The Eagles’ play for a speedy Melbourne defender has ramped up.
Plus a nervy wait looms for a fringe Giant, while a Saint continues to weigh up a North move.
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EAGLES MOVE CLOSER TO SECURING DEMON
West Coast has ramped up its bid for Demons speedster Jayden Hunt, reports 9 News Perth.
Hunt, who played 20 games in 2021 but missed out on the club’s premiership win after an a late-season ankle injury, made another 20 senior appearances this year.
AFL Media reported last week the Eagles had shown interest in Hunt.
Goodwin opens up on Jackson departure | 00:33
9 News Perth reported on Tuesday night that Eagles coach Adam Simpson had met Hunt, who’s an unrestricted free agent, meaning he’d cost nothing for a rival club to pick up.
Hunt remains unsigned at Melbourne despite a strong 2022 campaign for the club.
The 27-year-old, if he headed west, would add much needed speed to a West Coast list that has come under fire this year for its lack of fitness.
“They’ve had two years of being the most unfit team I’ve seen for a long, long while,” former recruiter Matt Rendell told AFL Trade Radio.
The free agency window opens on Friday.
GIANTS MID SET FOR NERVY WAIT
Giants first-round draftee Xavier O’Halloran is “in limbo”, reports AFL Media.
The Giants are set to lose three first-round draftees – Tim Taranto, Jacob Hopper and Tanner Bruhn – to rival clubs, while second-round acquisition Bobby Hill is poised to join the Magpies.
But O’Halloran, who was taken with the last first-round selection in the 2018 drat (Pick 22), remains unsigned beyond this year.
Giants will be ‘adequately rewarded’ | 00:31
AFL Media reported O’Halloran was hopeful of earning another Giants deal but would likely have to wait until after the trade period to learn his fate. The report added some Victorian-based clubs had expressed an interest in the 22-year-old.
O’Halloran in October 2020 re-signed with the Giants for a further two years, despite preliminary interest from rival clubs – including Essendon, Geelong, Brisbane and the Western Bulldogs – towards the back end of the season
The on-baller, who was drafted out of the Western Jets, has played just 33 games for the Giants in four seasons, with six of those being as the starting medical sub.
CLARK’S ROOS CALL COULD DEPEND ON CLARKO
The uncertainty around Alastair Clarkson’s future will likely have an influence on whether Hunter Clark makes the move to North Melbourne, reports AFL Trade Radio.
A classy yet tough 23-year-old that was taken with a top-10 pick, Clark is contracted until the end of 2023.
The Roos reportedly have strong interest in Clark, who’s had a topsy-turvy Saints stint since being taken with Pick 7 in the 2017 draft.
Clarkson, Fagan ‘like the Russian mafia’ | 01:09
Speaking on AFL Trade Radio on Wednesday, SEN reporter Sam Edmund suggested Clark was “weighing up” a move to Arden St, but added the uncertainty around Clarkson – who’s delayed the start of his Kangaroos tenure to focus on the AFL’s investigation into troubling allegations from former Hawthorn First Nations players levelled at Clarkson and other ex-Hawks staffers – “might have a bearing” on Clark’s future.
“I think this might be one where the uncertainty around Alastair Clarkson might work against this particular player acquisition. Not all of them, but I think this one,” Edmund told AFL Trade Radio.
“I think the player (Clark) is overseas at the moment, so that picture will become clearer when he returns from his break.
“So, we’ll see where that one goes.”
Clark has played 68 games for the Saints since debuting in 2018. The only season he managed a full allotment of games was in the 2020 hub season when he played all 18 matches.
