After a busy Wednesday of trades, free agency is expected to feature heavily on Thursday.
With just two days left for offers, who’ll move and will the price be right?
Follow today’s AFL trade news in our live blog below, and ask your questions in our live trade chat from 9am-5pm AEDT!
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Swans GM explains the big day of deals | 02:54
11AM – PORT ‘SHOCKED’ BY CATS’ REJECTION AS TALKS GROW ‘TESTY’
Port Adelaide is reportedly prepared to walk Geelong’s Esava Ratugolea to the draft as trade talks between the two clubs have grown “testy”, according to SEN’s Sam Edmund.
The Power’s offer of Pick 24 knocked back by the Cats is believed to have “shocked” Port Adelaide, with the sides now locked in a trade stalemate.
Port acquired the 24th pick from a trade with Fremantle, with the Power also holding selections 40 and 48.
After rejecting the second-round offer, Geelong is reportedly targeting Power youngster Ollie Lord, who’s grandson is a legend of the Cats.
Talks between the two clubs seem destined to drag into next week.
10AM – DEES MAKE OFFER FOR FULLARTON
Melbourne has offered its Pick 46 for Brisbane ruckman/key forward Tom Fullarton, reports SEN journalist Sam Edmund, who noted he expects the deal to get done on Thursday.
Fullarton has requested a trade to the Demons in search of more senior opportunities, with the 24-year old having played 19 games across his career including none this season.
He’ll help beef up Melbourne’s tall stocks after the departure of Brodie Grundy to Sydney.
8.30AM – GREATS ‘LIKE WHAT GEELONG IS DOING’ AMID AUDACIOUS BID
Two AFL greats believe Port Adelaide’s offer of Pick 24 knocked back by Geelong for Esava Ratugolea would been a fair trade — but have commended the Cats’ bold approach — as the clubs haggle over the key defender’s price.
Brad Johnson thinks the 24th pick is “spot on” what Ratugolea’s worth, while Kane Cornes thinks it’s “around the mark”, but the Cats are instead reportedly pursuing young Power forward Ollie Lord.
Lord has rich family ties to Geelong, with his grandfather, Alastair, a legend of the club.
Though an audacious bid, Cornes and Johnson admired the Cats for trying to get maximum value back for Ratugolea, who’s out of contract and had his initial trade request to Port last year fall through.
Crows going too hard for Petty? | 01:55
“I don’t think Geelong rated Esava. They rate him now, but when he was actually there and available for selection, there were always five or six players that were picked in front of him and now they’re saying: ‘No, he’s worth more than that’,” Cornes said on AFL Trade Radio.
“What they have done Geelong and I think this is smart. They’ve gone, ‘You want Esava Ratugolea, we want Ollie Lord’.
“I like what Geelong is doing, but this deal is getting just a little bit ugly with Esava Ratugolea if they’re saying he’s worth more than Pick 24 already.”
Lord, 21, who kicked four goals in Port’s qualifying final against Brisbane, has one year remaining on his deal with the Power.
Johnson added: “I like it, (Geelong is saying): ‘You want one of ours, let’s do a direct player-for-player swap, you need Esava in your back half, we need a replacement for Tom Hawkins in the future. Let’s do a deal’.
“Ollie Lord is just a young man finding his way. He had a good final and everyone‘s pretty excited about where his future will land.”
6AM – BOMBERS’ BIG CALL LOOMS ON FREE AGENT AS DRAFT THREAT HANGS OVER DEAL
Essendon is expected to lodge its offer for St Kilda free agent Jade Gresham on Thursday, with all eyes turning to the size of the contract for the mid-forward.
The Saints are hopeful of either receiving a first-round or end-of-first-round compensation pick for Gresham, or if the Bombers’ offer isn’t big enough to trigger that, threatening to match the bid for the restricted free agent and forcing a trade.
But Essendon list boss Adrian Dodoro said on Wednesday the clubs had not yet discussed a trade and clearly indicated his team’s preference to simply sign the 26-year-old.
“I think we’re probably going to lodge documentation within the next 24 hours,” Dodoro said on Trade Radio.
“We haven’t discussed anything … we’re just speaking to his manager at the present time.
“Talk contractual stuff more than anything else. We haven’t spoken to St Kilda.”
Swans GM explains the big day of deals | 02:54
Offers for restricted free agents are almost never matched, with the rare exception being GWS forcing Geelong to the trade table for Jeremy Cameron in 2020. They ended up securing three first-round picks in return, though they also gave back two second-round picks.
“Jade’s a very high-level player,” acting Saints GM of football David Misson said on SEN.
“He kicked 21 goals for us this year, he’s been a really established player at St Kilda and we’re hoping to get an end-of-first-round pick. That’s what we’d be after there.
“If the compensation that we get offered isn’t what we’d like, then we’d decide whether we wanted to match it.
“Jade has a great relationship with Ross. So, if we have to, we’d be very happy to keep Jade at St Kilda if that’s the way it starts to look.”
Adding to Essendon’s leverage is the ability to walk Gresham to the pre-season draft if they can’t get the deal on their terms, reports the Herald Sun.
Like how Carlton front-loaded Jack Martin’s contract in 2019 – ensuring nobody else would draft him, and landing the Sun without a trade after Gold Coast rejected an offer of a second-round pick – Essendon would have the cap space to fit Gresham under contract terms few (if any) other clubs could accept.
St Kilda must also secure Paddy Dow and Liam Henry in the coming days, with a compensation pick expected to assist them in their efforts.
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