AFL contenders traded their way to success

Many of the contenders for this year’s AFL premiership can trace their current success back to the 2009 trade period.

The performance of any given player can be influenced significantly by the culture of his club and the quality of its coaching.

Throughout the years there have been many trade busts, where supposedly good players have left one club and failed to perform at another.

Some of the league’s more successful teams have used the trade period to chase high profile players at the expense of high draft picks, and it is not uncommon for one side to be utterly ripped off when a promising player becomes a bust.

Geelong showed the world how one established player can change an entire team’s structure when they pried Brad Ottens away from Richmond back in 2004. Ottens became an integral member of the Cats’ dynasty and went on to win three premierships in a team with no other high calibre ruckmen.

Now, almost three years on from the 2009 AFL trade period, the impact of traded players has propelled Hawthorn, Sydney and Collingwood to the top of the AFL ladder.

In 2009, Hawthorn attained Josh Gibson and pick 69 (Taylor Duryea) from North Melbourne in exchange for picks 25 (Aaron Black) and 41 (Ayden Kennedy). Gibson is now an important part of the Hawks’ defence and is in line for his first All Australian selection.

Hell bent on putting together the league’s most competitive team, the Hawks also went after Shaun Burgoyne from Port Adelaide.

To get the premiership midfielder, they gave up pick nine (Andrew Moore) and Mark Williams, who went on to play four games with Essendon before being delisted. This proved to be a big win for the Hawks with Burgoyne producing big numbers, while Moore and Williams have done nothing.

Under salary cap pressure and fierce competition for midfield roles, the Hawks traded Josh Kennedy and Ben McGlynn to Sydney in exchange for picks 39 (Sam Grimley), 46 (Ben Stratton) and 70 (Matt Suckling, who got a rookie promotion).

Stratton has become Hawthorn’s best defender, and has filled the enormous void left by Trent Croad’s retirement. Matt Suckling is an important part of the Hawks’ quick rebounding defence.

However, the Swans pulled off one of the biggest returns in the draft by attaining Josh Kennedy, who is the competition’s premier contested ball winner. He is in line for his first All Australian selection, and is a genuine chance for the Brownlow.

McGlynn has also flourished in the red and white, sitting fourth on the Swans’ goal kicking charts as one of the league’s best defensive forwards.

With Darren Jolly requesting a trade back to Melbourne in 2009, Sydney decided to make a big push to attain a premiership quality ruckman while their window was open. They went after Geelong’s Shane Mumford.

Mumford was a rookie at the time, but new rules for the trade period allowed him to be traded. Recognising Mumford’s potential, the Swans offered him a four year contract, which could not be matched by Geelong.

Although Mumford has missed a fair bit of footy this year, he is one of the league’s top contested possession ruckman and has seamlessly slotted into the Swans’ midfield. He is particularly dangerous when paired with Josh Kennedy at centre bounces.

Mumford ensured that the Swans did not need to spend time developing a young ruckman after Jolly’s departure.

Jolly was eventually traded to his club of choice, Collingwood, in exchange for draft picks 14 (Lewis Jetta) and 46 (Ben Stratton, on traded to Hawthorn). He made an immediate impact at the Magpies, playing in the 2010 grand final and ultimately winning the premiership.

In 2012, Collingwood’s midfield ranks among the competition’s best, largely because of Jolly’s contribution. The Magpies have struggled when backup ruckman Cameron Wood has been asked to hold the fort in Jolly’s absence.

Meanwhile, in just his second season of AFL football, Lewis Jetta comfortably leads Sydney’s goal kicking (40 goals) and he has been a consistent performer in all of the Swans’ games this season. He has been a revelation and is one of the reasons that Sydney will finish this season in the top four.

The 2009 trade period proved to be a success story for Hawthorn, Sydney and Collingwood with Josh Gibson, Shaun Burgoyne, Ben Stratton, Matt Suckling, Josh Kennedy, Ben McGlynn, Shane Mumford, Lewis Jetta and Darren Jolly all landing at clubs who are in serious premiership contention this year.

All of the aforementioned names will impact the finals series, but not all trades are so successful.

In the same trade period, Essendon traded Andrew Lovett (sacked by St Kilda without playing a game) and Jay Nash (8 games for Port Adelaide before being delisted).

Also moving clubs that year were Brendan Fevola, Mark Seaby, Brent Staker and Amon Buchanan. All were highly valued, and all proved to be busts at their new clubs.

AFL player trading is an intricate art and it only works in certain situations. Individual players cannot turn an entire team around. But three years on, Hawthorn, Sydney and Collingwood have showed that by carefully plugging a few small gaps in the team, a finals contender can be transformed into a premiership contender.