember correctly.

However Matty was a wild boy and had he stayed at the Saints, many others would have played less games as he was a poor role model.