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AFL trades 2021: No hang ups for Geelong as Jordan Clark makes safe passage to Fremantle Dockers

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Mark DuffieldThe West Australian
Jordan Clark is heading to Freo.
Camera IconJordan Clark is heading to Freo. Credit: Darrian Traynor/via AFL Photos

Geelong list manager Stephen Wells has dismissed reports that an angry phone call was made to him by Jordan Clark as Geelong’s stubborn negotiation threatened to derail his trade to Fremantle.

Clark was finally released to Fremantle in the final hour of the AFL trade period for pick 22, and a future third-round selection, with the Cats softening the trade blow for the Dockers with a future fourth released back to them.

The deal leaves Fremantle with Clark, Will Brodie and a strong draft hand of picks 6, 8, 19, 61 and 69 for next month’s draft and with first and fourth round selections in 2022.

Clark rang Wells to request that the Cats complete the trade. Wells said speculation the phone call became heated was incorrect.

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“No, that did not happen,” he said. “He definitely didn’t hang up on me. He just asked politely if we could get the deal done.

“He wanted to go home to Fremantle. There was nothing at all fiery or newsworthy in that phone call.”

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Wells labelled the deal “a good tough negotiation that Andrew Mackie and David Walls went through, but in the end I think it was fair one for everybody and reflected the value we had on Jordan.”

Fremantle football boss Peter Bell said it was a relief for all but especially for Clark and his family to get the deal done.

“We gave a little more and Geelong accepted a little less from where we were last night. I think both clubs moved a little bit,” Bell said.

Bell said Clark brought “great character and obvious athletic attributes.”

“He has got a real attacking mentality so he should really assist with our ball movement and our speed of ball movement,” he said.

Bell revealed that coach Justin Longmuir had already reached out to Rory Lobb after an aborted attempt on a trade back to GWS and believed the club had salvaged a strong trade position from the loss of Adam Cerra.

“I think from there we have come out of it quite well with another top 10 pick, (and) pick 19 will become quite valuable,” he said. “We are not scared to use that pick if there is a player there that we like but there will be opportunities through the day to look at what other clubs are proposing.”

On Clark he said: “We think he will be a player for us for a long, long time. He has got rare speed endurance mix and we think he will really add to our group.”

Wells said: “We thought the deal reflected the value that we placed on Jordan.”

He labelled Clark a “good young man with great drive and all of the attributes you need to be a good AFL player.”

Asked why things hadn’t worked out for Clark at Geelong Wells said: “We are a hard team to get a game in at the moment. It is not easy to force your way into a team that is contending in the top four regularly. We make no apologies for that. He helped us win some games when he did play but like a lot of players at strong clubs it is hard to get a game.”

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