“WE’LL do the right thing for the Carlton Football Club.”
Carlton’s GM of List Management and Strategy Stephen Silvagni said it was full steam ahead at Ikon Park.
Following the conclusion of the Telstra AFL Trade Period on Wednesday night, attention now turns to pre-season and the NAB AFL Draft which begins on Wednesday 27 November.
Silvagni spoke on SEN Breakfast this morning, addressing the situations surrounding Jack Martin and Tom Papley.
When quizzed about the Club’s “plan B”, Silvagni said the talent pool had Carlton confident of welcoming even more exciting talent through the door.
“The contingency plan was always going to the draft with pick No.9,” Silvagni said.
List Manager Michael Agresta provided insight into Jack Martin discussions, while also commenting on Tom Papley and the upcoming draft.#BoundByBlue
— Carlton FC (@CarltonFC) October 17, 2019
“There’s still a free agency period, there’s still a pre-season draft, a national draft.
“We’re really excited… we know we’re going to get a really good player and exciting player with pick No.9 going into the NAB AFL Draft.”
After Papley and Martin signalled their intentions to be Carlton players in 2020, trades couldn’t be reached with Sydney and Gold Coast respectively before the 7:30pm deadline.
While Silvagni said there was “an element of disappointment”, he said no stone had been left unturned on both deals.
“Tom Papley made it clear that he would have liked to come to the Carlton Football Club, and the same with Jack Martin,” he said.
“In Tom’s situation, it’s always difficult to get a player through who’s contracted… the Swans have that final say.
“With Jack, we thought we put a really good deal to Gold Coast but they knocked it back.”
“We were able to get a couple of players through in Marc Pittonet and also Eddie Betts, which we’re really excited about.”
Looking forward to the draft in just over a month’s time, Silvagni said there was plenty of reason for excitement.
“For all Carlton supporters, what we select at pick No.9 — you’ll be really happy with,” he said.
“The top end of the draft is really exciting. We’re in a really strong position to be able to get players in the future, whether that’s through draft or trade.
“We’ll see what comes off lists and assess our own list: we’re really comfortable where our list is at, we think it’s a really talented list.”