North Melbourne list manager Brady Rawlings has defended the club's trade for wantaway midfielder Jason Horne-Francis.
Monday saw the largest mega deal in the AFL Trade Period completed, with Port Adelaide getting Horne-Francis and Junior Rioli, the Kangaroos getting Picks 2 and 3, West Coast receiving Picks 8 and 12, with GWS acquiring the number 1 Pick, while later picks also changed hands.
Despite moving down from Pick 1 to get Picks 2 and 3, the decision has not been well received by its supporters, with two-time Premiership Kangaroo David King critical of the swap.
"Horne-Francis was pick one - gone, pick one this year - gone. They've given up two pick ones for two and three. I don't understand it at all," King said on Fox Footy's Trading Day.
"You can't cry about spilt milk (after turning down Adelaide's deal for pick one last year).
"They've been dudded.
"It just puts a full stop on an awful trade period."
Speaking on SEN Breakfast on Tuesday, Rawlings defended the decision, stating there isn't a clear choice of who would be the number one selection in next month's draft.
"We felt the best thing to do was to trade him out," Rawlings said.
"The pull home is extremely strong and we didn't think we were going to get the best footy out of him in the state he was in.
"We needed a few clubs to get involved to get the type of currency we wanted, but we're comfortable with what we've done."
Rawlings doubled down taking aim at the football experts who didn't understand the whole scope for the Kangaroos pulling the trigger.
"There's always that option, obviously he's in contract. The thing that people don't realise is we have all the information at hand and a lot of people don't and our decision to facilitate the trade for Jason to go home was based on all the information we've got at hand," he said.
Horne-Francis' first year in the AFL system had its ups and downs with his professionalism coming into question.
The Kangaroos gave the teenager a caution after not telling the club he went home to see his mum for Mother's day.
During the side's 49-point hiding to GWS in Round 13, he and veteran ruckman Todd Goldstein had an argument in the same game which saw Horne-Francuis suspended for two games for a swinging arm on Josh Kelly.
Horne-Francis has agreed to a six-year deal which sees the 19-year-old at Alberton until the end of 2028.
