“These players have been terrific servants of this football and to see them go will be difficult for some supporters but it was simply a matter of doing the sums,” Jackson said. “We had to trade some players and we had to make some ‘value-for-money’ decisions. I have been warning Essendon supporters for three years that this day was coming and I’m sure they understand the situation the club found itself in.”
“This has undoubtedly been one of the most difficult trade periods this club has ever had to deal with and the product of having such a deep and talented list of players. They have demanded and been well rewarded for their efforts. But AFL rules and market forces dictate that you simply can’t keep such a list together – particularly when you have three marquee players in James Hird, Dustin Fletcher and Matthew Lloyd,” Jackson said.
“The decisions made over the past few days have not been taken lightly and this club takes no joy in what has taken place. We do however think that we will be welcoming some excellent new talent to the club and we look forward to further adding to our list at the upcoming draft.
“Through this difficult period and in the cool light of day, I’m certain our members and supporters will see that this club has maintained a list that will be more than competitive in 2003. We are in good hands with the likes of James Hird, Matthew Lloyd, the Johnsons, Scott Lucas, Dean Solomon, Danny Jacobs, Adam Ramanauskas, Joe Misiti, Mark Mercuri, Dustin Fletcher, Sean Wellman and others.
