I’m not going to rip a young bloke who wants to go home to be closer to his family. The draft prioritises the league and clubs over the agency of young players, and if in four years the club fails to offer an incentive to stay greater than the pull to go home, then I reckon the clubs have an obligation to help the player get back home.
I don’t think I could even find it in my heart to pantomime boo him when he comes back to play Freo.
Of course, all of that changes if Cerra’s management doesn’t at least try to ensure Freo is appropriately compensated, but with a few clubs interested I suspect Freo will get something reasonable in return. It probably won’t be equal value, but that’s the risk you take picking kids from Melbourne.
I'm not sure what will be more painful: Bell posturing in the media for the next few months, or Sumich going on about how we should have picked Naughton in the 2017 draft instead.
