ADELAIDE made its intent to recruit Brad Crouch known as soon as the club traded into the mini-draft last week, but coach Brenton Sanderson was delighted to be on hand to officially welcome the North Ballarat onballer on Monday.
 
The GWS mini-draft was completed at Etihad Stadium after the conclusion of the AFL player exchange period, with Jaeger O'Meara going to Gold Coast and Crouch officially becoming a Crow.
 
"It's a great day for us because we've been able to gain access to one of the best young talents in Australia," Sanderson told the waiting media shortly after personally welcoming Crouch to his new club.
 
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THE PROVISIONAL draft order for the first five rounds of the 2011 NAB AFL Draft. The order is current to 1pm on the eighth day of the AFL player exchange period (Monday of Trade Week):

Round one
1. Greater Western Sydney
2. Greater Western Sydney
3. Greater Western Sydney
4. Greater Western Sydney
5. Greater Western Sydney
6. Port Adelaide
7. Greater Western Sydney
8. Brisbane Lions
9. Greater Western Sydney
10. Greater Western Sydney
11. Greater Western Sydney
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THE SYDNEY Swans have reached agreement with Adelaide to secure half-back Tony Armstrong, along with selection 35 and a late pick in the NAB AFL National Draft.

In exchange, 20-year-old Swan Lewis Johnston will join the Crows in a trade that will see both players return to their home states.

The deal was finalised on Saturday afternoon, with the paperwork to be lodged with the AFL on Monday.

Armstrong, 22, has played 14 games for the Crows and has impressed with his ball use and run off the half back line. He played for NSW/ACT at Under 18 level and was taken by the Crows at pick 58 in the 2007 draft.

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How things change
When Ivan Maric was selected after John Meesen in the third round of the 2004 NAB AFL Draft, the pair was heralded as the Crows' ruck tandem for the next decade, but times have certainly changed. Meesen has been out of the AFL for two years and Maric was traded to Richmond on Friday.

Maric fell behind Sam Jacobs in the pecking order at Adelaide and the Adelaide Advertiser reports the Crows' big man was sent to his preferred destination at Punt Road where he will be the No.1 ruckman.

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A THREE-WAY trade between Richmond, Adelaide and St Kilda has been completed with Ivan Maric now a Tiger and Tom Lynch a Crow.
 
The Saints received NAB AFL Draft pick 37.

Maric has been pushing for a move to Richmond and the deal finally came through for the 25-year-old, who has played 77 games for the Crows over six seasons.

A big body at 200cm and 102kg, Maric provides the Tigers with much-needed support in the ruck for Angus Graham and Andrew Browne.

"We were keen to bolster our ruck stocks with a more experienced big man and believe Ivan really suits our needs," said Richmond’s football manager Craig Cameron.

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ADELAIDE has landed highly rated teenagers Luke Brown and Brad Crouch in a trade with GWS on Thursday afternoon.

In return, the Crows will send pick 10 in the 2011 NAB AFL Draft and their round one compensation pick, received for the loss of Phil Davis, to the Giants.

The deal involves Adelaide receiving pick two in Monday's mini-draft, which they have confirmed they'll use to select North Ballarat's Crouch.

The 17-year-old will not be eligible to play AFL until 2013.

A midfielder, he was selected in the All Australian under-18 team in 2011 after excellent performances for Vic Country in the under-18 carnival.

Brown, aged 19, had been pre-listed by the Giants.

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GREATER Western Sydney's proposed deal with Adelaide for pick No.2 in next week's 17-year-old mini draft is almost complete - a deal that will hand the Crows the rights to select gun teenager Brad Crouch.

Adelaide has pick No.10 in this year's NAB AFL Draft, and received pick No.24 from Hawthorn on Wednesday in exchange for emerging forward Jack Gunston, with the two clubs also exchanging later draft picks.

That trade paved the way for more discussions between Adelaide and the Giants, and GWS list manager Stephen Silvagni declared his club was now close to completing a deal that would send pick No.2 in next Monday's mini draft to the Crows.  

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HAWTHORN and its 19-year-old recruit Jack Gunston are both confident the former Crow will become a regular member of the club's senior team in 2012.

The Hawks secured Gunston from Adelaide on day three of trade week after exchanging a number of draft picks with the Crows.

"We went into trade week with that as a priority for us, so it's good to get it done," Hawthorn football manager Mark Evans told afl.com.au Trade Week Radio.

"[National recruiting manager] Graham Wright has done a terrific job to do that."

Gunston made his debut in 2010 and played 12 games for the Crows this season, booting 19 goals.

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EMERGING forward Jack Gunston has completed his move from Adelaide to Hawthorn.

In a complicated deal, the Crows sent the 19-year-old, who grew up in Melbourne, to the Hawks along with their third and fourth-round picks (53 and 71) in the upcoming NAB AFL Draft.

In return, the Hawks have given Adelaide their first, second and third-round selections (24, 46 and 64).

The deal means the Crows now have two first-round picks in November's draft. Their first selection is No. 10.

Gunston's move was held up on Tuesday evening, when the AFL scuttled a proposed five-club deal involving GWS, but the trade was then restructured on Wednesday morning.

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IVAN Maric is no certainty to head to Richmond despite being linked to the club for months.

The Tigers have been in discussions with Adelaide about trading for the experienced ruckman but Crows list manager David Noble said there was no guarantee he would find his way to Punt Road.

"There may be a late player (in negotiations for Maric) but he has made a decision that that is where his best opportunity lies," Noble said on Monday.

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