Adelaide are prepared to match St Kilda's contract offer to AFL restricted free agent Brad Crouch unless they receive pick No.2 as compensation, forcing the Saints to trade for the midfielder.
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Unless St Kilda table a blockbuster contract offer to Crouch, the Crows are more likely to be offered an end-of-first-round draft pick as compensation than pick No.2 - the selection immediately after their first draft pick.
Adelaide head of football Adam Kelly said a later pick didn't reflect Crouch's value and the Crows were prepared to retain the midfielder if they couldn't agree on a trade.
"We're obviously hopeful the compensation would be resulting in pick two, and it's really only under those circumstances that we would not consider matching and looking to force a trade or retain Brad's services," Kelly told AFL Trade Radio on Wednesday.
"Fortunately, in this situation, Brad's been fairly open about his love of Adelaide and of the footy club, so we don't think it would be a scenario where the player would not be wanting to come back to the club, so we would certainly look to match if it's not resulting in pick two.
"We'll be certainly looking for a better outcome than what that compensation would be if it's not pick two, because it would be end of first round or (the start of the) second round, which given our ladder position is effectively the same thing.
"So that pick itself could push out to the mid-20s after all the Next Generation Academy (bids) ... we don't see that as adequate compensation for a player of Brad's calibre, so we'd certainly be looking at matching."
Kelly said the Crows' "primary objective" was to secure an early draft pick for Crouch but they would be "open-minded" about trades involving players.
Crouch is suspended for the first two rounds of next season after being caught in possession of an illicit drug, believed to be cocaine, in late September.
His brother Matt will be a free agent at the end of next season and Kelly said the Crows were working to extend his contract.
Kelly confirmed full-back Daniel Talia, who is contracted to the end of next season, was a "required player" at Adelaide.
The Crows will work to secure a trade for GWS youngster Jackson Hately but look all but out of the race for Essendon's Orazio Fantasia, with Kelly saying they hadn't spoken to the forward "for a few weeks now".
Australian Associated Press
