There’s three days to go in the AFL trade period, and while it all started relatively sedately last week, things are about to heat up as club’s push it until the 11th hour to finalise their deals.
Let’s look at the main transactions that need to be finalised between now and 7.30pm on Wednesday.
Port Adelaide defender Dan Houston is in Carlton’s sights.Credit: AFL Photos
Dan Houston
This is getting interesting. Port Adelaide’s dual All-Australian defender, who is contracted for four more seasons, has not nominated a club but wants to get back to Victoria. Collingwood and North Melbourne are trying to pursue assets to convince Houston to choose them, while Carlton have the picks to reach a deal with the Power but seem content to use them at the draft. Melbourne’s deal for Essendon’s No.9 pick – which the Roos had tried to trade for – should be ratified on Monday, and fortuitously swings the Houston situation in the Magpies’ favour. The Demons were in competition with Collingwood for Gold Coast’s No.13 selection, which the Pies need to be able to broker a deal with the Power for Houston. Collingwood’s John Noble wants to get to the Suns, while Joe Richards has requested a trade to Port, so they could be tied in together. The Western Bulldogs do not appear to still be contenders. There is also still a possibility Houston remains at Alberton.
Bailey Smith
The Bulldogs believe Smith’s trade value is about pick 10, whether a selection in that realm or an equivalent return – but Geelong have only No.17. The out-of-contract midfielder missed the entire past season recovering from an ACL rupture, but was the No.7 pick in the 2018 draft, has 103 games under his belt, and does not turn 24 until December. The Dogs rejected the Cats’ offer of pick 17. If Geelong added their selection No.38 to 17, that would combine to be worth slightly more than pick 12 on the AFL’s draft value index. Would Smith risk going into the national or pre-season draft to get to the Cattery if the impasse continues?
Bailey Smith wants to go to Geelong.Credit: AFL Photos / Getty Images
Tom Barrass
This one has deadline-day deal written all over it. Barrass’ move to Hawthorn became more complicated once the Hawks sent pick 14 to Carlton for the Blues’ future first- and second-round selections on Friday. That trade followed an impasse between Hawthorn and West Coast over the 29-year-old key defender’s worth. The state of play is simple: the Eagles want two first-round selections for Barrass, while the Hawks are willing to part with a future first- and second-rounder – and West Coast can take their pick on Hawthorn’s or Carlton’s. Barrass will arrive at Waverley Park on a four-year contract, with a trigger for a fifth season, if a deal is struck in the days to come, but there is work to do. He is contracted at West Coast for three more years.
Daniel Rioli
What we do know is that pick six will be in Richmond’s keeping in any deal with Gold Coast for the Tigers’ newest club champion – but what else is involved is still being thrashed out. Richmond want more than six, but the Suns are unwilling to give up their No.13 as well, particularly given how much separate interest there is in that selection. Gold Coast need enough draft points to match a bid on academy product Leo Lombard, but could part with some of their return for 13 to get the Rioli deal across the line. The Tigers are set to gain an extraordinary first-round hand in this year’s highly touted draft.
A deal to get Daniel Rioli from Richmond to the Gold Coast Suns looks to be taking shape.Credit: Getty Images
Jake Stringer
Stringer spent the weekend weighing up his future, in particular whether he is willing to relocate interstate to play for the Giants and move away from the two children he and his ex-partner parent. Essendon are unwilling to extend the 30-year-old beyond next season, as was his hope, but he would gain more security and a more lucrative deal with GWS. Once Stringer makes his call, the haggling on his value will become more pertinent. This masthead reported on Thursday that the Bombers were willing to pay a portion of Stringer’s new contract at the Giants, if it meant receiving a better pick than in the 50s. GWS have selections 53 and 56, but also 37, the latter of which Essendon would like to get their hands on if Stringer agrees to join the Giants.
Shai Bolton / Liam Baker
The Mexican standoff continues. Fremantle are willing to part with picks 10 and 18 for Bolton, whereas Richmond want 10 and 11, so there will need to be additional assets added in either scenario. The Tigers would almost certainly need to hand something back, along with Bolton, if the Dockers agree to hand over 10 and 11, while Fremantle might have to dip into the future if it ends up being centred around 10 and 18. Another option would see the Dockers give Richmond 10, 11 and 18, if they could snaffle both Bolton and Baker. That outcome heightened as a possibility once Hawthorn traded pick 14 to Carlton on Friday, the selection that was originally West Coast-bound in any Tom Barrass deal. Baker has nominated the Eagles as his preferred destination, but Freo know he wants to be back in Western Australia. West Coast have explored “splitting” their No.3 pick, but otherwise need a future first-rounder off Hawthorn in the Barrass deal to get Baker.
Luke Parker
The Swans are trying to hold out for North Melbourne’s pick 44, whereas the Kangaroos are open to offering pick 64 for the veteran midfielder. The fourth-rounder seems a reasonable return for Parker despite him having one year left on his contract and playing in the grand final, partly because of his service and the fact he won’t be in their team next season. This will take time, but eventually the deal will end closer to where North believe it should be than the Swans.
Caleb Daniel / Jack Macrae
It’s clear Daniel hopes to become a Kangaroo, but he does not want to make a bid to be traded in case the Bulldogs hold firm as they lose Smith and Macrae. The Kangaroos’ pick 25 may be enough to entice the Dogs, but it would be a significant pick to give away for a veteran who was on the fringes this season. They may ask for a future third-round pick to come back their way if, in fact, the Bulldogs are willing to deal. Macrae will become a Saint, but the Dogs want more than St Kilda’s pick 47 to make it happen. The Saints’ next best selection is No.27, but they may be more inclined to add a future third-rounder as a sweetener.
Jack Lukosius
The contracted Gold Coast swingman, who is owed about $2.5 million in the final two years of his Suns deal, will get to Port Adelaide, but how it happens remains to be seen. One scenario would see the Power and Gold Coast negotiate exclusively on a deal – Port’s future first-rounder will be central to it – but there is also a chance Lukosius is tied into Collingwood’s pursuit of Houston. That outcome would likely also involve Noble becoming a Sun, and fellow Magpie Richards joining Lukosius at the Power.
Pick 13
Gold Coast’s in-demand pick 13 is certain to change hands because the Suns would like to turn it into extra draft assets, knowing their academy prospect Leo Lombard will likely attract an opposition bid before that selection. Collingwood were, and possibly still are, in a good position for Gold Coast’s pick, given Magpie John Noble wishes to become a Sun. Collingwood have the extra incentive of needing that selection to be able to broker a deal with Port Adelaide for Dan Houston, if he chose to nominate the Pies. With Melbourne no longer in the way, after instead making a deal with Essendon for the Bombers’ No.9, Collingwood are again favourites for the Suns’ selection. That said, Sydney and the Bulldogs have also expressed interest in the Suns’ pick.
James Peatling
This negotiation has progressed in good faith, with the Crows open to offering the Giants pick 46 and their future second-rounder in return for Peatling and the Giants’ future second, as this masthead reported last Monday. That will be the framework of any deal for the breakout midfielder-forward, who will follow GWS teammate Isaac Cumming to Adelaide at some stage in the coming days.
