The Western Bulldogs made a last-minute push for Brett Deledio only after it became apparent the star Tiger could be headed for the already formidable Greater Western Sydney.
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The Dogs had no interest in Deledio throughout the trade period, primarily because he seemed likely to go to Geelong, but coach Luke Beveridge is understood to have told the club to act on him once it emerged that the Giants were moving in.
Deledio did a medical at the Bulldogs on Wednesday, having already toured GWS headquarters, and nominated the Giants as his new club of choice that night.
The Bulldogs outlasted GWS in a preliminary final this year before going on to defeat Sydney and win the club's first premiership since 1954. Beveridge was among those in football troubled by how much stronger the Giants would be next year with a player of Deledio's calibre in their team.
Richmond always preferred Deledio to move to the Giants because with the draft picks at the Giants disposal the deal was always likely to be better for them than had he moved to Geelong, the club he first wished to be traded to.
The Tigers received a 2017 first round pick and a future third round pick for their vice-captain, with the deal lodged in the final hour of trading on Thursday.
Richmond had earlier asked the Cats for Josh Caddy in return, a deal Geelong was unwilling to do because Richmond also wanted a little more on top of the midfielder.
At the start of the trade period Caddy was happy to remain with the Cats or to move to the Tigers, if it suited Geelong to use him in a deal for Deledio.
But as time went on he warmed more and more to the idea of moving to Punt Road, where he had saw himself playing a more important role in the midfield than he had been at the Cats.
Geelong was happy to move him on for pick 24 for that reason, and also because his trade helped to create a bit of room in their salary cap with Zach Tuohy coming in from Carlton. The club also swapped pick 64 for Richmond's pick 56 as part of that deal.
The Cats sent their 2017 first round pick to the Blues for Tuohy, with that selection eventually making its way through Carlton and GWS to Richmond, as part of the Deledio trade.
The Blues gained utility Billie Smedts as part of the Tuohy trade, and returned a future second round pick to the Cats.
Geelong traded forward Shane Kersten to Fremantle for pick 63, bringing Aaron Black in from North Melbourne in exchange for pick 92.
