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Well here we are, Day 1 of trade period down and done, and how many trades were locked in? Absolutely none. You might think that made it a slow day, but it was anything but.
» All the trade rumours
» List of free agents
» Every trade and free agency move
Probably the biggest piece of news was the Adelaide Crows confirming that Carlton’s Bryce Gibbs officially wants a trade to them, despite being contracted for the next three seasons.
It’s a deal that would make some degree of sense. The Crows want another elite mid to add to their existing mix, while the Blues want more youth and draft picks.
However, the Blues aren’t keen. Not at this exact minute anyway. The statement they released shortly afterwards acknowledging Gibbs’ request suggests they want to work through Gibbs’ issue and hold him to his contract, rather than give him up.
Carlton Football Club can confirm Bryce Gibbs has expressed his desire to return to his home state of South Australia.
“Whilst the Club acknowledges the personal reasons behind Bryce’s request, he is a contracted player and we intend to work through those matters with both him and his management,” Head of Football Andrew McKay said.
The Club will make no further comment at this stage.
Don’t count on that happening. Asking for a trade isn’t a first move, it’s a last resort – going beyond the point of no return, acknowledging that the situation has become irreparable.
It won’t take long for the Blues to realise the logic of the trade and talk themselves around on the matter – and then a deal will get done. But what kind of deal?
Pick 13, the Crows’ first draft pick, would have to be a starting point. But the Blues are likely to demand more for a contracted player. Perhaps other picks, or fringe players like Jarryd Lyons and Cam Ellis-Yolmen, could come into the mix.
It wasn’t a day of great news for the Blues in general really, as Zach Tuohy also requested a trade away from the club, deciding to take up an offer to join Geelong.
And the Cats are also believed to be the potential destination for Brett Deledio, who Tigers football manager Dan Richardson said on Monday was open to a trade.
Those would be two pretty big ins for the Cats but, having already given up this year’s first-round draft pick to acquire Lachie Henderson this time last year, they’re not going to have an easy time securing the pair.
The Cats were believed to be looking at a swap with Richmond for Deledio which would involve Steven Motlop, but the Tigers confirmed they’re not interested in recruiting him, leaving Geelong with some headaches.
If they want to move Motlop on they’re going to have to find a club willing to take him, and then hope they can get something in return that helps them land Tuohy and Deledio.
Collingwood also got a few good mentions in the media on Monday. Daniel Wells could become a Magpie any minute, after North Melbourne officially announced that Wells had quit the club.
Wells and the Pies haven’t dotted the Is and crossed the Ts just yet, and the same goes for Chris Mayne, but there’s a good chance that the pair may both sign with Collingwood today.
However the big surprise related to the Pies was Damian Barrett saying that they’ve been sniffing around Brisbane Lions captain Tom Rockliff. Not confirmed interest just yet, but it could turn out to be a very big story indeed.
It would also go some way as to explaining why a deal sending Jack Frost from Collingwood to Brisbane didn’t get done on Day 1. If the Pies are planning to pick up Rockliff, they could be holding back on that exchange in order to make Frost a part of the bigger deal.
We also saw, as widely expected, a final decision from Tom Mitchell who confirmed that he is seeking a trade this off-seaon to the Hawthorn Hawks. No surprises there, but it’s still pretty tricky to tell exactly how the Hawks will get it done.
However they’ve got Jaeger O’Meara and now Tom Mitchell still to land. Those will be tricky deals to negotiate but expect the Hawks to get them both done like the pros they are.
A little tidbit related to O’Meara, it’s said the Hawks have put ‘six to eight’ names to Gold Coast who they’re willing to give up in a potential deal. No word yet on who those players might be, though.
While the Blues saw two players ask for trades away on Monday they did get some good news with GWS’ yet-to-debut Jarrod Pickett requesting a trade to them, though he does still have a year to go on his contract.
Looks like Stephen Silvagni will once again be loading up with fringe players from his former club – Pickett joins Caleb Marchbank in officially wanting to be a Blue, and James Stewart is reportedly in the mix as well.
If all three of them do come to Carlton, then that will make nine, count ’em, nine former GWS players on the Blues’ list. Don’t worry, I’m assured there’ll be plenty of analysis on this in Ryan Buckland’s soon-to-arrive customary mid-trade-period Carlton rant, but here’s my short take: that doesn’t seem healthy.
Michael Hibberd looks set to land at Melbourne sooner rather than later. The Demons have offered up their 2017 second-round pick, but Essendon want their pick from this year. One of them will blink before too long – Melbourne, probably – and the trade will be done.
Hamish Hartlett could still move during this trade period with Port Adelaide saying they’ve got an “open mind” and aren’t ruling anything out despite Hartlett declaring he wants to stay.
Seems unlikely though – Port would not only have to convince Hartlett to leave, but they’d also need to talk another club into taking him, and to give them something sweet in the trade. I don’t see it happening.
That’s about it for the big news from yesterday. While there may not have been any trades, there was certainly plenty to talk about! Hopefully today the real action will begin in earnest.