Former AFL recruiter Matt Rendell has blasted Carlton over their decision to hand midfielder George Hewett a four-year contract.
The Blues lured the 25-year-old midfielder from the Swans last week, leaving Sydney with an end-of-second-round pick (currently No.39).
The move was made official after Sydney opted not to match the Blues’ offer for the restricted free agent.
Rendell considers Hewett a solid footballer but said he disagreed with the length of his deal.
“With all due respect to George … he’s a good player, but he’s been playing as a tagger for two or three years,” Rendell said on AFL Trade Radio.
“Are you giving taggers four years now? I assume they’ve got him in to play the same role.
“I don’t know what sort of money it is … I was as shocked as everyone else when he got four years.”
Veteran AFL reporter Damian Barrett added: “He’s done well.”
Since making his debut in 2016, Hewett has played 120 games for Sydney and was part of the Swans’ 2016 grand final squad that went down to the Bulldogs.
Hewett said he was excited to be a part of Carlton’s growing list and learn under new coach Michael Voss.
“They’ve obviously got a very good list, and that was sort of the main (reason). I was excited to come here, the players have been very welcoming,” Hewett said.
“I’ve played eight years at the Swans and I’m absolutely stoked to start a new journey at Carlton.
“(Voss has) done what he’s done as a player, he’s captained three premierships and he has that aura and your respect because he’s been there and done that, times three. I’m looking forward to the challenge of what he’s going to bring to the group.
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“Sometimes the results are the results, but to be honest with you, (Carlton) were up to their eyeballs in most games, they lost most by under 15 points, which means they were up in the game until the last quarter or 10 minutes.
“We know how good they are on the attack, so maybe it’s just looking at team defence, which is very fixable, and we’ll see how they go.”
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