Trade update
This article first appeared on afl.com.au and gwsgiants.com.au
The Greater Western Sydney GIANTS will now have six selections in the first two rounds of the NAB AFL Draft following a trade today with Port Adelaide.
GIANTS defender Jack Hombsch and Northern Territory zone selection Jake Neade will join Port Adelaide in return for pick 29 in the 2012 NAB AFL Draft.The GIANTS will now have picks 1, 2, 3, 12, 14 and 29 in the first two rounds of the Draft.
GIANTS General Manager of Football Graeme Allan thanked Hombsch for his contribution to the club and wished him well in the next stage of his career.
“One of our founding players, Jack has been an asset to the GIANTS over the last two years as a versatile player with a diligent work ethic,” he said.
“His move to Port Adelaide will give him the opportunity to play more senior football and we wish him all the best in his future playing career.
“As a club we’re very pleased to have been able to secure an early second round selection in this deal which strengthens our position going into November’s draft.”
And the Kurt Tippett saga has undergone another twist with reports surfacing that Adelaide entered into a secret agreement to smooth the key forward’s path to the club of his choice at the end of his last contract with the Crows.
Adelaide has consistently denied the existence of such a clause in the three-year contract Tippett signed at the end of 2009, but The Age reports club powerbrokers are understood to have gone to the AFL late last week with written documentation confirming that they had agreed to trade Tippett for a second-round choice.
The agreement was reportedly not part of the contract lodged with the AFL, but specified in a separate note, with its existence potentially having serious ramifications for both the Crows and Tippett if confirmed.
Under AFL rules, clubs can face fines and/or draft penalties if found guilty of draft tampering or salary cap breaches, with a player also potentially facing bans if found to be a willing party.
If the report is proven correct it is unclear how a trade between the two clubs would proceed or what sanctions – if any – will be levelled.
