By Michael Gleeson and Jake Niall
Collingwood defender John Noble has asked the club to trade him to Gold Coast.
Noble, who is contracted to the Magpies for two more years, met with senior coach Craig McRae, acting GM of footy Brendon Bolton, and new list manager Justin Leppitsch on Tuesday morning for his season exit interview and requested the trade to Queensland.
Trade request: John Noble wants to go to the Gold Coast.Credit: AFL Photos
Leppitsch told this masthead the club was open to his request.
“John today informed us he would like to explore a trade ahead of next season to be closer to family,” Leppitsch said. Noble’s twin brother, Mark, is in Queensland.
“Whilst John is contracted, we understand the importance of family and will take this into consideration as we work through the trade period.”
The 27-year-old has been offered a four-year deal by the Suns, who are also eager to trade for Richmond triple-premiership player and another attacking, running defender, Daniel Rioli. They are determined to secure both players.
Collingwood do not have a selection in this year’s draft until pick 32. They traded their first pick in this year’s draft for Lachie Schultz from Fremantle for a selection that has now turned into pick nine. The Jack Ginnivan trade to Hawthorn, which involved a swap of picks, has also pushed them back in the second round of the draft from 30. The Magpies’ second round pick is tied to Hawthorn’s final finishing position, which would be 32 based on the current ladder.
As the draft order stands now, Gold Coast have selections six, 13, 20, 26 and 34. Collingwood would be eyeing pick 20 in any deal for the attacking backman.
Rioli is contracted for another three years and Richmond will seek a premium for the 27-year-old.
The Suns will be active players in the trade period, given that contracted forward Jack Lukosius, who was dropped from the senior team late in the year, will be the subject of trade offers, with Adelaide interested in the South Australian. The Crows hold pick four in the national draft.
The Magpies are also waiting on a decision from out-of-contract small forward Joe Richards, the 23-year-old former teacher from Wangaratta, whom Channel Seven recently reported had been offered a four-year contract offer from Port Adelaide.
The small forward has only played nine games for Collingwood and also has a contract offer from the Magpies. At Collingwood he has competition for a small forward spot in the team with Bobby Hill, Schultz and Beau McCreery, while another young small forward, Harvey Harrison, will miss most of next year after a knee reconstruction.
Noble was the heartbreak story of last year’s premiership win, after playing all 23 home and away games for the year before he lost his place in the Magpies’ team for the finals to Oleg Markov. Noble recovered his place in the team this year, playing 20 matches.
“Look, I think missing was really tough,” Noble told Fox Footy earlier this year.
“Last year I felt like I contributed a fair bit to our success, and I was certainly along the journey. Yeah, it was hard to miss out.”
The 27-year-old was taken by Collingwood with pick 14 in the 2019 mid-season draft and became the first mid-season draftee to play 100 games, a milestone he reached in round 11 this year.
On Tuesday, West Coast confirmed that star defender and 2018 premiership player Tom Barrass had requested a trade to Hawthorn.
The club said the 28-year-old made the request in his exit interview before his off-season break.
Barrass, the Eagles’ vice captain, has played 150 games for the club since making his debut in 2015 and is contracted for another three seasons.
“We will endeavour to meet Tom’s request while protecting the best interests of the West Coast Eagles,” West Coast’s general manager of football Gavin Bell said in a club statement.
The 2024 trade period commences on October 7.
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