New questions have been raised over North Melbourne’s handling of the Nick Blakey trade after premiership star Jasmine Gardner admitted the club’s AFLW team is still dealing with “a bit of mixed emotions”.
The Kangaroos sent multiple draft picks to Sydney last week in exchange for Blakey, saying they are “very comfortable” with the decision despite a pending police investigation into the alleged Pullman Hotel scandal.
Blakey had five years remaining on his Swans deal, but requested a trade following a fracturing of his relationship with the club.
He was one of five Sydney players who served a club-imposed ban through the AFL finals for breaching the Swans’ behavioural standards at the Pullman Hotel in East Melbourne.
The players’ punishment was separate to an ongoing Victoria Police investigation into an alleged sexual assault at the hotel.
No charges have been laid, and there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing.
In his first public statement since the scandal erupted, the 26-year-old offered an apology.
“I want to say that I’m sorry for the events that led up to my exit from Sydney,” Blakey said in a statement from North Melbourne.
“I know I have to win back the trust of the broader community, football and otherwise.
“Now I have the opportunity to move forward and I want to thank North Melbourne for helping me find a fresh start.”
In an at-times cagey press conference last week, list boss Brady Rawlings said he was not in the meeting where the trade was raised with North’s AFLW leaders.
“But clearly we’ve got Nick in through the door ... so clearly our leaders are comfortable (with) everything that’s going on,” he added.
Garner has now exposed that as less than the whole truth.
“Yeah, obviously decision’s been made (to recruit Blakey), and it’s probably a decision that’s brought on a bit of mixed emotions,” Garner said after her side’s win over Essendon on Sunday.
North Melbourne are the rare AFL club with a female president and CEO (Sonja Hood and Jen Watt respectively) while they have also led the way integrating their AFLW program and building a powerhouse dual premiership team.
The Roos have also previously sacked a men’s player (Tarryn Thomas) following a league ban for inappropriate behaviour towards women — a topic that proved thorny during Rawlings’ press conference.
While there is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Blakey and no findings have been made against him, the AFLW team is nonetheless still coming to terms with the trade.
“It’s something we’re working through as a group, and for us, we’re really backing in the leadership of Jen and Sonja,” said Garner, standing alongside her AFLW coach and long-time club great Darren Crocker.
“For us as well, like obviously we know we’ve got finals to play. We’ve got a big few weeks to play, so we also want to focus on that and our performance.
“But yeah it’s definitely a decision that brings a lot of mixed emotions.”
Asked directly if she felt they were ‘consulted enough as a team’ before the decision, Garner repeated: “It’s probably one that we’re still probably working through but, yeah, we were spoken to and at the end of the day I think we’re backing in Jen and Sonja and their leadership.”
In his press conference after the trade, Rawlings would not detail what assurances, if any, he received from Blakey about his behaviour.
“What I speak with Nick is between me and him,” he told reporters.
“You probably saw though the media release that he’s got a level of remorse about his involvement and being out late.”
Blakey met with Geelong, St Kilda and Gold Coast, but had his head turned by North’s eight-year offer, worth more than $11 million.
Asked about his message to any club members who may be upset about Blakey’s recruitment, Rawlings pointed to other clubs’ willingness to trade for him.
“I think our members would have a lot of faith in our leadership at the club,” he said.
“Sonja, Jen and (football boss) Todd (Viney) have been massive for this club over the last few years and our board has endorsed everything.”
Blakey played 173 games for Sydney after arriving at the Swans as an academy product with pick No.10 in the 2018 draft.
He was also eligible to join North Melbourne or Brisbane as a father-son selection through his dad John, who played 224 games for the Kangaroos, including their 1996 and 1999 premierships.
Blakey’s acquisition could mark a step forward for North under new coach Jaymie Graham, after previous failed pursuits of stars such as Dustin Martin, Jordan De Goey and Isaac Heeney.
“It’s been well documented for many years we’ve probably struggled to get a player of this calibre through,” Rawlings said.
“Hopefully it opens the doors for many more signings in future years.”
— with AAP