Quite literally, he was driven to drink, after a trade from St Kilda back to Fremantle - where he started his AFL career - could not be consummated in time.
So a few guts will be churning throughout Thursday night and into Friday ahead of the 2pm AEDT finish to the Gillette AFL Trade Period.
As expected, a handful of deals went through on Thursday; a sort of clearing the decks exercise ahead of Friday's pre-deadline flurry. Greg Broughton (Fremantle to Gold Coast), Jordan Russell (Carlton to Collingwood), Tom Young (Collingwood to Western Bulldogs), David Rodan (Port Adelaide to Melbourne) and Lewis Stevenson (West Coast to Port Adelaide) all changed clubs on a busy day.
Click here to watch video highlights of every traded player
For others, the anxiety continues. Pass the antacids.
CAM PEDERSEN: Has been reportedly Melbourne bound from North Melbourne pretty much from the time the trade period started three weeks ago, yet still no deal. Can the Demons find the suitable pick to finalise the trade?
STEFAN MARTIN: The Melbourne swingman flew to Brisbane and got the all clear from the Lions, but the haggling continues. The Demons would like pick 33 for him, but the Lions don't believe that's his worth. This deal could happen quickly on Friday once the teams meet face to face, or fall down entirely.
JAMIE CRIPPS and MITCH BROWN: Cripps wants to return home to join West Coast, while Brown would like to be released from the last year of his contract with the Eagles to become St Kilda's full-back of the next few years. But until Thursday, it appeared that if there were to be deals to bring this to fruition, they wouldn't be lined with each other. Now, the Saints have reportedly offered Cripps and pick 25 to the Eagles for Brown. It is a deal that's been described as "fair" by Brown's manager Liam Pickering, but apparently not so by the Eagles. We agree with Pickering: it is fair and it should get done on Friday.
STEPHEN GILHAM: Might be the fallback for the Saints if the Brown deal doesn't get done. Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney showed some interest but have reportedly cooled off. But Gilham at least fills a hole for the next year or two while the Saints develop their own key defenders.
CALE MORTON: The Eagles will likely get him with a low drat pick, which is dirt cheap when you consider he was the fourth selection overall by Melbourne in the 2007 NAB AFL National Draft. The go-home factor never hurts, with Josh Hill, who enjoyed an excellent year with West Coast in his first year there after crossing from the Western Bulldogs, providing the template for that.
BEN JACOBS: Still hoping to get to North from Port Adelaide, but still not there. Expect it to happen by the deadline.
AARON EDWARDS: The high-flying North Melbourne forward - who will ever forget his hanger in the 2007 semi-final? - will become a Richmond player on Friday.
JOSH TOY: The Gold Coast teen wants to get back to Victoria. Hawthorn, Essendon and the Bulldogs are reportedly keen although his manager Liam Pickering said on Trade Week Radio on Thursday that he wasn't overly optimistic that a deal would get done.
KURT TIPPETT: The big one. He should be a Swans player by 2pm Friday, although there is now the real possibility of sanctions for the Crows given the deal they forged to keep him three years ago, and sanctions for his management company for its part in the arrangement. Tippett might not be spared either and faces the possibility of being deregistered. The outcome of the AFL investigation probably won't be known by Friday so the Swans will be flying blind to a degree, committing to a player who may be required to miss some games next year.
Trade wrap: 1 day to go
You can follow AFL Media senior writer Ashley Browne on Twitter @afl_hashbrowne.
