West Coast has revealed any possibility of Hayden Ballantyne getting his desired move across town from Fremantle was effectively ended by the shock deal that saw Sam Mitchell become an Eagle.
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Ballantyne's bid to move away from the Dockers was one of the intriguing sub-plots in the lead-up to the AFL's annual trade period but never became a reality, despite a flurry of draft picks and players swapped between clubs prior to Thursday afternoon's deadline.
West Coast's general manager of football Craig Vozzo told Radio 6PR that money - specifically a lack of it after the Mitchell trade - prevented Ballantyne becoming an Eagle.
"Hayden expressed his want to leave his football club. Our position had always been that we had some TPP [Total Player Payment] restrictions," Vozzo said.
"We don't even know what our TTP is, which is a bit unusual for all clubs but we're working off some estimates. When we brought in Sam, that made it difficult to bring in any other player of significant value, in terms of money.
"That was basically the long and short of it. He's a terrific player but we had some TTP restrictions and we had other priorities."
Mitchell will likely move into coaching at the Eagles after he retires but will not have an official off-field role in 2017, Vozzo explained. The reigning Hawthorn best-and-fairest signed a one-year playing extension before he was traded from Hawthorn, essentially for draft pick No. 88.
Vozzo also backed injury-prone Geelong recruit Nathan Vardy to keep his body together after being traded as big man cover, with Nic Naitanui sidelined by a knee reconstruction and Scott Lycett still recovering from knee surgery.
Vardy's record stands at just 25 games from seven AFL seasons, including four games from the past three seasons (he missed all of 2014) but Vozzo pointed out the athletic 25-year-old had actually stayed relatively fit in 2016.
"Last year he turned the corner with his body," Vozzo said.
"We think with a new program, he could be a bit like Xavier Ellis...when he left Hawthorn he hadn't played much footy in the previous two or three years. Sometimes players need a bit of a change but he [Vardy] played 16 games [15 in the VFL] last season."
West Coast would not be involved in free agency recruiting, Vozzo said, and needs, such as small forwards, would be addressed through the national draft.
North Melbourne 300-gamer Drew Petrie remained on Eagles radar as a possible rookie draft selection, Vozzo confirmed.
