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)
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.
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.
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
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.
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)
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’.
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)
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.
jonty smith
Roar Guru
Yeah definitely. Thanks for that
Paul D
Roar Guru
I must say, every time I see Palaszczuk fronting a presser going on about how Queensland is a destination state, citing interstate migration and jobs, I think “clearly, she’s not an AFL fan”. Huge draft coming up for the Gold Coast. They have to nail these four picks firstly – and then, in a few years time, they have to convince them to stay. Not sure what is the tougher challenge. Bowes looks an amazing pickup though.
Asd
Guest
You should then
Penster
Roar Guru
Well said. Footy players must be the only demographic group leaving QLD for the southern states. The exodus is usually the other way around due to cost of living, climate, lifestyle. GCS were quite right to fire a warning shot to runaways. Combined with Rocket's reputation as a hothead, can they get the club on track? Doubt it.
me too
Guest
scratching my head as to how anyone thought it was otherwise - caught a needy hawks who paid well over.
Josh
Expert
Hrrrk. Asd, you're making me want to turn that into a whole new article.
Josh
Expert
I'll admit I haven't followed Viojo-Rainbow much in his time with the Blues, but was surprised to see him get the chop. At the very least, it's disappointing for such a great name to be lost to the AFL.
Josh
Expert
It's a common misconception that the Dockers offered two first-rounders for McCarthy. They couldn't, because they had already traded away one in the deal to get Harley Bennell.
Josh
Expert
59 per cent in favour of the Saints on that one.
Josh
Expert
As mentioned by others, those oddities are a result of multi-team trades/the 'even' option on the poll.
Josh
Expert
Collingwood got 53% of the vote, GWS just 25%. A bigger gap than I would have expected.
Paul D
Roar Guru
I heard 400K for 2 years - either way it was a bit rich. I liked that the club didn't buckle out of desperation. We will need that money in a year or two anyway. I don't mind him leaving at all, bit of a downhill skier is Green.
steve
Guest
Liam Jones is contracted for another year.
Tony Abbott - Member for the Shire of Trump
Guest
Whiley is a real goer, I would have kept him for another season. Bit rough seeing they are keeping the likes of Liam Jones around. The AFL business is ruthless. Better to play in the amateurs of suburban footy with your chums.
Asd
Guest
The amount of players turned over this year you could make another club.Some clubs turn players over like undies.I just find it hard to believe that there is no talent in the delisted players.Probrably useless coaches and list managers.They blame the players .Not there own Shortcomings.
Birdman
Guest
yep it will take a lot of Chris Fagans to fix what is a difficult market for one team let alone two. BTW Paul, any views on Josh Green being delisted after reportedly having his wage demands of $500k declined? That seems crazy money to me?
Macca
Guest
Bobby - I copied a team from the AFL website for my base and made some minor changes - positions weren't really important just the players. The player under the most threat would be Buckley, Kerridge, Cuningham, Wright and Palmer for mine - just because the players outside the team most likely to be pushing for spots play similar positions.
Bobby
Guest
Ed Curnow last on the bench?? He has been in Carlton's top 5 players with Cripps, Simpson, Gibbs and Docherty. Among the first picked
Paul D
Roar Guru
Well, the AFL isn’t the first sporting code to fall afoul of the siren’s song of the Gold Coast, and they certainly won’t be the last. I think Leigh was correct, and yes, the market for AFL has well and truly flatlined – in the past I have said to have patience and see what sort of fans you can attract if these clubs have winning seasons, but I’m gradually coming to the conclusion that barring artificial intervention and contrived circumstances I’m not sure that the Queensland clubs can achieve that. Certainly not for a sustained period. And even if they did have a good run for a few years there’s nothing to stop them plunging back into irrelevance and debt again. The next few years are critical for the AFL here. The Lions have been pretty ordinary now for a good 7 years, since that final in 2009. The Suns have blown all of their startup credit. I’m not sure the AFL can wait another 5 years for these clubs to maybe become good again. That would be over a decade of irrelevance, and they’re already losing eyeballs at an alarming rate up here. TV audiences are meagre, crowds are bad. Players are anonymous. They’re fast losing a generation of potential fans.
Birdman
Guest
I can only guess that Hartung felt that with Hill gone, he would finally get a regular gig at Hawthorn having waited so long - in that sense he was a bit unique. If you look at my posts, I have never denied success and geography weren't an issue and they clearly were here when combined with Billy's long wait in line at Hawthorn. That doesn't negate my view on the Cochrane strategy even it serves some machismic purpose for angry fans. IMHO Leigh Matthews was right in saying that the market was not mature enough for a second team so the AFL's bloody mindedness is at fault here as well.