AFL PREMIERSHIP player Allen Christensen has officially left the Cats for Brisbane.
The Cats said they concluded the trade today, handing over the midfielder for pick 21 in the 2014 national draft.
The Lions received the end-of-round-one selection originally as compensation for Jared Brennan heading to the Gold Coast Suns in 2010.
The Lions then traded the pick back to Gold Coast in the same year before the Suns traded it to Greater Western Sydney in 2012.
The Giants last week traded that pick back to the Lions in exchange for Joel Patfull.
Geelong said Christensen requested a trade to the Lions last week “purely for personal reasons”.
Geelong general manager of football, Neil Balme said the Cats were disappointed to lose Christensen but accepted the situation.
“There were many things involved with Allen’s situation and we just had to help him as much as possible,” Balme said.
“The club is thankful for Allen’s contribution during his five years at the Cats including his part in the 2011 premiership side.”
Christensen played 65 games for the Cats, booting 56 goals.
The Cats current national draft picks are 14, 21, 35, 55, 73 and 91.
Lions talent acquisition and retention manager Peter Schwab said Christensen was a valuable addition.
“Allen is a fantastic player who brings some good finals experience to our young list. He offers a great injection of pace into our side and will be a valuable addition to our side,” Schwab said.
“Allen expressed his desire to relocate to Queensland and so we worked together with Geelong to achieve a suitable outcome for both clubs.
Schwab said Lions Justin Leppitsch spoke at the end of the season about a desire to recruit A-grade talent “and that’s exactly what Allen is.”
