West Coast had their choice of Hawthorn’s or Carlton’s future picks in the protracted Tom Barrass deal that finally went through in the final half-hour before the trade deadline on Wednesday night.
The Eagles’ rookie list boss Matt Clarke, in consultation with West Coast chiefs, ultimately took the punt on the Hawks finishing lower than the Blues next year despite them out-performing the latter by two spots in 2024.
West Coast list boss Matt Clarke chose Hawthorn’s future picks over Carlton’s when trading Tom Barrass to the Hawks.Credit: Getty Images
Hawthorn will be bolstered by Barrass and free agent signing Josh Battle, whereas Carlton will bank on a better injury run, internal improvement, and the player they choose at No.3 in this year’s draft – from a separate deal with West Coast – making an instant impact.
These are the types of decisions list managers must make in the AFL’s new age of future trading, which will go to another level next year, when they can swap picks not just one, but two seasons in advance.
“Obviously, trying to forecast is really hard on where teams are going to finish next year, so we [leave it to our] analytics team about what that might look like,” Clarke said.
“They’re both going to be pretty good next year. There’s not much of a gap, to be perfectly honest, so it was sort of, ‘Let’s go this way’.”
Clarke’s Hawthorn counterpart, Mark McKenzie, took no offence from the Eagles’ decision, but stopped short of saying the club had graduated from rebuilding to a fully fledged win-now period.
“There’s no ceiling in what we can achieve, but we’re still a very young side, so to add in Josh and Tom is going to be important for us,” McKenzie said.
West Coast are not the only side effectively cheering for another to fail, or at least slide on the ladder, in 2025.
The Blues would love to see a premiership hangover from Brisbane that gives them a decent second-round selection, while the Hawks will have their fingers crossed that Carlton miss finals next season after barely scraping in this year.
Hawthorn list boss Mark McKenzie will benefit at the 2025 draft if Carlton slide on the ladder.Credit: AFL Photos
Hawthorn traded their 2024 first-round selection for the Blues’ first- and second-round picks next year, in what was the first bombshell deal of this year’s trade period.
The only other clubs that gained extra first-round choices next year were Essendon and Gold Coast.
The Bombers opted to trade their in-demand No.9 pick this year to Melbourne, knowing they could match any bid on Next Generation Academy sensation Isaac Kako, and the Suns snared both Collingwood’s and Port Adelaide’s first-rounders for 2025.
Essendon list boss Matt Rosa believes they have given themselves the chance to add plenty of young talent across the next two drafts, while still having the ability to pivot in a different direction.
“The exciting thing about being able to bring in the picks and two first-rounders next year, is it gives us flexibility,” Rosa said.
“We can hit the draft this year and next year, we can also look to do some trading within that, or we can do a combination of both. We feel like it gives us great flexibility, and now we can get to work on picking some good kids in this year’s draft.”
Who your club wants to slide
Future trading has not only given clubs more options, but also added a risk-reward element to the AFL’s player movement period. Any time future picks are involved in a deal, the club receiving them hopes the other will tumble on the ladder the next year, meaning they score a better pick. The opposite is also true for the team trading the selections. It is often not known for 12 months which side “won” the trade.
A common strategy with future trading is for clubs to use the mechanism to offload a first-round selection the next year if they know they have an elite father-son or academy prospect waiting for them, like what Collingwood did the year before they welcomed Nick Daicos. This effectively enables a club to double-dip, gaining extra assets for use, say, the year before they match any bid on the player tied to them the year after.
Listed below are the 2025 draft picks your club swapped in and out during this year’s trade period. There could be more changes until draft night, when teams can continue to make pick swaps. For example, the Crows will have their fingers crossed that the Demons and Giants perform below expectations next season because they hold some of those clubs’ future picks.
Adelaide
In: Two third-rounders (tied to Melbourne and GWS Giants) and a fourth-rounder (GWS Giants).
Out: Second-rounder.
Brisbane
In: Third-rounder (Essendon).
Out: Second-rounder and third-rounder.
Carlton
In: Second-rounder (Brisbane).
Out: First-rounder and second-rounder.
Collingwood
In: None.
Out: First-rounder.
Essendon
In: First-rounder (Melbourne).
Out: Third-rounder.
Fremantle
In: Third-rounder (Richmond)
Out: None.
Geelong
In: None.
Out: None.
Gold Coast
In: Two first-rounders (Collingwood and Port Adelaide).
Out: None.
GWS Giants
In: Second-rounder (Adelaide).
Out: Third-rounder and fourth-rounder.
Hawthorn
In: First-rounder and second-rounder (both Carlton)
Out: First-rounder, second-rounder and third-rounder.
Melbourne
In: Third-rounder (Brisbane).
Out: First-rounder and third-rounder.
North Melbourne
In: None.
Out: None.
Port Adelaide
In: None.
Out: First-rounder.
Richmond
In: None.
Out: Third-rounder.
St Kilda
In: None.
Out: None.
Sydney
In: None.
Out: None.
West Coast
In: First-rounder, second-rounder and third-rounder (all Hawthorn)
Out: Fourth-rounder.
Western Bulldogs
In: None.
Out: None.
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