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“Hands were tied”: Inside Jordan Dawson's Sydney exit
Jaiden Sciberras • October 7th, 2025 9:20 pm
The heartache of losing a talented player to a rival club is one of the least favourable experiences for any sports fan.
And when that player goes on to perform at the highest level, it stings just that little bit worse.
That’s the feeling that Sydney Swans long-term recruitment boss and current academy scout Kinnear Beatson has lived through to maximum effect in 2025.
In this season alone, three former Swans took out best and fairest awards following brilliant seasons at their respective clubs, with Darcy Cameron (Collingwood), George Hewett (Carlton) and Jordan Dawson (Adelaide) all receiving top honours for their stellar performances.
Given all three players were brought into the club within Beatson’s reign, it’s a season that the veteran list expert would like to forget sooner rather than later.
“The last couple of weeks created nightmares for me,” Beatson told AFL Trade Radio.
“We’ve had Darcy Cameron win the Copeland Trophy, Jordan Dawson win the Adelaide best and fairest and George Hewett won the Carlton best and fairest.
“It’s just the way the modern game is now, and that’s the frustrating aspect of it from a list management perspective. You try to build a list that gives you the talent and the depth to be successful, but players are very impatient now.
“Whether it’s the player, the management or a combination of it, if they can’t see an opportunity to play quickly, they’ll move on, and other clubs go and target them. It’s just the way it is now, and I don’t particularly like it.”
Within the modern framework of player movement, clubs have become rather powerless in dealing with wantaway stars. As seen within today’s occurrences, long-term contracts do very little to deter players from remaining loyal to their teams.
And while those in power can opt to hold their players to their commitments, decisions of that nature raise questions of club culture, raising potential dressing room unrest and placing significant stress on internal relationships – a lose-lose situation for both player and club.
However, in the absence of long-term deals, the player holds all the power.
How the Dawson trade eventuated
In 2021, Dawson’s move to Adelaide was one that the Swans knew would eventuate in favour of the Crows, however, were hopeless to the fact.
Taken with Pick 56 in the 2015 National Draft, Dawson wouldn’t feature for the Swans until 2017, featuring just once in a one-point loss to Collingwood in Round 3, followed by just four games in 2018.
In 2019, Dawson broke into the senior side across the back flank, playing 20 games and averaging 18.8 disposals in a breakout season.
Holding his spot for the next two seasons, Dawson’s 2021 campaign elevated his reputation amongst the competition, averaging 22 touches and featuring higher up the ground for the sixth-placed Swans.
The South Australian born star would go on to request a trade back to Adelaide, and given his contract was set to expire at the conclusion of the season, the Swans were forced to accept a deal that would see a 2022 first-round pick, tied to the premiers in Melbourne, sent to Sydney in exchange for 24-year-old Dawson.
The Swans are on record as stating that it was not a deal they were rather pleased with, however given Dawson and the Crows had the potential to walk to the pre-season draft and force the move without compensation, it was one the club had to settle on.
“The Dawson one was really difficult because in that draft, Adelaide had the second pick in the pre-season draft,” Beatson said.
“Port had dropped out of it, because Jordan initially just said he wanted to go home to South Australia. Two clubs, we’ll try to work with both, but it wasn’t very long before Port realised that they weren’t in the running for him.
“It came down to Adelaide, and to a degree, they had us over a barrel. If they wanted to, they could have marched him straight through to the pre-season draft. We knew it and they knew it, and they’d done it before with Jackson Hateley from the Giants.
“So, to a degree, your hands are tied. You almost have to just take what you’re given.”
The future first-round pick would land at Pick 17, with the Dees finishing second in 2022. Pushed back to Pick 20 due to club-tied bids, Sydney would end up selecting Jacob Konstanty, who would fail to make a senior appearance for the side before being packaged in a deal to North Melbourne in 2024.
At 28, Dawson has gone on to captain the Crows to a minor premiership, winning three straight best and fairest awards and earning the All-Australian vice-captaincy in 2025.
