While O’Keefe’s bid to be traded from the Swans to Hawthorn appeared to hit a major snag on Thursday afternoon, it was around this time two years ago that Everitt was successful in making the transition the other way – from the Hawks to the Harbour City.
A major motivation in Everitt’s decision was the lure of a possible premiership after the Swans had won the flag in 2005.
“Players leave for different reasons,” Everitt said.
“It could be family, it could be success, it could be financial benefit … who knows? Sometimes it’s all of them.”
While O’Keefe – or “Pebs” as Everitt calls his former teammate – has told the Swans he wants to be traded to a Melbourne-based club, the ruckman says his old side should do everything in its power to convince the running machine to stay.
“He’s a gun player, Pebs, you don’t want to get rid of him,” Everitt said.
“He’s a fantastic player, the way he prepares himself and gets himself ready is amazing to watch. He’s definitely in the elite category in those terms.”
Everitt was full of praise for O’Keefe, saying he doubted whether the Swans could possibly be better off regardless of what a rival club offered for the left-footer through the trading process.
“I just think they (the Swans) should still try to get Ryan to stay because he’s just a gun player,” Everitt said.
“I think to lose somebody like Ryan O’Keefe … you never want to lose your better players and he is no doubt one of the better players.
“His first half of the year he was in All-Australian form.”
