Collingwood today agreed on the terms of a trade with Greater Western Sydney that will see 20 year-old mid-fielder Taylor Adams join the club in exchange for defender Heath Shaw.
The acquisition of Adams, a first round selection (No. 13) out of Victoria in the 2011 National Draft, means that Collingwood has introduced four first round draftees to its list in the last 12 months, with two more to arrive via next month’s draft.
Collingwood National Recruiting Manager, Derek Hine, will take selections No. 6 and No. 10 to the Gold Coast, where the 2013 national draft will be conducted on November 21.
“Taylor is a player a lot of clubs thought highly of when GWS picked him initially, and a player a lot of clubs were interested in when it became apparent this year that, for family reasons, he wanted to return to Victoria,” Hine said.
“He comes to us with a deserved reputation for being strong in the contest, a talented stoppage player who has great endurance. Importantly, we feel there is a lot of development in his game still to emerge.
“All things being equal, Taylor should have a long and distinguished career in black and white.”
Adams said that after waiting weeks for the green light on his move to come, he was relieved and “absolutely stoked”.
“The word was that it would happen but the clock was counting down and until it is done there is always doubt,” said Adams, who also wanted to thank the Giants for giving him his start and acknowledge the friendships he made in his time in Blacktown.
Collingwood also recruited Sydney's Jesse White on Monday.
“The Giants put two years into me and helped me enormously and with some really close friends at the club there will always be a part of me that wishes the club well.
“It was really a decision based on a desire to be closer to my family and friends and the idea of playing for a big club in Melbourne. I met the coaches and saw the facilities and knew then I wanted to be a part of it. I couldn’t be happier.”
Just as Adams nominated Collingwood as his preferred destination, Shaw had indicated a preference to join the fledgling Giants, where players of his experience are required to shepherd a callow group through to AFL maturity.
Find out which selections Collingwood will take into next month's National Draft.
Shaw leaves the club his father and uncle both captained after playing 173 matches across 10 seasons, a decade that included a premiership in 2010, three grand finals and three top five Copeland Trophy finishes in his first five senior seasons.
Senior coach Nathan Buckley wished ‘Heater’ well.
“Heath brought passion and heart to everything he did at Collingwood. I hope he’s proud of what he achieved here. He should be,” Buckley said.
“Heath will always be a Collingwood premiership player and hopefully the opportunity to build something almost from the ground up with the Giants will see him recapture his best.”
The Magpies received pick No. 11 as compensation for the loss of Dale Thomas, but later sent it to West Coast along with a host of picks in a deal that saw them receive pick six.
The deal means that Collingwood can add the 20-year-old Adams, who was originally a first-round draft choice, to its two selections inside the top 10 of the November National Draft.
The Magpies will have selections six and No. 10 in the draft. They were also awarded selection No. 11 as compensation for the loss of free agent Dale Thomas but the club opted to send the pick to West Coast along with picks No. 31 and No. 49 in exchange for selections six and No. 44.
Pick No. 44 was then on-traded to Sydney in exchange for Jesse White.
By the end of the National Draft, Collingwood will have added six first-round draft selections to its list in the past two years.
In 2012, the club drafted Brodie Grundy (pick No. 18), Ben Kennedy (pick No. 19) and Tim Broomhead (pick No. 20) and, after recruiting Adams, who was drafted by the Giants at pick No. 13 in 2011, stands to add two more high quality players to the mix next month.
Shaw-Adams deal confirmed
Collingwood has acquired Greater Western Sydney's Taylor Adams in a straight swap for premiership defender Heath Shaw.