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AFL Trade Rumours: Richmond finally lands a big fish

Expert
18th August, 2016
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Cazaly's Stadium in Cairns always fills up. (AAP Image/Brian Cassey)
Expert
18th August, 2016
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1831 Reads

Few clubs have copped more criticism over the past few years during trade period than Richmond, who have regularly thrown their hats into the ring when big name players come onto the market only to be knocked back time and time again.

Well, they’ve finally done it – it now seems all but certain that Dion Prestia, a former top ten draft pick and Gold Coast vice-captain, will be part of the yellow and black in 2017.

This rumour had been around for a little while but the news broke on Thursday night that Prestia’s other suitors – with a number of Victorian clubs among them but Hawthorn believed to be the closest – had been told they’ve missed out.

» The Roar’s comprehensive guide to the 2016 AFL Finals

It comes at something of an odd time for the Tigers. One would have thought that if they were to land a big name, it would’ve been a year or two ago, when they appeared to be destination club on the verge of sustained success.

Instead it comes now, after their most disappointing season in several years. But that situation may well have been the catalyst that allowed them to get a deal done.

An important aspect of these negotiations after all is the commitment a club makes to the player in question that they will get a trade done. And this can sometimes be difficult to pull off, especially when it comes to a big name player.

No players wants to be left stranded, having asked their club for a trade, only for their intended destination to fall short of getting a deal done. Mitch Clark, Daniel Gorringe, and of course Cam McCarthy are a few recent examples.

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If the Tigers were in the finals race this year and looking at a pick in the teens, they might be a bit wary of going all out for a player like Prestia, knowing it could be difficult to seal the deal in October.

However, with a top ten pick an absolute certainty for the Tigers, they’ll know they’ve got enough capital to get a deal done with the Suns. While the Suns might initially demand a higher asking price, they’ll no doubt bend eventually, as they have in the past regarding players like Josh Caddy and Charlie Dixon.

A straight swap of Richmond’s first pick for Prestia seems the most likely result and while some might be wary, it’s a solid deal for the Tigers. Keeping their players on the park is one aspect of the game that they’ve done pretty well at in recent times and if they can fix up Prestia he’s more than worth that price and will provide their midfield with an immediate boost.

However, that would leave Richmond without any picks at all in the first two rounds of the draft, given they already gave up this year’s second to Gold Coast as part of a convoluted trade to land Chris Yarran.

That said, the Dion deal won’t be the only deal going down at Tigerland this year, with a few others believed to be on the boil.

The most notable of these is the rumours this week linking them to Travis Cloke, who only last week was reportedly being most sought-after by the Western Bulldogs.

Dion Prestia Gold Coast Suns AFL 2016

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Clearly this one’s a bit up in the air – exactly what kind of deal might be made between Richmond and Collingwood to get Cloke across isn’t very clear at this stage.

I can’t say it feels like a good move to me on the surface. I’m definitely in the camp that believes the vast majority of our game is played between the ears and that seems to be an aspect that both Cloke and Richmond struggle with in times.

Transplanting Cloke to a team where there’s a good mental vibe around – like the Bulldogs – might be just the trick to revive his career. But putting him in one where there is a lot of scrutiny and presure, like Richmond, just feels doomed to failure.

Cloke is already hounded by the media, as are Richmond. You can just imagine the reactions if he was to go goalless in a Round 1 debut for the Tigers as they cough up a loss to Carlton in the season-opener – the pressure and scrutiny that this kind of move would attract would make it almost impossible for it to succeed.

Besides, if you lose Ty Vickery and pick up Travis Cloke, haven’t you really just brought in an older Ty Vickery?

Speaking of Vickery, I’ve been fairly confident for a while that he is headed out of Richmond and the fact they have dropped him to the VFL this week seems only to skew the odds further in favour of that result.

He seems to be in more or less the same situation as Cloke – he would probably prefer to stay with his current club, but they’d prefer to move him on. That’s especially handy for Richmond because so long as someone coughs up a solid contract offer him, they probably get at least a second round pick as compo, which could be as high as pick 25.

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And Hawthorn might be that club – there was a bit of a murmur during the week that the Hawks have shown interest. With Jarryd Roughead out for an indefinite amount of time, and no clear forward line partner for Jack Gunston in his absence, the move does make a small amount of sense for the Hawks, if they think they can turn around Vickery’s form struggles. I’m not sure if the rumours has legs, though.

One last Richmond related rumour for the week – it was suggested that Brett Deledio might be on the move, having reportedly met with North Melbourne. However, Deledio has since denied this pretty strongly, and given that he is contracted for 2017, rather than being available as a free agent, it just doesn’t add up.

Prestia’s not the only Sun on the move this trade period, as we all know, and as Gold Coast are finally admitting to themselves, Jaeger O’Meara wants out the door as well. Rodney Eade’s asking price? Two top ten draft picks. Good luck there Rocket.

It’s going to take a pretty brave club to put out the cash and trade value require to get O’Meara, and it’ll be a make-or-break trade for whoever does it.

Lastly, we can officially close the book on any Michael Hurley rumours after he re-signed with Essendon until the end of 2022 on a very lucrative contract yesterday.

It now looks like Jobe Watson and Michael Hibberd are the only key players Essendon risk losing from their banned 12 – but with Dyson Heppell, Cale Hooker and now Hurley locked up, they can proudly say they’ve gone three for three when it comes to the most important ones for their future.

Regarding Watson and Hibberd, it seems apparent that Watson isn’t weighing up offers from any other clubs but is instead grappling with the decision of whether or not to return to the AFL. Hibberd on the other hand looks likely to request a trade to Melbourne, though there is still time for him to change his mind.

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