Gilham, a member of their 2008 premiership side, will go to Greater Western Sydney and Spangher comes from Sydney two years after he left West Coast.
AFL grand finalists Hawthorn will have a new-look defence next season, ending the trade period by farewelling Stephen Gilham and welcoming Matt Spangher.
Gilham, a member of their 2008 premiership side, will go to Greater Western Sydney and Spangher comes from Sydney two years after he left West Coast.
Coupled with the blockbuster trade that snared Brian Lake from the Western Bulldogs and the loss of Tom Murphy through free agency to Gold Coast, yesterday’’s deals mean the Hawks have made significant changes to their defensive options.
As part of the Gilham trade, Hawthorn also recruited the Giants’ Darwin prospect Jed Anderson. Clubs finalised 10 deals yesterday before the 2pm deadline, ending a busy trade period.
With only seconds left, West Coast added an exclamation mark to their successful trading when they picked up Jamie Cripps from St Kilda.
The Eagles gave up picks 41 and 44 for Cripps and pick 46 in a bargain trade.
It added to the frustration for the Saints, who tried several times to strike a deal with West Coast over key defender Mitch Brown.
But the Eagles had been adamant from the start that Brown was a contracted player and was going nowhere, regardless of his wish to return to Victoria.
The Saints let Cripps go because he wanted to return to his family in WA.
“We identified Mitch a while ago and he was clearly intending to come to St Kilda,” said St Kilda’s head of football Chris Pelchen.
“But having said that, he’s a contracted player and that’s how the system works.”
Pelchen added there was “no doubt” they were disappointed about missing out on Brown despite helping Cripps return to his home state. The Eagles also recruited former No.4 draft pick Cale Morton from Melbourne with pick 88.
West Coast overall boosted their stocks, picking up Sharrod Wellingham from Collingwood while losing Quinten Lynch to Collingwood.
The obvious biggest losers in the trade period are Adelaide, who were unable to strike a deal with Sydney for Kurt Tippett and are now under league investigation for their 2009 contract with the key forward.
AAP