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Pearce Hanley will be with the Gold Coast Suns in 2017 if reports from The Australian are accurate.
Rumours are abound that the Brisbane Lions have agreed to a deal with the Suns that will see them swap Hanley for a first round draft pick.
It’s already international news in fact, which is more than we can say for any other trade rumour that has cropped up so far, with Irish sports site Balls reporting the news to Hanley’s homeland.
On the face of it, Hanley being traded away from Brisbane makes a lot of sense. He’s clearly not been in a good frame of mind this year, and so it looks like a smart decision both for him personally and for the Lions as a club.
While the Lions will lose one of the most talented players on their list, they really can’t abide by the kind of attitude Hanely has shown on field at times this year now as they look to rebuild their list – it’s not the sort of example you want senior players setting for the kids.
Hanley has reportedly gotten a bit tired of playing for a losing team. That’s where the really confusing part of this comes in – why Gold Coast?
Gold Coast aren’t really much less of a losing team than Brisbane at the moment and don’t look likely to turn that around in the near future. If Hanley wants to move somewhere with a more positive, successful atmosphere, it’d be hard to find a worse choice of destination that the Suns.
For that reason, I suspect the door may be open just a crack here – while his on-field behaviour would concern a few, players of Hanley’s class and talent to don’t come onto the market very often, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some other clubs have a crack at changing his mind.
Hanley’s mooted departure also brings Tom Rockliff back into the debate as it lends weight to the notion that the Lions might want to do a cleanout of their senior players and that could include trading away the incumbent captain.
Rockliff is reportedly likely to lose the captaincy either way this off-season with a great mate in Hanley moving on, he’s going to be really struggling for reasons to remain at Brisbane.
Adelaide and St Kilda have both reportedly expressed an interest at times during the year. Really, any team looking for a prolific tough-as-nails ball-winner should throw their hand up.
Dare I say it, even the Suns should have a crack. How about a two-for-one package deal, pick 4 in the draft for the Rockliff and Hanley combo? It’d certainly make the next Q-clash nice and heated.
One rumour that did a short tour of the media before it was emphatically put down was the ‘Dustin Martin to Adelaide’ story that flared up and flamed out very quickly.
It’s a timely reminder that your most valuable asset come trade time is what I like to call your ‘bullshit detector’, that little part of your brain that hopefully lets you know when you should and shouldn’t believe what you’re hearing. Let’s call it your BD.
Did the latest “BREAKING” trade #whisper come from a twitter account that hides behind some generic, keyword heavy username, the author of which is totally avoiding accountability by not giving out their name? Did they ask their followers for a certain number of re-tweets before unloading their latest piece of hot goss?
That’s the kind of stuff that should set your BD straight off. Do yourself a favour this off-season and don’t trust a trade rumour from anyone not willing to put their name next to it. That’s still no guarantee but should eliminate a significant percentage of the fiction that gets spouted this time of year right off the bat.
Ahem. Getting back on topic…
Michael Hibberd as expected has officially confirmed that he wants a trade to the Melbourne Demons next year. This has been mooted for a while so doesn’t really come as a surprise. The Bombers have stated they want an early second round pick for him.
Brad Hill has reportedly let Hawthorn know during his end-of-season review that, a widely expected, he wants a trade to Fremantle this off-season. He’s likely to undergo a medical at the Dockers next week.
Zach Tuohy has a few options to choose from. Carlton have reportedly upped their offer from a two-year deal to a three-year deal, but Sydney are said to have put in an offer to his management. North Melbourne have been rumoured as being interested in him for some time.
Chris Mayne’s manager says Mayne will definitely be playing at a Victorian club next year, making his departure from the Dockers a certainty. A few clubs are said to be interested, but it’s believed that Collingwood will be his new home.
Hayden Ballantyne’s preference is still to remain in Perth by joining the West Coast Eagles this off-season, but his manager says he’ll also be talking with a number of Melbourne-based clubs.
Lynden Dunn and Will Minson are both looking at possible career revivals at new clubs, with Dunn drawing some interest for Brisbane who are in the market for mature key defenders, and Minson having a number of possible suitors as a variety of clubs look to bolster their ruck divisions.
Scott Thompson is likely to re-sign with Adelaide on a one-year deal soon, despite Melbourne putting in an offer for him to return to the club he started his career at via free agency.
Majak Daw and Ed Langdon are two players now officially off the table, after both signed new deals with their clubs this week. Daw has re-signed with North Melbourne for three years, while Langdon’s contract with Fremantle is only a single year in length.