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The Roar's 2018 AFL trade period report card - every club graded, as voted by you

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17th October, 2018
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17th October, 2018
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The 2018 player movement period came to an end last night, and we asked you to rate the performance of each club over the past two weeks.

Today I’ve crunched the numbers to bring you our 2018 AFL trade period report card, with every club graded by you – and I’ve thrown in my grades and some of my thoughts also.

First however, a disclaimer: trade period isn’t actually over.

In 2018 for the first time ever the AFL has added a window where clubs can trade draft picks only, but not players, which begins next week and continues until a week before the draft.

The 2018 draft will also feature live trading of draft picks for the first time ever – so, odds are, there’s going to be some more trading done between now and the finish line.

Some would make the argument that we’d be better off waiting until then to rate how clubs traded, and maybe they’d be right… but we’re doing it now anyway.

Enjoy!

Adelaide Crows

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In: Shane McAdam, Tyson Stengle, pick 13, 2019 fifth-round pick (Carlton).

Out: Mitch McGovern, pick 40, 2019 third-round pick (Adelaide), 2019 fourth-round pick (Adelaide).

2018 draft picks: 8, 13, 16, 21, 73, 83.

The Crows were one of the quieter players in the 2018 trade period but what they did do was smart.

Their forward line has become increasingly top-heavy in recent years and the departure of Charlie Cameron and decline of Eddie Betts has left them lacking that smaller dimension, unbalancing things further.

That being the case, it’s no big loss to say goodbye to effectively a ‘fourth tall’ in Mitch McGovern – especially with someone like Darcy Fogarty waiting in the wings – and the Crows secure a good return for him in pick 13.

They then also managed to bring in two small forward prospects in Tyson Stengle and Shane McAdam for practically no cost.

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Hardly earth-shaking, but nifty work.

The Crowd’s grade: C (57 per cent)
My grade: B

Brisbane Lions

In: Marcus Adams, Lincoln McCarthy, Lachie Neale, pick 18, pick 30, pick 35, pick 56, pick 78, 2019 first-round pick (Collingwood), 2019 second-round pick (Gold Coast), 2019 third-round pick (Fremantle).

Out: Dayne Beams, Sam Mayes, pick 5, pick 24, pick 43, pick 59, pick 62, pick 80, 2019 first-round pick (Brisbane).

2018 draft picks: 18, 30, 35, 56, 78.

Brisbane were one of the more active clubs in the trade period, trading in and out a number of players and swapping just about every single pick in their draft hand at some stage.

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In terms of the inclusions you have to be ecstatic about landing Lachie Neale. He fits perfectly into the age group they need and is as blue-chip as stocks come.

The other recruits, Marcus Adams and Lincoln McCarthy, are both a bit more iffy. They’re in that right age group too and certainly play roles that the Lions need to fill, but both have worrying injury histories.

To give Adams four years and McCarthy three suggests the Lions have enormous confidence in their ability to help these players become AFL regulars and if they accomplish that then they’ll be wins.

Unfortunately the black mark on Brisbane’s trade period is that they ultimately did lose Dayne Beams and it remains to be seen how much that will limit what is expected to be a year of improvement for them in 2019.

Rather than lifting the midfield to a new level, Neale’s addition is now probably more likely to simply fill the gap left by Beams – he’s a little less dynamic, but certainly more durable, so it’s arguably a net gain, but not much of one.

He’s more than three years younger also, which is not inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.

The departure of Sam Mayes will affect the Lions relatively little – their kids had gone past him and to get a pick in the 30s in the door was a pretty good return.

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As for picks, while it was disappointing for them to lose Beams, doing so did mean they were able to retain a presence in the first round both this year and next despite trading two top picks to bring in Neale.

They’ll hold Collingwood’s pick 18 as their first selection in this year’s draft before another pair of selections in the 30s, which isn’t a bad result given it’s a depthy draft.

I’d say they overpaid a little for Neale but they also got a very generous return for Beams (given his age) so it balanaces out. They showed a very professional commitment to getting deals done, and overall should feel positive about what they achieved.

The Crowd’s grade: B (59 per cent)
My grade: B

Lachie Neale Brisbane Lions

(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Carlton Blues

In: Alex Fasolo, Mitch McGovern, Nic Newman, Will Setterfield, pick 71, 2019 third-round pick (Adelaide).

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Out: Nathan Kreguer (Special Assistance signing), Shane McAdam (Special Assistance signing), pick 26, pick 28, 2019 second-round pick (Carlton), 2019 fourth-round pick (Carlton), 2019 fifth-round pick (Carlton).

2018 draft picks: 1, 69, 71, 77.

Having drafted a lot of kids in recent years the Blues have arguably had a need to bring in some mature players and they did so in this trade period.

Did they bring in the right ones? Tough to say. Alex Fasolo and Nic Neman have joined the club more on the back of failing to get opportunities elsewhere than for any other reason, which isn’t promising.

Will Setterfield arrives at the club with two AFL games to his name and fresh off a season spent rehabbing and ACL injury, so it would be inaccurate to think about him as a mature and experienced player.

As for Mitch McGovern, there’s no doubt he’s a player of serious quality and has reasonable experience at the top level.

The questions over him instead are why he felt motivated to join a two-win team, and just how much impact he’ll have playing forward for a club that struggles to get the ball to that area of the ground.

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I don’t really understand why Carlton weren’t willing to use their special assistance signings to put talent on their own list. Surely a Victorian like Josh Corbett would’ve picked them over Gold Coast and been more valuable to the club than a pick in the 40s.

Corbett plays a simillar sort of role to McGovern – albeit obviously without the proven ability to do it at AFL level – so the Blues could’ve signed him and instead of trading for McGovern kept their two picks in the 20s, or even traded them up to a pick in the teens.

Instead Carlton’s trade moves mean they’re completely bereft of meaningful selections beyond pick 1, and they’ve already started on decimating their 2019 draft hand by trading out their second-round pick for that year.

Still, this has perhaps been the overly negative way to view the club’s trade period: Setterfield, if his ACL injury hasn’t set him back too much, is a good quality talent, and McGovern is an impressive acquisition given where the club’s at.

Overall I’m not convinced the Blues made any great progress on turning around their list this year, but they don’t appear to have derailed themselves either.

The Crowd’s grade: C (34 per cent)
My grade: C

Collingwood Magpies

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In: Dayne Beams, Jordan Roughead, pick 41, pick 44, pick 57.

Out: Alex Fasolo, pick 18, pick 58, pick 75, 2019 first-round pick (Collingwood).

2018 draft picks: 41, 44, 51, 56, 57, 93.

I’m of two minds about the Dayne Beams trade which, aside from a few other relatively insignificant pieces of business, essentially comprises the entirety of Collingwood’s trade period.

On one hand you can look at it and say this is a team that fell one goal short of the premiership this year, and they’ve just added one of the best midfielders in the competition.

Beams may be about to turn 29, but he’s still elite, and the high price paid for him – two first-round picks – could be considered defensible in much the same way as Adelaide’s Bryce Gibbs deal was.

And of course on top of that there’s the romantic aspect of Beams doing a Chris Tarrant and returning to the club where his career began.

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On the other hand, you could just as easily look at this and think: what the hell are you doing Collingwood? Your midfield is the last place you should be looking to recruit to.

The Magpies’ grand final loss made clear an already glaring need for a quality key defender and the Pies had the perfect fit in Steven May willing to come to the club.

You can make the argument that Collingwood win the grand final if they had Beams in the side this year, and maybe that’s true. For mine, it’s definitely true that they win it if they had May.

From an unemotional, reptilian perspective you have to say that if Collingwood were going to blow two first-round picks on a player then better to do it on 27-year-old May who fills a huge gap on their list rather than 29-year-old Beams who does not.

For those reasons I look at this trade and feel deeply conflicted: I like it and I don’t like it. I don’t think it’s the best move they could have made, but I do feel it’s easily a move that could win them a premiership.

Trading out their first pick has also put them in a position where they may find it hard to match bid for Isaac Quaynor and Will Kelly at the draft, though they may have enough points value in their picks to just narrowly scrape through.

And of course the flip side of that is that if they successfully match a first-round bid for Quaynor, it will mitigate the fact they traded out of the first round to begin with.

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They did manage to bring in Jordan Roughead also who provides a warm body to put into that key defender role, but it’d be some significant revisionist history to suggest that he was ever particularly good at it.

The Crowd’s grade: B (49 per cent)
My grade: C

Dayne Beams

(Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

Essendon Bombers

In: Dylan Shiel, 2019 second-round pick (GWS), 2019 fourth-round pick (Fremantle).

Out: Travis Colyer, pick 9, 2019 first-round pick (Essendon).

2018 draft picks: 34, 66, 84.

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It took Essendon until 15 minutes left on the clock to make their first deal of the trade period, but they certainly proved worth the wait.

After much to-ing and fro-ing about the cost of Dylan Shiel, the Bombers eventually bent to GWS’ demands and paid the price of two first-round picks for him (with a second-rounder coming back the other way).

It may well go down in history as the only time in his entire life that Adrian Dodoro has ever blinked, so kudos to the GWS Giants for becoming the new kings of trade period chicken. Long may they reign.

Perhaps in some circumstances that could be seen as a negative mark on the Dons’ record, but one could also argue it showed a level of flexibility and a commitment to getting the deal done that haven’t always been hallmarks of Essendon’s trade tactics.

The real win after all came the week prior when Shiel agreed to join the club, picking it as his preferred destination over Hawthorn, Carlton and St Kilda.

It will go down in footy folklore that Esssendon’s offer was actually the smallest of the four financially and instead it was their ability to challenge for a flag in the near future that won Shiel over. Who knows if it’s true! Good story, though.

Fan perspectives on the quality of player that Shiel is have fluctuated wildly over the past few weeks depending on the degree to which pundits think he might come to their club, and it’s been amusing in particular to see some Carlton fans goes from hailing him as the Messiah to putting forward their view that, just personally, they’ve always rated Will Setterfield as the superior talent.

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Put me on the record right now as saying Dylan Shiel will go to a whole new level at Essendon. Some have had a crack at him for only being GWS’ third or fourth best midfielder, but the thing about being at that spot in the pecking order is you don’t get to show off how good you are.

Shiel is now probably Essendon’s No.1 midfielder and will get to show us how good he is. I’m expecting that he is very very good. Recruit of the year honours and an All Australian nod are both strong possibilities in 2019.

The Crowd’s grade: B (51 per cent)
My grade: A

Fremantle Dockers

In: Reece Conca, Travis Colyer, Jesse Hogan, Rory Lobb, pick 14, pick 31, pick 43, pick 65.

Out: Lachie Neale, pick 6, pick 55, 2019 third-round pick (Fremantle), 2019 fourth-round pick (Fremantle).

2018 draft picks: 14, 31, 43, 65, 81.

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Being at the centre of the Lachie Neale and Jesse Hogan deals left Fremantle pulling a lot of the strings in the trade period and while there were some bumpy moments along the way, they ultimately were able to turn that position of power into a good return.

The thing about trade period is that fans have short memories. Six months from now when Hogan makes his Docker debut, the fact that Peter Bell came out and said the club had decided not to pursue him only to renege on that not a week later will have become a dry and dusty footnote in the footy history books.

They certainly didn’t make any friends among other clubs during this trade period, but then, that’s not what trade period is about.

The fact that Fremantle landed both Hogan and Rory Lobb in the space of about five minutes after farewelling Lachie Neale means their fans have probably already forgotten the two-time Doig medallist.

There’s no doubt that this trade period saw Fremantle’s forward line radically improve and that’s something the club has been searching for basically throughout the entirety of living memory.

A team that has often struggled to get one working key forward option firing can now pick whatever they feel is the best combination of Hogan, Lobb, Cam McCarthy, Matt Taberner, Brennan Cox and Michael Apeness – they’ve got options now, and several of them are genuinely elite options.

That makes 2019 a big year for them and for Ross Lyon in particular. He’s often expressed a desire to turn Fremantle into a more offensive team, but has arguably lacked the personnel for it – well, you have the personnel now Ross.

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To bring in Hogan and Lobb and still maintain a presence in this year’s first round (and keep a hold of their 2019 first-round pick) is no doubt a good result for the Dockers, but what will be skipped over a lot by excitable fans is that it came at the cost of their most durable and consistent midfielder.

Freo have options here: they can pretty much plug Connor Blakely right into that role, he is ready to flourish. Andrew Brayshaw and Adam Cerra will shoulder more of the load as time goes on.

For mine there more concerning aspect of Neale’s departure is not the gap he leaves behind, but the fact he so adamantly wanted to leave in the first place. What does that say about the environment at the Dockers?

If Damian Barrett’s insight is anything to go by then Neale was reportedly fed up with a lack of professionalism from his fellow players and had lost faith in the messages coming from the club – problems that will be problems regardless of what personnel you bring in.

Of course, I know you probably stopped reading after the first nine words of that paragraph.

It’s impossible not to feel a bit of a curious excitement about what Fremantle have done here. The lack of key forward talent has weighed them down like an anchor (pardon the bad joke) for so long – I very much look forward to seeing what happens with that weight lifted.

The Crowd’s grade: A (57 per cent)
My grade: B

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Jesse Hogan

(AAP Image/Joe Castro)

Geelong Cats

In: Luke Dahlhaus, Nathan Kreuger, Gary Rohan, pick 70.

Out: George Horlin-Smith, Lincoln McCarthy, Jackson Thurlow, pick 55.

2018 draft picks: 12, 50, 59, 60, 70, 87.

The Cats got most of their business done early in the trade period and then spent the vast majority of it in negotiations with West Coast over a deal for Tim Kelly which ultimately fell through.

Ironically the deal that didn’t happen is probably the biggest shaper of how we view the Cats’ trade period, much more so than anything they actually did get done.

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It boils down to a matter of how you see Geelong: are they a realistic shot at a flag in 2019, or should they have instead used this trade period as a chance to take a step back and bring in more draft talent?

It’s clear from Geelong’s moves that they believe in the former rather than the latter. They decided to keep Kelly in a move that will undoubtedly mean they get a smaller return for him next year than they would have by trading him now, but also bolsters their competitiveness for season 2019.

Moves to bring in mature players – whether via free agency (Luke Dahlhaus), trade (Gary Rohan) or otherwise (Nathan Kreuger) – also make it clear that the Cats see themselves being in a ‘premiership window’, so to speak.

And they’re not wrong to do so. Did they have a great year? No. Are they the best team in the league? No. But the premiers of the past few years have proven you don’t need to answer in the affirmative to either of those questions to be a shot at the flag.

It’s worth nothing that the decision not to trade in Kelly does mean that unless Geelong secure another first-round selection between now and the draft, they’ll be hit with trading penalties in 2019.

Overall I’m not a massive fan of the players the Cats brought in, but – leaving aside the question of whether they should’ve agreed to the trade for compassionate reasons – I rate the decision to keep Tim Kelly. That balances things out to about even for me.

The Crowd’s grade: C (44 per cent)
My grade: C

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Gold Coast Suns

In: Chris Burgess (Special Assistance signing), Sam Collins (Special Assistance signing), Josh Corbett (Special Assistance signing), Corey Ellis, Jack Hombsch, George Horlin-Smith, Anthony Miles, pick 3, pick 6, pick 24, pick 79, 2019 first-round pick (Brisbane), 2019 third-round pick (Richmond).

Out: Aaron Hall, Kade Kolodjashnij, Tom J Lynch, Steven May, Jack Scrimshaw, pick 19, pick 32, pick 41, pick 44, pick 78, 2019 second-round pick (Gold Coast), 2019 third-round pick (Gold Coast), 2019 fourth-round pick (Gold Coast).

2018 draft picks: 2, 3, 6, 24, 29, 80.

There’s no two ways about it: this trade period was a disaster for the Gold Coast Suns, mitigated only by the fact that a lot of what happened was telegraphed from a long way out.

Gold Coast lost their two co-captains and arguably their two best players, while also saying goodbye to a former No.5 draft pick and a No.7 for virtually no return whatsoever.

The replacements? A lengthy line-up of ‘handy depth’ types from other clubs whose only reason for joining the Suns is that probably no one else in the AFL would give them a regular game.

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This is a dynamic we’ve seen repeat itself at the Suns for a number of years now: top-tier talent out, other clubs’ rejects in.

And to be entirely fair to them that has led to some reasonably impressive acquisitions, as some of these players do quite well when give more opportunity – Jarryd Lyons and Jarrod Witts being the best two so far.

But it’s a pretty simple equation to say that when you lose elite talent and replace it with the mediocre, the needle shifts more towards the latter than that it does the former.

The end result is that the Suns have an absolutely beautiful hand in the draft with which to build from, a state of affairs you might remember from the fact this is the third time it’s happened in less than a decade.

The Suns will sell it as a chance to start over but the reality is they had the exact same chance to start over two years ago and yet here we are again.

And with Callum Ah Chee, Jack Martin, Peter Wright and Touk Miller on the list of players to come out of contract next year, I don’t see any reason to believe we won’t be back here again soon enough.

Steven May made the very rare move of openly declaring he’d be happy to join any club in his state of choice rather than nominating a preferred destination.

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This was widely hailed as a classy act by an AFL fanbase that is fed up with the player power imbalance at trade time – but it’s also a telling sign that someone who is suppose to be a key plank of their club was so desperate to be anywhere else.

Yes, a lot of the Suns’ problems are not of their own making. They were rushed into the league and a lot of poor decisions were made in their initial set-up, creating long-term ailments that have left the club hamstrung.

Regardless, there’s no way to sugarcoat this one. It’s an absolute trash fire.

The Crowd’s grade: D (36 per cent)
My grade: F

Steven May

(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

GWS Giants

In: pick 9, pick 11, pick 19, 2019 first-round pick (Essendon), 2019 second-round pick (Carlton), 2019 fourth-round pick (Hawthorn).

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Out: Rory Lobb, Will Setterfield, Dylan Shiel, Tom Scully, pick 14, pick 47, pick 71, 2019 second-round pick (GWS).

2018 draft picks: 9, 11, 19, 25, 52, 89.

The Giants came into trade period with some major headaches regarding their salary cap, which ultimately forced them to say goodbye to four quality talents.

This is one of those many occasions where you’d love to have access to player salary information as it could give us a proper indication of exactly who is to blame for things reaching this point.

The Giants came out on the last day of the trade period and said the blame for this exodus lies with the AFL for taking the Cost Of Living Allowance (COLA) away, rather than them doing a poor job managing their books. Without a look at the financials, who can say whether or not that’s accurate?

At any rate, we’re not here to grade the Giants’ accounting. Overall I think they did a good job to make the best of a bad situation.

Tom Scully was given away incredibly cheaply but that is balanced out quite well by the fact that the Giants brought in three first-round selections for the departures of Dylan Shiel and Rory Lobb.

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They also picked up Carlton’s 2019 second-round pick as part of the Will Setterfield deal which could easily be a top 20 pick next year.

It leaves them with four top 25 picks in this year’s draft and probably at least three next year, offering them the chance to balance out a list that for a long time has had a huge proportion of its talent concentrated inside a narrow age range.

Hopefully it has also solved their salary cap drama more or less permanently – in truth, the real success or failure of this trade period will be decided by whether or not these moves give them enough room to successfully re-sign Stephen Coniglio and Josh Kelly in 2019.

It’s a shame to lose players of such quality but I reckon they handled trying circumstances well, and will have a more balanced list going into 2019.

The Crowd’s grade: F (34 per cent)
My grade: B

Hawthorn Hawks

In: Jack Scrimshaw, Tom Scully, Chad Wingard, 2019 third-round pick (Port Adelaide), 2019 fourth-round pick (Gold Coast).

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Out: Ryan Burton, Taylor Duryea, pick 15, pick 35, 2019 third-round pick (Hawthorn), 2019 fourth-round pick (Hawthorn).

2018 draft picks: 53, 90.

Gee, it must be nice to be a Hawthorn supporter.

Tom Lynch says no? Dylan Shiel says no? Aw shucks, I guess we’ll just have to settle for Chad Wingard, Tom Scully and Jack Scrimshaw. How disappointing.

The Hawks did pay handsomely to get Wingard to the team. Dealing out first-round picks is something fans are pretty familiar with, but losing one of their brightest young talents in Ryan Burton undoubtedly stings.

But Hawthorn fans should know by now to trust the club. The Burton decision raised levels of ire probably not seen since the Hawks made the big call to send away Trent Croad and Luke McPharlin back in 2001… and look how that turned out.

Burton is a fine young player no doubt, but perhaps the Hawks suspect his knee is a ticking time bomb, or perhaps they believed they were always going to lose him to the lure of a return home to South Australia at some point in the future.

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Chad Wingard, on the other hand, is an absolute star. Sure, he’s been maligned a bit this year at Port Adelaide, and people have been quick to slap him with the ‘attitude problem’ label, but expect those concerns to evaporate in seconds once he puts on brown and gold.

There’s no doubt in my mind that Wingard is within the league’s top ten most talented players and Hawthorn being Hawthorn, I expect he’ll be back to his brilliant best soon enough and enjoy a long career at the Hawks with many accolades to come his way – more than worth the cost.

And as for Tom Scully and Jack Scrimshaw, well, they were had for a box of Danish butter cookies. Let the good times roll.

The Crowd’s grade: A (46 per cent)
My grade: A

Chad Wingard Hawthorn

(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Melbourne Demons

In: Kade Kolodjashnij, Braydon Preuss, Steven May, pick 23, pick 28, pick 62.

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Out: Jesse Hogan, Dean Kent, Dom Tyson, pick 36, pick 46.

2018 draft picks: 23, 28, 54, 62, 91.

Before Jesse Hogan ever debuted, a pre-season AFL poll asked who was the most important player on Melbourne’s list: him or Nathan Jones?

While it’s no doubt disappointing for the Demons that a potentially generational player like Hogan has left the club, Melbourne fans must be very proud of the progress they’ve made to be able to think that the news is not the killing blow it would once have been.

In fact, losing Hogan and bringing in May – while a net loss in talent – makes Melbourne’s best 22 a much more balanced outfit.

The unforeseen adaptation of Tom McDonald to a tall forward role and the improvement of Sam Weideman means they had enough options in that half of the ground that losing one won’t derail them too much, while the recruitment of May makes them significantly stronger at the other end.

No longer will they have to leave the task of tackling the AFL’s best key forwards to the likes of Oscar McDonald and Sam Frost: now they have a gorilla presence in the backline that they’ve not been able to boast since the days of James Frawley.

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It’ll have a brilliant knock-on effect too of allowing Jake Lever, when he returns from his ACL injury, to play a less accountable role and instead do some serious damage as an interceptor and playmaker.

The addition of Kade Kolodjashnij also is one I really rate. If Melbourne can get him on the right track, he can be up there with the very best rebounding defenders in the league.

Braydon Preuss is a good get for them too although I’m not convinced he’ll do anything other than rot away in the VFL, while shedding Dean Kent and Dom Tyson isn’t a move they’re likely to spend too much time regretting.

To lose Hogan is certainly a blow, but there’s an argument to be made that as talented as he is, the constant umming and ahhing over his longterm future at the club has been a persistent headache which Melbourne can be happy to be rid off.

To turn his departure into the arrival of May and Kolodjashnij while also improving their draft position to have two picks in the top 30 (in a draft with depth enough to see quality players picked there) is a more than acceptable result.

The Crowd’s grade: B (46 per cent)
My grade: B

North Melbourne Kangaroos

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In: Aaron Hall, Jasper Pittard, Jared Polec, Dom Tyson, pick 47, pick 48, pick 49, pick 55.

Out: Ryan Clarke, Braydon Preuss, pick 11, pick 31, pick 68, 2019 fourth-round pick (North Melbourne).

2018 draft picks: 42, 47, 48, 49, 55, 58, 86.

North’s off-season was always going to be significantly shaped by whether or not Andrew Gaff accepted their big-money offer to join the club, and unfortunately for the ‘Roos he knocked back the offer and recommitted to West Coast.

That left North needing to pursue ‘Plan B’ and it’d be fair to say that Plan B turned out to be something of a mixed bag.

Jared Polec and Aaron Hall shape as promising recruits for the club. Both offer that dynamism and creativity that North’s midfield has often been found to lack, and if North get the best out of them – as they have a good track record of doing with new recruits – they’ll have a significant impact on the club’s fortunes.

Jasper Pittard and Dom Tyson are a bit more confusing.

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North definitely are in need of a rebounding defender which is presumably why Pittard was brought in, but Pittard is a rebounding defender in the sense that a Vespa is a motorcycle.

This is a move that has salary dump written all over it and hey, salary cap space is the one thing North have no shortage of, so why not – but I would’ve seen picking up Jeremy Finlayson for this role as a smarter decision.

As for Dom Tyson, it doesn’t make a lot of sense that a player seeking more inside midfield time would land at North where there’s already a good number of players who can fill that role.

Don’t get me wrong, I like hime, and he’s got the potential to be a handy recruit if the ‘Roos find a way to fit him into the team, but it’s telling that they only became interested in him after being knocked back by Gaff.

As for the departures of Preuss and Clarke, both are a bit disappointing, if not particularly unexpected.

Preuss’ move is a real headscratcher – it’s easy to understand being a bit ‘pissed off’ with being stuck in the VFL, but he’s moved to a club where he’s only going to become more entrenched in the VFL. Best of luck to him, but I don’t feel the ‘career suicide’ calls have been at all wide of the mark.

Clarke, on the other hand, feels like a bit of a fumble by North. The ‘Roos played him out of position all year trying to turn him into a defender, and now he’s left the club for peanuts. It’s no great loss as he might have struggled to get a game next year given the inclusions, still, it’s not ideal.

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I’d say North overpaid a bit for Polec but evened things out by getting Hall on the cheap. Their trading has left them without any early picks to speak of, but this is balanced out well by the fact they’ll secure top 30 prospects Tarryn Thomas and Bailey Scott through academy and father-son access.

The Roos extracted some good value given the circumstances this year, but it feels like they lost a bit of coherency once the Gaff deal fell through, and it probably wouldn’t have been too hard to make a bigger profit.

The Crowd’s grade: B (46 per cent)
My grade: C

Aaron Hall Gold Coast Suns AFL 2017

(Photo by Jason O’Brien/AFL Media/Getty Images)

Port Adelaide Power

In: Ryan Burton, Scott Lycett, Sam Mayes, pick 5, pick 15, 2019 fourth-round pick (Adelaide), 2019 fourth-round pick (North Melbourne), 2019 fourth-round pick (Bulldogs).

Out: Jack Hombsch, Jasper Pittard, Jared Polec, Chad Wingard, pick 23, pick 30, pick 48, pick 49, 2019 third-round pick (Port Adelaide).

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2018 draft picks: 5, 10, 15, 85.

After a disappointing season Port Adelaide became one of the trade period’s most active players and I have to almost begrudingly admit, I kind of like what they’ve done here.

Let’s get one thing straight: losing Chad Wingard is a disaster for this club. He should’ve been a one-club player, a generational talent, perhaps their first ever Brownlow Medallist. That dream is dead now.

Why has he left? I’d really, really, really like to know that, because it’s hard to rate Port’s decision to let him go without knowing whether or not there was a realistic chance of keeping him if things had been done more smartly.

They lose a lot of points there, but, if you take it as a given that Wingard was going out the door either way, everything else they’ve done is very canny.

In pick 15 and Ryan Burton they’ve certainly gotten a much better return for Wingard’s depature than if he had left as a free agent next year.

I’ll admit that the fact Hawthorn were happy to move Burton on makes me a bit nervous – the Hawks don’t tend to give up good ones very often. Hopefully Port Adelaide have done their due dilligence here, and Burton goes on to have a long and successful career at Alberton.

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Losing Jared Polec was also disappointing but to get pick 11 back for him is a very good return and to then spin that selection and a few other late picks into pick 5 is a major coup.

Getting a hold of Sam Mayes from Brisbane is a really canny move – they lost two outside midfielders in Wingard and Polec; Mayes is a high-talent, low-cost replacement who can step right into that role.

The draft pick they’ve acquired makes them a strong chance to land South Australian Connor Rozee, and he too would help fill some of the gap left behind.

Scott Lycett for free is a good piece of business too, and might finally solve the ruck issues that have been plaguing Port for years now.

I’ve had a bone to pick with Port’s list management decisions more than once recently and it’s fair to say I’m still a bit frustrated by the lack of coherency in their overall strategy.

That said, I feel like the net result of this trade period is a positive one for them – a step or two back, which should lead to steps forward. Let’s hope it’s the start of genuine clarity regarding the club’s longterm list management direction.

The Crowd’s grade: B (38 per cent)
My grade: B

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Richmond Tigers

In: Tom J Lynch, pick 64, pick 68, 2019 third-round pick (Gold Coast).

Out: Reece Conca, Corey Ellis, Sam Lloyd, Anthony Miles, 2019 third-round pick (Richmond).

2018 draft picks: 17, 37, 64, 68, 74, 92.

Richmond’s acquisition of Tom Lynch ultimately was forecast so far in advance that when it finally happened it was arguably a bit of a non-event, with fan and media focus already elsewhere.

As a result, it’s almost become something of an underrated deal, so let’s reiterate it here: Richmond got one of the league’s most talented key forwards and gave up nothing in return.

Well, okay, not nothing – they gave up a lot of salary cap space. If the reports are true, Lynch’s salary has had to be significantly back-ended just to make it fit in the Tigers’ cap.

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Between massive deals for both him and Dustin Martin, it sounds like Richmond’s salary cap is going to be a tight squeeze for the next little while, and a lot of their eggs are invested in these two baskets.

Richmond also faced the same thing that every successful club eventually does, as those sides lower on the ladder raided their depth.

Of the four players who departed Reece Conca is the only one who made any kind of genuine contribution to their 2018 campaign and while most of these players were well liked, they won’t be missed too much.

Sure, it’s potentially concerning if the Tigers’ injury luck turns sour and they find themselves longing for some depth – but if that’s really such a big concern, Richmond can probably find replacements just as good by targetting some top-tier VFL players.

At the end of the day if you bring in Tom Lynch, don’t lose anyone of note, and still have your first-round picks this year and next, there’s no way you’re falling short of top marks.

The Crowd’s grade: B (51 per cent)
My grade: A

Tom J Lynch

(Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

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St Kilda Saints

In: Dan Hannebery, Dean Kent, pick 36, pick 46, 2019 fourth-round pick (West Coast).

Out: Tom Hickey, pick 61, pick 65, 2019 second-round pick (St Kilda), 2019 fourth-round pick (St Kilda).

2018 draft picks: 4, 36, 46, 67, 79.

For a while before the trade period it looked like things might get a little wacky at St Kilda this offseason so I’m glad to see that the club ultimately remained rather sensible at the trade table.

With a new list manager arriving at the Saints only a short time before the window opened it wasn’t the right time to reinvent the wheel – instead the Saints made a number of smart and canny deals that will help solve at least some of their problems.

Moving on Tom Hickey gets a tick. It’s a shame because the Saints spent so much to get him when they did, but c’est la vie. Finally now the headache of not being able to pick between him and Billy Longer is forcibly removed: just pick Longer.

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Bringing in some mid-range draft picks gets a tick too. The Hickey deal saw them gain pick 39, which they traded up to pick 28 as part of the Dan Hannebery deal, then downgraded back to 36 and 46. Those aren’t especially early selections, but in a draft with a lot of depth to it, they can find good players there.

Dan Hannebery gets a tick also – particularly, the fact they got him so cheaply. The Saints gave up their future second rounder in exchange for Hannebery and an upgrade in 2018.

To put it in context, that’s less than St Kilda paid for Nathan Freeman three years ago, and it’s less than Carlton paid this year for Will Setterfield.

Is Hannebery going to get back to his best? Probably not, though who knows, maybe.

Even if not he’s going to be an excellent influence on the club. They desperately need more leadership, something which he’ll do plenty to provide.

I reckon there’s a very good chance he becomes captain of the club at some point, and in fact I wouldn’t be stunned at all if he’s in that role by Round 1, 2019.

The Crowd’s grade: C (38 per cent)
My grade: B

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Sydney Swans

In: Ryan Clarke, Jackson Thurlow, pick 26, pick 39, pick 40, 2019 second-round pick (St Kilda), 2019 fourth-round pick (Carlton).

Out: Dan Hannebery, Nick Newman, Gary Rohan, pick 13, pick 70.

2018 draft picks: 26, 33, 38, 39, 40, 88.

When news broke that Sydney were moving on Dan Hannebery and Gary Rohan this year, that combined with the fact of Kurt Tippett’s early retirement lead to a great deal of speculation that they might be about to pull off a recruiting masterstroke.

Fans eagerly speculated about who the club might have on its radar to bring in. Andrew Gaff? Chad Wingard?

Well – no. The Swans instead come home with Ryan Clarke and Jackson Thurlow, players that Sydney fans probably couldn’t have picked out a lineup two weeks ago.

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That’s not to say that Clarke or Thurlow are necessarily poor recruits. The Swans have a good track record of getting the best out of recycled players, and both Clarke and Thurlow have shown enough to suggest they’re solid candidates for a career revival.

However it’s entirely fair to be left questioning the wisdom of moving on Hannebery and Rohan when the Swans don’t really seem to have turned their departures into anyone significant coming back the other way, and let them both go for peanuts at the trade table.

Is this simply stage one of a masterplan to poach a big name further down the track? Or did the Swans just need to shed talent to balance their books? If GWS’ gripes about the removal of COLA are at all accurate, it’s not too big of a leap to think Sydney may have been through a similar if less publicised salary cap crunch.

In short, some greater transparency would have been nice, and that’s particularly true when it comes to the manner of Hannebery and Rohan’s departures.

I for one found it a bit disappointing that the Swans put forward a narrative that Hannebery and Rohan had requested trades home to Victoria, when more neutral sources made it clear that it was the club, not the players, who instigated these moves.

Why not just be upfront and honest and say we’ve told Dan and Gary we’d like to move them on? To pretend otherwise, in my opinion, is disrespectful to both the players in question and the fans of the club.

Overall an underwhelming effort from the Swans that just narrowly scrapes through for a pass.

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The Crowd’s grade: D (40 per cent)
My grade: D

West Coast Eagles

In: Tom Hickey, pick 20, pick 61, 2019 fourth-round pick (St Kilda).

Out: Scott Lycett, pick 39, 2019 fourth-round pick (West Coast).

2018 draft picks: 20, 22, 61, 72, 76, 94.

The crowning glory of West Coast’s trade period was to be the arrival of Tim Kelly and unfortunately given the fact that deal fell through it’s fair to say things are left feeling a bit unfinished.

Should the Eagles have offered up more for Kelly? Geelong’s reported asking price with ten minutes to go was picks 20 and 22 this year and West Coast’s first-rounder next year.

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For mine three quality picks is a big price to pay for a single player, especially when you know you can get him more cheaply in twelve months time.

If the Eagles had fallen short in the grand final and felt like they needed an extra layer of talent to take the next step there’d be an argument for it, but as reigning premiers, I’d say they made the right decision.

Of course what has to be noted is that one of the reasons it was difficult to get a deal done for Kelly is because the widely expected departure of Andrew Gaff didn’t happen.

West Coast’s real big win of the trade period was a deal that didn’t get done, as Gaff decided to recommit to the club longterm.

Aside from that, they lost Scott Lycett to Port Adelaide but got a very handy pick 20 in exchange for him, and picked up a replacement in Tom Hickey on the cheap.

Disappointing not to get the Kelly deal completed, but you’d expect it’s unlikely to put a damper on the premiership celebrations.

The Crowd’s grade: C (38 per cent)
My grade: C

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Tim Kelly

(Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

Western Bulldogs

In: Sam Lloyd, Taylor Duryea, pick 27, pick 32, pick 75, 2019 third-round pick (Gold Coast).

Out: Marcus Adams, Luke Dahlhaus, Jordan Roughead, pick 64, 2019 fourth-round pick (Bulldogs).

2018 draft picks: 7, 27, 32, 45, 63, 75, 82

The Bulldogs’ big move of the trade period was to chase after Chad Wingard and when he eventually decided on Hawthorn as his preferred destination, it left them without a whole lot of time to cobble anything else together.

Let’s be honest, the Dogs ultimately did very little – but, I don’t feel they needed to do all that much. I like where their list is at and reckon they’re on the right path.

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I’m not a huge fan of the decision to let Luke Dahlhaus go but it netted them a second-round pick which they’ll be able to use to match a bid for Rhylee West, who is himself not unlike a younger version of Dahlhaus.

Given they did eventually lose Marcus Adams for a pick around the same range I do feel like they probably could’ve kept Dahlhaus and still had enough currency to match that bid, but that would’ve been difficult to forecast, so you can see why it happened.

It’s a shame to see Adams go as ‘The Specimen’ has promised so much but ultimately delivered little for the Bulldogs.

If Brisbane get him fit and firing, it’ll be reasonable to ask questions over why he could be successful there and but not at Whitten Oval – a very big ‘if’, though.

As for Sam Lloyd and Taylor Duryea, I’m not really convinced that either of those deals will prove to be worth the effort of filling out the relevant paperwork.

By no means a disastrous effort from the Dogs, but I don’t think it’s unfair to say they were a bit under par.

The Crowd’s grade: D (40 per cent)
My grade: D

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