Carlton’s list management has been placed under the microscope once again, following reports of their interest in young Fremantle midfielder Adam Cerra.
The Blues’ lacklustre season can be surmised by the indifferent form of their big-money recruits Zac Williams and Adam Saad, whose performances have added to the external pressure surrounding the club’s recruiting.
It’s also led Gerard Whateley to question why Carlton would be so keen to spend a reported $750,000 per season in luring Cerra back to Melbourne, who has yet to prove himself as an elite footballer.
“I’m staggered by the money that’s on offer to him,” Whateley said on SEN’s Crunch Time.
“There is surely a rite of passage where there’s an interim contract of around $400,000.
“(Cerra needs to) become that player and then get the dollars, he’s skipping steps because he’s in demand,” Whateley added.
Former Richmond assistant coach Justin Leppitsch agreed with Whateley, and admitted he couldn’t see what Cerra was going to bring to the Blues if he was recruited.
“I’m not saying he’s not going to be a good player, but he doesn’t stand out even in the young Freo brigade’s mix of young kids,” Leppitsch said.
“I would rank him maybe fourth in that little brigade.”
Since 2018, Carlton haven’t had a draft pick inside the top 10, instead preferring to hit the trade and free agency market to bolster their list.
It led SEN Chief Sports Reporter Sam Edmund to question if Carlton had “gone down that path too early, and do they need to go back to the draft now?”
The Blues are now in the midst of an external review covering their entire football department, with list management sure to be heavily looked at.
The outlook of that review could rest heavily on Carlton’s performance this weekend, as they take on the Adelaide Crows at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.