Paul Roos slams 'bonehead' Hawthorn move as Tom Barrass' AFL future plunged into doubt
The Swans legend says rival clubs will now think twice before engaging in business with the Hawks.
Legendary Swans coach Paul Roos has slammed Hawthorn's move to cut negotiations with West Coast at the last minute and instead do a deal with Carlton, stating they acted in bad faith. The Hawks last week threw a major curve ball by stopping dealings with the Eagles over a deal for their star player Tom Barrass. Reports suggested the club got tired of waiting for West Coast to pull the trigger on the move so they decided to do other business in the meantime.
Carlton are understood to have came from the clouds to snap up Hawthorn's pick 14 in exchange for the Blues' future first and second-round picks, a move that left deals for Barrass and Richmond's Liam Baker in limbo. The Eagles reportedly intended on using the Hawks' pick they'd been offered to secure a deal with Richmond that would allow Baker to move west.
But now with Wednesday night's trade deadline fast approaching it appears possible that Barrass will be denied his wish to move to the Hawks, which would be an incredibly bad look for the club, while where Baker lands is unclear. And Roos says the club's risky trade business dealings could come back to haunt them in the future when clubs decide to not deal with them.
"This is a slap in the face from Hawthorn. They’re going, ‘F you, we’re going to get him anyway’," Roos told the ABC AFL Daily podcast. "If Hawthorn misses out on Barrass it’s a bonehead decision, an absolute bonehead decision.
"It stains them with the managers. This is what people don’t understand. If Hawthorn doesn’t do the deal for Barrass, let me tell you, the next time a Hawthorn person rings up (to discuss) a player who’s contracted, let me tell you what the discussion is going to be: ‘Not interested’.
"Some clubs are really easy to deal with, and the managers know that. The managers dictate when players will go and where they go. This is a stain on the Hawthorn Football Club if the Barrass deal doesn't get done by Wednesday."
The Hawks are currently trying to put another trade package together to satisfy the Eagles for their star, who has made it clear he wants a move to Hawthorn. The Hawks are running low on picks and according to reports, their latest offer is a future first-round and a future second-round pick in exchange for Barrass and the Eagles’ future third-round pick. It is unclear if that will be enough to get it over the line though.
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Liam Baker's move to West Australia edges closer
It appears all but certain that Baker will call West Australia home in 2025, with West Coast Eagles still favourite to secure his services but Fremantle haven't given up hope of poaching him. It was speculated last week that the Eagles’ failure to secure the Hawks' No. 14 pick had opened the door for Fremantle to try and snatch Baker up from under the Eagles' nose.
The Dockers are reportedly willing to part with Picks 10, 11 and 18 in a double deal with Richmond for Baker and star forward Shai Bolton. But AFL Media journalist Cal Twomey reports Baker is still likely to land at West Coast.
“Things are progressing on a deal for Baker at the Eagles,” Twomey told AFL Trade Radio. “He still wants to get to West Coast, despite seeing a spanner in the works with the Hawthorn deal (with Carlton) last week. I think we’ll see some progress on that over the next 24 hours.”
