WHEN the Brisbane Lions pushed their final trade through at 12.53pm on Friday, there would have been no high fives in the club's corporate box at Etihad Stadium.
Maybe some handshakes or consoling pats on the back given the Gillette AFL Trade Period was over, but there would be little celebration for what, in all honesty, had been a disaster for the club.
Five players have walked out on the Lions in the last month, with deals finalised in the last 24 hours to find new clubs for Elliot Yeo (West Coast), Sam Docherty (Carlton), Jared Polec (Port Adelaide), Billy Longer (St Kilda) and Patrick Karnezis (Collingwood).
Click here for the full draft order as it stands after the 2013 trade period
List manager Rob Kerr should be applauded for receiving compensation for every player that has left when rival clubs did everything they could to feast on the vulnerable Lions.
The club's welfare systems, development and induction for new players, however, needs scrutiny.
"It's something the club as a whole has to own," Kerr said on Friday.
"We'll spend a fair bit of time revisiting all aspects of how we bring them in, look after them and do our best to retain them."
Trade tracker: Every trade, every club
The official exchange period became a salvage operation for the Lions, whose early focus was "not to get completely ripped off", according to Kerr, with "nobody was putting anything approaching real value on the table".
Their job was made harder by homesick players also nominating preferred clubs.
West Coast's first offer for Yeo was pick No.44, but that eventually came in to No.28, giving the Lions reasonable compensation for the 20-year-old who will be their biggest immediate loss.
Port Adelaide had initially offered pick No.34 for Polec, but Greater Western Sydney got involved in that deal, eventually netting the Lions picks No.22 and No.34 in exchange for Polec and pick No.45.
Making that deal painful is the fact Polec cost pick No.5 in the 2010 NAB AFL Draft.
Another first-round draft pick, Longer (No.8 in 2011) was bundled with pick No.48 and joined the Saints in exchange for picks No.25 and No.41 on Friday.
"I'm very close with a few of the players that are [leaving] and I think it's different reasons," Longer said in a new St Kilda polo on Friday.
"Some are for family and some are contract wise, they just weren't happy with what was happening … it definitely was a mixture of things."
The issue of homesickness resonated with Irish half-back Pearce Hanley, who tweeted on Friday:
@brisbanearmy life goes on, you grow up and inevitably move away from home.. Appreciate the tweet #mummiesboysarehomenow
— pearce hanley (@pearcehanley) October 25, 2013
Surprisingly, Melbourne clubs didn't line up to secure midfielder Sam Docherty, who nominated Carlton as his preferred club and got there for pick No.33.
Likewise, Karnezis made his wish to join Collingwood clear and was not disappointed, despite brief interest from North Melbourne.
The 21-year-old, exchanged for forward Jackson Paine, was one of only two players to join the Lions in the last three weeks, with premiership ruckman Trent West also crossing from Geelong.
Trade deadline day as it happened
Perhaps the people most disappointed with the player exodus they have just witnessed are Daniel Rich, Jack Redden and Tom Rockliff.
The heavy lifters in the Lions' midfield, they would have been anticipating the emergence of Polec, Docherty and Yeo, and the relief it would have provided.
Now, they will be joined by a new group of teenagers, who will take time to develop before making significant contributions to the Lions' midfield.
That, however, is not guaranteed as new coach Justin Leppitsch starts building with a new group.
