On Tuesday, the Crows became the first victims of the Suns’ recruiting spree, with All-Australian defender Nathan Bock announcing his intentions to join the cashed-up club next year.
Less than two weeks ago Craig said he had “a gut feel” that the club would retain all of its uncontracted players next season, including Bock and midfielders Scott Thompson and Chris Knights.
On Tuesday Craig said he was extremely disappointed with Bock’s decision to leave, but that the 27-year-old’s defection was just the start of things to come in the new-look landscape of the AFL.
“Nathan has the right to negotiate, but I guess I was backing in our culture to stay here and where our playing group is. I thought what we were able to offer would be great enough, but anyway that’s the culture that the AFL has created,” Craig said.
“We need to operate within that culture and the AFL need to take responsibility for that and I’m sure they will. This is going to be life in the AFL from now on.
“I’m sure this will be national news because Nathan is the first one to declare this hand and great credit to him for doing that, but in 10 years time there probably won’t even be a press conference when a player decides to change clubs.
“Welcome to the new world of AFL footy … that’s the culture the AFL has decided to create. Do I like it? No.”
Craig questioned Bock over his future as recently as two weeks ago and said the former best and fairest winner deserved credit for declaring his hand now, rather than waiting until the end of the season.
“[All I asked was that] if Nathan had made a decision to come out and let us know … and as a football club he was not going to be crucified by us,” Craig said.
“I would much rather know what Nathan’s decision is two weeks before the season ends rather leaving it until after our last game because my immediate question would’ve been, ‘Well, when did you know?”
There is a formula in place to determine the level of compensation a club will get for losing an uncontracted player to the Suns or GWS over the next two years.
The early indications are that the Crows will receive a late-first round draft pick in exchange for Bock, which they can elect to use in any one of the next five NAB AFL Drafts.
Despite this, Adelaide chief executive Steven Trigg said losing Bock for a draft pick was a bitter pill to swallow.
“I would expect that with Nathan being the calibre of player that he is that we would get an end of first round draft pick [as compensation] but with the way it’s looking over the next two years that pick could be anywhere between pick No.26 and pick No.30,” Trigg said.
“You would say that’s not really what you would normally accept for a Nathan Bock in a normal trade scenario. We all knew that was the case when this was set up, but I can tell you one thing when it happens to you as a club and you lose a player like Nathan and get pick 26-30 over the next couple of years it stings.”
Trigg said the Crows had done everything in their power to keep Bock at West Lakes, but that the club simply couldn’t compete with the offer from Gold Coast, which has been afforded an extra $1million in its salary cap next season.
“We stretched the rubber band as hard and as far as it would go in terms of the financial arrangement to keep Nathan Bock at our footy club,” he said.
“I don’t know details, but I’ve got a very good idea about the quantum involved … and sometimes you’re not on the same page in terms of negotiations - in this case we weren’t even in the same library.”
Trigg said the only upside to Bock’s departure was that the club had freed up more money to finalise deals with other uncontracted players such as Thompson and Knights, and to possibly attract its own big-name recruit during trade week.
