COLLINGWOOD is entitled to ask for compensation from Gold Coast for the loss of its football director Rodney Eade, according to West Coast chief executive Trevor Nisbett.
The impending announcement of Eade as Gold Coast's new senior coach has stalled due to Collingwood President Eddie McGuire making a public pitch for compensation from the Suns for the loss of Eade from the Pies' football department.
Nisbett, who has just signed a two-year contract extension to enter his 17th season as the Eagles CEO, believes the coaching landscape in the AFL should change as a result of a legitimate bid from the Magpies to gain compensation for the loss of a key figure within their coaching structure.
"I think Eddie has got every right to ask for compensation," Nisbett said.
"It's not a new concept. It happens in the NFL. In fact they trade draft picks for coaches.
"It's something that's got to be on the agenda and I think Eddie is floating it because it's a concept that needs to be explored and the reason Eddie would float it is that he then has to go and find someone.
"He has to spend a lot of money using a search company who will go and find someone who can replace someone of the calibre of Rodney Eade and Rodney Eade's don't come around every week. Someone with his standing within the football fraternity is really difficult to replace."
Port Adelaide made a $150,000 compensation claim to St Kilda at the end of 2013 for luring Port's then director of coaching and strategy Alan Richardson to take on the senior role at the Saints.
Port Adelaide did receive $20,000 from St Kilda, of which $15,000 was sent to Gold Coast as compensation for hiring Suns' assistant Shaun Hart to replace Richardson.
Nisbett said his club had engaged in coaching compensation transactions previously, however the Eagles did not make a claim when Mick Malthouse left West Coast in 1999 to take on the senior job at Collingwood.
The Eagles CEO believes it should become standard practice from now on.
"I think in the future it will be commonplace that if a person is enticed to breach his contract or asked to be released from a contract or inquires about being released he'll be told that 'we're prepared to release you on the basis that we do get compensation'," Nisbett said.
Port Adelaide CEO Keith Thomas also backed Collingwood's claim, but only because the Suns' timing was poor.
Thomas is well versed in the poaching of key personnel, losing Richardson to the Saints and Phil Walsh to Adelaide in October.
Given Walsh was appointed Crows coach in early October, the Power have sought no such compensation.
As long as the move was completed early, Thomas didn't believe the departure of an assistant to take on a senior role should draw compensation.
However he said teams who have assistants move to take up similar roles at a rival team should always be compensated.
"There is an inconvenience factor when you are selecting assisting coaches and significant people in your coaching group after the trade period," Thomas said.
"I think it is incumbent upon clubs to make fundamental coaching decisions as early in the post season as possible to enable the whole group to work their lists appropriately.
"For us, taking Walsh out of our program was a big hole … thankfully we got a guy from outside of the industry to fill it quite quickly.
"If you've got a guy – Phil Walsh – 20 years in an assistant role, gets an opportunity for a senior role it'd be very mean-spirited to not let that happen.
"But the next move is really difficult.
"Had Michael Voss not been there, I didn't know where we were going to go to be honest, so then you have to bring from within [the industry] … that's where the compensation comes in."
