Whereas the police investigation into the Pullman hotel incident has conceivably cost Isaac Heeney millions of dollars via loss of sponsors, Nick Blakey has garnered millions from the Pullman imbroglio.
It’s a strange economy, the AFL.
At the least, Blakey will be paid an extra $400,000 or more per season over the next five years by dint of his move south to North. And he has added a further three years on the same kind of remuneration, becoming one of the highest-paid players in the competition, at least until Tasmania arrives.
How does a player who found himself in strife – and suspended by the Swans alongside four teammates for breach of standards and professional conduct – end up profiting from his mistake (aside from some sharp work by his agent)?
There are many subplots to North Melbourne’s successful pursuit of Blakey, the father-son recruit whom they’ve landed eight years after he preferred the Swans, where his father John had worked under another Shinboner John Longmire.
North has overpaid Blakey in pure dollar terms, at close to $12 million over eight years, although North believes Blakey would have earned the same amount elsewhere. As they acknowledge, North had to go hard to get the player and could not be under-bidders for the first genuine A-grader in his mid-career to join them since the dawn of the millennium.
On the draft front, one could argue that North has paid slight unders for Blakey, relative to the asking price for uninjured all-Australians, since future picks are devalued by Tasmania. The caveat is that the Pullman incident is not yet resolved, legally or by the AFL, and North has been willing to take on the risk in the event that their prized recruit is charged.
To navigate the Blakey deal and minimise the risks of any fallout or wrinkle, the Kangaroos took the following steps:
1. They asked Blakey for his version of events at the Pullman. From what this column has gathered, they then cross-checked that version with other parties.
2. Consulted the AFL about acquiring Blakey, considering the massive outlay and the unusual circumstances of his exit. It is a safe assumption that if the league had misgivings, he would not be headed to his dad’s old team.
3. Chief executive Jenn Watt, head of football Todd Viney and head of strategy Erin Lorenzini addressed the whole AFLW team and fielded questions last Friday when North emerged as the frontrunner. The W players were pleased to have that communication from the hierarchy.
4. Staff, too, were sounded out by the club hierarchy.
The Blakey camp are privately confident that he will not be stood down by the AFL, irrespective of what transpires in the police investigation and whether charges are laid.
Blakey’s desire for a trade – North list boss Brady Rawlings used the word “disgruntlement” on Tuesday after the deal was completed with the Swans – derived from his view that he had not been handled fairly by the red and whites in the aftermath of the Pullman detonation.
It was notable that whereas clubs usually make statements about their player being “required” and only available for a ludicrous trade offer, the Swans were largely silent on the Blakey front in the days leading into the trade period and during it. This was read – correctly – as a sign that they were willing to sacrifice him for a fair deal.
Heeney and Chad Warner, the other stars facing the investigation, had not explored trades. Warner will be a free agent and target for West Coast and maybe the Wharfie-timers next year.
The difference between Blakey and Heeney is Blakey’s financial gain derives purely from his football skills and availability. Heeney’s losses stem from dents to an exalted image.
When the prospect of North chasing Blakey was first mooted post-Pullman, it was speculated in the industry that North’s female leadership of CEO Watt and president Sonja Hood might hold objections to the notion of recruiting a player who had found himself in a police investigation of sexual assault allegations, alongside three teammates (Riley Bice is only a witness for police).
But today one can argue that North’s unique position of having women at the helm has helped them in acquiring Blakey, and in making their case internally for his recruitment. Hood and Watt provide a measure of cultural cover for the club in making the raid.
List boss Brady Rawlings was quizzed repeatedly on Tuesday about how North had navigated their Blakey hunt and especially the “what ifs” of a suspension and/or police charges.
The media conference, which had been more about cultural issues and risk assessment than the need for a fast rebounder, concluded following a question that raised the topic of Tarryn Thomas’s termination by the same club in 2024. The club’s media boss terminated the inquisition on that note.
The questions underscored how the process of recruiting Nick Blakey was marked by the more complicated considerations that AFL clubs confront, just as the Swans’ decision to suspend the five was heavily skewed by non-football factors, such as their fan base, demographics and position in the Sydney market.
Yet for all the changing football mores, the deal came down to one of the AFL’s immutable ways: The gun players are treated differently.
Get around our footy coverage
Jake Niall is a Walkley award-winning sports journalist and chief AFL writer for The Age.Connect via X or email.
