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2016's top ten AFL trades, and who won them - as rated by you!

Expert
25th October, 2016
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Jaeger O'Meara is set to be a superstar at the Hawks. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
Expert
25th October, 2016
64
3411 Reads

During the AFL trade period we asked you to rate the trade on every deal that was done. Well, the time has come to release the numbers and find out what you thought!

I have handpicked what I feel were the ten biggest trades of this off-season and tallied up the votes – have a read below, and let us know in the comments if the voters made the right call.

Cam McCarthy

GWS Giants traded Cam McCarthy, pick No.7, pick No.34, and pick No.72 to Fremantle Dockers for pick No.3.

This was the first deal done and one that was long overdue after McCarthy asked for but was denied a trade to Fremantle at the end of last year.

The vote came heavily in favour of the Dockers on this one and it’s not hard to see why – if McCarthy fulfils his potential, then they’ve gotten him very cheap.

That said, it’s not easy to get a top three pick in the draft order, so the Giants did well here to get something valuable to them.

The verdict: Fremantle win (68.5 per cent)

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Sam Mitchell

Hawthorn Hawks traded Sam Mitchell pick No.54, pick No.72 to West Coast Eagles for pick No.52, No.70 and No.88.

In the space of 48 hours Mitchell went from a Hawk for life to being officially traded to the West Coast Eagles – and for a pack of twistes at that.

The Hawks really don’t gain much of anything out of this deal aside from a little salary cap space. On the other hand, the Eagles could win a flag with Mitchell in the side.

The verdict: West Coast win (68.8 per cent)

Tom Mitchell

Sydney Swans traded Tom Mitchell and pick No.57 to Hawthorn Hawks for picks No.14 and No.52.

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Out one Mitchell, in the other – Tom Mitchell did the reverse Josh P Kennedy and moved from Sydney to Hawthorn despite starting his career with the Swans as a father-son draftee.

For a 23-year-old who puts up the kind of numbers that Mitchell does, it’s hard to argue against Hawthorn here. That said, Sydney’s later move up to pick No.9 could prove a big win for them.

The verdict: Hawthorn win (68.3 per cent)

Pearce Hanley

Gold Coast Suns get Pearce Hanley and pick No.67, Port Adelaide Power get picks No.19 and No.30, Brisbane Lions get pick No.22 and Port’s first-round pick for 2017.

Quite a complex trade in the end, and the only three-team deal of the trade period. Port Adelaide got involved and made the somewhat bizarre decision to trade away what could be a top ten pick next year.

The Suns got Hanley pretty cheap here, but the voters and I are in agreement on this one, Brisbane are the big winners out of the deal, especially if Port have another poor year in 2017.

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The verdict: Brisbane win (45.2 per cent)

Jordan Lewis

Hawthorn Hawks trade Jordan Lewis and picks No.57 and No.68 to Melbourne Demons in return for picks No.48 and No.66.

As if losing Sam Mitchell wasn’t enough, suddenly Jordan Lewis was on the move as well, with Melbourne the big beneficiaries.

Much like with Mitchell, the Hawks got basically nothing at the trade table, making the vote on this basically a no-contest.

The verdict: Melbourne win (82.1 per cent)

Dion Prestia

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Gold Coast Suns traded Dion Prestia and pick No.24 to Richmond Tigers for pick No.6 and Richmond’s 2017 second-round pick.

The Tigers took a long time to strike a deal for Prestia but eventually it gone done, and they picked up some more currency for this year’s draft.

However, the view of most fans is that the Suns win out, getting a good price for Prestia – not so sure I agree with that, it’s about even for mine.

Your verdict: Gold Coast win (43.3 per cent)

Josh Caddy

Geelong Cats traded Josh Caddy to Richmond Tigers for picks No.24 and No.64.

Richmond followed up the long-negotiated Prestia deal by turning this one around in quick time, and for a very cheap price.

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Caddy never really fulfilled his potential at the Cats but given he has the best years of his career left ahead of him and, hopefully, another level to go to, the Tigers look like the clear victors here.

The verdict: Richmond win (79.2 per cent)

josh-caddy-geelong-cats-afl-2016

Caleb Marchbank and Jarrod Pickett

GWS Giants traded Caleb Marchbank, Jarrod Pickett and GWS’ 2017 second-round pick to Carlton for Geelong’s 2017 first-round pick, pick No.45, No.58.

GWS traded away their entire 2014 draft class this off-season, with Marchbank and Pickett being the biggest of the deals to get done.

No one’s doubting their talent, but did the Blues pay too much? The answer from the votes was a resounding ‘nope’.

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The verdict: Carlton win (71.1 per cent)

Brett Deledio

Richmond Tigers traded Brett Deledio to GWS Giants for Geelong’s 2017 first-round pick and GWS’ 2017 third-round pick.

Just when it looked like Brett Deledio was going to be forced to serve out the last year of his contract at Richmond, the Giants swooped.

The voters say the Giants took the chocolates, and I can’t argue with that – it could win them a flag.

That said, getting what I suspect will be an early teens pick for a 29-year-old is a pretty decent outcome on Richmond’s end.

Your verdict: GWS win (44.4 per cent)

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Jaeger O’Meara

Gold Coast Suns traded Jaeger O’Meara to Hawthorn Hawks for pick No.10 and GWS’ 2017 second-round pick.

The biggest blockbuster of the trade period had to wait until just before the buzzer, but it got done.

The Suns ultimately caved to some degree on their demands but got more out of the deal than they would have had they marched O’Meara to the draft – I reckon they made the right decision, even if it took them some time.

Hawthorn have to be the winners though, assuming Jaeger can fulfill even just two-thirds of his enormous potential.

The verdict: Hawthorn win (47.6 per cent)

If you’d like to know the results of any trade not listed here, let me know which in the comments and I’ll give you the numbers.

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