'Diabolical lack of discipline': Leigh Matthews gives Jamie Cripps both barrels for brain snap
As teammate Jake Waterman was lining up for goal, Cripps gave away a free kick by pushing an Essendon player as the Eagles lost…
Essendon admit they’ll have to roll out the welcome mat for Joe Daniher after the Bombers and Swans failed to come to an agreement to trade the want-away forward, but insist the club will battle to keep him beyond 2020.
Yesterday’s trade deadline stand-off left Daniher and the club he and his family have such close ties with in a position where they need to mend some fences.
“Obviously he’s a little bit disappointed,” list manager Adrian Dodoro said after his phone conversation with Daniher following the breakdown in negotiations.
“But Joey is a resilient young man and actually through this whole process we’ve grown to respect him a hell of a lot more for the person he is.
“We absolutely love him and we think he’ll have a great year next year.
“Joey is a free agent next year and we’re going to fight like hell to retain him.
“But if we’re in this position in 12 months’ time, that’s the nature of the game and you have to accept that and move on.
“Having said that, we’re really confident that we can provide the environment for Joey.”
The Bombers were keen to secure a player in return for Daniher, but Sydney were intent on offering up draft picks only.
The Swans have pick five but strangely enough didn’t offer it to Essendon, instead making pick nine and a future first-rounder their best deal.
“We went into it with an open mind but we set some really clear parameters with the Sydney Swans from the first day,” Dodoro said.
“We were really consistent with what we said, we were honest from the first day and we stuck to our principles.
“Unfortunately we couldn’t get a deal done for Joey.”
While they’ll have to work hard on a couple of strained relationships, Essendon have held onto two key players inside forward 50 after Orazio Fantasia’s odd dalliance with Port Adelaide didn’t go anywhere.
© AAP
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.
As teammate Jake Waterman was lining up for goal, Cripps gave away a free kick by pushing an Essendon player as the Eagles lost…
Essendon coach Brad Scott says ruckman Sam Draper still has plenty of scope to express his personality and be funny - just not at…
The Eagle took the bait and was drawn into giving away a free kick as his teammate was lining up in the one-goal loss…
The strength of the number one draft pick was impressive to floor Zach Merrett and Ben Hobbs in the one play.
Jake Kelly was left red-faced after Campbell Chesser pounced and stole an unlikely goal.
The Bomber gave away a 50-metre penalty for interfering with the mark from Bailey Williams leading to a goal.