Essendon president Paul Brasher has slammed “unprofessional” comments made by GWS football boss Jason McCartney about his club’s conduct during the trade period.
McCartney was left frustrated with the Bombers over their pursuit of Giants midfielder Jye Caldwell.
“The Caldwell one was a millimetre away from not getting done either,” he told The Sydney Morning Herald.
“That’s Essendon: Target a player, high quality, get him in the door, and then not (be) prepared to stump up the price to actually facilitate the deal.”
Brasher accused McCartney of “sour grapes” for losing Caldwell in a deal that saw the Giants secure pick 29 and a future-round selection in exchange.
“We’re really, we’re disappointed with (not getting) Josh Dunkley, we’re happy we’ve got three good players you know I think will be ready to go and make an impact,” Brasher told The Age.
“I think Adrian (Dodoro) and his team have done a great job, we’ve got (picks) 6, 7 and 8 going into the draft and we’ll use those. I was really annoyed to hear him criticised externally.
“I thought it was sour grapes and I thought it was unprofessional and it was a bit like, you know, the kid going home and crying to mum that the other kid didn’t play fair – in fact, the deal he complained about is exactly the deal he ended up doing .
“I don’t know how you explain that. I can’t.”
Caldwell played 11 games for the Giants after he was selected with pick 11 in the 2018 AFL Draft.