The Swans’ interest in a Giants free agent is growing.
Plus more rivals are keeping tabs on a fringe Lion, while St Kilda’s list team looks set to have a busy back-end to the season.
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SWANS ‘IDENTIFY’ GIANTS FREE AGENT AS ‘PLAYER THEY WANT’
The Swans are keen to add Giants free agent Harry Himmelberg to their backline, according to veteran AFL reporter Damien Barrett.
Himmelberg, who turns 27 early next month, was the match-winner for the Giants in their thrilling Gather Round win over Hawthorn on Sunday, kicking the goal that put his team in front before producing a game-saving play on his defensive goalline to deny Hawthorn from regaining the lead.
While he’s played predominantly as a forward and kicked 156 goals during his eight seasons with the Giants, Himmelberg showed off his versatility for the back-half of last season when interim coach Mark McVeigh used him in a defensive role. The move paid dividends, with Himmelberg finishing fourth in the club’s best and fairest count.
Himmelberg is one of just seven AFL restricted free agents available this year – and Sydney is circling, according to Barrett.
“The Sydney Swans, I can tell you, have identified him as a player that they want on their list for the future,” Barrett told Footy Classified.
“Dane Rampe is a grand player in the backline – how many years he has left, who knows. He’s injured at the moment.
“They have identified Harry Himmelberg as the player they want, the Swans, in the backline.
“There are reasons too, privately, why he would like to stay in Sydney. There’s interest for him in Melbourne as well, but he will be a massive target at the end of the year when he’s a free agent.”
The Crows have also been linked to Himmelberg, whose brother Elliott is on Adelaide’s list.
Giants football director Jimmy Bartel said Himmelberg was a “much-loved” player at the Giants.
“He’s a fantastic player, six-foot-four, can play either end as we saw in the space of 90 seconds to help the Giants win (against Hawthorn) and, even more so, he’s a fantastic person,” Bartel told Footy Classified.
Asked if he was worried about losing Himmelberg to a rival club, Bartel said: “No, not at this stage.”
Himmelberg last week indicated his footy future was “something I don’t really want to be focusing on this early in the season”.
“It’s a big decision and I’m happy where I am at the moment,” Himmelberg told SEN Mornings.
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“I’m more focused on learning a new system and performing in that system to my best ability and helping the team win, to be honest.
“My manager David Trotter has been awesome, to be honest, and he keeps me in the loop.
“But it’s progressing well, I think we’ll let the season play out.”
FRINGE LION SET FOR MORE RIVAL APPROACHES
Brisbane midfielder Deven Robertson looms as a player of interest for Victorian clubs, reports the Herald Sun.
Robertson, 21, has struggled for a consistent run in the Lions’ senior side, playing just 28 games since being selected with Pick 22 in the 2019 draft. He was part of the side that lost to Port Adelaide in Round 1 before being named as sub for Brisbane’s Round 2 and 4 matches.
Robertson, who won the Larke medal as the best player in the Under 18 championships playing for Western Australia, attracted interest from West Coast late last year, but indicated he wanted to see out his Lions contract, which expires at the end of the 2023 season.
While the Eagles could reignite their interest in Robertson later this year, the Herald Sun reported Victorian clubs were now among his suitors.
Robertson played in all three finals for the Lions last year, finishing with 17 disposals, 10 tackles and nine contested possessions in the preliminary final loss to Geelong.
But Brisbane’s acquisitions of Josh Dunkley and Will Ashcroft this year has seen Robertson slide out of the club’s starting 22.
Ashcroft’s brother, Levi, looms as a top 2024 draft pick, while 2022 father-son recruit Jaspa Fletcher has yet to be unleashed as he recovers from injury.
SAINTS TO MAKE LATE CONTRACT CALLS
The futures of up to 20 St Kilda players won’t become clearer until the back-end of this season, with an array of contract decisions to be made in the coming months, reports AFL Media.
The Saints have emerged as a shock contender for this year’s AFL finals series after an impressive 4-1 start under new coach Ross Lyon.
Like Lyon, trade and draft gurus Stephen Silvagni and Graeme Allan joined the club during the off-season as part of a new-look Saints list management team.
AFL Media reported on Thursday morning that St Kilda was expected to leave a “backlog” of decisions on off-contract players until later in the year. The report suggested the approach would allow Silvagni and Allan to make a more well-rounded assessment of the list.
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The biggest St Kilda name unsigned beyond this year is Jade Gresham, who’s one of just seven AFL restricted free agents. It emerged late last month the 25-year-old would make a call on his future later in the season.
Other players whose deals expire at season‘s end include Hunter Clark, Jack Higgins, Dan McKenzie, Jimmy Webster, Mason Wood, Nick Coffield and Seb Ross.
Clark, who was drafted by St Kilda with Pick 7 in 2017, had interest from North Melbourne last year before a trade deal fell through.
