I would be grateful for any information about the order in which the process occurs. Lynch would be worth a bit, but I assume he would be accepting less than his market value to play for Richmond, and as I understand it the compensation awarded to the former club is based on the contract awarded by the destination club. Can Gold Coast work out (or be given) information about the compensation they will receive before deciding whether to match the offer and force a trade?
I realise this is all probably moot because it seems to be accepted that Gold Coast will wind up with picks 2 and 3 irrespective of where Lynch goes, but I feel like a true decision about whether or not to match an offer to a restricted free agent would require more solid information.
For what it is worth, I think free agency should involve the compensation coming from the draft picks (including future draft picks) of the destination club, determined by an independent arbitrator (in this case forcing Richmond, if they are the destination club, to provide three or four first and second round picks from this year and next to Gold Coast). As it stands, Richmond get Lynch and every other club compensates Gold Coast, which is absurd.