AFL 2022: Latest trade, free agency and contract updates
One of Sydney’s brightest stars has signed a six-year deal a year out from free agency as another gun resigns and sends Essendon back to square one. Latest trade, contract news.
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Callum Mills will lead Sydney into next week’s twilight preliminary final at the SCG and beyond after signing a six-year contract extension.
Mills, 25, was set to qualify for free agency next year, but one of the Swans’ hardest workers has removed himself from that pool by locking himself away until 2029.
It follows a five-year contract signed in 2017, meaning Mills will play into his 30s having only negotiated two contracts since he was drafted at pick 3 in 2015.
The monster deal means academy aces Mills and Isaac Heeney (signed until 2028) are now both off limits for rival clubs.
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Mills grew up a passionate Swans supporter in Sydney’s Northern Beaches and gave up rugby union when he joined Sydney’s academy in what was a big win for the code.
The courageous kid wanted to be a Swan for life soon after enrolling in Sydney’s talent pathway
“That was one of the big parts of re-signing is to repay the faith. I was a young 13 or 14-year-old kid not knowing AFL that well,” Mills said on Tuesday.
“For them to help develop me over the years and now to be able to play AFL for the Swans is something I’m really proud of.”
The onball warrior, who was named All-Australian as a wingman this season, was at his inspirational best in last week’s qualifying final victory against Melbourne.
Mills ran 15.3km – more than every other Swan – and laid a game-high 11 tackles, along with fellow co-captain Luke Parker.
“You saw Paul Kelly captain the football club and ‘Goodesy’ (Adam Goodes) and Brett Kirk, and to now be in shoes they were in is something really special to me,” the first-year skipper said.
Coach John Longmire said Mills played “two-ways”.
“He’s been good at that (tackling pressure) all year. He just competes around the scramble and then when it’s out in the open he’ll go both ways and often he’s down in the defensive 50m,” Longmire said.
Mills won the AFL Rising Star in his debut season and overcame a hamstring injury to return for the 2016 grand final.
The Demons attempted to draft Mills in 2015, but their bid was matched by the Swans. The Dees instead secured Clayton Oliver at pick 4.
Mills has played every game this season, recording fewer than 20 disposals just twice. He is ranked No.4 in the AFL for tackles.
“It’s really satisfying for the club to see a player who joined the Swans Academy in his early teens, firstly make it on to our senior list, then be elevated to co-captain and now commit long-term to our future,” Swans football boss Charlie Gardiner said.
Blues’ peculiar call, Bombers miss key target
– Glenn McFarlane, Sam Landsberger and Jon Ralph
New North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson has had one of his first wins two months before officially starting the role with exciting young forward Cam Zurhaar knocking back rival offers to recommit to the Kangaroos for two more seasons.
In a huge boost for the wooden spooners, Zurhaar has agreed to stay with the club until the end of the 2024 season, in a show of faith in the club’s future direction.
Zurhaar, 24, had been courted by a few clubs including a cashed-up Essendon, and he put all contract talks on hold during the season he wanted greater clarity about the club’s plans.
The appointment of Clarkson to the senior coaching role provided a big impetus for him to stay on, as well as his belief that the young playing list can start the climb up the ladder.
“We are really pleased to have retained Cam’s services,” North Melbourne list and recruiting manager Brady Rawlings said.
“We know there was significant interest in Cam from opposition clubs, so it’s a great show of confidence in where we are headed as a football club that he has decided to remain with us for at least two more years.
“Cam is a player of high calibre who we see playing a big part in our future, and we look forward to seeing where he can take his football.”
Zurhaar has kicked 30-plus goals in each of the past two seasons. His standout game this year was the six-goal haul that helped to sink Richmond in Round 18.
Clarkson told the Herald Sun recently of his plans to ensure Zurhaar and contracted Kangaroos Jason Horne-Francis and Tarryn Thomas remain at the club long-term.
“All three of those lads have shown they have got significant talent and should be part of this vision for where we want to take the club,” Clarkson said.
“We’ve got the opportunity to keep them at North Melbourne. If we can galvanise them and make sure their talents can assist the group of others on and off the field all forging in the one direction, they can have a special role to play in this footy club.”
BLUES RE-SIGN CURNOW AFTER STOCKER AXING
Carlton has re-signed Ed Curnow despite the heart-and-soul midfielder failing to play an AFL game under new coach Michael Voss this season.
The Herald Sun can reveal Curnow, who turns 33 in November, will go again in 2023 with the Blues confident he can bounce back from a year cut down by multiple injuries.
Curnow is the only player over 30 on the Blues’ list but the brother of freakish forward Charlie Curnow is a much-loved figure who had proved remarkably durable before this year.
Charlie Curnow signed on until 2029 recently in what was a massive coup for the Blues.
Ed Curnow strained the medial ligament in his knee in March and then tore his hamstring in his second and final VFL game for the year.
But he was in Brisbane on Saturday as the runner for the club’s VFL semi-final and is renowned for helping drive high training standards.
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Former GWS midfielder Will Setterfield will likely have to wait through the trade period to find out whether he is handed another contract after he played only 13 games this season.
The Blues handed over second and third-round selections for the hard-running midfielder and got back a fourth-rounder for a player originally taken with pick 5 in the 2016 national draft.
But the club will need flexibility through the trade period as it attempts to go back to the draft so he will remain in limbo in coming weeks.
Setterfield put in a strong audition for a future in football with a 40-possession, two-goal VFL final against Collingwood a fortnight ago.
Carlton is optimistic it will secure Fremantle’s Blake Acres on a three-year million-dollar deal, which could provide one of the steals of the trade period.
The deal would be below the AFL average pay and with Acres capable of upgrading their wing options with the delisting of Jack Newnes could prove a considerable success.
The Blues announced Jordan Boyd and Lochie O’Brien had penned two-year contract extensions on Tuesday but the club has not yet revealed Curnow’s one-year deal.
They have delisted Liam Stocker and Will Hayes while several of the fringe players recruited in the Stephen Silvagni era of list management remain in limbo.
Stocker had no interest from rival clubs in recent discussions so the Blues believed delisting him gave him the best chance of being secured by another club as a delisted free agent.
The Blues scouted Adelaide top 10 pick Fischer McAsey through the season but they will not be a bidder for the former No. 6 draft pick, who has been tried forward in the SANFL by the Crows.
PIES SET TO PUT WITHDRAWN DE GOEY OFFER BACK ON TABLE
Collingwood is preparing to put Jordan De Goey’s withdrawn contract back on the table in a deal which would offer him $3.2 million over four seasons if he avoids off-field controversy.
De Goey looked like the qualifying final matchwinner against Geelong with two classy goals in a stunning 26-possession eight-clearance, nine-tackle display until Gary Rohan’s late mark and goal won the game for Geelong.
The Herald Sun understands the Magpies are prepared to offer him the deal they took off the table after his Bali antics, which was a two-year guarantee with a behavioural trigger for a further two seasons.
Currently on a deal of around $750,000, De Goey would be handed a pay rise to $800,000 a season and, while that would not be the seven-figure salary he has hoped for, it would still be handsome reward for his on-field feats.
The Collingwood board is prepared to tick off that deal as long as the behavioural conditions are written into De Goey’s contract.
The talks could kick off again as soon as next week if the Pies lose to Fremantle, with Collingwood having committed to postponing discussions until its season is over.
De Goey pleaded guilty to second degree harassment but dodged a conviction over last year’s New York nightclub incident and directed a $10,000 AFL fine to the Salvation Army.
But Collingwood believes De Goey continues to make progress in his path towards avoiding some of the distractions that have seen him fail to maximise his eight-season career.
De Goey said after the Bali fine he was continuing to seek help for his diagnosis.
“Late last year, I was diagnosed with ADHD and I am trying to become more aware of why I make mistakes that I do. I have again made a mistake – this is an ongoing journey for me – and I remain absolutely committed to changing,” he said.
St Kilda’s incoming chief executive Simon Lethlean said recently the Saints board had approved the club’s desire to chase De Goey. Essendon was also reported as a potential suitor by the Sunday Herald Sun.
De Goey will have to decide whether to take a guaranteed contract, which could be worth up to $4 million over five years, or work for his contract security at the Pies.
Like Richmond’s Dustin Martin, De Goey has the rock star persona and brand appeal that means he will be richly rewarded over his career for playing at a big Melbourne club playing sold-out finals.
He also believes Collingwood has a good chance of winning premierships in future seasons.
He posted on Instagram this weekend with a photo of the Collingwood team lining up for the national anthem before the Geelong final with the caption: “Brothers”.
De Goey missed training on Monday as he battles a sore AC joint, but is expected to play against Fremantle on Saturday night.
Collingwood’s $3 million, five-year free agency offer that will land Dan McStay is also looking a rosier proposition after his excellent performance in the ruck against Richmond.
Brodie Grundy looks increasingly likely to move to a rival club, with Melbourne the strong favourite, so the Pies will need to develop a ruck battery in his absence.
Darcy Cameron, Mason Cox and forward-ruck Nathan Kreuger will be joined by McStay, with Adelaide’s Billy Frampton also likely to join the club and capable of playing ruck as well as key posts up forward and in defence.
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Originally published as AFL 2022: Latest trade, free agency and contract updates
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