Another blue day for Carlton: Third-generation star Jack Silvagni to leave for a rival club

The pain has continued for Carlton fans as Jack Silvagni, the third generation of the famous Blues family, headed out the door less than 24 hours after star ruckman Tom De Koning committed to joining St Kilda.

Silvagni, the son of Stephen and grandson of Sergio who are both Carlton Football Club Hall of Fame Legends, will depart the club after 10 seasons, but is yet to nominate which club he will move to as a free agent.

The Silvagni move comes just a day after this masthead revealed De Koning would leave the club for St Kilda as a free agent, accepting the Saints’ eight year contract offer of $1.8 million per year for the first seven years and more than a million for the eighth year. It is yet to be confirmed if the final year is also for $1.8m.

De Koning is anticipated to formally advise the Blues of his planned move at his end-of-season exit meeting on Wednesday. Carlton have the right to match the offer, but have no intention of doing so for an offer of the Saints’ magnitude.

Silvagni has received offers from both Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs and completed medicals at both clubs.

As Silvagni is an unrestricted free agent, the Blues had no opportunity to see the rival offers or potentially match the terms. The Blues wanted to keep him and offered a four-year contract worth about $650,000 to $700,000 per year. The Collingwood and Western Bulldogs offers are for four-year deals on slightly more than $700,000 a year.

While Silvagni has said he wants a fresh start, his choice between the Magpies and the Bulldogs will largely be informed by which club he believes he is more likely to help in a premiership window.

“Whilst the decision was not easy to leave the football club, I felt the time was right to explore another opportunity,” Silvagni said.

“I want to say a huge thank you to everyone at the club for their support during my time there – I sincerely appreciate the opportunity this club has given me and my family.”

The 194-centimetre key position player has played 128 games in 10 seasons for the Blues, including missing all of last season after suffering an ACL injury and needing a knee reconstruction.

Having spent most of his career as a forward and occasional second ruck, he impressed this year in a handful of games he played in defence.

“We made it really clear to Jack that we wanted him to remain a Carlton person, however as an unrestricted free agent Jack had a right to meet with a number of clubs and as a result has made his decision to pursue other opportunities, that is the reality of our industry in regard to player movement,” Blues head of list management Nick Austin said.

“As we head into the upcoming trade, free agency and draft period this affords us a number of options as we approach this time of year, and we will continue to make decisions that put the interests of the Carlton Football Club first and foremost.”

The Blues can expect a first-round compensation pick for losing De Koning. Presently that would be at pick No.9, though it would be expected to be pushed back in the draft to at least pick 11 following bids for academy or father-son selections.

The level of free-agency compensation for Silvagni will hinge on what the final contract offer is for the 27-year-old, but based on a four-year contract in the $700,000s, it would be likely to be a second-round pick or potentially an end-of-first-round pick.

Harry Dean is a father-son prospect the Blues are certain to secure in the draft, with a bid expected to come for him in the first round, potentially in the top 10.

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