By Andrew Slevison
The Adelaide Crows have been criticised by Kane Cornes for offering Darcy Fogarty a long-term contract.
Fogarty, 25, has signed a six-year deal that takes him through until 2031, turning this back on free agency.
The Crows have been able to lock the forward away for the future, but does a player of his standing warrant such a lengthy deal?
Long-term contracts are a constant bugbear for Cornes who wonders if the Crows really had to dive all the way in for the 102-game, 158-goal former Pick 12.
He described it as a “ridiculous” situation and a decision that he cannot quite grasp even after Fogarty led the club’s goal kicking in 2024 with 41 goals.
“It’s amazing the silly decisions clubs are making,” Cornes said on SEN Breakfast.
“This is like the Noah Balta one (at Richmond). There are some you can understand, like Jacob Weitering, he deserved that. I can understand why Carlton have done that, because without him they’re stuffed.
“This one I don’t understand because we’e not sure if he’s a legitimate 200-game AFL player yet, Darcy Fogarty, and they’ve locked him in for seven years.
“I think you need to be really certain - and I understand this long-term stuff, I get it - but you want to be really selective to who you’re giving these types of deals to. As a footy club you want to be absolutely certain that they are the person that can cope with it and has the ability to still be playing at a reasonable level in seven years.
“There was a risk with Fogarty that some other stupid club could have also given him seven years when he qualified for free agency, but you do get compensated and you get compensated pretty well if teams come with those stupid offers.”
Fogarty has strung together some much more consistent football over the past two seasons after spending time in the SANFL in 2022.
He has booted 75 goals in 44 games across 2023 and 2024, but the length of the deal remains a point of contention for Cornes.
“Honestly, Darcy Fogarty was playing reserves football not that long ago and Adelaide didn’t know where to place him,” he added.
“Credit to him, he’s really improved his game and he’s important.
“But he’s a player who, I don’t think, has been fully committed to preparing his body in the way that he should and getting himself super fit - and you’ve just locked him regardless of what happens.
“He gets paid for the next seven years on your dime regardless of his performance.
“It’s just ridiculous and Adelaide should have waited and absorbed all the information, put a reasonable offer to him of four years and if he didn’t want it and he wants to go, he’s a restricted free agent, Adelaide have got the opportunity to match at the end of the year.
“If not, you’re going to get, depending on where Adelaide finish, a top 10 pick for him.”
Cornes again questioned the desire of clubs to offer maximum contracts to players when it ends up biting them on the backside in years to come.
He feels it is another example of a subpar list management call.
“‘Oh yeah, let’s sign them long-term because clubs get control’. No you don’t, managers get the control of where they want to send them,” he continued.
“I don’t think Fogarty is managed by a group that is as powerful as others, but if he wants to get out he will, and if Adelaide want to ship him out it’s going to be harder for that to happen.
“I’m just not sure that Darcy Fogarty suits the way that football is moving and the expectations of that.
“It’s bizarre. Adelaide’s list management choices for a while have been questionable and this is just another one of those.
“This one I just can’t wrap my head around. I just think clubs behind the scenes should be pushing really heard for the AFL to limit maximum deals.
“This is another ridiculous example of that.”
Crafted by Project Diamond