Collingwood footy boss Geoff Walsh has responded to comments made by departing forward Jaidyn Stephenson after he was traded to North Melbourne on Thursday.
The 21-year old was dealt to the Roos along with Atu Bosenavulagiย and Pick 39 for Pick 26, Pick 33 and a future fourth-round selection.
In perhaps the most surprising move of the trade period, Stephenson is just two years removed from his 2018 Rising Star season where he booted 38 goals for the Pies in a grand final campaign.
Speaking on SENโs Bob and Andyย less than an hour after the deal, Stephenson revealed that he had to reach out to Nathan Buckley himself to discover he was on the trade table.
โI heard nothing from the club so I gave Bucks a call myself to see what was going on and he pretty much said look for a trade as aggressively as you want and weโll try to facilitate it,โ Stephenson said.
โThere wasnโt a very clear reasoning but I think itโs all worked out for the best.
โHe just said he doesnโt know if Iโve allowed myself to open up to the group, which I donโt necessarily agree with but if thatโs how he saw it heโs the coach and thatโs his prerogative."
Responding to Stephenson's comments this morning on Triple Mโs Hot Breakfast,ย Walsh explained that the youngster was in constant communication with the club throughout the year of where he was at.
โLike all of the four boys that have departed, we donโt have any ill-will or words that we want to speak about any of those boys and we wish them all the best,โ he said onย Triple Mโs Hot Breakfast.
โI really canโt let Jaidynโs comments be etched in history as the version of what he said. Iโm not saying heโs being mischievous or anything. Certainly throughout the year on a number of occasions Jaidyn was spoken to by both teammates and coaches and administration about what he needed to do to become or get back to the football that he briefly displayed in his first year.
โWhat he needed to do if he wanted to continue to be a great AFL player and a good quality Collingwood AFL player. That was reinforced on a number of occasions, and then in the exit interview it was only a day or so after heโd left the hub.
โThose points were all reinforced as to where we see his career at that particular moment and where we predicted it would ebb and flow depending on a response from him.
โI canโt let that particular comment go and remain unanswered. Thatโs not me being critical of the boy, but me providing some balance.
โWithout going into the detail, he was certainly made aware of weโve seen there were shortcomings, weโve seen there is room for improvement and that was a cross-section of people that he wouldโve been involved in at the club including coaches and teammates.โ
