ADELAIDE today will sign a trade it did not want to consider a week ago as it blinked in the deal with defecting forward Kurt Tippett.

The club also faces a major task in explaining to its fan base why it accepted out-of-favour Sydney ruckman-forward Jesse White and the Swans' first-round draft pick (currently No.22) for Tippett.

Inaugural Crows coach Graham Cornes labelled Adelaide as "pathetic" for letting Tippett lead the club "by the nose" through the protracted negotiations.

Former Western Bulldogs and Richmond coach Terry Wallace declared the balance of the trade a "joke" that heavily favours the Swans.

"Adelaide has been ripped off," he said.

The Crows last night were silent as their club took heavy hits.

Football operations chief Phil Harper, however, was adamant White's arrival at West Lakes would not squeeze out draftee Shaun McKernan as they possibly compete for the same role.

Adelaide list manager David Noble last week refused to consider White.

At that stage, the Crows hoped to trade for Greater Western Sydney ruckman Jonathan Giles to support Sam Jacobs - and force Sydney to offer a defender or line-breaking midfielder to strengthen the Adelaide line-up.



Winners and losers of trade month so far

Giles' decision to sign a new contract with the Giants dramatically changed the trade game. The Crows now can argue they have:

DISPROVED Tippett had a deal to walk from Adelaide for just a second-round draft pick. Sydney's first-round pick will move from No. 22 to later in the draft tonight after the AFL issues compensation picks to clubs that have lost free agents.

BOUGHT insurance with White who can become back-up to Jacobs as a ruckman-forward and direct replacement for Tippett.

AND, they were jammed by Tippett. Had he not been traded by next Friday's trade deadline, Tippett would have walked to the Swans in the draft without compensation to the Crows.

Despite the Swans having late draft picks, Tippett can guarantee his path to Sydney by nominating a demand for a $1 million salary - a fee only the AFL premier can pay.

White, 24, arrived in Adelaide yesterday to be picked up by Noble at the airport before meeting Crows officials and doctors for a medical at the club's West Lakes base.

White and Tippett cross paths six years after they emerged from Queensland's basketball system into the 2006 AFL draft - Tippett to Adelaide at No. 32 and White to Sydney at No. 79.

White played 56 games for the Swans but just three this season when he fell behind premiership pair Shane Mumford and Canadian import Mike Pyke.

The insignificant part of the trade may be a swap of late-order draft picks that Sydney needs and Adelaide does not.

The Crows - with the arrival of White, formal listing of teenager Brad Crouch and removal of Michael Doughty, Brad Symes, Chris Knights and Tippett - have left themselves three picks in next month's national draft.

Those would be first-round pick (currently 19), Sydney's traded first pick (22) and the compensation pick for free-agent half-forward Knights to Richmond.

This makes Adelaide's late draft picks irrelevant to the Crows.