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AFL trade news and rumours Day 9 wrap: Bryce Gibbs, Gary Ablett, Jake Stringer

Expert
18th October, 2017
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Bryce Gibbs of the Blues reacts after kicking a goal, during the round 15 AFL match between the Carlton Blues and Adelaide Crows, at the MCG in Melbourne, Saturday, July 1, 2017. (AAP Image/Joe Castro)
Expert
18th October, 2017
21
3132 Reads

Bryce Gibbs, Gary Ablett and Jake Stringer are the three big names who are still waiting to find out where they’ll play in 2018 as we approach the final day of the 2017 AFL trade and free agency period.

After strong words from both Carlton and Adelaide suggesting that a Bryce Gibbs deal to the Crows wasn’t on the table this year, reports came out today that the Blues have approached Adelaide about a late deal to trade Gibbs home.

While some reported with confidence that Gibbs would certainly join the Crows this year there is now some speculation that a misunderstanding about the deal has led to one party pulling of the agreement – so Gibbs’ future is still very much in limbo.

The deal would reportedly have seen Carlton gain pick 10 and Adelaide’s first and second-round picks from the 2018 draft, with the Blues then passing on Bryce Gibbs and their own 2018 second-round pick to Adelaide.

However the misunderstanding reportedly is that the Crows do not want to give up their 2018 second-round pick. It’s a crucial part of the deal, because Carlton intend to forward it on to GWS in exchange for Matthew Kennedy.

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By the sounds of it there won’t be any chance of this leading into a deal for Josh Schache, though Carlton does seem like the only remaining club in Victoria who might be interested in him after the Western Bulldogs were ruled out as a potential destination today.

Darcy Lang however looks likely to move to Carlton after picking them as his preferred destination on Wednesday, against rival offers from Gold Coast and North Melbourne. Because of that, Geelong and Gold Coast will need to find a different way to get a deal done for Gary Ablett.

That deal will now likely be for picks alone. Gold Coast would like it to involve either pick 19 or 22, which most would say is too high a price to pay for a 33-year-old, but it may get done – possibly with the Cats getting something back the other way, such is the value of Ablett’s return to Geelong.

There was little movement on the Jake Stringer trade however with the Bulldogs still considering a deal where they would get picks 25 and 30 from the Bombers.

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There was some suggestion that those picks could then be moved in a pick swap to get pick 13 from the West Coast Eagles, however those talks appear to have broken down and the Dogs probably don’t have an option to trade up anymore.

That leaves them with a decision – hold out and hope for the best with Jake Stringer in 2018, or accept an offer that is well below what they were aiming for. It’s not a great set of options.

Jake Stringer Western Bulldogs AFL

(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Harley Balic traded from Fremantle Dockers to Melbourne Demons for pick 66.

A fairly small piece of business that was bound to get done sooner or later, but had to wait until Melbourne finalised other deals for Jake Lever and Jack Watts.

I’m a fan of Balic, though I’ll be curious to see how well he fits into a Melbourne side that already has plenty of similar players.

He might able to slot in Jack Watt’s half-forward role though – while he’s quite a different player, he could play in that area od the ground.

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Harrison Wigg, pick 54 and Adelaide Crows’ 2018 fourth-round pick traded from Adelaide Crows to Gold Coast Suns for pick 39.

One the came out of the blue to some degree but Wigg is potentially a good pickup for the Suns given he has played some great footy in the SANFL.

You’d be pretty happy with the return if you’re Adelaide though, as they drafted Wigg with pick 35 and have gotten only a mildly later pick for a player they probably would’ve delisted, along with some spare pieces.

Don’t be surprised if that pick winds up being part of the Bryce Gibbs trade – if it does, the Crows should be sending Gold Coast a nice fruit basket or something.

Aaron Francis, Lachie Weller, Brandon Matera, Nathan Wilson, Andrew Swallow, Matthew Lobbe, Aaron Young, Anthony Miles, Daniel Robinson and Mitch Honeychurch are other players who might move on the last day.

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