Carlton has responded to comments from delisted forward Josh Deluca, who suggested the club moved on from him, despite telling him they would extend his contract.
According to Deluca, this was part of his decision to make the move from Perth to Melbourne to join the Blues, assuming he would be there longer than just six months after he was picked up in the mid-season draft.
He told SEN Breakfast that he was “devastated” when he was given the news of his delisting.
“100% (I thought I’d have a list spot in 2020). I was pretty devastated and shocked because I thought I was in a better position than what I found out to be,” he said.
“I would have loved the opportunity to get a pre-season in and have a good crack at it next year, even if that was just a one-year contract.
“I’m pretty sure we’d spoken about it earlier before getting drafted. It’s a big move (from Perth to Melbourne) and I’m not really keen on a six-month gig and they were pretty reassuring that it wouldn’t be.
“I was pretty flat to hear when that result came back and circumstances had changed.”
Carlton football boss Brad Lloyd backed the club’s decision to move on from Deluca at the club’s online member forum earlier this week.
“When we draft a player we always look at it as a long-term decision hoping they will be at the club as a long-term player,” Lloyd said.
“Josh was no different to this and we drafted him with this in mind. In saying this, we would never commit to a player beyond their contracted period.”
“Josh made the trip across from Perth with the opportunity to continue his AFL career, he did a good job but unfortunately was not able to secure a more permanent position on our playing list.”
Deluca played the final six games of the 2019 season for the Blues.