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HAYDEN Ballantyne's hopes of joining West Coast during the NAB AFL Trade Period were effectively over when the Eagles recruited Sam Mitchell, the club has revealed.
Ballantyne requested a trade to the Eagles back in August but was unable to make the move as the Eagles prioritised securing a ruckman and an A-grade midfielder.
Mitchell joined the club in one of the game's biggest trade bombshells, further tightening the Eagles' salary cap as clubs try to predict what their Total Player Payment (TPP) limits will be in 2017.
Head of football Craig Vozzo said West Coast simply couldn't afford to bring Ballantyne to the club after trading in a four-time premiership player and 2016 club champion in Mitchell.
"Hayden expressed a want to leave his football club, I think, at one point," Vozzo told 6PR.
"Our position has always been, we’ve got some TPP restrictions, we don’t even know what our TPP is which is a bit unusual at this time of year for all clubs.
"We’re working on some estimates and when we brought in Sam that made it very difficult to bring in another player of any significant value in terms of money.
"That was basically the long and short of it, he’s a great little player but we’ve got TPP restrictions and we had priorities to fill."
Ballantyne explored a move from Fremantle during the trade period but received little interest from clubs outside his home state.
The Dockers remained hopeful throughout that the 29-year-old would stay and serve out the final year of his contract.
Meanwhile, West Coast will not use the upcoming free agency windows to secure delisted players and will prioritise the November 25 NAB AFL Draft to finalise its senior list.
The rookie list will be an option for the club, which could yet recruit North Melbourne veteran Drew Petrie for further ruck depth.
Vozzo said the club would use its pick No.12 in the draft to secure the best available talent, looking at specific needs further down the order.
