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A club-by-club guide to the 2018 AFL trade period

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1st October, 2018
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1st October, 2018
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The AFL trade period is fast approaching and looks set to be the biggest and busiest yet. As such, I’ve put together a club-by-club guide on who’s coming in, who’s going out, and what the deals might look like.

Adelaide Crows

Draft (first three rounds): 7, 15, 19, 37.

Adelaide’s top focus in this year’s trade period will be how to extract the best possible return for the impending departure of Mitch McGovern.

It appears the relationship between McGovern and the Crows has likely been damaged beyond repair, and although he’s contracted for the next two years at the club, it’s hard to see him returning to play there in 2019 if the Crows hold him to that.

McGovern has nominated Carlton as his preferred destination. He hasn’t spoken about exactly why he prefers the Blues, but if he’s moving to a two-win team you’d have to assume there’s a pretty significant financial component involved.

Mitch McGovern Adelaide Crows AFL 2017

(AAP Image/David Mariuz)

Adelaide’s ideal trade would be if they could combine McGovern and some other currency to move to pick 1 in the draft from the Blues, and likely use this to pick up South Australian star Jack Lukosius.

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It’s a nice idea, but from all reports Carlton have their hearts set on picking up Sam Walsh at this pick, and it seems extremely unlikely they’d be willing to change their minds on that.

That being the case, expect Adelaide to turn their attention to trying to win a high pick from the Gold Coast Suns.

McGovern isn’t likely to want a trade to the Gold Coast, but the Crows could offer the Suns a combination of picks and perhaps someone like Cam Ellis-Yolmen to try and tempt them into giving up pick 2.

It’s a long shot, but likely their best chance at getting the pick they need to draft Jack Lukosius.

Of course, even if the Crows fall short of this lofty goal – which is the most likely result – then they’ll still have the chance to bring in a good local boy, if that’s what they want.

Pick 7 is in about the right spot that at least one if not both of Connor Rozee or Jackson Hately should be available for them.

There’s also been talk that Brad Crouch could leave the club but this is a long way from being concrete yet. He’s contracted for another two years.

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The Crows seem more likely to hit the draft than look for existing talent from other clubs this year, but they have been linked to Richmond’s Tyson Stengle who’d be a good addition to their small forward stocks.

Brisbane Lions

Draft (first three rounds): 4, 22, 40.

Brisbane’s goal in the trade period will be to secure Lachie Neale from the Fremantle Dockers and they’ve already made it clear they’re willing to put their first draft selection, No.4, on the table.

Neale has reportedly been to Queensland to meet with the Lions coaching staff and has informed Fremantle behind closed doors that he’d like to make the move.

Fremantle don’t want to lose Neale, but they might be more open to it given the recent rumours that they’re on the verge of landing Jesse Hogan.

Sending Neale to the Lions for pick 4 would give Fremantle two selections in the top five this year which should be more than enough trade currency to bring Hogan home – so if the Hogan talk is true, expect Brisbane to land Neale.

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Lachie Neale

(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

The Lions are also set to acquire Lincoln McCarthy, a longtime friend of Neale’s, from the Geelong Cats. They’ve offered McCarthy a three-year deal, which seems pretty generous for someone with such a poor injury history. McCarthy has informed the Cats he wants a trade there, expect it to get done pretty easily.

In terms of players going out the good news for the Lions is that Dayne Beams has already quashed the rumours he could seek a trade this year and will at least stick around for the next two seasons to fulfill his contract.

Veteran ruckman Stefan Martin has also been linked to a move home, with Geelong interested, but Lions fans will know that Martin being linked to a trade every year is something you can pretty much set your watch to these days. It seems unlikely to eventuate.

More realistic is that the Lions will move on Ben Keays and Sam Mayes this season and likely not get much in return. Keays has been linked to Gold Coast, while Mayes hasn’t been linked to any clubs yet – but Port Adelaide might be a good fit.

Carlton Blues

Draft (first three rounds): 1, 24, 25.

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The Blues already have two players essentially locked in to join the club this year, being Mitch McGovern and Alex Fasolo.

Fasolo might be the first player to change hands this year. He’s all but certain to join the Blues as a free agent on a three-year deal – expect it to be formally announced on Friday when free agency opens.

As for McGovern, he’s going to be a little trickier – the Blues won’t want to dilute the value of pick 1, but Adelaide are likely to turn their noses up at an offer of pick 24 by itself.

After playing hardball with the Crows over Bryce Gibbs, Carlton might be about to find out what it’s like to be on the other end of that.

Expect them to find a way to get it done, though. Stephen Silvagni tends to do so.

It may well involve on-trading the right to list mature state league stars pre-draft – this is something that both Carlton and Gold Coast have been given access to.

The Blues have indicated that they intend to on-trade these rights rather than use them to bolster their own list. They can do so for a maximum of two players.

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Of course while McGovern will be a big focus for the Blues this offseason, their dream scenario is that Dylan Shiel will accept an offer to come to the club.

Dylan Shiel

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Carlton are one of a number of clubs in the race for him alongside Hawthorn, Essendon and St Kilda, and probably have the inside track on them in that they’ve likely been in contact with Shiel longer than other suitors.

Does that equate to Shiel being willing to join a two-win team? That’s the million dollar question, and we’ll find out sooner or later.

Of course if Shiel does come then again the question is there of how to get a trade done.

Would Blues fans be willing to offer say pick 1 to the Giants for Shiel and pick 13, then on-trade pick 13 to McGovern? That would see them land both targets while still having two picks in the top 25.

If not then they’d likely need to dip into their future 2019 picks to make a deal for Shiel – though could do so knowing the additions of Shiel and McGovern plus the return to fitness of Sam Docherty would be likely to see them move up from the bottom of the ladder next year.

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Collingwood Magpies

Draft (first three rounds): 17, 48, 53.

After their season ended in grand final heartbreak, Collingwood will turn their attention to addressing one of their biggest and most obvious needs.

As many expected pre-game, the height and influence of Josh J Kennedy proved a serious headache for them – so it’s no surprise they’re targetting a big key defender like Steven May.

A number of clubs reportedly have an interest in May, but it’s Collingwood who he has been linked to the longest, and that tends to be a good sign.

The difficult thing for Collingwood will be finding a way to get him out of Gold Coast, who – given May is contracted for 2019 – seem intent on playing hardball with any prospective suitors.

That being the case, May might be willing to go to any one of a number of clubs this offseason, with his ultimate destination depending on who can talk the Suns around for a deal.

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Having only pick 17 to offer for him is then by no means a good starting point for Collingwood, as the Suns would be certain to get a better return in free agency compensation next year by holding May to his contract.

The Pies will then likely need to look at either offering up their 2019 first-round pick, or bringing in another selection this year from elsewhere.

Steven May

(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

The most likely path to go down if they want to do that is trading out Darcy Moore, who has been regularly linked to Sydney during the year.

Moore’s manager recently said that his client will stay at Collingwood if they want him – a bit hard to read, but it certainly seems there is friction between Moore’s management and the club.

If willing to move Moore on then the Magpies could target pick 12 from Sydney, and perhaps this could then form the basis of a deal for May.

Of course, Collingwood could just as easily keep Moore and hope he develops into someone who can play that role for them – as he very likely could.

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However the fact that he wasn’t even picked among Collingwood’s emergencies for the grand final speaks volumes about how the clubs sees him currently.

The Magpies have also been linked to Dan Hannebery having experessed an interest in him given the news he’s coming home to Victoria.

If Hannebery was willing to join Collingwood then the Magpies could almost look at a straight swap of him for Moore – but Hannebery is dealing exclusively with St Kilda, so this seems unlikely.

They’ve also been linked to St Kilda small forward Jack Lonie, who would prefer to stay at the Saints but wants a longer term deal.

The ‘Pies can expect to lose Alex Fasolo to free agency this offseason and might get a third or end-of-second-round draft pick in compensation.

They’d also want to sign up the out-of-contract Tom Langdon before any prospective suitors come calling.

Essendon Bombers

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Draft (first three rounds): 8, 31.

Throughout the year Essendon have been linked to a string of potential recruits and the tale of the tape makes it pretty clear that they feel the need to bring in a midfielder.

Dylan Shiel is probably the one who they’ve been linked to most strongly and if they were willing to stump up pick 8 for him then they might be one of the best-placed clubs to get a deal done with GWS.

However most of the talk presently is that if Shiel does return home to Victoria, it’ll probably be to Hawthorn or perhaps Carlton, and Essendon seem to have moved on to other targets.

Jack Martin at Gold Coast is instead the one that has been discussed a lot lately as the next name on Essendon’s list.

It’s an interesting move by the Bombers if so – Martin doesn’t really fit into that idea that they need to bring in an ‘inside bull’, and if anything probably doubles down on the qualities Essendon already has.

Gold Coast are sure to be reticent to want to trade Martin, who is contracted for 2019. You’d expect it would cost the Bombers pick 8 at a minimum and even then the Suns will be reluctant to let him go.

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Jack Martin

(AAP Image/Joe Castro)

Perhaps a more congenial potential deal is Will Setterfield from GWS, as the Giants appear willing to move players on this offseason as they seek to open up salary cap space.

That could really work in Essendon’s favour as it might mean the Giants are willing to accept unders in a trade to clear space, as they did for example with Paul Ahern.

If the Bombers could land Setterfield by giving up either pick 31 or their 2019 second-round pick, that’d be a major coup.

Essendon have also been linked to Richmond’s Corey Ellis who is looking to move clubs in search of more opportunity.

Other names that Essendon have been linked to include Andrew Gaff and Luke Parker, but as it stands both are very much a longshot to be donning the sash in 2019.

Fremantle Dockers

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Draft (first three rounds): 5.

Fremantle look set to be one of the busiest teams at the trade table this year as they may need to move Lachie Neale on, but could bring in Jesse Hogan to replace him.

Neale has made it clear to the club that he wants to join the Brisbane Lions but is contracted for 2019 so the Dockers will have to agree to do a deal.

If they don’t, then odds are Neale will simply bide his time and move via free agency at the end of 2019 anyway.

Given the Lions have stated their willingness to trade pick 4 for Neale, then Fremantle have to think less about whether they’d rather have Neale or pick 4, and more about whether they’d rather have pick 4 or a compensation pick next year.

Neale might not even attract a band one compensation pick as a free agent so the answer is without a doubt to take pick 4 now (and steak knives if you can get them). Expect the Dockers to do a deal.

While that would give them the chance to take two top-five picks into the draft for a second year in a row, it seems more likely they’ll then trade out one or both in search of Jesse Hogan.

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The rumours about Hogan agreeing to a multi-million dollar deal with the Dockers have only cropped up recently and I’d suspect that it’s a move Fremantle have only made now that they know they’re likely to have the trade currency to deal for him.

If they could send pick 4 to Melbourne for him and that gets the deal done, great. More realistically I suspect they’re losing both picks 4 and 5 but will be able to get something back from the Demons in return.

It’s a high price to pay but the opportunity to get the elite key forward they’ve been lusting after for the better part of a decade is there – so just do it.

Jesse Hogan Melbourne Demons AFL 2017

(Photo by Daniel Pockett/AFL Media/Getty Images)

Of course Hogan isn’t the only WA-born player wanting home this offseason and the Dockers have been linked to a few others as well.

Tim Kelly and Rory Lobb are both potentially on the market. Kelly is believed to prefer West Coast, while Lobb would probably be happy to join either team.

Can the Dockers have any hope of landing both Lobb and Hogan? One would expect it’s pretty unlikely, though it’d be an awesome achievement. Lobb has recently met with the Eagles.

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Expect Fremantle to sign Richmond’s Reece Conca via free agency. The Tiger has often been linked to a move home and now that he can be had for free, seems likely to be a Docker.

Geelong Cats

Draft (first three rounds): 11, 47, 52.

Although nothing’s been officially announced just yet, it seems like the Geelong Cats have at least two new recruits through the door.

Luke Dahlhaus is expected to sign with the club via free agency probably as early as Friday morning, and they’re also likely to gain Gary Rohan from Sydney in a trade.

They’ve also shown an interest in bringing in a ruckman, and have been linked to Stefan Martin. If that doesn’t come off, will they chase someone else?

Unfortunately for the Cats, they’ve also got some players who may look to leave the club, with the big one being mature draftee Tim Kelly.

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Kelly has been linked throughout the year to a return home to Western Australia, and Geelong would be disappointed to lose him given what an excellent first season he’s had.

West Coast is believed to be Kelly’s preference if he returns home but the Eagles don’t have a first-round pick this year, having traded it to Gold Coast last year.

The Eagles might get a compensation pick for Andrew Gaff which would be around pick 20, still and underwhelming return for Kelly’s departure it if eventuates.

Geelong could instead ask for the Eagles’ 2019 first-rounder, or try to work with the Fremantle Dockers on a more appealing deal.

Small forward Lincoln McCarthy has already requested a trade to Brisbane, while free agent George Horlin-Smith is being targetted by Gold Coast. The Cats shouldn’t expect much compensation for either.

Daniel Menzel may again test the free agency market but looks more likely to stay with the Cats on another one-year deal.

Gold Coast Suns

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Draft (first three rounds): 2, 18, 26, 29, 38, 41.

The Suns are set for an unpleasant trade period with Tom J Lynch just one of many names wanting to leave the club.

What we know already is that Lynch will sign with the Richmond Tigers via free agency on what is reportedly a seven-year contract worth $1 million per season.

Tom J Lynch

(Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

That’s more than enough to get the Suns a band-one compensation pick, so once compensation is awarded they’ll have picks 2 and 3, and a total of seven picks in the first three rounds.

That’s only the tip of the iceberg though as all of Steven May, Jack Martin, Will Brodie, Jack Scrimshaw, Aaron Hall and Kade Kolodjashnij are believed to want out of the club this year.

Complicating the matter is that all of these players are contracted for the future so the Suns face a decision between holding them to their contracts or letting them go via trade.

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May has been linked to all of Collingwood, Melbourne, Hawthorn and Essendon – he seems most likely to be a Magpie or a Demon.

Martin has been linked to Essendon, Brodie and Scrimshaw to Carlton, Hall to North Melbourne, and Kolodjashnij to Melbourne.

David Swallow as also linked to a return home to WA at this point, but appears to have committed to being at the club in 2019 – and is likely its next captain.

These deals might be more palatable if the Suns were a chance of trading these players out for mature talent that wants to be at the club, but this seems unlikely.

Gold Coast have been linked to bringing in a number of players this offseason and undoubtedly will get some of them, but they’re all in the category of ‘desperate for opportunity’.

Anthony Miles, Ben Keays, George Horlin-Smith and Corey Ellis have all been linked to the Suns. They could prove handy, but they’re not going to transform the club.

The AFL have also given the Suns another mechanism by which to pursue mature talent, giving them the rights to sign as many as three mature state league players before the draft.

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Josh Corbett in the VFL is likely to be one of their top targets, and they’ve also been said to be interested in the WAFL’s Marlion Pickett.

Whichever way things go, Gold Coast are going to have a strong hand in the draft – possibly incredibly strong depending on how many wantaway players they are willing to trade out.

GWS Giants

Draft (first three rounds): 13, 23, 44, 49.

It seems like GWS’ clear agenda this offseason is to clear salary cap space by trading players out, and there is a host of names who’ve been linked to moves away from the club.

The Giants have already publicly confirmed that Dylan Shiel and Rory Lobb are talking to opposition clubs, and doing so with GWS’ blessing.

Shiel seems most likely to go to either Hawthorn or Carlton, though he’s also being pursued by Essendon and St Kilda.

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While Shiel isn’t a guarantee to be traded this year, the expectation is that if he stays for the 2019 season, he’ll leave at the end of that year via free agency.

Dylan Shiel

(Photo by Adam Trafford/AFL Media/Getty Images)

Lobb on the other hand is looking at a return home to Western Australia. He has met with West Coast, and might also be open to going to Fremantle.

Right now, the Eagles seem like his most likely destination, but it’s borderline and probably depends heavily on whether or not the Dockers can land Jesse Hogan.

Will Setterfield has also been linked to a return to Victoria with both Essendon and Carlton interested in the young midfielder.

The Giants have also broached the idea of a trade with young defender Jeremy Finlayson, though he hasn’t been linked with any specific clubs yet.

Tom Scully and Harry Himmelberg have also been linked to potential moves, but these rumours seem less concrete than others.

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The Giants haven’t been linked to any players coming back in, understandable if as reported they’re facing a serious salary cap crunch.

That being the case I reckon their number one priority should be to go after getting as high a draft pick as possible to bring a really elite talent into the club.

If Brisbane are willing to give up pick 4 to land Lachie Neale for example, could the Giants look to manufacture a three-way deal where pick 13 and Lobb go to Fremantle, Neale gets to Brisbane, and GWS come away with pick 4?

Alternatively they could get in touch with Gold Coast and see if any of their players might be willing to move to the Suns, and put them in combination with some picks to move into the top three.

Hawthorn Hawks

Draft (first three rounds): 14, 32, 50.

As per usual the Hawks loom large in this year’s trade period and in particular have been linked to three big names: Dylan Shiel, Chad Wingard and Steven May.

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Of these three, Shiel seems the most likely. While Carlton are also known to be in hot pursuit, the Hawks surely have to be a more attractive destination right now.

However I suspect that if Wingard is traded to Victoria this offseason as has been widely speculated, it will be to Hawthorn.

While Wingard has also been linked to the Western Bulldogs and to a lesser degree St Kilda, a lot of the talk is that the Hawks are his most likely destination.

Chad Wingard

(Photo by James Elsby/AFL Media/Getty Images)

Steven May on the other hand I would consider unlikely. Although the Hawks have been fans of his for a while, he seems more likely to go to Collingwood or Melbourne at this stage.

How do Hawthorn possibly get deals done? They’d be hoping that a single first-round pick – either No.14 or their 2019 first – is enough for Shiel.

Given the Giants actively need to make salary cap room, they might be willing to accept that. It’s a little unders, but they are pros and understand how the game works.

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Wingard would be much harder to prise out. Port Adelaide are likely to do a deal only if they can see a very good reason to in terms of the trade offer, and Hawthorn probably won’t be able to deliver that.

My gut says that the Hawks probably only get one of Shiel or Wingard this year, but could get the other via free agency at the end of 2019.

At any rate, if they land them both, I’d like it noted right here and now that I was the first person to call the combination of Shiel and Wingard “Shingard”.

The Hawks do also look set to clear out a little depth this season. Taylor Duryea has reportedly had a medical with Sydney and could leave as a free agent, while they’ve given Teia Miles their blessing to seek out more opportunity elsewhere.

Melbourne Demons

Draft (first three rounds): 33, 43, 51.

After making it all the way to a preliminary final, Melbourne will be looking for ways to improve their list but might also need to say goodbye to one of their most promising young talents.

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If the rumours are true then Jesse Hogan could be on his way out of the club as has been speculated for many years.

Hogan is contracted for 2019, but according to some reports has agreed to a long-term, mutli-million dollar contract to join Fremantle, and is set to request a trade there.

Melbourne would be disappointed to see Hogan go but if he does, they can expect to get a huge trade return for him given his youth and proven talent.

The Dockers already have one top-five pick which would be included at a minimum, but Melbourne should angle to get two, as Fremantle may gain another through trading away Lachie Neale.

This would then give them currency to either hit the draft or the trade table, or both, and they’ve already been linked to some targets for the latter.

In particular Melbourne have been linked to Gold Coast co-captain Steven May, and if they land those early picks could be willing to put one on the table for him.

Steven May

(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

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May is going to be hard to get out of Gold Coast unless a club can offer the Suns a really world-beating deal – if the Dees have pick 4 or 5 to play around with, they might have an edge over May’s other suitors.

However May is not the only Sun Melbourne are interested in – they’ve also been linked recently with Kade Kolodjashnij.

The Suns are believed to be more willing to let Kolodjashnij go, and he might be able to be gotten relatively cheaply, even potentially as steak knives in a larger deal for May.

They’ve also been linked to North Melbourne ruckman Braydon Preuss who they want to bring in as a back-up for Max Gawn. They’ll probably be looking at swapping pick 33 for him.

They will say goodbye to Dean Kent who has requested a trade to St Kilda. The Saints have offered Kent a three-year deal, so Melbourne could reasonably argue that they deserved decent compensation – expect him to go fairly cheaply though.

Aaron Vandenberg may also leave the club. He’s believed to have met with the Sydney Swans.

North Melbourne Kangaroos

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Draft (first three rounds): 10, 28, 39, 54.

North Melbourne look set to be one of this year’s biggest players in the trade period.

What we know already is that Jared Polec and Aaron Hall are going to join the club, but it’s also appearing increasingly likely that the Roos could welcome Andrew Gaff to Arden St this offseason.

North have reportedly offered Gaff a deal worth as much as $1.2 million over seven years, although it is family reasons rather than money which may see Gaff come home to Victoria.

His father was hospitalised last month and having seemed more likely to stay with West Coast beforehand, most pundits now seem to believe he’ll leave the Eagles.

If so it would be an absolutely massive signing for the Kangaroos and combined with Polec and Hall would see the club rapidly improve its outside midfield stocks – often North’s Achilles heel in recent years.

The good news for North also is that given how large their financial offer to Gaff is, if he accepts the offer then West Coast are unlikely to be able to match, and the ‘Roos could get their man without having to give up any trade currency.

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Andrew Gaff

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That’s not the case for Polec and Hall – both are out of contract, but neither is a free agent.

What’s long been suspected is that North Melbourne will give up their first draft selection, pick 10, for Jared Polec, possibly with something coming back the other way.

There’s a good chance this is what the deal ultimately looks like, but given that Polec is out of contract the ‘Roos could look to play hardball.

They’ve walked a player to the draft before in Ben Jacobs, and given how publicly Polec has committed to joining the club may be willing to use the threat of that again.

I wouldn’t be surprised if a deal for Polec instead gets done perhaps using a second-round pick or a future selection.

As for Hall, he’s not wanted by the Suns and will come cheap.

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The other player North have been linked to is Nic Newman at Sydney, who is looking at a move home in search of more reliable opportunities at AFL level.

Newman hasn’t been linked to any other clubs yet so seems likely to land at North, possibly in a straight swap for Ryan Clarke who has toured Sydney’s facilities.

The ‘Roos also look set to lose Braydon Preuss to Melbourne.

Port Adelaide Power

Draft (first three rounds): 9, 21, 27, 45, 46.

Port Adelaide are one of the hardest clubs to read coming into this year’s trade period – they look certain to be seriously active, but exactly what they’re going to do is unclear.

One thing we do know for certain is that Jared Polec is leaving the club for North Melbourne, and Port will look to extract maximum value in a trade for him.

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They have their eyes set on North’s first-round draft pick and are a strong chance to get it, though they may have to give North back another selection later in the draft.

That would give them two picks inside the top ten, a good hand with which to either go from the draft or pursue mature talent from elsewhere at the trade table.

Jared Polec

(Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

However rather than be linked to players coming in, there appear instead to be more potentiald departures, with Chad Wingard being the other big name reportedly on the table.

Right now I’m not convinced anything will come of this. Probably the best case scenario Port could realistically hope for is to get pick 6 from the Western Bulldogs – a handy piece, but no more valuable than Wingard himself.

Selling Wingard now when he’s arguably at his lowest value would be one of the dumber moves in the book, and if Port are smart I suspect they’ll hold him to his contract for 2019 and hopefully keeo him at the club longterm.

Karl Amon, Jack Hombsch and Jasper Pittard are also on the chopping block at Port Adelaide. Hombsch and Pittard have been told in no uncertain terms to seek opportunities elsewhere, while Amon has shown an interest in moving.

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That said no suitors have emerged for any of them just yet and I wouldn’t be surprised if all three remained with the Power next year.

Tom Jonas is the last of the players who has been linked to a move out. There were some claims that Sydney were pursuing him, though this has gone a bit quiet since.

There aren’t any potential new recruits Port have been linked to. Perhaps they have something going on under the radar – or maybe they’re just a chaotic mess. Time will tell.

Richmond Tigers

Draft (first three rounds): 16, 34.

The Tigers have already secured arguably the biggest name in the trade period, with Tom J Lynch set to join the club via free agency.

Expect this to be the big headline on Friday when Free Agency opens – both Lynch and the Tigers have had plenty of time to prepare and I’d expect the deal to be announced quickly.

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Of course Lynch is a restricted free agent which means Gold Coast will then have a three-day waiting period to decide whether or not to match the offer.

The only logical course of action is for the Suns to decline to match the offer, as they get a better return for Lynch’s departure that way. But they might wait the full three days just to make Richmond sweat.

Getting Lynch to the club without having to give up any trade currency will be a massive win for the Tigers no matter how you slice it, but it will likely see them move on some depth.

Tom Lynch

(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

So far we’ve seen Reece Conca linked to Fremantle, Anthony Miles linked to Gold Coast, Sam Lloyd to the Western Bulldogs, Tyson Stengle to Adelaide, and Corey Ellis to both Essendon and the Suns.

The futures of Jacob Townsend and Shai Bolton also remain unclear.

None of these players is likely to be a huge loss though and if they are the price of getting Lynch to the club then the Tigers will be more than happy to pay that.

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They’ve also been linked to making a play for Adelaide’s Brad Crouch, though this is a long way from being concrete.

With more than $2 million of their salary cap set to be tied up in Lynch and Dustin Martin, it’s hard to see them landing another big name also.

St Kilda Saints

Draft (first three rounds): 3.

St Kilda seem determined to bring mature talent though the door this offseason, even if they have to compromise on how good that talent is and also don’t have any clear ways to pay for it.

Dan Hannebery is joining the Saints – this we know for certain. Sydney want it to happen and St Kilda want it to happen, to expect a deal to get done.

For a while there was talk that the Swans would seek an upgrade of their first pick, 12, to St Kilda’s first pick, 3 – this would be a boneheaded move by the Saints.

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Instead St Kilda will likely push for a trade that would see Hanneberry join the club in exchange for a future second-round draft pick.

Dan Hannebery

(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

The other recruit who they are known to have gotten across the line is Melbourne’s Dean Kent, to whom they’ve offered a three-year deal.

One would expect he’ll be had fairly cheap, given he’s out of contract at the Demons.

The Saints desire to land big-name talent though has also seen them mentioned in the conversations around both Dylan Shiel and Chad Wingard.

If Shiel or Wingard simply want to go to the highest bidder, then odds are the Saints will be able to blow just about any other club out of the water with a big financial offer.

However of course that won’t be the only consideration for either player, and at the moment I’d suspect it’s extremely unlikely either of those players will join the Saints.

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They’ve also been linked to Jordan Roughead as a free agent.

The Saints may have some players going out too.

Luke Dunstan has been linked to a move to Carlton, and with the Blues holding picks 24 and 25 that might offer St Kilda a chance to get back into the second round of the draft.

Jack Lonie has also been linked to the Blues, and to Collingwood – he’s unlikely to get a good return by himself, but could help make a case for Carlton to give up an early second-rounder.

Tom Hickey has a medical with West Coast but whether or not he gets an offer there might depend on the decision of Rory Lobb, which itself might depend on the decision of Jesse Hogan.

The big name potential departee from the Saints though is Jack Steven, who was reportedly being pursued by the Geelong Cats.

Steven, having just won his fourth best-and-fairest at the Saints, has made it clear he has no intention to leave the club – so we’ll take that at face value for now.

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Sydney Swans

Draft (first three rounds): 12, 30, 35.

The Swans are set to be active at the trade table this year but their overall strategy is engimatic.

We now know that the club intiated moves for both Dan Hannebery (to St Kilda) and Gary Rohan (likely to Geelong) to leave the club, and this has led to heavy speculation that they’re up to something big.

Shortly after the news about Hannebery and Rohan leaving the club broke they were linked to Andrew Gaff, but this talk has died down fairly quickly and seems unlikely to come off.

Instead they’ve been linked to a few other names who don’t offer as much star power but could prove to be handy acquisitions.

It’s been long forecast that Darcy Moore could be on his way to the Swans – at the moment, this seems more likely than not.

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Darcy Moore Collingwood Magpies AFL 2017

(Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Media/Getty Images)

More recently they’ve also been linked to both Ryan Clarke and Aaron Vandenberg, midfielders who’d be hoping to see regular AFL opportunities at the club.

Do they have something big planned under the radar? Afte the surprise signings of Kurt Tippett and Lance Franklin, it’s reasonable to suspect they might.

If we had access to information about clubs’s salary caps, things would be a lot more clear. There’s often been speculation that Franklin’s deal is heavily back-ended, and they may need to make room simply to afford him – but without a look at the spreadsheets, we really just don’t know.

What is clear is that the Swans are set to get a win at the draft this year with Nick Blakey, a key forward rated as one of this year’s best prospects, set to join the club.

As things stand they should expect to be matching a bid for him with the pick 12 they currently hold, but their draft order may get shaken up a bit before all is said and done.

The ideal scenario for them would be if they could find a way to get pick 3 out of St Kilda – this would give them the chance to take one of this year’s top prospects and then match a bid for Blakey later.

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It’s unlikely – but watch this space.

West Coast Eagles

Draft (first three rounds): 20, 36.

Like the AFL premiers should, West Coast are going to struggle to keep their list together. The good news for Eagles fans is while they are going to lose players, the reinforcements might prove just as good.

What’s certain is that Scott Lycett will leave the club. He’s reportedly headed to Port Adelaide on a deal worth $2.4 million over four years.

The Eagles will therefore get either an end-of-first round or a second-round compensation pick for his departure. They’ll be hoping for the former – given that they won the flag, the difference in draft placing is enormous.

What’s less certain but looking likely is that Andrew Gaff may leave the club for North Melbourne on a mega-money deal worth more than $8 million.

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This where West Coast supporters might get pretty frustrated – since they won the flag, the best the AFL can give them in a compensation selection is pick 19.

For that reason I suspect that, if Gaff and Lycett both leave, then the AFL may bump up Lycett’s compensation value to an end-of-first round, likely giving the Eagles picks 19 and 20 – just to give them as close to the fair compensation if they can.

Of course, there’s still ever chance Gaff could re-sign with the Eagles – he’s yet to announce any kind of formal decision. Lycett seems as good as gone though.

Enough about who might be going out though – let’s talk about whose coming in, because West Coast could have ready-made replacements for both players.

With Nic Naitanui down the Eagles are already on the hunt for a mature ruck body and they’ve spoken to a number of players about filling this role.

The best case scenario is Rory Lobb. Word is he wants to be more forward than ruckman, but perhaps he’d be willing to split his time as a Lycett replacement.

While Lobb would probably attract a bigger offer from Fremantle on the open market, the Dockers may pass him over if they’re instead focused on Jesse Hogan, giving West Coast the chance to pounce.

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Lobb has already met with the Eagles, so we know they’re in the market. One of those compensation picks should comfortably be enough to get a deal done.

The other player on their radar is Geelong’s Tim Kelly, who just last year was a mature WAFL star and is believed to be strongly interested in coming home.

Tim Kelly

(Photo by Adam Trafford/AFL Media/Getty Images)

From all reports Kelly’s preference is to go to West Coast rather than Fremantle if possible, and if they do lose Gaff then he’d be a great replacement.

The big question is what to trade for him, as the Cats will feel his value is much higher than that of say pick 19 or 20.

Given Kelly is contracted for next year the Eagles may have to bundle up multiple picks or come up with some other creative solution to get a deal done.

They’ve also been linked to Jordan Roughead and Tom Hickey, whose chances of joining the club might depend on whether or not Rory Lobb comes across.

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Western Bulldogs

Draft (first three rounds): 6, 42.

What was an expansive free agent list for the Western Bulldogs at the start of the year has been trimmed down a bit by the re-signing of Mitch Wallis, but there’s still some work to be done.

The club has already publicly confirmed that Luke Dahlhaus will leave via free agency. By all reports he is headed to the Geelong Cats.

The Bulldogs are set to benefit – they’ll get either and end-of-first-round or second-round compensation pick for his depature.

This is good news because they don’t have a 2018 second-rounder currently, having traded it last year to move up into the first round and draft Ed Richards.

That’ll mean they have a pick with which to match a bid for father-son selection Rhylee West, who is expected to attract a bid somewhere in the latter half of the first round.

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It still leaves Tom Liberatore on their list of free agents though. All the talk is that he’ll re-sign with them, but it sure is taking a while.

Jordan Roughead may also leave the club via free agency. He’s drawn interest from both St Kilda and West Coast.

Marcus Adams may be another they lose – albeit not as a free agent. Adams is contracted for the next two years but believed to be homesick and interested in a trade back to WA.

Certainly some players will go out, but will any come in? The big name that the Bulldogs have been linked to is Chad Wingard.

Chad Wingard Port Adelaide Power AFL 2017

(AAP Image/David Mariuz)

If Wingard indeed wants a trade to Victoria this year then the Bulldogs may be among the best placed to satisfy Port Adelaide at the trade table.

Pick 6 is a fairly handy piece to be able to offer up and would certainly have some appeal to the Power given there’s a number of quality South Australian young guns available around there.

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Izak Rankine for example may still be available at the pick in the draft, and would sorely tempt Port.

The other name they’ve been linked to is Sam Lloyd at the Richmond Tigers, who could join the Dogs in search of more AFL opportunities.

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