Moneyball: Follow all the latest trade, contract and draft news across the AFL

The final month of the season could be the last roll of the dice for a Blues first round draftee, and one area in particular will come under the microscope.

Joel Selwood but with an overhead marking game.

That is the lofty wrap on SA tyro Jason Horne, and it comes from someone who should know.

AFL veteran Troy Selwood, who of course is Joel’s brother, has given him that lofty wrap after watching his progress over the season.

Selwood has now moved to the Collingwood recruiting team after working at the Cats in recent years.

Horne could still go at No.1 in the draft but is certain to be in the top three alongside father-son prospects Sam Darcy and Nick Daicos.

Horne has played at senior level in the SANFL for some time now and has a brilliant mix of clearance power, elite kicking skills and the capacity to take big overhead marks.

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NAB AFL Academy vs Geelong VFL team at GMHBA Stadium. 24/04/2021. Jason Horne of the NAB AFL Academy. Pic: Michael Klein

The Pies could have had the chance to secure Horne and Daicos had they kept their own first-rounder and it fell to No.1 overall.

So, instead, the Hawks and North Melbourne will join GWS as contenders to secure Horne.

His capacity to play at SANFL League level gives clubs confidence he will be able to make an immediate impact.

The Roos sure aren’t tanking for Horne, and their history shows that it is the right approach.

They won their final game of 2017 against Brisbane, which meant the Lions finished last and the Roos finished 15th instead.

They took Luke Davies-Uniacke - the Lions took Cam Rayner - and although Rayner is a brilliant player, Davies-Uniacke is exploding this year.

Adelaide has given up hope of trading up for Horne given how highly he is rated by clubs with early picks.

The Bulldogs will match any bid for father-son prospect Sam Darcy. Picture: Michael Klein

But will it affect dad Luke’s position on the board?

How father-son gun could affect Dad’s position

The Western Bulldogs know Sam Darcy has plenty of development in him, but they will match a bid for him in a heartbeat.

But will it impact father Luke’s position on the Western Bulldogs board?

He has handled his conflict of interest with the Dogs well, despite his Channel 7 commentary duties even as the issue of Peter Moore potentially joining the Pies board while son Darcy plays at Collingwood was raised.

Given Darcy’s initial contract would be a mandatory two-year deal, Luke would have no influence on any dealings with his son.

Eventually he would have to recuse himself if Sam’s contract came up at board level - however unlikely - but that would be many years down the track.

Pies urged to take gun off the market

Collingwood premiership great Mick McGuane has urged the Magpies to “take Jordan De Goey off the market” before the end of this year.

De Goey, 25, comes out of contract at the end of the 2022 season and the explosive mid-forward would have a number of suitors.

But McGuane said the club should eliminate the distraction of going into next year without a deal for De Goey and also star defender Darcy Moore by offering them four-year deals.

“They’ve got to take De Goey off the market,” McGuane said. “Get it done now and I’d be doing the same with Darcy.”

“They need to just get them done and not let it drag into next year.

The big question mark over young Blue

Carlton wingman Lochie O’Brien has four weeks to try and salvage a career that is squarely at the crossroads, despite a solid showing in Friday night’s clash against St Kilda.

O’Brien, who was taken pick No. 10 in 2017, has played only two games in the past two seasons but was called into the best 22 on Thursday in place of Sam Petrevski-Seton.

He finished with 21 disposals and six score involvements.

The last month of the season is a huge chance for 22-year-old O’Brien to show he has a future at AFL level, after being largely overlooked by coach David Teague in the past 18 months.

Will Lochie O'Brien be at the Blues next year? Picture: Daniel Pockett

O’Brien did not attract any significant interest in last year’s trade period, and is again likely to feature in talks in the exchange period this year, if he cannot impress Carlton chiefs.

The final month of the season could be the last roll of the dice for the Geelong Grammar and Bendigo product, and he will be desperate to back his ball-winning instincts.

O’Brien has shown some promising signs at VFL level in an outside midfield role over his first four seasons, but he has been challenged to develop his work inside the contest.

It is that question mark over his contested ball-winning that has turned some clubs off, including the Blues’ match committee.

Carlton’s recruiting has come into sharp focus as part of the review into the Blues’ football department, including decisions to pick O’Brien, No. 3 pick Paddy Dow, and No.6 Petrevski-Seton, who could be traded at season’s end.

The decision for Carlton if there is no trade interest in O’Brien is whether it will keep him on the list at all, or delist him.

He has had seven and nine possessions in his past two senior games after averaging 13 possessions across 35 games in his first two seasons.

Big Cat still waiting on new deal

Geelong ruckman Rhys Stanley remains without a contract for next season as he attempts to help spearhead the Cats’ midfield unit to a premiership.

The former Saint has been a solid performer for the Cats, if not for quiet games in the two losses against Melbourne and Sydney when he faced tough matchups against Max Gawn and All-Australian contender Tom Hickey.

The Cats have become one of the most potent score-from-clearance teams this season on the back of Stanley’s ruckwork, and back-up big man Esava Ratugolea has chimed in nicely since his return in Jeremy Cameron’s absence.

Stanley, 30, has no plans to leave the Cats, although the club could wait until season’s end to finalise an extension for the 200cm big man.

Stanley has been seen as inconsistent at times, but the Cats have backed him in strongly over the past month as they look to cement a top-two spot.

Hawks champ Shaun Burgoyne, with Port Adelaide’s Travis Boak, after his 400th game. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

Veteran Hawk’s next chapter

Shaun Burgoyne has a book in the works, a commercial cleaning business to help run and some interest in dabbling in the media next year.

But, while he hasn’t officially declared it yet, he will retire at the end of the season and also move into the Hawthorn advisory role that was brokered for him when he signed on for one more season.

Burgoyne, who played his 400th AFL game this year, will assist with the club’s indigenous roles and “focus on employment, education and health outcomes as the key pillars to engaging and empowering Indigenous communities”.

The 38-year-old was the sub last weekend, but the previous week peeled off another quality nine-tackle, 13-possession game in defence with five intercept possessions.

Originally published as Moneyball: Follow all the latest trade, contract and draft news across the AFL