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The West Coast Eagles and the Sydney Swans have agreed to a straight-swap trade that sees Callum Sinclair join the Swans and Lewis Jetta become an Eagle.
The trade has been in the works for the past few days as the Swans looked to find a way home for Jetta, who requested a trade to return to Western Australia in September after the club’s finals campaign ended.
Jetta was originally recruited at pick 14 in the 2009 draft by the Swans, ultimately playing 127 games for the club including the 2012 Grand Final win.
In the 2012 season he kicked 45 goals to be the Swans’ leading scorer in a premiership year, in more recent seasons he has trended more and more towards a midfield role on the wing.
“Lewis offers us some attributes which few players possess, particularly his line-breaking pace and elite kick,” said Eagles’ general manager of football Craig Vozzo.
“We are excited with what he potentially adds to our squad and believe he will be ideally suited to our game style.
“We had two key targets going into the trade period and it’s great to now have Lewis and Jack on board”.
While he is departing, the image of Jetta outrunning Cyril Rioli down the wing of the MCG in that 2012 Grand Final is one that Swans fans will always remember fondly.
“We are disappointed to see Lewis go, but we wish him and his young family the best as they return home to Perth,” said Sydney’s general manager of football Tom Harley.
“Lewis has been a very popular figure at our club and he will forever be a premiership player with the Swans.”
The Swans have been desperate to gain a ruckman as they seek to find a successor for an aging Mike Pyke this off-season, and will be happy to have landed one after missing out on Brisbane’s Matthew Leuenberger.
Sinclair may have only played 29 games in his AFL career but 20 of those came this year in a breakout season that saw him become West Coast’s preferred partner for Nic Naitanui.
He averaged more than eighteen hitouts per game this year splitting his time between the ruck and the forward line, and also kicked thirteen goals.
It’s believed the lure of a four-year deal is what swayed Sinclair from his original plans to remain with the Eagles despite outside interest.
“One of our priorities this trade period was to secure a ruckman and in Callum, we believe have a really good player whose best football is ahead of him,” said Harley.
“Callum really showed this year what he is capable of and we look forward to him playing some really good football for our club.
“He is an impressive young man and we are really happy that he wants to join us.”
The Eagles were sad to see Sinclair go, but willing to make a deal once it became clear that Sinclair was happy to move to the Swans.
“I would like to acknowledge the contribution that Callum has made to the club in the three years he was here. He is a true professional and was an important part of what we achieved here this year. We understand the reasons behind his request for a trade and wish him well for the future at Sydney,” said Vozzo.
Callum Sinclair has joined the Swans in exchange for Lewis Jetta. More on http://t.co/JQNqJqh3Lo shortly. pic.twitter.com/DU7AZDVFIK
— Sydney Swans (@sydneyswans) October 14, 2015
Swan Lewis Jetta will join the club in a straight swap after Cal Sinclair's trade request: http://t.co/ii10tcWwpj pic.twitter.com/xokzLijSIQ
— West Coast Eagles (@WestCoastEagles) October 14, 2015