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It has been confirmed that star Adelaide Crows midfielder, Patrick Dangerfield, will exercise his right to become a free agent and return to his home state of Victoria.
In a statement released on the Crows’ website, Chief Executive Andrew Fagan stated:
“Whilst disappointing, we understand that Patrick’s decision has been made for personal reasons.
“We will now consider our options, however, our Members and supporters should rest assured that in doing so we will make decisions and take action that is in the best interests of our football club.”
The Crows officials refused to make any further comment at this stage.
Patrick Dangerfield has informed our Club http://t.co/y23L3XwLLq he wishes to exercise his Free Agency rights pic.twitter.com/GtvpTstwOo
— Adelaide Crows (@Adelaide_FC) September 23, 2015
The AFL free agency period officially begins on October 9, with the official trade period running from October 12 to October 22.
EARLIER:
It is being reported that the Adelaide Crows are set to make an announcement regarding the future of star midfielder Patrick Dangerfield on Wednesday afternoon.
The club is expected to announce that Dangerfield wishes to quit the Crows and take his talents to the Geelong Cats.
It is speculated that the Cats will be offering Dangerfield a five-year contract worth around $800,000 per season.
However, as Dangerfield is a restricted free agent, the situation is not as simple as Dangerfield accepting an offer from a rival club and making the move.
Under the rules of AFL free agency the Crows are entitled to match any offers made for a player – a tactic that can be employed to force a trade for a player when a club feels that the compensation draft-pick they will receive is not sufficient.
As it currently stands, if the Crows allow Dangerfield to leave they will be compensated with pick 14 in the upcoming draft.
It is expected that the Crows will not opt for the compensation pick, instead forcing Geelong to trade by becoming the first club in the history of free agency to match an offer from a rival club.
If the two clubs can not reach a trade agreement, Dangerfield would be forced to either stay at the Crows or nominate for the draft.
UPDATE:
Dangerfield arrived at an Adelaide hotel for the Crows’ end of season celebrations on Wednesday, where he was met by a large media huddle.
As he has been for the entire lead up to the announcement, Dangerfield again gave little away, simply stating: “I’m here to have a good day.”
“We’ll announce something later today, but at the moment it is not appropriate.”
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