COACH Paul Roos has taken a swipe at the ‘unnamed recruiter’ who earlier this year said Melbourne’s decision to swap selection No.2 to GWS for Dom Tyson and pick No.9 – which was ultimately Christian Salem – was a mistake.
The unnamed recruiter said in a Herald Sun article on April 11 that Melbourne would rue the decision, after the Giants snapped up young-gun Josh Kelly, who kicked two late goals in GWS’ win over the Demons in round three.
The deal also involved picks being exchanged and later some ontrading with the Brisbane Lions, while the Demons also netted raw, yet exciting speedster Jayden Hunt, who was later drafted at No.57, as part of the package.
But following yet another outstanding match from Tyson – who would surely be up there in Melbourne’s best and fairest count this year – and the continued excitement of first-year player Salem against the Power in Alice Springs on Saturday, Roos hit back hard at the unidentified recruiter.
“I hope the recruiting officer – the unnamed recruiting officer, who questioned the deal in about round four – maybe he wants to come out and tell us who he is, because he probably should get sacked, if he identifies himself,” he said post-match.
“I would’ve thought it was a pretty good deal – and a good deal for GWS – and I’ve said that all along. I think Josh Kelly is going to be a terrific young player, but I’d suggest that recruiting bloke probably shouldn’t be working, wherever he’s working, because I think it’s a pretty good deal for both footy clubs.
“When you have a reasonable relationship [with clubs] and they need something and we need something – you can do those deals. They’ve (GWS) got a win out of it with a great young player, who is going to be a star and we’ve got a win out of it, with two good young players.
“We’ve still got to educate them (Tyson and Salem) and develop them, and it’s only early in their careers, but at the time, we felt it was a win/win and I’m sure [GWS list manager] Steve Silvagni did. I’m sure he still thinks it’s a win/win, as we do. I agree entirely that both clubs have got something out of it.
“So let’s identify that [recruiting] bloke and sack him.”
For the record, the unnamed recruiter said in the Herald Sun: “Oh, there’s no question they have made a mistake. Gee, it’s going to be nasty.”
But Roos explained that Melbourne was desperate to acquire two quality midfielders, as the club needed to bolster its depth considerably.
“That was a big part of it – there was no question. Even though you could argue a straight swap for Dom was a fair deal, we had to get two players,” he said.
“We wouldn’t have done a one for one, but a two for one was certainly a big part of why we did it. We tried to get two players to extend the amount of help that Nathan [Jones] gets and some of those other boys in the midfield.
“There’s no question – that was the clincher, to try and get two players for one.”