HAWTHORN will not be compensated fairly for losing Lance Franklin to the Sydney Swans, his manager Liam Pickering believes.
The Swans have lodged the paperwork for Franklin's huge deal, worth $10 million over nine years. But the deal is on hold while it is examined by the AFL.
Pickering said he believed the Hawks wouldn't get the two first round draft picks they deserved for Franklin when the deal was approved, which he was "very confident" would happen.
That would leave them with a likely selection of No.18 (the pick directly after their first in this year's provisional draft order) in exchange for the superstar forward.
He said he felt sorry for the club and his client Alastair Clarkson for being victims because the "system's wrong".
"The worst part about all of this is the lack of compensation Hawthorn is going to get through free agency," Pickering told SEN on Saturday.
"The reality is, we don't make the rules. The rules are made by the AFL.
"If Hawthorn only get a compensation pick of whatever it may be, 20, 21, 22, that's the rules.
"They should get two first round picks for Buddy Franklin. We all know that but it doesn't look like that's going to happen.
"The system's wrong. It's not adequate for Buddy Franklin. We all know that.
"It's got nothing to do with me. I feel for Hawthorn and Clarko and the guys there riding that.
"That's a conversation that needs to be had with the clubs and the AFL to work out what a proper compensation pick is, if there's going to be compensation."
Pickering said holding out for a trade between the clubs that would have seen the Hawks better looked after would have been a big risk.
While he believed ruckman Shane Mumford would have been an ideal fit for the Hawks, the three-year offer he was made by Greater Western Sydney on Wednesday was too good to pass up.
"I don't think they would have done any better out of [a trade], that's the thing," Pickering said.
"Mumford didn't want to go there. He did want to go there but then the money from the Giants meant he wanted to go to the Giants.
"You can take that as fact. Hawthorn were very keen to get Mumford and that trade would have been done, I'm sure.
"Mummy would have been a great fit for Hawthorn but then he decided he wanted to play for the Giants so well and good for that."
Meanwhile, Pickering is "very confident" the AFL will sign off on the nine-year offer and pave the way for Buddy to become a Blood.
He said the money was "pretty straightforward" and within the salary cap with no third party deals in play.
He admitted there had to be secrecy surrounding the Swans' offer, which came a few weeks ago, but had warned both the Giants and Hawks not to count on having Franklin next season while talks were ongoing.
"It certainly blindsided the Giants and the Hawks and I understand that they'll be disappointed," he said.
"But to get him there, if that had leaked out earlier than it did, it wouldn't have got done.
"That's just the reality of it so we had to keep it tight, Bud's adamant he wants to play for the Swans and he wants to live in Sydney – that's the first point.
"We'll now leave it to the investigators at the AFL. They've got the paperwork, it's been lodged, but they can't send it to Hawthorn until after the investigation has finished.
"It should be pretty straightforward from my end."
Pickering said he believed Franklin's was not the only deal the AFL would scrutinise in coming weeks.
"They're going to do that with every big deal now so I'm assuming they'll do the same with Dale Thomas and any of those other ones that are being done," he said.
"Sizeable deals, they're going to just investigate how it all took place and I'm happy to tell them what happened.
"We'll just wait for the result and we'll go from there."
Twitter: @AFL_JenPhelan
