The Giants have provided insights into the Jacob Hopper deal.
Plus West Coast remains in the mix to land Luke Jackson from Melbourne.
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GIANTS SEEKING PLAYERS AND PICKS IN HOPPER DEAL
Giants football boss Jason McCartney says the club is exploring options involving both players and picks in a trade with the Tigers for Jacob Hopper.
GWS already had two players depart on the opening of the trade period on Monday in Bobby Hill (Collingwood) and Tim Taranto (Richmond), while Hopper (Richmond) and Tanner Bruhn (Geelong) are set to follow by next Wednesday’s deadline.
Both Taranto and Hopper have agreed to join Richmond on lucrative seven-year deals, with the former landing at Punt Road for picks 12 and 19.
But with Hopper still in contract, McCartney emphasised how the Giants wanted to keep the two trades with Richmond separate, and said there was still ground to make up in a Hopper deal.
Key to unlocking JHF deal? | 04:31
“Being in contract is an advantage for us, that’s for sure,” McCartney told SEN.
“Richmond in our dealings with them around Tim but also in some initial chats about Jacob have been really good to deal with in terms of what they’ve got on offer.
“It’s just a unique scenario that two high quality players are going to the one club. Putting forward what you’ve got is fantastic, but it ultimately isn’t enough in the end.
“So that‘s what we’ve got to continue to work for, and that’s why we split the deals and did the Taranto deal today.”
Asked if the club is pursuing players from Richmond, McCartney said: “It needs to be explored, both a combination of draft picks and players. That’s a conversation that’s been ongoing over the last week or so.
“Now knowing what we’ve got in our hand now, we’ve got nine days to continue those conversations.
“It feels like there needs to be a bit more work done on that, it’s not obvious with what Richmond has sitting there at the moment that it can get done.
“We definitely need that extra time to look at things that can be done there to improve what a deal could look like.”
EAGLES COULD SPLIT PICK 2 FOR JACKSON
West Coast remains in the mix for Luke Jackson, revealing it’s open to splitting its Pick 2 to strike a deal for the Demons young gun.
Although Jackson requested a trade back to Western Australia to either club, Fremantle is considered the frontrunner for his services on a mooted seven-year deal worth north of $6 million.
The Demons are expected to demand two first-round picks including one in the top 10 back in a trade for the 21-year old, which could put the Eagles in a stronger position to land him if they’re willing to split their Pick 2.
Jason Horne-Francis requests trade | 00:48
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Eagles recruiter Rohan O’Brien says the club is still “keen” to bring Jackson in.
“We’ll just keep in contact with Luke and his management and Melbourne in particular to see what that looks like,” he said, per the West Australian.
“We won’t give up two in its entirety at this stage.
“There’s a whole range of things we can do. It might be split. That’ll come down to Melbourne’s expectations and whether we’re prepared to look at that.”
