It looks like a good deal you’ve done with Carlton for Sam Petrevski-Seton?
“We’re really pleased. He’s a guy that we’ve admired since his draft year. He’s only 23 and he’s played 94 games, and we think there’s still a lot of good footy in front of Sam, so we’re really excited.”
Did negotiations start and finish with pick 52 or did Carlton want something more?
“We started with that and we were pretty strong that that was the pick we would use. We came up with a plan last year to trade out of last year’s draft and get into this year. The three picks in front of that we were strong that we were taking to the draft. In the end, I think it probably suited Carlton to do things quickly. They had other things on the go and I understand that, and they brought in Lewis Young (from the Western Bulldogs), so in the end it was a pretty easy deal.”
On Grand Final day Josh Kennedy was unsure if wanted to go around again in 2022 – has anything changed on that situation?
“I think a little bit has. Josh is just away on a break at the moment – he’s gone home – otherwise we might have progressed things a little more. I would expect that Josh will play next year. I think he’s pretty keen to do that. When he returns to his break we’ll tidy that up.”
Will you take three picks at the draft?
“We’ll have three or four picks in the draft. We might even make that decision on the night. We’ll just see who’s available and if we decide not to use it we can leave that spot open for SSP (Pre-season Supplemental Selection Period) or Mid-Season (Rookie Draft).”
Sam Powell-Pepper has been linked to West Coast, is there an update there?
“We only really became aware this week that there was any sort of possibility that Sam was available, so we haven’t really done any work on that. We’ve touched base with Port (Adelaide) to get some clarity, but our priority was Sam Petrevski-Seton so we really needed to work through that first. We’ll have some discussion internally. Sam is a good player and I’m sure he would be attractive to a few clubs. My gut feel is that will be hard to get done for us this year.”
Are you still looking for another ruckman with Nathan Vardy retiring?
“I think so. The ruck market is pretty unique one at the moment. (Bailey) Williams and ‘Jamo’ (Callum Jamieson) are developing well, but in the short-term before they get up and going they might play a little bit of forward-ruck rather than lead ruck. If we could have a back-up that could take over in the future from Nic (Naitanui) that would be good too.”
How do you view this year’s draft talent?
“I think it’s not too bad, to be honest. It’s a difficult one to judge because of the boys playing varying amounts of footy across the country. But I think there’s a little bit of depth in there and there’s some real talent in the first 20-25 selections.”
Is there anything to report on Jarrod Brander’s situation?
“Not at this stage. We’ve spoken to Jarrod about looking for other opportunities. I think there’s been a little bit of interest here and there, nothing too concrete. We’ll just get through this Trade Period with Jarrod and see what happens from there.”
Shannon Hurn is locked away for 2022?
“He will be, for sure. Same as Josh, he’s on a break at the moment. He’s gone back to the Barossa to see the family and he’s doing a bit of shearing at the minute, as he always does every year. When he gets back we’ll tidy that up and we’re looking forward to having Shannon next year as well.”
