AFL trade news: Port Adelaide has preliminary interest in Hawthorn midfielder Jaeger O’Meara
Sam Mitchell has defended his decision to call rival senior coaches about trade opportunities as the Hawks potentially move a step closer to moving on a star.
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Port Adelaide has preliminary interest in Hawthorn midfielder Jaeger O’Meara as the Hawks open business for all but a handful of their youngest emerging stars.
The Herald Sun believes O’Meara could emerge as a player of interest next week for the Power given the Hawks’ determination to secure early picks in exchange for their veteran stars.
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell on Friday defended his decision to call rival senior coaches about trade opportunities including new Pies coach Craig McRae, his former colleague at the Hawks.
But as president Jeff Kennett wrote an open letter foreshadowing the club’s imminent moves, rivals believe the Hawks are becoming increasingly desperate to improve their draft hand of 5, 21 and 24.
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Ruckman Jon Ceglar is expected to find his way to Geelong and is open to a move to the Cats.
It is understood the list of untouchables this trade period is only a handful of players at Hawthorn that includes defenders Will Day, Denver Grainger-Barrass and Changkuoth Jiath.
Hawthorn is open for business for any senior player, and only the lack of cap space from rivals will ultimately decide whether stars including Tom Mitchell, Jack Gunston and Jaeger O’Meara find new homes.
Hawthorn’s Jaeger O’Meara holds more appeal to the Power than Tom Mitchell, who plays a very similar role to Brownlow Medallist Ollie Wines.
The Power is sitting back and assessing Hawthorn’s list as it pushes hard to move on senior players for early draft picks.
But the explosive O‘Meara would complement Ollie Wines, Travis Boak and defensive midfielder Willem Drew.
O’Meara averaged 6.2 clearances and 2.6 centre square clearances this year and had 111 clearances in 18 games, with Boak (144 clearances), Wines (140) and Drew (97) a long way ahead of ruckman Scott Lycett (65) and Robbie Gray (53).
The Power has the cap space and potentially the early picks to consider an acquisition but any interest is only preliminary at this stage.
Kennett’s open letter followed football director Richie Vandenberg’s statement in the Herald Sun that the Hawks would use all opportunities to improve their draft hand.
“We may be surprised at some of the (trade/draft) decisions made but be assured they will be made after careful consideration of the club’s future needs by those we charge to make such decisions,” Kennett wrote.
Port ruckman Peter Ladhams is yet to choose Sydney as his preferred destination but has had a medical over Zoom and spoken to Swans coach John Longmire about his likely role.
Contrary to reports he has not suggested he wants to play first ruck in an AFL side, only that he would likely to develop his ruck craft as well as play forward after being pigeon-holed as a forward in the past two seasons.
The Power might be prepared to pay some of his contract if they can get the right trade with Sydney given their cap space.
He is due $400,000 on a back-ended deal that was averaged out at $225,000 over the three seasons finishing in 2022, and must first commit to the Swans.
Sydney must complete a deal for Jordan Dawson which would involve the Melbourne future first-rounder currently held by Adelaide, as well as future pick swaps.
Then the clubs can ponder a trade, but if Ladhams agrees to a move both clubs are very confident they could broker the agreement.
GIANTS LOBBYING FOR DOCKERS’ MONEY
Any potential Rory Lobb trade homecoming to Greater Western Sydney rests on Fremantle budging from its pledge not to pay any of his remaining contract.
The Giants continue to look at ways to make the deal work despite them having no intention of trading WA boy Sam Taylor, the only player of interest to the Dockers.
The only way GWS can fit him inside its salary cap is if Lobb restructures his lucrative two-year contract and Fremantle chips in beyond that.
No Giants player has come forward at this stage willing to be involved in a trade to the Dockers or a third club.
Fremantle football boss Peter Bell suggested on Thursday night that GWS would not be able to offer the kind of deal that would satisfy Lobb.
Lobb’s manager, Colin Young, told News Corp Australia his 207cm client would be prepared to take a pay cut on a longer-term deal to get the trade done.
How desperate he is to escape the Dockers and Perth could be the key to where the situation goes.
Lobb has already completed a medical for his former club and met with his old teammates when they emerged from quarantine in Perth after exiting the finals.
The Giants are prepared to offer Lobb no more than three years, given he turns 29 in February, but he could be the missing piece in a flag tilt.
They are willing to part with a future second-round pick for him, and no discussions have taken place on them sliding from pick 13 to Fremantle’s 19 this year.
The Dockers are yet to consider what they might want in exchange if Lobb officially requests a trade, but have already thrown up star defender Taylor.
That won’t happen given his huge potential, with GWS captain Stephen Coniglio’s manager Tom Petroro also quashing any discussions about him heading west.
Young believes he can get a deal done after meeting Lobb on Friday.
Bobby Hill has been mentioned as one player who might be part of a trade but the Giants are keen to keep him, as they aren’t flush with small forwards.
GWS is in the premiership window with experienced players including Toby Greene, Nick Haynes, Josh Kelly, Coniglio, Callan Ward, Lachie Whitfield and Jesse Hogan.
But Fremantle is so far not interested in paying any of his future salary, which is believed to be about $700,000 per season.
TWO DOGS RE-SIGN AS RUCK STOCKS BACKED IN
The Western Bulldogs will back in their existing ruck stocks instead of chasing rivals after re-signing Jordon Sweet on a two-year contract extension.
As revealed by the Herald Sun on Wednesday, Sweet has been locked away until 2023 for a Bulldogs side that battled to find the right ruck mix all year.
Sweet played five games to Round 11 and then the Dogs played a mix of the departing Lewis Young and veteran Stef Martin alongside Tim English in four finals.
But the Dogs have high hopes for Sweet and believe the lack of VFL games in the back half of the season did not help his finals claims.
While Geelong is likely to strengthen its ruck stocks with Hawthorn’s Jon Ceglar, the Dogs have faith that Tim English will also emerge after a year where he never reclaimed his strong early-season form after being out for a month after a Round 6 concussion.
In the last year of his contract next year, English has already had a discussion about putting on some weight to help him against the monsters of the ruck world next year.
There is no chance he will break his contract to consider returning to West Australia but English will put off a decision on his future until mid-2022.
He played plenty of minutes as a forward this year so deliberately kept off weight to remain agile as he covered the ground as a leading target.
The Dogs are confident they will now keep vice-captain Mitch Wallis after offering him a one-year deal last week.
In another season, Wallis might have had plenty of rival interest as a leading small forward who can play inside midfielder and has exceptional leadership and character.
But with list spots tight, the strong likelihood is that he will remain and take up the one-year deal.
The Dogs are expected to do a deal for Patrick Lipinski to get him to Collingwood but are placing an extremely high value on him.
The Pies have offered a package of picks which the Dogs have so far knocked back, keen for a single high pick as high as 36.
The Dogs must take enough points to the national draft to match a bid for father-son Sam Darcy but clubs can only take in as many picks on draft night as they have list spots to the open.
So the Dogs will be keen to take a number of high and medium-ranked picks rather than a cluster of later picks given they will only want to hold open a handful of list spots.
HOW TIGERS CAN HELP PIES LAND LIPINSKI
Richmond is taking aim at Collingwood’s pick 27 but the touted deal depends on the Tigers securing a trade with North Melbourne for Robbie Tarrant.
It’s understood Richmond is willing to bundle up selections 38 – the free agency compensation for new Sun Mabior Chol – 42 and 47 to acquire what is currently the Magpies’ top pick.
That would give the Tigers an extraordinary five picks inside the top 30, while Collingwood would have almost 500 more draft points to match a bid for father-son prospect Nick Daicos.
Those three picks could also be used to end the stalemate with the Western Bulldogs on Patrick Lipinski, who wants to wear black and white next year.
The Pies have already been heavily involved in pick swaps this week, including most recently sending No. 22 to Fremantle on Thursday for 27 and a future third-round selection.
Essendon is also believed to have registered its interest in Collingwood’s 27 and willing to part with a future pick to make it work.
The urgency for the Tigers is that free agency closes on Friday.
They have already convinced unrestricted free agent Tarrant to join them on a two-year deal but want to trade for him rather than sign him directly to avoid diluting the Chol compensation.
The other player mixed into these negotiations is Richmond ruck-forward Callum Coleman-Jones, who wants to be traded to the Kangaroos, where he would be Todd Goldstein’s eventual successor.
Much of the thought process up to this point was that Tarrant would be tied into whatever the Coleman-Jones deal looked like.
However, that trade is still some way from a resolution, with the clubs unable to find a common ground on Coleman-Jones’ worth.
There is also the threat of North taking the 22-year-old to the pre-season draft, where the Roos have the No. 1 choice, but clubs typically prefer to avoid that.
LIONS SETTLE ON FORT AS BACK-UP BIG MAN
Brisbane’s key draft priority is to secure Geelong backup ruckman Darcy Fort in a move that should pave the way for the Cats to lure Jon Ceglar to GMHBA Stadium.
Lions football boss Danny Daly said on Friday that Brisbane was keen to acquire Fort ahead of rival ruckmen including Levi Casboult and Mason Cox.
Fort didn’t play a senior game this year but the 28-year-old would be a perfect ruck-forward backup for Oscar McInerney as the club awaits Eric Hipwood’s return from an ACL tear.
The Lions are keen to go to the draft with their two top-20 selections and have a tight cap that will preclude a big play for a high-priced player.
He told SEN on Friday Fort was the club’s trade target with the Lions not pursuing Collingwood’s Cox.
Geelong will actively chase Hawthorn’s Jon Ceglar in coming days if Fort leaves, with Hawthorn prepared to pay as much as $200,000 of the 30-year-old’s 2022 salary.
Ceglar is keen to get to Geelong instead of the Western Bulldogs, who also have interest in a back-up ruckman.
Ceglar’s back-end of the year was excellent and the Cats would significantly upgrade their ruck department after re-signing Rhys Stanley in recent weeks.
The move to secure Fort from Geelong means delisted ruck-forward Casboult and Collingwood’s Cox will remain without a home.
Cox has not yet been told whether he will be offered a deal at the Pies, with no other suitors emerging yet.
WHY BOMBERS ARE LAYING LOW
Essendon intends to focus on its draft hand to add to its young talent rather than make waves during the rest of the trade period.
The Bombers had three top-10 picks in last year’s national draft and are hoping to add to the impressive young talent on their list.
Essendon secured Adelaide defender Jake Kelly at the start of the free agency period, and currently holds picks 11, 51, 56 and 87 in this year’s draft.
Bombers general manager of football Josh Mahoney suggested the club would not be a big player in the rest of the trade period as they looked towards the draft.
“Our focus is going to be on the draft at this stage,” Bombers general manager of football Josh Mahoney said.
“We are obviously never closed to any opportunities that might pop up to improve our list (in the trade period).
“But at this stage it will be focusing on our draft hand and adding to the young talent that we added to our list last year.”
The Bombers selected Nik Cox (No. 8), Archie Perkins (No. 9) and Zach Reid (No. 10.) in the first round in last year’s draft.
Cox played 22 games in his debut season and Perkins played 21. Reid played one game before a back stress fracture in July ruled him out for the rest of the season.
Mahoney said the Bombers had been thrilled with the early success of their top draftees from last year this season.
“Particularly coming off not playing a lot of footy the year before to have Cox and Perkins play nearly every game was great,” Mahoney said.
“We’re looking forward to what they can do after having more of a full pre-season.”
The Bombers secured Kelly from Adelaide as an unrestricted free agent last week, signing the 26-year-old to a three-year deal.
Mahoney said Kelly, who played 110 games at the Crows, would play a crucial role in the Essendon defence next season.
“We were very clear on the reason we targeted Jake Kelly, we think he is going to add to our defensive group,” Mahoney said.
“To come in with 110 games of experience at 26 years of age, he is a really hard trainer, really competitive and we think he is going to play a crucial role for our defence and certainly help the other guys down there.
“We started to gel really well in the second half of the year with our defence and we think Jake can help that a lot.
COX COULD GET PIES LIFELINE
Collingwood is determined to keep out-of-contract big man Max Lynch as the Hawks weigh up a move for him.
The Magpies have only two ruckmen under contract – Brodie Grundy and Darcy Cameron – with the future for Lynch and Mason Cox still to be determined.
It’s understood Collingwood has told Lynch it wants to retain him.
The 23-year-old has played only three senior games in five seasons since being one of the last footballers picked in the 2016 rookie draft.
But his development at second-tier level has turned heads at ruck-needy clubs, including him averaging 13 disposals, 32 hit-outs (eight to advantage) and 3.4 clearances in the VFL this year.
Most signs have pointed to Cox leaving the club – potentially for Brisbane – but what happens with Lynch could impact whether he remains in black and white.
Hawthorn inquired about Lynch last year while he was still under contract and nothing eventuated, but he is again on the club’s radar.
The Hawks have confirmed their interest in Lynch but are yet to formally discuss the 200cm ruckman with the Pies.
Hawthorn also met with contracted Port Adelaide big man Peter Ladhams, but pulled out of that race when the Power revealed it wanted a first-round pick in return.
Lynch would come much cheaper if he ends up requesting a trade to Waverley Park.
The Hawks are prioritising the draft as their rebuild continues and already encouraged veteran big man Jon Ceglar to explore his options elsewhere despite being contracted until the end of next season.
They are willing to pay a good chunk of the 30-year-old’s salary to help facilitate a deal with the Western Bulldogs or Geelong.
If Ceglar is to move on, Hawthorn would have only captain Ben McEvoy, who turns 33 in July, and five-game beanpole Ned Reeves as ruck specialists.
Journeyman Keegan Brooksby was delisted at season’s end.
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