MUCH has been made of the Western Bulldogs inability to keep Callan Ward from the clutches of Greater Western Sydney back in 2011.
Stories of administration bungles and insufficient contract offers have been bandied around as reasons why the then 21-year-old walked out on the Bulldogs, after four seasons and 60 games, to take up a lucrative long-term deal to join the Giants under their foundation concessions.
For whatever reason Ward was left out of contract with the clear and present threat of the Giants entering the AFL, the Bulldogs as a club have come out of the situation possibly embarrassed, but arguably better off.
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As compensation for losing the rugged midfielder, the Dogs were awarded a first round draft pick under the AFL's expansion rules due to Ward's contract size and age.
Instead of using the pick in the 2011 NAB AFL Draft that was about to be plundered by the Giants with 11 first round selections received as further concessions, the Dogs list manager Jason McCartney wisely keep that pick up his sleeve for the following year's draft as the rules permitted.
Conveniently for the Bulldogs, they were commencing a rebuild after a relatively successful period that saw them contest three straight preliminary finals between 2008 and 2010, and an even poorer season in 2012 saw them tumble even further down the ladder.
With pick five at its disposal in that year's draft, McCartney knew activating the compensation pick would also give them pick six and a very strong hand.
Ironically, the Dogs dabbled with trading both picks to GWS for the rights to young gun Jack Martin, but they eventually baulked at the high price and the West Australian ended up at Gold Coast.
Draft night came and the Dogs astutely selected Jake Stringer at pick five and Jack Macrae with the compensation pick.
While he hasn't been the raging bull around the footy the Giant's co-captain is, Macrae, who is four years younger than Ward, possesses what the Dogs don't have an over abundance of – smart ball use.
No slouch around the coalface, the Oakleigh Chargers product runs all day and complements contested-ball specialists Tom Liberatore, Marcus Bontempelli, Mitch Wallis, Liam Picken and Josh Dunkley with his creativity on the outside.
Jack Macrae is as hard as he is polished. Picture: AFL Photos
Macrae sits 17th across the AFL for effective possessions with an average of 21.75 per game (415 total) from 20 appearances in 2016.
His ability to spread from the contest also sees him ranked 10th for uncontested possessions and 15th for handballs from his average of 27 disposals per game this season.
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A snapshot of Macrae's growing importance to the Dogs came in last weekend's semi-final win over Hawthorn, where he collected a game-high 39 possessions (13 contested) at an extremely effective 82 per cent.
His season’s disposal efficiency of 75.4 per cent is marginally better than Ward's 74.4, but the Giants skipper has him covered in goal assists (10th), clearances (10th) and contested possessions (15th) while averaging 24 disposals a game in 2016.
As GWS and the Bulldogs prepare to square off in Saturday’s preliminary final for a spot in the Grand Final, Collingwood midfielder Adam Treloar says both clubs have done extremely well out of the situation.
Treloar has played with Ward and against Macrae, and while he declares the Giant's co-captain as the total package of skill, courage and leadership, he raves about the Dog's evolution as a player.
"I love 'Wardy' more than anyone, but Macrae is a great get because he has versatility, can go inside and outside and he is a good decision-maker," Treloar told AFL.com.au.
"He adds inside and outside grunt, (but) they prefer him on the outside because he is a very good up and down runner on the field, so he can get back and help the defenders out but he can also win the ball and go forward with it.
"It's not to be underestimated in how good he is in winning contested footy. He is a very good one-on-one player, he halves the contest or wins it the majority of the time, and rarely gets beaten in the one-on-one situation and he's a good decision maker."
