Who will stay and who will go? The trade state of play at every AFL club

We’re officially past the halfway mark of the season, which means the trade landscape is heating up.

The rumour mill will only continue to build – along with anticipation for the silly season – as clubs have a better idea of where they’re placed and what moves they could potentially make.

So who will stay and who will go?

Below, foxsports.com.au has ran through the trade state of play in a club-by-club guide.

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ADELAIDE CROWS

The Crows are coming hard at Essendon defender Mason Redman. Both Redman and Essendon teammate Darcy Parish have been impressed by the new regime under Brad Scott, but the lure of home and a big deal continues to loom for the former. Tom Doedee said recently his future beyond this season was not a priority, but it will quickly come to the forefront as the end of his current deal nears and he continues his recovery from a season-ending ACL rupture. The Brisbane Lions are one of several clubs that have shown interest in the key defender. Matt Crouch is an unrestricted free agent and it is hard to see him playing at the Crows next season given he can barely get a look in at senior level.

BRISBANE LIONS

The Lions’ current list doesn’t have too many holes to fill after last year’s acquisitions at both the trade table and the draft. Interest has been expressed in Adelaide Crows defender Tom Doedee and there is also an eye being kept on Esava Ratugolea in a bid to bolster their key defensive stocks. It’s an area of focus for the Lions given Marcus Adams’ uncertain future as he continues to deal with the effects of concussion. A higher-priced option would be Harry Himmelberg, with the Giants swingman attracting interest from several clubs. Meanwhile West Australian Deven Robertson appears likely to snub a return to his home state and re-sign with Brisbane.

CARLTON

Firstly, the Blues must figure out the future of Tom De Koning. The 23-year-old remains out of contract at season’s end and is content with letting contract talks drift into the back-end of the 2023 season, with plenty of interest from rival clubs. The first piece of the ruck puzzle has already fallen into place, with the Blues re-signing Marc Pittonet to a four-year deal. It gives the Blues security in the ruck department should De Koning decide to explore his options, so long as Pittonet can stay fit. The Blues have been linked to St Kilda mid-forward Jade Gresham, with the dash and ‘money kick’ inside 50 a clear fit for the Blues. Paddy Dow’s struggles staying in the senior side despite impressive performances at lower level mean he’s likely to seek a new home at season’s end. Mitch McGovern, too, is out of contract, but rival interest in him is limited. Jack Silvagni is a restricted free agent and has also struggled to stay in the senior side when Pittonet and De Koning are both available.

COLLINGWOOD

The Pies were big players at the trade table last season. Brody Mihocek still does the bulk of the heavy lifting in a forward line that could do with another key position target, so the club’s interest in Ben King is understandable, despite the key forward being contracted to the Gold Coast Suns until the end of 2024. Collingwood made a huge bid for a former Suns key forward in Tom Lynch before he eventually signed with Richmond and the club has had its eye on key forward depth for quite some time. Ash Johnson has attracted interest from rival clubs given his ability to pinch hit in the ruck as needed to go with his forward firepower. John Noble has turned heads with his importance to Collingwood’s back six, but the Pies are confident they’ll re-sign the former mid-season draftee before the season is out.

ESSENDON

The two keys at the moment are Darcy Parish and Mason Redman. Both are out of contract at season’s end and both are happy with the club’s new trajectory under Brad Scott. Parish’s comments recently on Nine boosted hopes he would stay at the club. Geelong is one of several clubs interested in Parish, while Redman has attracted significant interest from Adelaide to return to South Australia. How the futures of Parish and Redman play out will likely affect much of how the Bombers approach the rest of the trade period. There is interest from the Bombers in Harry Himmelberg, who has plenty of suitors. Tom De Koning would also be on the club’s radar as he continues to weigh up his future. Brandon Zerk-Thatcher is out of contract but having a career-best season. Nic Martin’s signature beyond 2024 is quickly becoming vital given his form this season. Ben McKay is another who the Bombers have an eye on, as the chances of him staying at North Melbourne continue to drift. Orazio Fantasia is also reportedly keen to return to the Bombers, but you feel like he’d be far down on the list of priorities, if on it at all.

FREMANTLE

Talk continues to swirl about Sean Darcy’s future, but Fremantle remains confident the 25-year-old is staying put in 2024, let alone beyond that. Liam Henry is putting together an impressive season and is attracting interest. The former top 10 draft pick still needs to prove he can perform at a high level consistently, but he has shown enough to warrant hype. Fremantle’s lack of draft capital this season gives it limited bargaining power barring unrestricted free agency.

GEELONG CATS

The Cats are once again in the mix for some of the biggest names in the game. From a retention point of view, Esava Ratugolea is content to let contract talks play out later in the year and once again has the interest of Port Adelaide. Chris Scott has indicated the Cats will fight hard to keep him for a second consecutive year, although this time he is out of contract. The club has an eye on Sean Darcy, but talks of a $1 million per season offer have been rubbished by all parties involved and the Dockers remain confident he’ll re-sign beyond 2024. Darcy Parish is in the club’s sights as a free agent, which the Cats have targeted so well over the journey, while Tom De Koning is another target in a bid to pair him with brother Sam.

GOLD COAST SUNS

Although Ben King isn’t out of contract until the end of next season, convincing the star forward his future is at the club is arguably still the most pressing issue right now for the Suns. If King were to pursue a move elsewhere, it likely wouldn’t be until next year, but you sense clubs in search of a star key forward (which there’s no shortage of) would still be asking the question. There’s otherwise been some murmurs the Suns’ top draft pick this year could be on the table given the caliber of the club’s 2023 academy and having stockpiled a host of selections. Young key defender Caleb Graham, who last year penned a four-year extension until 2026 but is yet to play a game in 2023, and forward Brodie McLaughlin, who’s yet to make his debut after joining the club via the pre-season SSP following a strong 2022 season for Frankston, are also reportedly attracting interest from rival clubs.

GWS GIANTS

It feels like every year there’s a crop of Giants rival clubs are trying to pry away, and 2023 is no different. Free agent Harry Himmelberg has no shortage of suitors amid links to Sydney, Richmond, Collingwood, Brisbane and Essendon and talk he could secure a long-term deal worth as much as $900,000 per season. If Himmelberg were to depart on a contract in that ballpark, the Giants would likely land a third top-10 draft pick as compensation — also having claim to Richmond’s first-rounder from the Jacob Hopper trade in addition to their own. GWS’ strong draft hand puts it in a position, just like last year, to potentially bundle up some of those selections and make a play for Pick 1 to land Harley Reid. Meanwhile Lachie Whitfield is reportedly set to be a trade target for rival clubs to absorb his heavily back-ended contract, while Victorian duo Lachie Ash and Jake Riccardi are also out of contract and being monitored by rival clubs as other Giants who could be on the move. And with Kieran Briggs establishing himself as Adam Kingsley’s No. 1 ruck in recent times, uncontracted rucks Braydon Preuss and Matt Flynn could be available.

HAWTHORN

Sam Mitchell revealed last month the club would continue to prioritise the draft this year before turning its attention to the free agency and trade market from 2024, so don’t expect the Hawks to be major players in the off-season. They do reportedly have significant salary cap space though and have been linked to St Kilda free agent Jade Gresham and Giants forward Jake Riccardi. Hawthorn could also use its cap space by taking on an unwanted contract to bring in a high-draft pick – like Geelong’s Jack Bowes deal from last year. James Worpel remains without a deal for 2024 amid a great bounce-back season, with the Hawks looking to lock the midfielder away. Chad Wingard is also out of contract and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him in different colours next year, although the veteran small forward’s value has diminished significantly from his previous best heights.

MELBOURNE

The Demons are among the clubs that have been linked to Freo young gun Liam Henry, whose stocks have risen off the back of the best fortnight of his AFL career. Melbourne has a link to Henry through good friend Kysaiah Pickett, who the Dees crucially already locked away on a new four-year deal. Working in Melbourne’s favour in any deal is the strength of its draft half after the Luke Jackson trade – holding two first-round picks and two second rounders. Much like GWS, the Dees could leverage their draft hand to move higher up the board and even have a crack at nabbing Pick 1. Given Melbourne’s forward half woes, it’d be remiss not to target a forward, like many thought it should’ve last year, and look at the likes of Giant Jake Riccardi and Port Adelaide’s Mitch Georgiades.

NORTH MELBOURNE

Gun free agent Ben McKay could be on the move amid links to Essendon and Port Adelaide. As McKay is a restricted agent, the Kangaroos can match any offer the key defender receives – which could be in the vicinity of $700,000 and net the club a top-10 compensation pick. While giving North another high-end draft pick may seem like a win, it still needs quality senior players to help the team through its rebuild. Clubs could ask the question of Tarryn Thomas and whether he’d be open to a change of scenery despite being contracted at Arden Street for next season. Talk around the Roos getting an assistance package from the AFL could ramp up in the second half of the season too, with the team on track for a fourth-straight bottom two finish. It could lead to a similar situation to last year where the club received compensation picks on the provision that they used them in trades, which they did to land Griffin Logue and Darcy Tucker. Veterans Jack Ziebell and Todd Goldstein are without deals for 2024, too.

PORT ADELAIDE

It’s become clear that the Power are in the market for a key defender, with strong links to Kangaroo Ben McKay and Cat Esava Ratugolea, who Port failed to land last trade period. There was an intriguing watch on in-demand young gun Miles Bergman, who reportedly had interest from a wide-range of Victorian clubs prior to re-signing with the Power. Out-of-contract West Australian Mitch Georgiades is a name to keep an eye on, falling out of favour at Alberton prior to having his season prematurely ended by an ACL injury. Orazio Fantasia is also reportedly wanting out of the club after an indifferent three-year stint, with an eye on getting back to the Bomber. It’s worth noting Port doesn’t have its first-rounder this year as part of the Jason Horne-Francis trade, while Charlie Dixon, Travis Boak and out-of-favour skipper Tom Jonas are all free agents.

RICHMOND

The Tigers are looking to get back into the first round of the draft after handing over a king’s ransom to secure Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper from GWS during last year’s trade period. Gold Coast’s first-round pick – currently No. 7 – is reportedly in Richmond’s sights, where it could offer a package that adds up to more draft points. The Tigers are also among the clubs that have been linked to Giants free agent Harry Himmelberg, who’d provide a big boost to Richmond’s developing key position stocks, particularly with club champion Jack Riewoldt appearing likely to hang up the boots along with Trent Cotchin. And with so much change at Punt Road including the shock mid-season departure of Damien Hardwick, you sense speculation around Dustin Martin’s future to re-emerge despite the three-time Norm Smith medallist being contracted for 2024.

ST KILDA

There’s a fair bit on list boss Stephen Silvagni’s plate as he looks to re-shape the list under Ross Lyon and help it build off a promising 2023 campaign. Blues tall Tom De Koning, who Silvagni drafted to Ikon Park back in 2017, would likely top St Kilda’s list of priorities to give the club another key target up forward and ruck relief for Rowan Marshall. Speaking of links to Silvagni, Docker Liam Henry, who the Blues bid on at the draft while Silvagni was there, is also weighing up his future. Then there’s free agent Jade Gresham’s looming call on his future, which, considering it’s still up in the air, makes his departure from Moorabbin more likely. The Saints were among the keen suitors for Power young gun Miles Bergman, a St Kilda fan growing up, before he signed on at Alberton.

SYDNEY SWANS

The Swans have been linked to several key position players at both ends of the ground including Tom De Koning, Harry Himmelberg, and most recently, Tom Barrass, to help shore them up, particularly with Lance Franklin expected to call time on his legendary career. Barrass would be the dream addition with so much uncertainty Paddy McCartin’s future and the likelihood he’s played his last AFL game after the former No. 1 pick’s horror run with concussion continued. Hayden McLean, who’s previously drawn interest from rivals, is also a priority re-signing.

WEST COAST EAGLES

Everything and anything should be on the cards at this point, and you sense a significant clean out is coming. The 18th-placed club faces the biggest calls of any side at season’s end and must be ruthless in making them, with everything geared towards long-term gain and trying to bring in more draft capital or youth otherwise. In terms of players out of contract, ex-skipper Luke Shuey and Jeremy McGovern face uncertain futures despite reports the latter was nearing an extension, while Shannon Hurn seems likely to retire. Even veterans contracted for next season, like Nic Naitanui, Andrew Gaff and Jack Darling could all come under the microscope. Momentum is reportedly building around Tom Barrass’ exit from the club despite the star defender being contracted until 2027. Barrass, unlike most of the others, would at least net the Eagles a nice return at the trade table. West Coast also faces the big dilemma of using Pick 1, should it remain last, on Harley Reid or splitting the pick for multiple first-round selections in a draft where there’s strong WA-based talent.

WESTERN BULLDOGS

Next year figures to be a bigger year for the Bulldogs from a trade sense, when Tim English and Aaron Naughton both come out of contract. For now, free agent Bailey Williams’ future is clouded given he’s still on the market, with the South Australian linked to the Crows last month. The Dogs have host of other senior players without deals for 2024 too – perhaps more than any other club – including Alex Keath, Anthony Scott, Hayden Crozier, Jordon Sweet, Mitch Hannan, Roarke Smith, Taylor Duryea, Tim O’Brien and Toby McLean.