- No celebrating; Jason went straight home after the trade deadline closed. He will have a bottle of red over the weekend.
- How the JHF deal came about. “We kept an eye on his situation and had some dialogue with his manager. It did open up as a genuine chance until after the season finished. We think he’s a generational talent”.
- Was it a possibility that you might have to lose a player to get this deal done? “Our players wanted to stay at the footy club, and we were happy to get this done without losing any emerging talent”.
- Is the go-home factor real? “We face this every year. What is critical is the club’s culture and the quality of the leaders in the playing group. When free agency came in, that removed the need for players to play their entire career at one club”.
- Would you still back yourselves to draft someone from interstate who was vocal about wanting to go home down the track? “We’d back ourselves and our culture to be able to retain that player if its someone we were dead set keen on”.
- On Junior Rioli. “He’s a match-winner in the forward half, and we were very keen to get him in. he’s got family close to SA, and the family has a connection with Ken Hinkley. Ken coached Junior’s dad early in his coaching career”.
- On Asava Ratagolea not getting to Port Adelaide. “Pick 33 was on the table. It was Geelong’s prerogative not to do the deal. He was desperate to get to our footy club, and I feel really bad for him”. “His manager was disappointed as well, you’d need to ask Geelong why pick 33 wasn’t enough for a guy who only played four games last season”.
- Will you have a crack again next year? “Obviously, 12 months is a long time, but it is well documented that we need some key backs to help there. We’ll keep tracking Asava throughout next season”.
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