AFTER a hectic Thursday afternoon from a trade standpoint, it was time to take a deep breath on Friday after a flurry of activity.
With the Blues officially securing Adam Cerra and Lewis Young to go with George Hewett, Head of List Management joined the Trade Exchange to discuss the Club's off-season so far and the business that has been done.
Here's what Austin had to say: you can listen to the full interview in the player below.
On the Adam Cerra trade:
Negotiations started prior to Monday opening. The moment Adam nominated us mid-last week, David Walls and I were able to catch up and put our flagpoles in the ground and work on where we sat and work our way to some middle ground. By Monday, most of those discussions had been had, so we were able to progress it quite quickly in the last 24-48 hours. Once they did that deal with the Gold Coast for pick No.19, it opened up a few other things for them with Jordan Clark. Those deals were linked in a little way, so they were able to move quite quickly overnight Tuesday into Wednesday morning.
What Cerra will offer:
We’re really excited. He was a high pick himself and he has hardly missed: he’s played 76 games in the four years at Fremantle. We see him as a 10-year player for us in the middle of the ground and really complements what we’ve got. His ability to run both ways and use the ball really well, I think his kicking inside 50 especially is a highlight of his game. We’re really excited by what he can bring.
The acquisition of George Hewett:
It was one part. We think George is a really well-rounded player. There’s a lot of focus on him being a tagger and the defensive side of his game, which is true: we looked at that aspect to build on. But in his own right, he has demonstrated that he can win his own football and we think the underrated part of his game is his decision-making and ball use. He’s a beautiful field kick and we’re excited by what George can bring on both sides of the ball. That defensive aspect is certainly a big part of his game and what we need.
Bringing Lewis Young to the Club:
His versatility is appealing, but we certainly see him as being a key defender. Looking at the draft, it is quite thin in the key position stocks so outside of the lack of exposure, we found that avenue - to target a younger player - as the most appealing. At 22, we feel like he’s had a bit of grounding there in a really good system at the Western Bulldogs. We’re excited to see how he can develop.
Defensive depth:
We’ve got some depth down there now which is something we’ve lacked. We brought in Oscar McDonald as some cover who missed the year, but we’ll have him back up and running and hopefully Caleb Marchbank. There is a bit of depth in that position, and that’s where we see Lewis.
The Sam Petrevski-Seton trade:
We’ve had ongoing discussions with Sam and his management throughout the season. The reality is that he wanted some more midfield-forward opportunities and bringing in the guys that we’ve brought in, we felt like our midfield was only getting deeper. It was agreed that at the end of the year, we’d help him continue his career with a fresh start which we felt was best for him and the Club. To get him back to WA is great for Sam, and in return we get a player that we really needed in a key-position defender with Lewis Young. We feel it’s a positive result for all parties.
Any further business and the prospect of trading future picks:
It is nice to get things done nice and early, but we did have a bit of a rolling start with Adam as well as George as a free agent. It’s good to be done: that will be it for us from an acquisition point of view. We might look at some things with some picks, but we’re comfortable picking at where we’re picking at this point. Our strategy is that we’re really keen to attack next year’s draft, so the future first and future second rounder are what we were really keen to preserve when getting those deals done.
