The off-season is here for 16 clubs, and by this time next week it will be the primary focus for Collingwood and Brisbane too.
A flurry of activity is again expected in the 2023 Trade Period – though maybe not as turbulent as 2022 – and all clubs will be active in trying to improve their playing lists.
>> The latest AFL Trade Rumours for every team
This is the lay of the land for your team.
The Crows expecting to lose Tom Doedee to Brisbane or Collingwood, with Sydney as the outsider.
They revised their offer for the defender after his second ACL rupture mid-season, which did not go down well with the player or his management.
The Crows would also like a player in return for Shane McAdam, who has requested a trade to Melbourne. Harrison Petty and Tom Sparrow are both contracted, while James Harmes is too – but is available to a good home.
The Crows may lose Elliott Himmelberg to GWS to play alongside brother Harry, though they can play hard ball given he has a deal for 2024.
Tom Doedee of the Crows after suffering a ruptured ACL. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
The Lions have very few gaps on their list, although clearly the club feels as if it needs more tall forward depth, given its interest in Mabior Chol. Doedee would be a nice acquisition, too.
They also have one eye on the 2024 draft, with gun on-baller Levi Ashcroft – Will’s brother – likely to be a top five pick. Accruing enough points for him will be important this time next year.
Though injured right now, youngster Kai Lohmann re-signing last week is a solid show of faith.
Like Brisbane, Carlton’s list is stable and ready for success.
St Kilda will back itself to bring in Paddy Dow via the delisted free agency pool, rather than a trade; while Zac Fisher is contracted for two more seasons amid interest from North Melbourne.
Meanwhile, it would be a surprise if Lewis Young was traded, given he’s under contract until the end of 2026, despite noise around a possible departure.
Jack Ginnivan’s resurgence in the senior team in recent months surely makes him off limits to rival clubs now, but the same cannot be said for VFL gun Trent Bianco, who may test the waters after playing just one senior game this year.
Beyond Doedee, it is unclear who else the Magpies would like to bring in. They are well stocked in most departments and may prefer to build a war chest to have a crack at Ben King, Oscar Allen or another key forward in 12 months’ time.
The Bombers are impatient. They don’t necessarily want to stockpile draft picks as they have in the past; instead, they would prefer players who will improve Brad Scott’s team immediately, both at the top end and via greater depth.
Ben McKay’s looming arrival solves an issue down back, while Jade Gresham and Todd Goldstein are other free agents weighing up the Dons. If they acquire all three, the Bombers would just be giving up cash, which they have plenty of.
Outgoing list boss Adrian Dodoro is eyeing off Port’s playing list to replace Brandon Zerk-Thatcher. The other Don to watch is Dylan Shiel, but more on him later.
Fremantle has a crummy draft hand, so will fight hard for a good deal as part of Liam Henry’s trade request. An early second-round selection seems about right, but St Kilda doesn’t have one… yet.
If the Saints receive decent compensation for Gresham, expect them to use it on Henry. The Dockers privately acknowledge they cut too deep last year, so bringing in stacks of youth isn’t high on their agenda.
While we wait for Tom Hawkins to re-sign, it’s worth pondering why Geelong wouldn’t go after Todd Goldstein (again). But the biggest issue facing new footy boss Andrew Mackie is how to negotiate a fair deal for wantaway defender Esavava Ratugolea, who has requested a trade to Port Adelaide.
Chris Scott was playing a nice strategic game on AFL 360 – he’s not re-signing, Chris – but his value is hard to gauge. My sense is he’s worth around pick 30, but a long-term Port offer bumps this up to pick 20-25.
The Suns are listening to offers for Mabior Chol and Elijah Hollands, both of whom are contracted. Their pursuit of Dustin Martin will wait 12 months, given the club’s commitment to as many as four academy players in this year’s draft.
The Suns’ primary aim is to trade pick 4, with the Western Bulldogs leading the race – though now North Melbourne knows what its assistance package will be, a bevy of later first-round picks could make them more viable.
GWS is obsessed with speed this off-season: how can its players become quicker and who can they target to help with this objective?
They’ve had long-standing interest in Elliott Himmelberg, the brother of swingman Harry, who is contracted at the Crows; while they will listen to offers for Nick Haynes, who is resigned to departing if a club can foot his seven-figure bill and offer him at least two more seasons beyond 2024.
Tyler Brockman has requested a trade to a Western Australian team, with West Coast and Fremantle surely interested. In another blow, Jacob Koschitzke last week asked to move to Richmond.
Is that it? Not even close.
Hawthorn has already missed out on Liam Henry, Esava Ratugolea and Ben McKay and the Trade Period hasn’t even started. They like Mabior Chol, but so far it’s been an ordinary off-season for Sam Mitchell’s men.
Strangely, they don’t appear keen on Tom Doedee.
The Demons looks set to lose free agent James Jordon and will facilitate a trade for James Harmes, who is due to earn more than $500,000 next year.
Brodie Grundy’s move to Sydney appears a formality, pending an agreement on cash and a draft pick or two. The Demons would then likely be in the market for a back-up ruckman who is more willing to play VFL behind Max Gawn.
How the club sorts its forward line issues out is anyone’s guess, though their draft hand is strong thanks to last year’s trade with Fremantle for Luke Jackson.
North would love to bring in a forward or two to help Nick Larkey, while their AFL assistance package will surely be used to move up the draft order in pursuit of NGA prospect Ryley Sanders via Gold Coast’s pick 4.
Ben McKay’s departure will also hand them a nice compensation draft pick and give the club a chance to add more elite youngsters to its list.
The Roos are well placed to land Sydney’s Dylan Stephens, plus Zac Fisher from Carlton.
The Power the difficult prospect of bringing in Esava Ratugolea and Brandon Zerk-Thatcher without any draft picks before the end of the second round. Jordon Sweet – who has played 11 career games for the Western Bulldogs and starred in the VFL this year – looms as an easier trade target, given his periphery role at Whitten Oval.
Travis Boak has been offered a contract for 2024 – now it’s up to him whether he will play on. Scott Lycett will likewise be offered a deal, but needs to decide whether he’s willing to sit behind Sweet or go elsewhere to be a first-choice ruck.
New coach Adem Yze would be delighted Jacob Koschitzke wants to play under him in 2024, while the club has met with Jade Gresham in recent times as well.
Whatever the Tigers are planning, they’ve kept it secret. Their draft hand is not good, so moving up the order and having a pick in the top 10 should be a priority.
The Saints spent months telling rival clubs it is focussed on the draft, only to lure Liam Henry from Fremantle. If the club can manufacture Dylan Shiel’s arrival from Essendon amid murky rules across trade and free agency guidelines, then they’ll have done well.
The Saints are also in the market for ruck support to assist Rohan Marshall. They have asked the question of Todd Goldstein, though he appears headed elsewhere.
The Swans missed out on Ben McKay and will facilitate a trade for Dylan Stephens. Brodie Grundy will come in, with the club boasting plenty of draft capital to get that deal done.
They also have interest in Tom Doedee, who will help their defensive woes, but not immediately given his knee injury.
Where else do they look? Joel Hamling at Fremantle?
Another inside midfielder is on the club’s radar too.
The Eagles are interested in GWS ruck Matt Flynn and Brisbane’s Deven Robertson, but their main growth will come via the draft.
Pick 1 will be hot property, and the prospect of splitting it with another club looms large too. The Eagles have list spots to fill, money to spend and will enter 2024 with lower expectations. Bringing in a suite of elite teenagers in is the club’s top priority.
Next year Bailey Smith, Aaron Naughton, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and Tim English come out of contract, so don’t expect the Dogs to be splashing the cash now.
Instead, their focus is firmly on convincing Gold Coast to part with Pick 4, which may be difficult given North Melbourne’s suite of selections. St Kilda’s Nick Coffield is on their radar too.
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