New details emerge in Nick Blakey’s rift with Sydney as star defender flies to Melbourne

Nick Blakey is desperate to get out of Sydney.

That much is clear, as the disgruntled Swans defender — who remains under investigation by Victoria Police for his alleged involvement in the Pullman Hotel incident earlier this year — begins to canvass his options.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Nick Blakey seeks move away from Swans

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Blakey has five years remaining on his lucrative contract at Sydney in a deal believed to be worth around $1m per season and, while he hasn’t yet officially requested a trade, is moving quickly on working out what it would look like if he does.

“Nick Blakey’s flown to Melbourne today ahead of meeting with prospective clubs in the next 48 hours,” Mitch Cleary told The Agenda Setters on Wednesday.

“I expect one of those will be Geelong, so they’re right at the front of the queue right now for Nick Blakey.

“And if he had his way, he would be playing somewhere in Victoria next year, Nick Blakey.

“So he’s frustrated with the Swans, he’s keen to get out. Now we wait to see the machinations around a move for Nick Blakey to find a new club.”

Tom Morris added that Blakey’s frustrations with the Swans might even go back further than we think.

“Make no mistake about this, the Sydney Swans and Nick Blakey have been at odds for a while now,” Morris said.

“They’re not on the same page regarding what happened that night at the Pullman, some players aren’t necessarily au fait with what Nick Blakey has done since and how he’s responded to it, (and) I don’t think Nick Blakey is particularly fond on how the Swans have responded to that situation either.

“So, despite public denials ... I don’t think they’re on the same page. Which is why, I think tonight as we sit here, a split is highly likely, it’s just a matter of where.”

Blakey would have likely been an All-Australian defender for the second time this year if not for the AFL’s ruling that none of the Pullman Five would be considered for the honour.

He would be an ideal acquisition for Geelong, who are stacked full of intercepting defenders, but not necessarily those with the run and dare that Blakey has in spades.

“Oh, absolutely he’d suit the Cats, but how are they going to get it done?” player manager Liam Pickering said.

“I don’t know, that’s the problem. I mean, they’ve got other things going on at the moment. But yeah, would he be a good fit? Of course he would. He’d be a good fit for a number of clubs.”

But a move to the Cattery appears difficult, given Sydney’s reluctance to send him to potentially one of their rival premiership contenders.

“So my understanding is that the Swans would prefer not to send Nick Blakey to Geelong,” Morris said.

“They’re a competitor. They don’t have a lot of draft capital. We know they’ve got pick 14, but they gave up future picks for Jordan Ridley today.”

Blakey’s dad John famously played 224 of his 359 AFL games for North Melbourne, so Nick has a family connection with the Kangaroos, while St Kilda and Essendon loom as other potential options.

“He’s got close links with (Essendon’s) new performance director, John Longmire, and Mark McVeigh was his backline coach at the Swans this year,” Cleary said.

“And you look at the salary cap (of) Essendon, former coach Brad Scott was on this panel saying they got $3 million in salary cap mid-year. That could be $5 million now with some of the players they’ve lost.

“So the Bombers right now have the most cap room in the comp.”

North Melbourne list boss Brady Rawlings told Trade Radio earlier on Wednesday that until Blakey officially requests a move, they won’t consider a play for him.

“We’re really not considering that as an option, given there hasn’t been a trade request,” Rawlings said.

“If a trade request comes, no doubt we’ll try and get involved.”

As recently as Monday, Sydney denied a rift between Blakey and the club, with list boss Chris Keane saying the Swans are confident of keeping him.

“Nick’s actually been really good through this whole process and understanding of the club’s decision,” Keane told reporters on Monday.

“The last couple of months have been challenging on a lot of different fronts, but Nick’s been really good and understanding of the club’s position.

“We’ve had no indication from Nick or his management that he’s keen to explore anything, so we’re really confident that he’ll be at our footy club next year.”

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