The Adelaide Crows have cautioned that the AFL is moving towards an “unethical” approach reminiscent of NRL-style mid-season player poaching following Phil Davis’s move to Greater Western Sydney.
Welcome to the transformed landscape of AFL football. These occurrences are now commonplace, and we find ourselves in an absurdly inflated market for AFL talent.
While the Crows did not fully back Eddie McGuire’s assertion that the Giants had cheated in their pursuit of Phil Davis, they expressed disappointment for the traditional football community.
“I’m unsure about the term cheating… I comprehend Eddie’s perspective; it’s not ethical… but this is the new landscape of the AFL,” Crows football operations chief Phil Harper stated on Radio Sport National.
“In the contemporary context, it might be considered ethical, but for those of us rooted in the old football culture, including Eddie, it feels wrong to engage other club players about joining your team next year.”
“That behavior is standard in the NRL, and I reflect on that and shake my head because it’s far removed from what I was taught,” he continued.
“Once we realized what we were up against with Phil, we crafted an offer… that was significantly, significantly, significantly above any offer to a 20-game player in this football club’s history,” Harper remarked.
“Yet it still wasn’t competitive… I genuinely don’t believe we as a club could have done anything more to retain Phil.”
Davis opted not to disclose the specifics of his contract or the financial details.
“I will not deny that money plays a role,” he admitted.
Earlier, McGuire had commented that the AFL’s newest team was “cheating with their first signing.”
“I’ve been warning about this for some time, that eventually, this situation is going to explode, and everyone is going to express their outrage. I view this as an absolute insult to the entire AFL competition,” McGuire expressed.
Both Davis and Adelaide confirmed his departure on Tuesday, with Davis acknowledging that the significant financial offer, reportedly as high as $750,000 a season, had influenced his decision.
However, Giants CEO Dale Holmes later issued a statement indicating that no agreement had been finalized.
McGuire responded, stating: “It’s just absurd, and they’re treating individuals like fools.”
“If this isn’t a massive joke, Adrian Anderson should reach out to Dale Holmes and confront him with whatever penalties are appropriate for violating this rule.”
“Can you tell me, if I offer you a position and you announce you’re leaving your club, your home, your family, would you choose to go to Greater Western Sydney where things are not yet underway and we’ll negotiate your salary in three months?”
“That’s why Phil came in and said ‘I have an overwhelming amount of cash that I can’t ignore.'”
Yesterday, Davis’s teammate Mattew Jaensch tweeted: “@PhilDavis16 left for numerous reasons, 800,000 of them!”
“Sometimes he can be a fool, Matty,” Davis replied to the tweet.
Buford Balony says: Cry me a river you whingeing fool, Eddie.
