AFL movements: Stay up to date with all delisted free agency news, signings
With the first window of delisted free agency closing on Wednesday these are the players who are looking like they may not find a new club.
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Gold Coast will only consider delisted free agents Jed Anderson and Zach Sproule for rookie-list positions as Dan Hannebery’s AFL hopes dwindle.
The first window of delisted free agency finishes on Wednesday with Francis Evans (Port Adelaide) and Fergus Greene (Hawthorn) finding new homes but list spots are in short supply.
The Suns appears unlikely to revive the career of former St Kilda and Sydney midfielder Hannebery for next season and after early interest they will also not pursue Richmond’s Sydney Stack.
The Suns made an enquiry about Hannebery’s intentions for next season more than one month ago but have since moved on.
Hannebery, 31, struggled with soft tissue injuries throughout his career at St Kilda and announced his retirement at season’s end.
Ex-Roo Anderson and ex-GWS defender Sproule have both been linked to the Suns but Gold Coast will not take a player in this week’s delisted free agency period.
After November’s national draft where the Suns will take three selections a number of rookie spots are likely to become available.
If Anderson hasn’t found himself another AFL opportunity the Suns are keen on the tough inside midfielder from Northern Territory, where Gold Coast has a zone.
Similarly the Suns are keen on defensive cover so Sproule would likely fit the mark after being unlucky to be moved on from the Giants.
Former Cats midfielder Quinton Narkle is yet to find a new home, Riley Collier-Dawkins has only modest interest and ex-Saint Jarrod Lienert will likely transition into AFL coaching.
Narkle could have to wait until after the draft to secure a rookie-list spot with clubs excited by the offensive aspects of his game but aware he is short on defensive intent.
At this stage he has not shown the inclination to take up an offer for what would likely be a summer train-on opportunity to win a rookie spot so any AFL hopes lie elsewhere.
The Suns have to take three picks in the national draft but could upgrade rookies to the senior list on national drat night to create more rookie spots.
The club’s retention of Jeremy Sharp and Brayden Fiorini means they have less list spots than they might have believed through the trade period.
But Fiorini and Alex Sexton, both on contracts north of $500,000 next year, are now expected to extend their contracts by a year but spread out their salaries until the end of 2024.
Rory Thompson, also on a lucrative contract for 2023, will play on despite knee issues but the club’s salary cap issues will largely be resolved by the end of next year.
The AFL has a second delisted free agency period from November 11-15 after players decide whether to retire or not by November 10.
Essendon is hopeful Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti will have shown by this week he is in good enough shape to prove he can take up a list spot next year.
Geelong, Brisbane and Port Adelaide is eyeing former Essendon speedster Conor McKenna in the supplemental selection period.
Brisbane has had its eye on McKenna for more than a year, while the Cats are also keen to add his dash to the club’s back-to-back flag tilt.
Hawks sign ready-made Gunston replacement
Hawthorn has handed former Bulldogs forward Fergus Greene a second chance as a delisted free agent after a stellar season for the Hawks’ VFL side.
The 187cm forward, who turns 25 in December, slotted 53 goals for Box Hill in a campaign where he showed tremendous consistency, being held goalless just twice and kicking three or more majors in 11 of his 17 matches.
He has signed a one-year contract with the Hawks after managing five games across four seasons with the Western Bulldogs – all in 2018 – before he was delisted at the end of the 2020 season.
Greene looms as a possible replacement in the forward half for the departed Jack Gunston, given he played a similar role for Box Hill as a hardworking forward who can be a threat in the air and at ground level.
He becomes the latest mature-age export from the Box Hill program with tough midfielder Jai Newcombe and key defender James Blanck also joining the club in the past two mid-season drafts.
It is understood Greene also had interest from other clubs, including Fremantle.
Former Box Hill coach Clint Proctor, who stood down at the end of this season due to family reasons, is thrilled to see Greene get another shot and said he is a worthy pickup after his standout VFL form.
“He’s put in a lot of great work over the past couple of years. He’s been delisted and now he gets the chance to prove a few people wrong,” Proctor told the Herald Sun.
“He’s put in two seasons of really high level [footy] with his numbers so it was pretty evident that someone was going to give him a shot.
“He has an uncanny ability to find the goals and he can win the ball in the air and on the ground and he’s competitive as anyone I’ve seen.”
ROOS MIDFIELDER CULLED ON CLARKO’S FIRST DAY
-Rebecca Williams
North Melbourne has parted ways with midfielder Jared Polec in coach Alastair Clarkson’s first day on the job at Arden St.
As the Kangaroos finalised their list ahead of this month’s AFL draft, the 30-year-old has been delisted by the club for the second time in as many years.
Polec, who had a year remaining on his contract, was delisted by the Roos at the end of last season before being redrafted onto the rookie list ahead of 2022.
Polec played only two senior games this year after undergoing ankle surgery during the year.
North Melbourne list manager Brady Rawlings said Polec had been unable to recapture the form he had shown when he first arrived at the club.
DELISTED FREE AGENCY PREVIEW: WHO COULD YOUR CLUB SELECT?
The Kangaroos will now be armed with four selections in this month’s national draft.
“Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, Jared hasn’t been able to recapture the form he showed in his first year at the club,” Rawlings said.
“We made the decision to redraft Jared this time last year after he was initially delisted but things haven’t worked out for him or the club since then.
“As a result, we’ll take four selections into the national draft and we’ll have added flexibility with our rookie list due to the two extra picks that came via the AFL’s assistance package.”
Polec joined North Melbourne ahead of the 2019 season after stints with the Brisbane Lions and Port Adelaide.
He played every game in his first season with the Kangaroos to finish seventh in the club’s best-and-fairest, but has played just 20 games across the past three seasons.
Polec was unable to return this season after suffering an ankle injury in round three which required surgery with the club ruling him out for the rest of the season in July.
WILL DELISTED STACK EARN ANOTHER AFL SHOT?
Jon Ralph
Sydney Stack’s manager is confident he will be on an AFL list next year after his shock departure from Richmond despite a season of off-field progress.
The exciting and versatile flanker was delisted by Richmond after encouraging late-season contract talks but has interest from other clubs as a delisted free agent, given his significant upside at just 22.
Clubs have approached Stack to train over summer as a supplemental selection period player (SSP) but there is enough interest in him to be confident he will secure a list spot without having to prove himself over summer.
Gold Coast added Ben Long for dash and hardness and has some level of interest in Stack, who has been training in Perth but seems unlikely to find a landing spot in Western Australia.
His manager Paul Peos told the Herald Sun at only 22 he had learned so much already about professionalism and training standards that his best was to come.
His single minor infraction this year was a late arrival to training on the Monday before round 1 which put paid to his senior selection chances in early weeks, with Stack playing 15 solid VFL games.
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As a player capable of locking down on a small defender, playing high half forward or even as a pinch-hitting midfielder he continues to train across the summer with high hopes of continuing his career.
“He is preparing to be an AFL player in 2023. So hopefully someone steps forward and provides him with an opportunity. He’s pretty open to going anywhere for a chance,” Peos said.
“He has had some pretty good discussions with teams so hopefully that progresses forward.
“On a list of 40 it’s a pretty low financial risk and clubs would be weighing up the pros and cons.
“Sydney has been through some tough periods but he’s certainly learned some lessons.”
Richmond supported Stack when he was thrown out of Queensland after a kebab shop fight during the club’s hub stay in 2020 then locked up in a Perth jail because of a Covid breach.
He spent weeks in jail after being found out at a nightspot when he should have been quarantining.
But after 26 AFL games in his first two seasons he has played only nine in the past two years and was arguably unlucky at selection several times this year.
A player who boarded with coach Damien Hardwick in his early months at the club lived by himself this year and continues to mature away from the club after only four seasons in AFL football.
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