Sydney believe they were short-changed in the trade they settled on with Adelaide over a deal for Jordan Dawson, who was today granted his wish to return home to South Australia.
The wishes of Dawson and his partner to be closer to family came to fruition when the prized defender was traded to Adelaide in exchange for Melbourne’s 2022 first-round pick, which the Crows had acquired in a separate deal.
The Swans wanted greater compensation for the 24-year-old, who’s a strong contributor all over the ground, is a top runner and has an elite left-foot kick.
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But if the Swans hadn’t accepted the Crows’ offer of a first-round 2022 draft pick, they would have risked losing Dawson for nothing in the pre-season draft.
Sydney general manager of football Charlie Gardiner suggested the club was unsatisfied with the deal.
“We made clear from the outset that we rated Jordan as highly as any player available in this trade period,” Gardiner told The Age.
“Throughout the trade period we worked extremely hard to reach a fair outcome in regard to Jordan, despite challenging circumstances.
“Ultimately, we have settled on a deal that we don’t think quite reflects Jordan’s true value but is one that, after extensive negotiations, we don’t believe we could improve upon.
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“After strong consideration, we believed it to be in the best interests of the club to accept the deal available and move forward.
“Holding two first-round selections for the 2022 draft does put us in a very strong position and gives us great flexibility to improve our list in the future.
“We thank Jordan for the contribution he has made to the club over the past six seasons.”
Dawson played 64 AFL games with Sydney after arriving at the club via pick 56 in the 2015 national draft.
He had a brilliant 2021 campaign that culminated in finishing third in the Swans’ best and fairest, behind club champion Luke Parker and the second-placed Jake Lloyd.
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