Loading Jake Stringer has won Essendon’s goalkicking award for the past two seasons with 30 and 34 goals, respectively, while Daniher was injured. Numbers like that are not going to put fear into Alex Rance, Dylan Grimes, David Astbury and Bachar Houli next year. A fit Daniher would, which is why Essendon must play hard ball with him and the Swans. This year’s national draft does not have a two-metre tall key position standout like Ben or Max King. This is a draft filled with midfielders and flankers at the top end. If Sydney are to offer up pick five for Daniher, it won't make sense to take it. Adding another midfield type like Darcy Parish, who went at pick five in 2015, would leave Essendon without a key forward capable of kicking 60 goals in a season. Questions will be asked of Greater Western Sydney spearhead and Coleman Medal winner Jeremy Cameron - but he isn’t going anywhere - and of Gold Coast's Ben King. But again, King is worth more to the Suns than a midfielder with pick five so King isn’t going anywhere, either. King has already become the Suns' most valuable commodity so they would not trade him in this year’s window. The Suns don’t need any more draft picks; they just need King’s signature. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video

With no like-for-like replacement around for Daniher and no ideal player in the national draft to compensate for his loss in the forward line, Essendon would then ask the question of Isaac Heeney or Nick Blakey being traded for Daniher. Both Heeney and Blakey have lived in Sydney for all or most of their lives and would not want to leave. Nor would the Swans be willing to trade them, but Carlton didn't want to trade Josh Kennedy to the West Coast Eagles for Chris Judd, either. They just had to, to get the deal done. I really don’t see a compromise being reached between the two clubs, which is why I believe Daniher is a massive chance to play for the Bombers against his wishes next season. Do not rule out Daniher being forced to see out the final year of his contract, just as a former Swan Ryan O’Keefe did successfully a decade ago after his trade request to the Hawks was rejected. Loading Daniher has cited a lifestyle change as the reason for wanting to move to Sydney but there has to be more to it, as it was only 12 months ago that he was part of the successful pitch to get Dylan Shiel to Essendon. One of the attractions for Shiel would have been playing with Daniher, and Shiel would be well aware that losing Daniher only takes his new club further away from winning their first final since 2004.