One of next year’s biggest names will reportedly be off the market in the coming days.
Plus a Port Adelaide first-round pick is gaining interest from rivals.
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OVER $1M-A-YEAR DEAL LOOMS FOR TOP 2024 TARGET
One of the biggest names on next year’s trade market is tipped to be locked in shortly, with the Western Bulldogs reportedly close to inking a new, long-term deal with Aaron Naughton.
The 24-year-old will reportedly earn more than $1 million a year on the coming contract which The West reports will be finalised in the next couple of days.
Demons ‘open’ to trading Clayton Oliver | 00:35
Naughton is currently set to come out of contract after the 2024 season though he would not yet be a free agent.
The futures of both Naughton and fellow West Australian Tim English, who will be a restricted free agent, are two of the top priorities for the Bulldogs even before 2024 begins.
Also coming out of contract next year are former No.1 pick Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and midfielder Bailey Smith, whose form has been up and down since his breakthrough 2021 finals campaign.
West Coast and Fremantle were both believed to hold interest in luring Naughton home to anchor their attacks but the deal, reportedly to be “one of the longest in AFL history”, would ensure that cannot happen.
Naughton was the No.9 pick in the 2017 draft and has kicked 142 goals over the past three seasons.
Boak to play on in 2024 | 00:25
RIVAL INTEREST IN PORT FIRST ROUNDER
Victorian clubs are considering whether to make a play for Port Adelaide midfielder Xavier Duursma this coming trade period, reports AFL Media.
Duursma is contracted for 2024 but the former No.18 pick has not quite lived up to the status of his fellow 2018 first-round selections Connor Rozee (pick 5) or Zak Butters (pick 12).
The Power are in need of draft assets, given they’re targeting Geelong’s Esava Ratugolea, Essendon’s Brandon Zerk-Thatcher and the Bulldogs’ Jordon Sweet, and don’t have their own first-round pick.
The report did not state which clubs were interested in Duursma, who would need to be traded for.
He has played 73 career games and is from the Gippsland area in south-east Victoria.
Duursma’s brother Zane is one of the top prospects in the upcoming 2023 draft, ranked fifth in Foxfooty.com.au’s prospect rankings following the national championships.
