It’s a trade that came about in different circumstances, but West Coast list manager Darren Glass says the club is rapt to have secured the services of Brisbane defender Alex Witherden.

Speaking on AFL Trade Radio this afternoon, Glass revealed that Witherden’s management expressed interest in getting the exciting 22-year-old to the Eagles on the eve of the Trade Period.

The prospect of bringing the classy backman to Perth did more than pique Glass’ interest, so from that point the club worked towards making the move happen.

And earlier today they did just that by sending the club’s 58th pick in this year’s draft and a future third round selection to Brisbane in exchange for Witherden and Brisbane’s pick No.86 in the 2020 national ballot.

Witherden might have only played six games for the resurgent Lions this year, but Glass said there was a lot to like about the Geelong Falcons product.

“One, he’s young and two, he’s got a bit of class with ball in hand,” Glass said of the Eagles’ latest recruit.

“They are attributes that we see complementing our current group of mid-sized defenders well.

“He’s got a lot of natural talent and I think in those first (three) years he really came on to the scene really, really hard and played some excellent football.

“We believe Alex is a good young player and we think he’s got some upside. We think clearly he’s young enough and experienced enough to help us now and well into the future.”

While Glass was ecstatic to welcome Witherden to the football club, he admitted it was hard to say goodbye journeyman ruck Tom Hickey.

However, the list manager said the deal that saw West Coast send Hickey and picks No.34 and No.60 to Sydney in exchange for the Swans’ picks 58 and 62 in this year’s draft, a future second-round selection tied to Port Adelaide and Sydney’s future round three pick was a win for all parties concerned.

"It was a difficult decision. Tom’s been a great player for us for the last two years,” Glass said.

"Sydney flagged their interest really early on in Tom

“Tom’s got a young family, he’s originally from Queensland and he wants to be closer to his family, so it made sense.

“We were always happy to facilitate a trade and get Tom back to the east coast and it tied in with our strategy of improving our draft hand for next year.”