Sydney held secret talks with Kurt Tippett. Picture: Phil Hillyard Source: The Daily Telegraph
SYDNEY kick-started secret negotiations with Kurt Tippett's management as early as mid-August last year in a bid to lure the Adelaide star.
Sydney coach John Longmire yesterday revealed that while the club met with Tippett only after the Grand Final, the initial overtures started much earlier.
In mid-August, as Tippett struggled with concussion, he postponed contract discussions as he tossed up the idea of heading home to Queensland.
It was then that Sydney struck, eventually pulling off a heist that again enhanced its reputation as the best list manager in the business.
"Towards the back end of the year when he had those discussions and put things on hold, (chief executive) Andrew Ireland called and made the inquiry," Longmire said.
"We went up there on the Monday after the Grand Final and from that, then thought we had a real chance, and things went well for us."
Tippett would choose Sydney on October 7, and Adelaide's salary-cap dramas meant the Swans had to give up only a pre-season pick for the key forward.
Longmire launched a staunch defence of the club's cost-of-living allowance of 9.8 per cent, currently being reviewed by the AFL. And he said talk Tippett was a luxury after the Swans' premiership ignored the club's list profile.
"We are continually looking at our list, and when you look at our key-position stocks, Sam Reid played in a premiership at 20. (Mike) Pyke keeps improving and he has done a really good job, but he is 28. Lewis Roberts Thomson is 29.
"So we looked at the list demographics and thought he was a really good fit.
"We can throw him into the ruck and I think with 80 interchange next year, you will need that flexibility in your team."
Tippett must serve an 11-match suspension, and Longmire admits it will be a challenge to keep him mentally fresh.
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