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‘Made it really clear’: Cats hit back over Butters miss as boss opens up on next trade targets
Geelong footy boss Andrew Mackie says he’s not sure where the club’s pursuit of Zak Butters went wrong, claiming the Cats were prepared to do “whatever it took” in a trade for the star free agent.that the Dogs were more open and realistic than Geelong in talks for a deal to compensate Port after the Cats were seen as the frontrunners.
WHAT'S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au. It’s believed Butters would’ve leaned towards joining Geelong, but the Dogs’ greater willingness to strike a deal and an improved offer made them the preferred destination.
Mackie says the Cats were “really thankful” they got a chance to speak with Butters and put themselves in position to land him. Geelong’s head of footy suggested the idea that there was a breakdown between the club and Port Adelaide was “a non issue on our end”.
“We drove up to Zak’s management and made it really clear we would do, from a trade point of view, anything within reason that Port Adelaide wanted to do,” Mackie said on AFL Trade Radio. “I’m confident a deal would’ve gotten done, we made that really clear to Peter and his team. “We had our financial parameters that, in the end, we stuck to. Whether that was right or wrong, time will tell.
It gives us flexibility going forward.
“We’ve got some guys we think have a lot more upside on our list we might need to pay going into the future. Which is important for us. ”While Mackie wouldn’t go into private conversations, he said the club had reason to believe it was a “good chance” of landing Butters.
“In the end, he chose the Bulldogs. Whether it was the doubling down on the offer that then meant the nostalgic sort of reasons got real for Zak. There’s every chance that’s exactly what happened ... we do wish him well,” Mackie said.
“I haven’t debriefed with Zak about it. He’s a star player, we would’ve loved to have had him. But he wants to go to the Bulldogs and we wish them all well. ” The mega funds freed up allow Geelong to go big-fish hunting for other stars due to come out of contract in 2027, having already been linked to the likes of Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and Matt Rowell.
Mackie said the club had already turned its attention to starting talks for another gun that could become available down the line.
“Yeah, those talks have been happening. I like to think that’s part of what we need to be great at,” he said.
“There’s lots of things that go into doing what Brisbane did on the weekend. Being proactive in this space is one of them. And continuing to be a club that hold ourselves accountable to providing an environment to our players and staff that they’d love to come and thrive.
More urgently, Mackie said a deal for Toby Greene could go through as early as Friday when free agency opens and confirmed the club had offered a future first-round pick to Essendon for Jordan Ridley. Meanwhile, the Cats have had “productive chats” with St Kilda about a trade for Rowan Marshall, who’s contracted for next season, but has been reluctant to include players such as Sam De Koning and Lawson Humphries.
“I’m talking to ‘SOS’ and our clubs are talking, we’ve caught up,” Mackie said. “We’re trying to see how it gets done ... they have wanted a player, we’ll just see what works from their end.
However a potential trade for Swans star Nick Blakey isn’t something Geelong has “sat down and discussed,” despite “some reporting around Nick maybe thinking about us. ” As for his own future, Mackie says he’s “all in” on Geelong right now in a job that’s “too consuming” before he could consider interest from Tasmania to be its inaugural head of football.
“I’m aware of that interest, but I’m all in on doing a job for the Geelong footy club and what we need to be doing,” he said. “This is the window in the year where you set up your footy department, playing list and staff. I must admit, there’s no time for anything else at the minute. ”“Just have a good think.
I’ve got a family of six you need to think about,” he said.
“But this is a special place, special footy club, special people. I just haven’t had , with the season and everything that goes into this job and what happens post the season — and our VFL played in the grand final a week longer than our AFL — so cleaning up the exits for players and staff is important.
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