Geelong captain Joel Selwood has backed the evolution of a chaotic AFL trade system following two dramatic weeks of player movement and champions retiring.
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The trade period finished on Thursday with Brett Deledio joining the Giants, Jaeger O'Meara finalising a deal with Hawthorn and Bryce Gibbs being denied a move to Adelaide.
More than 20 trades were finalised in a last-minute hurry to shake up lists and the AFL world is still coming to grips with some high-profile player movements.
Selwood's Cats were hit by the retirement of Brownlow medallist Jimmy Bartel, with the 305-game veteran calling time on his career after 14 years of service.
Selwood acknowledged big player changes would be hard for fans to digest, but said it was part of a bigger AFL business beast.
"As players you realise the landscape was going to get like this but it's just probably more of a shock for your everyday person out there realising how big the business actually is now," Selwood said.
Selwood and his brothers Troy, Adam and Scott have been touring Australia for the past week to promote the release of their children's book series.
The Selwood Boys documents the childhood antics of four brothers who all went on to play in the AFL.
The book tour meant Selwood was away from the AFL world as player movements heated up and two Hawthorn champions moved to new clubs.
The four biggest trades of the period were:
- Hawthorn premiership-winners Sam Mitchell and Jordan Lewis being traded to Fremantle and Melbourne, respectively.
- Jaegar O'Meara joining the Hawks after a deal was finally reached between Hawthorn and the Gold Coast Suns.
- Brett Deledio joining the preliminary finalists the GWS Giants after seeking a trade from Richmond.
- Carlton blocking Bryce Gibbs' move back to Adelaide after the clubs failed to find a suitable deal to satisfy both parties.
Eight trades were lodged in the last 16 minutes of the trade window, involving Caleb Marchbank, Jarrod Pickett, Rhys Palmer (all from Giants to Carlton), Koby Stevens (Western Bulldogs to Collingwood), Deledio, O'Meara, and 27 draft picks.
Mitchell and Lewis finished first and second in Hawthorn's best and fairest count this yaer and their departure from Waverley shocked the football community.
But Selwood said this pattern is nothing new at the Hawks, with free agency and trades playing a big part in recycling their list during the last few years.
The salary cap space freed up paved the way for the inclusion this year of O'Meara, Tom Mitchell from Sydney, and Ty Vickery from Richmond.
Geelong have also been forced to manage an ageing list during the last two seasons, with Steve Johnson, James Kelly, Corey Enright, and Jimmy Bartel all ending their time at the Cattery.
Selwood said it was simply a pragmatic path for all parties to approach the list demands of modern AFL.
"It's interesting ... We've had a couple of different guys to different clubs," Selwood said.
"Even Steve Johnson last year moved more for his personal development than anything else and ended up putting his best foot forward and played some great footy for GWS."
