What they said: Austin wraps up trade period

Nick Austin speaks on Carlton’s business at the 2023 Continental Tyres Trade Period.

Head of List Management Nick Austin wrapped up the Continental Tyres Trade Period with two pieces of deadline-day business that first confirmed Paddy Dow’s departure to St. Kilda before welcoming Elijah Hollands to Carlton.

With three deals completed (including Zac Fisher’s move to North Melbourne), the Blues generated an extra pick inside the top 30 of this year’s draft while also holding three picks in the fourth round of the 2024 draft.

This is what Austin had to say when speaking to the media last night.

“They’re really happy, the boys. It’s great for them to play football together. Elijah left for Caulfield Grammar when Ollie was quite young, and Ollie was at Geelong Grammar when Elijah got drafted to the Gold Coast. 

“They haven’t spent a whole lot of time together as brothers, so they’re really happy to be reunited and to play some football together.”

“Craig [Cameron] touched on it the other day, the opportunity first of all but he’s out being played out of position as a bit more on the wing at the Gold Coast due to their spine. 

“We definitely see him as that forward-half player who can push through the midfield. That’s an area we’d like to keep bolstering and we think Elijah is going to help us.”

On Hollands’ fitness:

“Elijah’s an elite runner, naturally. He can certainly go to another level we believe, and he would say the same thing. He’s naturally a strong runner, so we’ll look to keep building on that and add to that mix.”

“We had really good chats with Paddy and his management throughout the course of this year, and even last year, to be fair. Paddy clearly wanted the opportunity and it’s good that he’s going to get it. We would’ve loved to have kept him; he did a really good job for us and was really important at the back end of that year.

“For us, we were happy for Paddy to progress his footy. He’s a great kid and a hard worker, he stayed ready and played some good footy. We were happy to help him further his career and hopefully he gets to do that.

On Zac Williams returning to the side in 2024:

“We still see Zac [Williams] as that rebound defender. We certainly missed his ball use at different times and his ability to take the ball off the line. He’ll be welcomed back onto that half-line, for sure.”

On Zac Fisher’s move to North Melbourne (speaking on Trade Radio):

“A bit like Paddy, it was about the opportunity for Zac. He had two years to run on his contract and got offered four; it was a great opportunity.

“He found himself out of our team when the whips were cracking this year, so he’ll play some games there while we get back into the draft, which we were keen to do. It probably works out well for both.”

On the club’s draft strategy, holding picks Nos. 22 and 28:

“The way we look at the draft, the pointy end is so exciting, while outside the top 10–12, it’s pretty even. To get another pick and have two close together, we felt like that was right for us. We’re confident we’ll get some good players there