ADELAIDE will attempt to work a trade with the Sydney Swans after Kurt Tippett accepted a conditional four-year deal to join the 2012 premiers on Saturday.
After walking out on the Crows - who tabled the richest deal in the club's history mid-year - on the Tuesday after the Grand Final, Tippett was offered similar deals by the Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast before settling on the Swans.
Tippett, 25, and his management company announced his decision via a statement issued by the AFL on Saturday morning.
"It would have been easy to accept a generous five-year offer to stay in Adelaide, or something similar from the Gold Coast or Brisbane, and I also want to thank those clubs for their interest," Tippett said.
"But this was a combined football/lifestyle decision and the balance between the two. I was born in Sydney, I have a lot of friends and family there, and this offers me a chance to play football in alifestyle, which I really enjoy.
"Watching the AFL Grand Final last Saturday, listening to the commentary and talking to various people over time, it is obvious the Swans have a very special culture, in addition to a very good team.
"I look forward to being part of it, and playing a role in a team that can be in the premiership mix next year and beyond."
Tippett will form a formidable partnership with Sam Reid if the Swans can engineer a trade.
"We are pleased that a player of Kurt's ability wants to come and play for our club," Swans chief executive Andrew Ireland said.
"We will now work with the Adelaide Crows and Kurt's management to find suitable deal to bring Kurt to the Swans."
Behind closed doors Adelaide management is understood to be seething at Tippett's about-face on his desire to leave for homesickness reasons, but gave little away in a brief statement issued on Saturday morning.
"Now that we know Kurt's preferred club we can start considering the trade options available to us and start formal negotiations when the trade period opens on Monday," list manager David Noble said.
"We will be seeking to deliver a positive outcome for the Adelaide Football Club."
Spurned suitors, the Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast, also issued statements after the decision became public, with the Lions taking a veiled swipe at the 9.8 per cent salary cap boost afforded to the Swans as a cost of living allowance.
"Once Kurt signaled his intention to come home to Queensland, the club put to him an extremely appealing offer," national talent manager Rob Kerr said.
"However, we understood it was going to be difficult to compete financially with Sydney given the additional salary cap space that is provided to them.
"We'll now watch with interest how the trade discussions progress."
The Suns have long been seen as the preferred destination for Tippett, who grew up on the Gold Coast, with his decision to head to Sydney coming out of left field.
"Our interest in Kurt has always been based on the fact he is a home-grown product and had indicated at times an interest in returning to the Gold Coast," football manager Marcus Ashcroft said.
"We have invested significantly in a number of exciting key position prospects and we are very comfortable continuing downthat path.
"Kurt's decision now enables us to move forward and implement our planned list strategies as we continue to build momentum heading into the 2013 season."
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL
