Gold Coast the clear winners at AFL trade week

When the AFL announced the concessions for the new Gold Coast club two years ago, many were up in arms over the newest team getting nine first round draft picks. Many were upset over their ability to sign uncontracted players, too. The fact they would initially have a bigger list than other clubs, with $1 million extra in the salary cap, also led to plenty of outrage.

But at the trade table this past week, it was a little-known concession – the ability to pre-list ten players who’d previously nominated for the draft – that was giving the Suns plenty of assistance.

Two years ago, no one thought much of it. Now, it has just played an important part in Gold Coast emerging from trade week as the most obvious winners.

The Suns were able to list mature-age recruits on behalf of other clubs and then trade those players to those clubs in exchange for draft picks. In some cases, this was used to move up the draft order (if only slightly) or help get bigger deals over the line.

However, the rule also played a big role in the Suns ending up with three of the compensation picks given to clubs who’d lost uncontracted players. These picks will now be stockpiled by the club for use in future years, ensuring a strong draft presence in years to come.

Basically, Gold Coast used this year’s unique rules and their unique situation to their advantage. Scott Clayton, the club’s recruiting manager, once again deserves to be applauded.

The existing clubs, on the other hand, once again have a right to be worried.

That said, I’ve long been an advocate of clubs dealing with Gold Coast and using the expansion situation to their own advantage, and it was good to see some clubs do just that.

The Brisbane Lions, perhaps seeking to rectify their trade week of last year and adjust to the reality check 2010 provided, were able to move up to pick 5 in this year’s draft thanks to some creative trading with the Suns. They also used the new club to land pre-listed player Rohan Bewick.

That said, they lost some pretty big names so it was not all great for the Lions.

Fremantle and Collingwood nabbed two pre-listed players each and, importantly, all of them seem to have plenty of upside. The two clubs were also involved in the most talked-about trade of the past week (the Chris Tarrant trade) and were at least able to avoid a repeat of Luke Ball’s farcical departure from St Kilda to the Pies last year.

Whether Collingwood have room for the four quality key defenders they now have on their list remains to be seen, however.

The Western Bulldogs will be one club content with the past week, injecting some relatively young talent into their list while also securing Mitch Wallis and Tom Liberatore as father-son selections.

Hawthorn got David Hale from North Melbourne, although there is some debate over where exactly he’ll play. Whether it’s up forward (enabling Buddy Franklin to move up the ground) or as a combination ruck-forward (which were all the rage in 2010), you get the sense the Hawks have something very interesting up their sleeve.

The same could be said for Adelaide, who are usually very inactive during trade week. They broke from convention by bringing in Richard Tambling from Richmond (who could very well thrive at a new club) and Sam Jacobs from Carlton (a handy addition considering Jonathon Griffin’s departure to Fremantle).

Geelong might just be the losers of the past week. The Cats appear in two minds over whether to rebuild or go around again, which is understandable when you consider the fact they don’t have a coach but almost unforgivable when it means young talent leaves the club at a time when they would seem more crucial than ever.

For Carlton, who got Jeremy Laidler from the Cats, trade week wasn’t looking too great at the start, with five players apparently wanting out. However, by losing only two and have the remaining three stay put (while also picking up Laidler and Andrew Collins) they’ve placed themselves firmly in the “things could’ve been a lot worse” basket.

Overall, it wasn’t a bad trade week. Not every player wanting a new home got their wish, but there was definitely plenty of activity.

One source of that activity was the introduction of future draft picks into the trade week picture. Perhaps it’s a sign that the league may have to look into following the lead of American sports and making it a more permanent part of the player movement system.