Adelaide and Port Adelaide have both been urged by SEN SA's Andrew Hayes to look into out of favour utility player Aaron Francis' situation at Essendon.
The South Australian born player has struggled to gain any form of consistency in terms of playing time during his six seasons at the Bombers, and with his contract expiring at the end of the season, a potential move back home could make perfect sense and be beneficial for all involved parties.
“Aaron Francis from Essendon. This is a bloke who is from Adelaide, he’s a West Adelaide junior,” Hayes said on SEN.
“He’s off contract at the end of this year. Am I crazy in saying that I’d be making a massive play for Aaron Francis?”
“Probably the Crows... But even so, I’d be asking the question if I was Port Adelaide."
Francis has continued to struggle for game time in 2022, being dropped twice from the first team despite Essendon's poor run of form throughout the year.
The former number 6 draft pick has played a total of 54 games for the Bombers, spending time in both the backline and the forward line, with Hayes naming his versatility to be one of the key reasons both SA sides should look to recruit the 25-year-old in the off season.
"He’s still absolutely stacked with potential," Hayes said.
“The potential is still there and I don’t even know where he is suited. He could be up forward, he could be down back. He’s a genuine utility swingman."
Despite the praise, SEN's Kayne Cornes was still undecided over which club would be the better fit and what role Francis would end up playing , as both clubs have elite players on either side of the field that may not need replacing.
“If he comes to Adelaide it’s not going to be in the forward line because they’ve got Fogarty who plays the same role, they’ve got Thilthorpe, Walker is going to go again," Cornes said.
"We know Port Adelaide are stocked with those half-back flankers and they’ve got a couple of mid-sized forwards in Marshall and Georgiades."
“I wouldn’t mind him for Adelaide if you can get him for not a lot.”
Francis has played four games for the struggling Bombers this season, kicking four goals while averaging seven disposals, four marks and two tackles.
