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SELECT 👉 Bay Oval commentary
Greene welcomes back Aleer with open arms following botched trade
Nicholas Quinlan • October 24th, 2025 9:54 pm
Greater Western Sydney captain Toby Greene admitted that St Kilda’s move to pull their deal for Leek Aleer caught him by surprise.
The fourth-year defender, who managed to play 13 games this season for the Giants, requested a trade to the Saints last month in a pursuit to get more playing time.
But as the 24-year-old was about to depart, St Kilda decided to renege on their deal after his manager Ryan Smith said that the Victorian side had “been wining and dining him for two years”.
As a result of the deal not going through, Aleer was left rattled, according to the captain.
But Greene admitted that he is happy to have him come back to the side, whilst agreeing that St Kilda had the right to change their minds.
"He was a little bit rattled," he said.
"It certainly came as a surprise, and the Saints probably did him dirty a bit, but that's footy as well.
"They had every right to do that. It's the way footy is going, with player movement.
"It helps us, we get him back, and he adds to our team, that's for sure.
"It'll be great having him back at the footy club."
Following the fallout from the situation, Aleer has now re-signed with the Giants for another two years, which will take him through to 2027.
He now joins the likes of Connor Idun, Finn Callaghan and Aaron Cadman, who recommitted to the club throughout the season as the Giants look to improve from this year's elimination final loss.
