A lot of focus turns to the free agency class every season, but not to be underestimated are the machinations of pre-agents.
Pre-agents – those who will qualify for free agency the following year – pose a delicate balancing act for clubs.
While often clubs are confident in extending the contracts of their stars, some may be prepared to bite the bullet and trade them in the season before free agency, in order to avoid the risk of subpar free agency compensation the following year.
Watch every match of the 2023 NAB AFLW Season LIVE & ad-break free during play on Kayo Sports. Join now and start streaming instantly >
FREE AGENTS OF 2024: The biggest names up for grabs next off-season
Furthermore, if a player is intent on leaving via restricted free agency, the club losing them loses the bargaining power they could have by threatening to hold a player to their existing contract.
It’s why pre-agency movement is as active a market as free agency itself and there are no shortage of elite names who will fall in that category next season.
Lachie Neale, Steven May, Jacob Hopper and Dylan Shiel are among the biggest names to be traded as pre-agents, while Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver and Charlie Curnow are some of the superstars who earned massive contracts from their current clubs because they loomed as pre-agents.
Foxfooty.com.au breaks down some of the big pre-agents of the 2024 season – those who will be free agents after 2025.
AFLW update: Cats climb into top 8 | 01:02
Sam Taylor (Greater Western Sydney)
Barring Toby Greene, it’s hard to argue there’s a more important player to the Giants’ future than Sam Taylor. He is one of the standout success stories of the Giants’ Academy and has established himself as arguably the best key defender in the competition. Injury curtailed a large chunk of his 2023 campaign but he was near impenetrable when out on the park. He is a bona fide star of the competition. Given the emphasis on lesser quality key defenders this trade period, imagine the frenzied fight for Taylor’s services if he remains unsigned beyond 2025. He would be comfortably among the top priorities for the Giants in terms of re-signings and rightly so. Taylor appears to have completely bought into the Giants culture and it would be a shock to see him move.
Tom De Koning (Carlton)
He says it was an easy decision, but recommitting to Carlton on a two-year deal was a significant call. With considerable interest and long-term deals on the table elsewhere – Sydney were right in the mix – De Koning’s decision to stay put for two seasons was effectively the 24-year-old backing himself in to still have considerable value once he hits free agency. There’s always the risk De Koning could backtrack and lose interest from rival clubs, let alone the prospect of injury, but he clearly believes there is growth in his game to come and we saw glimpses of it throughout 2023. Likely to only get better, De Koning’s performances in 2024 could likely have clubs banging the door down once again to try and lure him elsewhere.
Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs)
Marcus Bontempelli and the Western Bulldogs are a package deal at this point. Barring perhaps Tom Liberatore, it’s hard to think of a current player more heart and soul to the Dogs than ‘The Bont’. The most interesting aspect of Bontempelli’s future centres around the club’s performance as a whole. It’s hard to imagine Bontempelli could do much more to try and drag his side back to the promised land and yet still they failed to make the finals in 2023. If the club flounders again next season and the prospect of more premiership success with this list fails, what comes next for one of the game’s best players? As captain it is hard to see him leaving, but the offers will be gargantuan as he enjoys his peak performance years. It would take something big to prise him out of the Dogs, but how the club performs in 2024 could prove the caveat.
Harrison Petty (Melbourne)
This year’s trade period offered an early preview of what things could look like at the close of next season if Harrison Petty remains unsigned beyond 2025. Petty’s comments and the messaging from both Melbourne and Adelaide earlier this month suggest Petty was keen to return to South Australia but was held to his contract by the Dees. It is a bold move by Melbourne considering Petty has still played relatively little time in the forward line due to injury, not to mention the lucrative offers coming the club’s way from the Crows. They’ll still have a chance to cash in next year on his pre agency, but it’s hard to see how much bigger the offers can get than what was on the table for him this year. Players have changed their minds before on a move, but at this stage Petty looms large as a gettable pre agent at the close of next season. How he performs throughout 2024 will be key in his value by that point.
Oscar Allen (West Coast Eagles)
The fact Oscar Allen booted 53 goals in a side many consider to be one of the worst of the modern era is a monumental feat and underscores why he is a player that will have clubs bending over backwards to accommodate. The good news is he is a West Australian and looks determined to be a part of the side’s next premiership build. More good news is West Coast’s rebuild means it is unlikely to overspend from a salary cap point of view and will have ample room to try accommodate Allen’s next contract. Much of the AFL world is still learning what he is capable of after an injury-riddled patch marred his earlier years. His output this year would have clubs at the other end of the ladder salivating over what he could produce in a premiership-contending side.
Luke Davies-Uniacke (North Melbourne)
The only obstacle Luke Davies-Uniacke has to overcome is his own body, with soft tissue injuries wreaking havoc on an otherwise incredibly promising profile. His numbers since the midpoint of 2022 into the early stages of 2023 pegged him as arguably the most in-form player in the competition. He’ll be 25 at the close of next season so the club’s rebuild falls in line with his age bracket, meaning it isn’t now or never that he needs to move in pursuit of success. Similarly, North Melbourne won’t overpay too many players and will have cap space to make him a more than decent offer in line with his output. Having taken him with pick No.4 in 2017, the Roos have invested heavily in ‘LDU’ over the years before he finally started to realise his potential at the backend of last season. They’ll be keen continue on with him now that he’s an established star.
Andrew Brayshaw (Fremantle)
Like a lot of the Fremantle side, Andrew Brayshaw’s performance dipped in 2023, but that doesn’t disregard the form he has shown for extended passages of his burgeoning career. His 2022 season underscored what he is capable of, voted the Most Valuable Player by his peers, claiming the side’s best and fairest award and being named in the All-Australian side. He’d be a plug and play midfielder at any club and there’d be a host of Victorian sides looking to lure him home. Still, while he wasn’t named the captain, it seems as though he is a skipper-in-waiting for the Dockers and he looks invested in the journey alongside fellow vice captain Caleb Serong. Like some others on this list, the Dockers’ trajectory in 2024 will be a point of intrigue as it relates to Brayshaw’s future.
Prior bows out as AFLW West Coast coach | 00:31
Jacob Weitering (Carlton)
He’s had some ups and downs but Jacob Weitering’s 2023 season showed how good a key defender he is. He won his side’s best and fairest count and was rarely beaten by some of the game’s most imposing key forwards. Carlton’s faith in him was shown when the side selected him with the top pick in the 2015 draft and he has repaid that faith despite patches of wayward form over the journey. He’s now settled into his career and will be 27 and at the peak of his powers at the end of next year. Elite key position players are an extremely valuable commodity and that’s why he will draw a stack of interest. Like Patrick Cripps, Weitering would surely be loathe to leave a side he has endured so much with just as the tide is starting to turn.
Harris Andrews (Brisbane Lions)
The co-captain of the Brisbane Lions was in patchy form last year, but this season marked a return to his brilliant best as one of the premier key defenders in the competition. Like all other key position players on this list, Andrews would be a highly valued commodity. While he was born in Victoria, Andrews moved to Queensland when he was young and for all intents and purposes considers himself a Queenslander. In 2025 he’ll come to the end of the four-year extension he signed at the close of 2020, which he did while still having a year to run on his existing deal at the time. It sets the stage for another early recommitment if he does stay on at the Lions. His words at the time? “I couldn’t imagine playing or living anywhere else.”
Sam Draper (Essendon)
We have still only seen the best of Draper in glimpses due to injury, but he’ll be 26 at the end of next year and should start to fully realise his potential. Todd Goldstein being brought in as support is more indicative of Draper’s recovery from groin surgery as opposed to any doubt in his output. His potential was evident given the race to sign him even before he’d played an AFL game. The ruck merry-go-round this year showed there’s a market for the position and Draper’s upside is considerable. His output in 2024 will go a long way toward determining how much is thrown at him by rival clubs. It’s worth noting Essendon’s salary cap space is considerable.
Swans sink Pies to edge closer to finals | 01:23
James Worpel (Hawthorn)
It took the Hawks a fair while to finally extend the contract of James Worpel, but his eventual two-year deal was a testament to the work he’d put in to get back to top form after a marked form dip. He looks refreshed and recommitted under Sam Mitchell and got back to the form that saw him claim the best and fairest in 2019. He would have lots of interest from rivals given what he can offer in the engine room and the two-year contract extension is a shrewd move as he looks to build consistency and stamp himself as a consistently brilliant midfielder ahead of 2025.
Cam Rayner (Brisbane Lions)
The former number one draft pick is still working towards being a consistently excellent player, but the glimpses are becoming more and more frequent as he nears his mid 20s. There has been scuttlebutt over the years linking requesting a trade back to Victoria but he has remained loyal so far. The Lions are well-placed across the ground to cover for any losses at this stage. Their priority at the moment though is clearly Hugh McCluggage, with the winger a restricted free agent at the close of 2024 and set to command a significant deal wherever it is he signs.
Ed Richards (Western Bulldogs)
The Dogs have more immediate concerns in getting commitments from Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, Tim English and Bailey Smith, but Ed Richards has also proven himself as a player worth shoring up long-term. He has excelled at half-back and is still just 24, meaning his prime years are still to come. Soft tissue injury has impacted him at times but he has been a reliable contributor to the side despite the ups and downs of the team at large.
Darcy Fogarty (Adelaide Crows)
Fogarty’s importance to the Crows will only increase whenever Taylor Walker either stops performing at such a high level or hangs up the boots. The key forward has been a slow burn but looks to be hitting his straps as he nears his mid-20s. His finish to 2022 and start to 2023 were both impressive, but he has been a bit patchy since. While Riley Thilthorpe will only improve, Fogarty will have an even bigger role to play in a post-Walker side, so it makes sense the Crows would be keen to keep him.
Noah Balta (Richmond)
Balta is a player who oozes potential and has had stages where he looked to have put the pieces together. He’s always prone to some moments that leave fans pulling their hair out, but equally he can be a gamebreaking force when his dash out of defence helps create scores for his side. He’s only just turned 24 and his best years are ahead. We saw this off-season the market for someone like Esava Ratugolea, who was largely unproven as an interceptor, so the value Balta could command would be high.
