Key posts
The official moves so far
Pick swaps on the agenda as clubs target Harley Reid
By Marc McGowan, Peter Ryan and Andrew Wu
The intrigue around what West Coast does with pick one continues, with No.1 elect Harley Reid again emphatic that he would happily play for the Eagles, while Geelong have been busy discussing potential pick swap options relating to their first-rounder, which has delayed work on a deal to send Esava Ratugolea to Port Adelaide.
The Cats have made it clear leading into the trade period they were open to trading pick eight, either splitting the selection or securing a later first-round pick and a future one in return.
Geelong key defender Esava Ratugolea.Credit: AFL Photos
Discussions with other clubs were ongoing on Thursday after the Cats communicated via a very preliminary discussion with Port Adelaide they were not prepared to agree to pick 24 for Ratugolea while Port made it clear Ollie Lord would not be traded.
He plays like Charlie and could match Harley, so why haven’t you heard about Jed Walter?
By Marnie Vinall
He’s a hulking teenage key forward from Australia’s croc country, tipped to be the next Charlie Curnow and considered a possible rival to Harley Reid as this year’s No.1 draft pick, but one club has had him sewn up for years.
Meet Jed Walter, the top-end talent from the Top End, who’ll almost certainly land at the Gold Coast Suns next month as an academy selection.
The Gold Coast Suns are expected to draft Northern Territory youngster Jed Walter (right) who has been likened to Carlton’s goal-kicker Charlie Curnow.Credit: Getty
While 18-year-old knows “nothing’s set in stone until draft night”, he certainly seems excited about the prospect of becoming a Sun as one of three academy selections.
“Dimma [former Richmond premiership coach Damien Hardwick] is in there now,” he enthused.
“Just look at his resume. Three-time premiership coach, it’s pretty crazy. If I play under him, that would be unreal.
“I think it’s really exciting times for the Goldie. I think they’re a good chance to have a crack at it in September [next year].”
The official moves so far
Good morning
G’day everyone. It’s Roy Ward here and I’ll be tapping the keys to start today’s AFL trade period blog for day five of the annual player movement talks.
It’s the last day for free agent contracts to be lodged so Essendon’s chase of Jade Gresham will come to a head between now and 5pm AEDT when the deadline for those contracts arises.
Otherwise, trades will continue into next week until the trade period ends, so we may not get any resolution for trade candidates like Xavier Duursma or Lachie Schultz today although anything is possible.
Please stick with us for the hours ahead as we wait to see when the next deal will be done or who else might unexpectedly be on the market.
Feel free to leave a comment on the blog and enjoy the day to come.
