Will Hayward and Ollie Florent both had no intentions of leaving the Sydney Swans this year.
Such an idea should be expected considering they were both only one year into their long-term deals that took them through to 2029.
But as is professional sports, and as is the modern era of the AFL, contracts truly don't mean anything anymore.
And whilst on holiday during the off-season, Florent had a phone call from Sydney Executive General Manager, Leon Cameron, who essentially told the 27-year-old it was time for him to explore his options.
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“Oh yeah, it was tough. It was definitely tough,” Florent said in a chat with AFL Media.
“They (Cameron) pretty much just said we want you out. We want you gone.”
Hayward’s exit wasn’t too dissimilar.
“Over the whole (trade) period, I had two phone calls with (Dean) ‘Coxy’,” Hayward also told AFL Media.
“That’s pretty much it. Those phone calls made it pretty easy to want to join Carlton.”
Then they were thrown in—whether Sydney had planned to or not—the Charlie Curnow trade saga.
Nearly everything at Sydney became movable, and these two contracted players became just a piece of the Curnow puzzle.
However, despite the ruthless approach from the Swans, Hayward insists there is no bad blood, but he concedes, “it probably could’ve been handled better.”
“That club is full of great people. It’s probably just a little slip-up with how it was handled. It’s a great club. But I also don’t want to take that away from the fact that I’m super grateful to be here and that I’m actually really happy to be here,” Hayward added.
“That movie is finished now. We’re starting a new one here and we’re super excited.”