Essendon list boss Adrian Dodoro has conceded Joe Daniher wasn’t traded to Sydney during the 2019 trade period largely because of the scarcity of top-line key forwards in the competition.
After the Bombers held the 26-year-old to the final year of his contract in 2020, Daniher opted to join Brisbane as a restricted free agent and leave the club 12 months after requesting a trade to the Swans.
Speaking about his dealings with Sydney, Dodoro said the trade – which would’ve seen Essendon gain two first round draft picks – ultimately fell through because the Swans didn’t receive pick nine from Carlton in a deal which would’ve seen Tom Papley move to the Blues.
“The first thing is we wanted to retain Joey (last year) and we wanted to retain him this year,” he said on SEN’s Dwayne’s World.
“We fought really hard to keep him, he’s a fabulous player, I know he’s had his injury issues and he himself has probably come under unfair criticism for not being on the park.
“The offer (Sydney) gave us (last year) was reliant on pick nine coming from Carlton and that pick never came anyway.
“The bottom line is we wanted to keep him last year and the Swans weren’t willing to give us what we wanted.”
Daniher has struggled with a persistent groin injury in recent seasons, but at his best has proven himself to be one of the most damaging forwards in the game.
While lamenting Daniher’s decision to leave Essendon during the recently-completed free agency period and head to the Lions, Dodoro said he was happy to move on and look forward to the 2021 season.
“The deal wasn’t done because we wanted to keep him, key position talls are hard to find and that’s why (we drafted multiple talls this year),” he said.
“This year he had the whip hand because he was a restricted free agent, at the end of the day we got a top 10 draft pick and we all move on.”