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Ross Lyon has denied St Kilda “reneged” on the Leek Aleer deal and defended the club’s decision not to hire him.
The Saints had been courting Aleer for over a year, but were stunned to back out of the deal during the trade period.
Leek Aleer has requested a trade to St Kilda.Credit: AFL Pictures
The GWS linebacker has re-signed with the Giants for two years.
St Kilda have been busy over the last few days signing Carlton free agents Tom De Koning and Jack Silvagni and then swapping for Gold Coast midfielder Sam Flanders and West Coast forward Liam Ryan.
They also bid farewell to captain Jack Steele to Melbourne and kept forward Rowan Marshall despite his desire to trade with Geelong.
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But their backflip on Aleer raised eyebrows and Lyon said he was pleased the Giants back was still at home in the AFL.
“‘Renege’ is a strong term, I’m not sure it’s quite accurate,” Lyon said when asked about Aleer.
“Nothing is perfect. A deal had to be made and they certainly weren’t kicking him out the door or kicking him out.
“I’m really excited that they see him as we do; he’s a high-quality player, they’ve extended him for another two years. The human side is always difficult but it’s worked out really well for him. Simply put, I’m really pleased with it.”
“Life is complicated, football is complicated, business season is complicated.”
Lyon declined to go into the reasons why they ultimately decided not to trade Aleer.
“There are always ‘known knowns,’ right? But there is so much information,” he said.
“Every trading period you go through, you’re trying to figure things out. There’s a lot going on in terms of trades, decisions or indecisions and no-trades.
“It’s not as simple as it seems on the surface. There are a lot of issues involved in making a trade happen.”
AAP
