Joe Daniher was nearing a move to Sydney last year before the Bombers pulled the pin on negotiations with the Swans following failed discussions, with the former Essendon star now calling Brisbane home after the 2020 free agency period.
A strong desire to leave Melbourne had Sydney in a leading position to land the 26-year-old, who was keen on a move to the Harbour City ahead of the 2020 season.
The deal was relying on the Swans gaining pick nine from the Blues in exchange for Tom Papley, another move that failed to land, with Sydney hoping to offer two first-round selections for Daniher.
While the move came to an unsuccessful ending, Daniher did get his wish of a switch up north to Brisbane, with the Bombers gaining a top 10 draft selection as compensation 12 months later instead.
Speaking on the club's negotiations with Sydney, Essendon list boss Adrian Dodoro revealed the details of the Bombers' 2019 trade plans, where they were hoping to keep Daniher for 2020 and beyond.
“The first thing is we wanted to retain Joey (last year) and we wanted to retain him this year,” he said on SEN’s Dwayne’s World.
“We fought really hard to keep him, he’s a fabulous player, I know he’s had his injury issues and he himself has probably come under unfair criticism for not being on the park.
“The offer (Sydney) gave us (last year) was reliant on pick nine coming from Carlton and that pick never came anyway.
“The bottom line is we wanted to keep him last year and the Swans weren’t willing to give us what we wanted.”
Dodoro added that the club have quickly looked to move on from Daniher's departure and have now gained plenty of exciting talent in their forward line via the draft.
“The deal wasn’t done because we wanted to keep him, key position talls are hard to find and that’s why (we drafted multiple talls this year),” he said.
“This year he had the whip hand because he was a restricted free agent, at the end of the day we got a top 10 draft pick and we all move on.”
