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There weren’t that many official transactions, but it was still another day of high drama at Marvel Stadium, as day five of the 2018 AFL trade period concluded just before.
The big bombshell of the day dropped at the very beginning of the morning, with afl.com.au’ Damian Barrett reporting Dayne Beams was set to back out of his commitment to complete his current contract with the Lions and request a trade to Collingwood.
That headline sparked much of the discussion throughout the day, with debate raging as to whether this would make Brisbane’s status as a destination club questionable, while others believed the currency picked up from a Beams trade could see them get deals for Lachie Neale and Marcus Adams done.
But the saga took another twist later on, with coach Chris Fagan claiming he’d not heard any news of Beams requesting a trade, while his manager Paul Connors also came out and said he hadn’t been asked to request a trade by Beams either.
That forced Barrett into an embarrassing backdown, with the senior journalist later saying on Trade Radio; ““We went with the [Beams to Collingwood] story this morning because that is what, in an ideal world, would happen for Dayne Beams”.
When pressured on whether he’d actually spoken to Beams, Barrett said “I’m not going to answer that”.
Dayne Beams’ future was a hot topic. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
The other big piece of news broke very late in the day, with Chad Wingard reportedly nominating Hawthorn as his preferred trade destination. Despite having a year to run on his contract, the 25-year-old has long been rumoured to be on the way out of Port Adelaide.
The Hawks and Western Bulldogs were said to be in the running for his services, with the possibility of the Dogs offering the Power pick seven being floated earlier in the day. In the end, however, numerous sources were reporting the allure of playing for Alastair Clarkson played a big role in Wingard’s decision to choose the brown and gold.
Despite the flurry of conversation around Beams and Wingard, there was only the one trade made on the fifth day of the player movement period. Trade talk died down significantly as the AFL unveiled nine rule changes for 2019 in the afternoon.
After Alex Fasolo’s move from Collingwood to Carlton was officially completed late yesterday, the only official move to take place today was a pick swap between Fremantle and Port Adelaide.
The Power scored pick six and a future third-round draft pick, which helps them get ahead of the Crows as they jostle for some of the highly-touted South Australian draftees available this year.
In return, the Dockers received picks 11, 23, 30 and 49, with the consensus being this arsenal of picks would be used to pry Jesse Hogan away from Melbourne and Rory Lobb away from the Giants.
There no reports on any progress in the Lobb deal, however, news broke late in the day that the Dockers had offered pick 11 and a future secound-rounder to the Demons for Hogan – an offer Melbourne baulked at.
That leaves Hogan’s move to Western Australia in serious peril and, with it, a host of other potential deals.
Steven May’s rumoured departure from the Suns has always relied heavily on the Demons being able to offload Hogan, while it’s understood the Giants are keen to involve the Lobb transaction as something of a three-way deal that involves Hogan too.
This standoff with Melbourne has no doubt also held up Fremantle’s discussions with Brisbane over Lachie Neale who, in turn, won’t be able to work out a deal with the Western Bulldogs for Marcus Adams if they don’t know what they’ll have to work with.
Late in the day, The Age reported that Dean Kent’s wish of a trade to St Kilda had been granted, with the Demons reportedly receiving pick 65 in return. Neither club confirmed these reports, however.
Chad Wingard has reportedly chosen the Hawks. (AAP Image/David Mariuz)
A couple of smaller stories broke towards the end of the day, with rumours that Adelaide’s Jake Kelly could request a trade to Collingwood to join his brother Will, who is likely to be drafted to the Magpies as a father-son selection.
Sydney’s pursuit of Tom Langdon was also said to have put their talks with St Kilda over Dan Hannebery’s departure on hold, while it was another day of silence on deals involving Dylan Shiel, Tim Kelly, Braydon Preuss and Aaron Hall.