Sydney coach John Longmire didn’t have a large role in the club’s targeting of Joe Daniher, saying he only spoke with the forward towards the end of the trade period.
The Bombers star requested a trade to the Swans, but was unable to reach his destination, with Essendon choosing to hold him to his contract.
“We put what we thought was a good offer forward and that didn’t get it done, Essendon obviously wanted some younger players that we had and we weren’t prepared to do that,” Longmire told SEN Breakfast.
“We were working until the last minutes of the trade period trying to work out how to get it done because he was a contracted player.
“(I only had conversations with Daniher) late in the process. I didn’t need to sit down and get to know Joe, I got to know Joe before he made the decision to go to Essendon, when he had a chance to come to Sydney.
“Joe made the call that he was interested in coming to us, but I didn’t have to sit down and get to know him, I knew him from a long time ago.”
Longmire was coy when asked whether the Swans would pursue Daniher again in 2020.
“My focus is on the here and now and the players we’ve got – others can look after that,” he said.