Paul Roos Revisits The Josh Kelly Trade

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Paul Roos has quashed critics of the Demons' decision to trade pick two in the 2013 draft, suggesting clubs who trade successfully won't dwell on the picks they trade away.

The Dees traded pick two to the Giants to land Dom Tyson, pick nine (Christian Salem) and pick 57 (Jayden Hunt), while the Giants landed Josh Kelly with that pick.

The trade re-entered conversation thanks to a Sam Edmund piece in the Herald Sun.

Roos said on the Sunday Rub the Dees, had they held that pick, wouldn't have nabbed Kelly anyway.

"Our recruiters had (Tom) Boyd one, (Jack) Billings two and Kelly three. So we didn't actually have Kelly as number two, and I've said that 100 times, but Sam's obviously not listening to me," he said.

Roos said clubs that manage their lists well can trade without dwelling on hindsight.

"One of the things I've noticed over 12 years of coaching and being involved in recruiting...too many clubs were worried about what they gave away," he said.

"Teams that do it really well know what they need and they don't worry about what they're giving away, in a sense.

"(Sydney) got slaughtered for giving away pick 15 for Darren Jolly. Is that right in hindsight? Worked out pretty well. Slaughtered for giving away pick 19 for Teddy Richards. How'd that go?

"But Pick 15 might have been a great player. Pick 19 might have been a great player."

Roos called the trade a win-win.

"I think it's just pretty cheap when you're going back on a draft and you're saying in hindsight - would I trade now Salem, Tyson and Hunt for Kelly? No, I wouldn't," he said.

"Kelly is an outstanding footballer, and what the Giants needed at the time was one player. What the Demons needed at the time was more - we had basically Nathan Jones and pretty much no one (else) through the midfield.

"It's an absolute win-win for both football clubs. No question about it.

"I'll give you another tip: let me tell you who's going to win last year's grand final - the Western Bulldogs!"