The Adelaide Crows have secured talented Carlton forward Troy Menzel in a trade for Sam Kerridge and a second round draft selection.
Menzel is a trade period bonus for the Crows after being offered as part of a mega-deal to get GWS players Lachie Plowman, Liam Sumner, Andrew Phillips and Jed Lamb to Carlton.
Menzel, 21, grew up in South Australia before being recruited with pick number 11 in the 2012 national draft, going on to kick 47 goals in 40 games with the Blues.
Menzel said he was excited by the opportunity to continue his AFL career at Adelaide.
“As I kid I dreamed of playing for the Crows so to, hopefully, pull on the jumper one day will be an amazing feeling,” Menzel said.
“I’d like to thank the Carlton Football Club and all the Blues fans for their support over the past few years.
“I’ll always be grateful to the club for drafting me and giving me the chance to play AFL footy.
“I had a pretty frustrating year and wasn’t able to play the consistent footy that I would’ve liked.
“I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into pre-season and earning the respect of all the boys and the coaches here at Adelaide.”
Crows head of football David Noble said the club was thrilled to secure a player of Menzel’s talent.
“Troy was a first-round draft pick only a few years ago,” Noble said.
“He’s played some exciting footy at AFL level and, at only 21 years of age, has plenty of scope for improvement.
“Troy will add another dimension to our dynamic forward and midfield lines and we think he can develop the flexibility to play in other positions.
“It’s always nice to be able to bring a South Aussie home too.”
Supporters are divided about the value of the deal to Carlton, but former Port Adelaide champion Kane Cornes has no doubts about which club would be the winner.
Cornes took to Twitter to say that offloading Menzel would be “crazy” for Carlton.
“He’s their most talented player,” Cornes wrote.
Meanwhile, the longest-running saga of the trade period is over with Essendon and St Kilda finally striking a deal over the Bombers’ key position player Jake Carlisle.
Carlisle, 24, will line up in St Kilda’s defence from next season after Essendon agreed to a three-way deal to trade away one of their brightest talents.
The Bombers secured pick No.5 and Sydney’s Craig Bird in the three-way deal which also involved an exchange of lower draft selections with St Kilda and the Swans.
In another twist today, Collingwood has been embarrassed by the leak online of a video of GWS midfielder Adam Treloar apparently “signing” his paperwork to seal a trade to the Magpie.
However, the trade hasn’t yet gone ahead.
“It’s been a tough decision, but one that I am at peace with,” Treloar tells the camera in the three-minute clip.
“I think it is the best decision for myself and my family, and I can’t wait to get stuck into the pre-season and run out in round one in front of hopefully 90,000 people.”
The trade for the 22-year-old has yet to be concluded between the two AFL clubs, though both expect it will be done before Thursday’s 2pm deadline.
Collingwood was blaming a mis-step in the AFL’s online department, with Magpies media manager Stephen Reilly saying the club had communicated its frustration to the league.
“We sat down with (Treloar) late Friday afternoon (for the filming), thinking that the deal would probably go through on the Saturday or some time over the weekend,” Reilly said on Triple M.
“It appears the system itself … has been hacked or breached in some way, and someone has found the file and posted a link to it in the early hours of this morning.”
Treloar’s move had already ruffled feathers at the Giants after the midfielder was revealed to had undertaken surgery on his troublesome groin, reportedly without either club’s knowledge.
The video shows Treloar with his partner, Chelsea, signing his paperwork while he waxes lyrical on the club’s playing list and coach Nathan Buckley.
“He coached me back in under 16s and he was just great,” he said.
“The way he taught us to go about it, I got along super well with him … I can’t wait to work with him again.”
Treloar also revealed a close relationship with Magpies skipper Scott Pendlebury that dates back to his first season.
Collingwood won their first meeting with the Giants, in round 18 of the 2012 season, by 120 points but Treloar racked up 37 possessions in a powerhouse performance.
“He was playing on me, and I don’t know why but he told me where to run, and I ran and I got the footy,” he said.
“When I made my decision he was one of the first people I spoke to, he’s been great for me already and I can’t wait to play with him.”
– with AAP
