Port Adelaide aiming for high draft pick as Saints search for ways to secure Howard, Ryder and Gray
Port Adelaide considers package deal with St Kilda for wantaway trio Dougal Howard, Paddy Ryder and Sam Gray.
Port Adelaide
Don't miss out on the headlines from Port Adelaide. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Port Adelaide is demanding a first-round draft pick from St Kilda for wantaway key utility Dougal Howard who is being offered extraordinary money from the Victorian club.
And the Power is understood to be prepared to throw veteran ruckman Paddy Ryder, and possibly small forward Sam Gray, into a package deal to snare a prized draft selection.
Having secured three first-round picks last year to take teenage stars Connor Rozee, Xavier Duursma and Zak Butters, Port wants to continue to build its list with high draft picks.
It currently has pick 10 this year but is eyeing one of St Kilda’s top selections, which currently sit at 12 and 18.
Athletic swingman Howard is the Power’s chief bargaining chip, with the Saints understood to have offered him a whopping five-year deal worth about $3 million.
That is massive money for a 23-year-old who is an obvious talent but struggled to hold down a regular spot in Port’s team this year, starting and finishing the season in the SANFL.
Howard has three years to go on his contract but wants to join St Kilda because of the big
money it has offered and the fact that he wasn’t happy at being told by the Power in his end-of-season review that it views him more as a forward than a defender.
Howard, who captained Port in its round nine win against Gold Coast and has played 45 games in five years, has played his best football in defence and wants to stay there.
The Power won’t let him go cheaply, given the money the Saints have offered and the fact that he is tied to a long-term contract, and will only let him go if it is adequately compensated.
“Dougal is aware that he is a highly valued, required player at Port Adelaide,” general manager of football Chris Davies said.
“Given he is contracted to the end of 2022, the club will only entertain a trade with St Kilda if it is in our best interests to do so.
“We will discuss the situation with the Saints but if a suitable outcome for our club cannot be reached, Dougal is well aware that he will remain a Port Adelaide player in 2020.”
With Ryder deemed surplus to requirements at Alberton and also nominating St Kilda as the club he wants to move to, the Power is prepared to package him in a deal with Howard to nail a first-round selection.
Gray also is on the trade block and is being tracked by the Saints, who are one of the biggest players in the trade period as they also seek deals for Fremantle’s Brad Hill and Sydney’s Zak Jones.
Port chairman David Koch, speaking at the announcement of the club’s 150th anniversary celebrations on Sunday, said the club valued high draft picks after hitting the jackpot last year but that any deals were in the hands of the list management team.
“They delivered three great first-round draft picks last year and we are all about winning and the list management team is there to make sure we have our best chance of winning a premiership next year,’’ he said.
“It’s a really exciting period for the club and we’re in the middle of the trade period, so we’ll see what happens there.’’