AFL Trade Period: Fremantle, GWS chasing Hawthorn midfielder Jaeger O’Meara
A finals contender has emerged as a threat to GWS in the race to lure Jaeger O’Meara out of Hawthorn.
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Greater Western Sydney has company in the Jaeger O’Meara chase.
News Corp can reveal Fremantle is also interested in trading for the star Hawthorn midfielder, who hails from Western Australia.
O’Meara still has a season to run on a lucrative four-year deal he signed in 2019.
The Hawks have a major decision to make on the 28-year-old, given they already traded Jack Gunston to Brisbane on Tuesday and are tipped to send Tom Mitchell to Collingwood.
Captain Ben McEvoy and fellow premiership hero Liam Shiels retired at season’s end, while experienced pair Kyle Hartigan and Tom Phillips were delisted.
The Giants have a suite of appealing picks to offer Hawthorn, including No. 19 in this year’s draft, and one of O’Meara’s closest friends, Stephen Coniglio, is a co-captain at the club.
They are hunting more midfield experience with Tim Taranto already traded to Richmond and Jacob Hopper also headed to the Tigers.
The Dockers don’t have the same selections right now but the Hawks are keen on contracted Fremantle ruckman Lloyd Meek.
The clubs have not been able to agree on Meek’s value to date, with Freo wanting a future second-round pick and Hawthorn’s offer a round later.
Fremantle also has the Western Bulldogs trying to trade for Rory Lobb, with pick 21 – currently in Brisbane’s hands – potentially the selection that could unlock the Lobb deal.
SCROLL DOWN TO RECAP ALL MONDAY’S TRADE ACTION
MEGA-TRADE LOCKED IN
— Marc McGowan
A revived four-club mega deal has delivered Jason Horne-Francis and Junior Rioli to Port Adelaide and seen the Giants snatch North Melbourne’s No. 1 pick.
The AFL on Saturday blocked the Power’s bid to trade future first and second-round picks, which temporarily stopped a multi-club swap going through that was set to also include Brisbane and Hawthorn.
But News Corp revealed on Monday that North Melbourne, Port Adelaide, West Coast and the Giants agreed to a restructured trade that received the AFL’s tick of approval.
The crux of the previous arrangement is still in place.
Horne-Francis and Junior Rioli will join the Power, GWS will score North’s pick 1, the Kangaroos will receive picks 2, 3 and Port’s future first-rounder, and the Eagles get selections 8 and 12.
Port Adelaide also traded future second and third-round picks as part of the convoluted swap, as well as several later selections this year.
That was possible because the Power received Collingwood’s 2023 second-rounder and Fremantle’s future third-rounder to satisfy AFL rules.
HENRY STANDOFF CONTINUES
– Jon Ralph
Geelong’s final offer for Collingwood’s mid-forward Ollie Henry will be pick 25 as the Cats hope the Pies relent to hand him a new start down the Princes Highway.
The Cats and Pies have not made ground on a deal for Henry, with Geelong adamant it will not use its No. 7 overall selection in a pick slide or swap that would see it securing Collingwood’s No. 16 selection.
Geelong and the Suns are expected to lodge the papers for Bowes in the next 24 hours, with the Cats handing over their future third-rounder.
Geelong off-loaded picks 38, 48 and 55 in this year’s draft as well as future second and fourth-round picks to secure that No. 25 selection from Brisbane.
The Cats were aware Collingwood wanted a first-round pick for the former No. 17 draft selection but could not find a club prepared to off-load a pick in that range.
So they will hope Collingwood eventually relents on an extremely talented player who Geelong sees as uncontracted and not able to remain in the Pies side in the finals.
They do not have any future picks to hand over given they have traded them away and they have picks 25, 58 and 64 in this draft.
Their only option is to trade out Esava Ratugolea for Port Adelaide’s pick 33 and use that selection in part to clinch the deal.
Geelong is steadfast in its desire to retain contracted defender Ratugolea but that could change by the trade deadline.
The mega-trade that will land Jason Horne-Francis and Willie Rioli at Port Adelaide will allow the Power to retain their No. 33 selection.
They have offered that No. 33 pick to the Cats for Ratugolea and can only hope that Geelong relents.
The Power aren’t able to trade future picks given they must hold them as a condition of the AFL rules around trading away later future selections if a club has moved on its future first-round pick.
So the Power will retain the pick and go to the draft if Geelong does not relent.
DONE DEAL: SETTERFIELD NOW A BOMBER
– Jon Ralph
Essendon believes its new 192cm midfielder Will Setterfield can provide a genuine point of difference as a powerful onballer six years after nearly taking him ahead of Andy McGrath as the No. 1 draft pick.
Setterfield is officially an Essendon player after Carlton handed over the midfielder and pick 68 for a future fourth-round selection from the Dons.
The Blues were happy to release Setterfield for negligible compensation given they couldn’t guarantee him a list spot next season.
They were also not prepared to match the Bombers’ contract offer, with list boss Nick Austin saying “the terms he has been offered at Essendon are significantly greater than any offer we were prepared to present”.
While Setterfield couldn’t carve out a meaningful role in his 55 games and four years at Carlton, Essendon list boss Adrian Dodoro said the club had grand plans for him in the midfield.
“We have rated Will highly ever since the 2016 draft, so to have him on board is fantastic,” Dodoro said.
“Our objective for this trade period was to get a big-bodied inside midfielder, and at 192cm, Will is exactly that.
“Will has the potential to be an excellent footballer and we look forward to seeing his growth once at the club.”
Setterfield had a spectacular finals series in the VFL for Carlton and recorded 40 possessions in one of those games.
The decision means Carlton will likely keep the contracted Paddy Dow, who has attracted little interest from rival clubs and has a deal through to 2023.
The Dons will also have to give serious inside midfield minutes to Darcy Parish, Dylan Shiel, Zach Merrett, Andy McGrath, Ben Hobbs and Jake Stringer.
So it will be up to Setterfield to establish a midfield role under new Essendon coach Brad Scott.
DONE DEAL: RANKINE HEADING HOME
– Marc McGowan and Simeon Thomas-Wilson
Izak Rankine will play for Adelaide next season after the Crows satisfied Gold Coast’s trade demands.
Paperwork for the exciting forward has now been ticked off by AFL House.
The Crows give up pick 5 and future third and fourth-round selections in exchange for Rankine, pick 46 and a future fourth-rounder from the Suns.
Click here for full details of the Rankine trade.
DONE DEAL: JACKSON TRADED IN THREE-CLUB SWAP
– Jon Ralph
Former No. 3 draft pick Luke Jackson has found his way to Fremantle in a three-club deal.
Melbourne receives Fremantle’s pick 13 and future first and second-round selections.
The deal also involves later picks including one which Melbourne obtained from GWS by trading small forward Toby Bedford.
Click here for full details of the Jackson trade.
TIGERS RELENT IN DEAL FOR HOPPER
Richmond will begrudgingly release Ivan Soldo to Greater Western Sydney to seal the Jacob Hopper deal, as the Tigers plan for a potential five-man bench that could pave the way for clubs to play two full-time ruckmen.
Soldo is getting his head around leaving for GWS in a deal that Richmond hopes could see them hand over Soldo, pick 31 and a future first-rounder, but secure one of the Giants late 2022 picks.
The Tigers are hopeful of taking a selection to this year’s draft – potentially to even use on a young tall in the Jack Riewoldt succession plan – so hope the Giants might be willing to return a late pick to them.
But the intriguing element of the trade is what might happen to the controversial sub rule next year.
News Corp revealed mid-season that the lobbying from the AFL Doctors Association had brought about assurances from the AFL they would remove the current sub rule, which requires a doctor to rule a player must be likely to miss the next week through injury.
Richmond’s understanding is that there is a significant possibility the clubs might just be given a fifth player on the bench to use freely rather than a medical substitute, which has required an injury to bring the fifth player on.
A five-man bench would give clubs latitude to play a second genuine ruckman, rather than one with another tall who can also pinch-hit in the ruck.
Richmond would have been perfectly poised with Toby Nankervis and Soldo as an elite ruck duo but the Tigers realise releasing contracted Soldo is the only way to secure Hopper.
They have high hopes for Ben Miller and Samson Ryan and could also play Noah Balta as a second ruck.
But the club would love to keep Soldo, who rebuffed Western Bulldogs interest to sign a new three-year deal last year.
The Canberra-raised ruckman had a medical with GWS last week.
New Giants coach Adam Kingsley is a big fan of Hugo Ralphsmith but the Giants have plenty of running backs so have not asked for the 20-year-old – and Richmond will not release him.
Clubs would ideally have advance warning on what the 2023 sub rule or expanded bench would look like ahead of the trade period.
But given the tight turnaround from the 2022 season to the trade period, they have to make guesstimates on what the game will look like next year.
Richmond has only pick 31 after handing over selections 12 and 19 for Tim Taranto, but could ask for the last of GWS’ picks in the Hopper trade to secure a live draft selection.
GWS has picks 3, 12, 15, 18, 19, 44, 61, 63, and even the last of those selections would come in to about 50 given it’s not expected clubs will use their late picks.
Richmond secured five selections in the 2021 national draft – Josh Gibcus, Tom Brown, Tyler Sonsie, Sam Banks and Judson Clarke – and have high hopes for all of them.
It means they have been able to go all-in on two established midfielders on seven-year deals to round out their midfield core.
CATS’ HUGE STEAL, WHO BLINKS FIRST ON BIG DEALS?
Geelong is set to secure Jack Bowes and the cherished pick 7 for a future third-rounder as Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs wait on blockbuster trades that will allow them to set up premiership tilts.
The AFL’s three-day draft combine diverted the attention of the league’s elite recruiters from Friday to Sunday, with little progress made on key talks including the possible four-club Jason Horne Francis trade.
But the Demons and Dogs will play delicate games of brinkmanship as they hope to secure maximum return for marquee players while still having enough time to secure their own key trade targets.
Melbourne has to decide whether it blinks first over Fremantle’s offer of two first-round picks for Luke Jackson with enough time to then secure Collingwood’s Brodie Grundy with pick 27.
The Dockers are making clear that is their final offer – first handed to the Demons last Monday – but it is not known if they will up their price before the 7.30pm Wednesday deadline.
Collingwood was adamant it wanted a pick between 20 and 25 for Grundy, but the Demons only have 27 after a pick swap. However, they could secure 13 and the Dockers future first-rounder for Jackson.
Melbourne was linked to Western Bulldogs wingman Lachie Hunter on Monday, but has played down that connection to a player contracted through to 2024.
The Bulldogs are waiting for Brisbane to find a superior pick to their current No. 21 to hand to Luke Beveridge’s side, along with a future first-rounder, for Josh Dunkley.
Similarly, they need to do the Dunkley deal with enough time to offer up an attractive proposition for Fremantle’s Rory Lobb.
The Dogs are prepared to offer more than their current No. 29 selection for Lobb, who, contrary to reports, does not have a front-ended deal which would have seen him paid most of his wage across an entire contract.
He is due $650,000 and a marketing allowance in 2023, with his desire to get to Melbourne not based on finances but on family reasons, with his partner already in their new South Melbourne home.
Collingwood must decide whether to accept pick 27 for Grundy and pick 25 for Ollie Henry from Geelong, with both of those trades likely to be considered unders by their fan base.
Geelong still seems in the box seat to win the trade period given the AFL is expected to approve the Gold Coast salary dump that will see the Cats secure Jack Bowes and his $1.6 million contract for only the return of a future third-round pick.
The Cats have already traded their future second-rounder in the pick swap that secured them selection 25, which they believe is a fair deal for Collingwood’s Henry.
They have rebuffed all talk about them handing over pick 7 to Collingwood in a pick slide with Henry which would see them securing the Pies’ pick 16.
Meanwhile, the Pies do not seem keen to hand over pick 16 to Hawthorn in a pick slide to secure Hawthorn’s pick 24 in a deal for Tom Mitchell.
But the Cats have already handed over pick 18 for GWS midfielder Tanner Bruhn, will secure Bowes, are in a solid position on Henry even if they have to improve that deal, and will keep pick 7 in the draft and next year’s future first rounder.
PIES CHAMP BACKS TOM MITCHELL TRADE
Collingwood premiership hero Mick McGuane says Tom Mitchell would fit “hand in glove” into the Pies midfield, but is still mystified by the club’s decision to move on Brodie Grundy.
The Pies and Hawthorn have circled each other for some time, with Brownlow Medallist Mitchell keen to get to Collingwood despite the preliminary finalists prioritising other players.
Hawthorn is keen to secure another top 20 draft pick and might be open to a trade that sees them secure Collingwood pick 16 in exchange for the Hawks’ No. 24 selection.
The Pies have to close a deal on Ollie Henry but are likely to consider Mitchell in the final days of a trade period if the Hawks pay some of his $800,000 salary for 2023.
McGuane said if the Pies could secure Mitchell for a modest price it would help solve some of the clearance issues he believes cost them a grand final berth.
“He is a ball magnet, he’s quite versatile, he can play inside or outside and he can push forward and hit the scoreboard. I couldn’t see any reason why Collingwood shouldn’t entertain it,” he told the Herald Sun.
“The 33-year-old guys are the new 28, and he’s only 29. It’s fair to say he’s got another three or four good years in him.
“He would fit hand and glove into the Collingwood midfield. I have no problem with the Pies going after him.
“Taylor Adams could play a more selfless role because that’s the kind of guy he is. Scott Pendlebury and Steele Sidebottom were great this year, but they are getting older and they are probably looking for another senior organiser around the ball.”
McGuane was at the SCG as Sydney kicked six of the first eight goals in an eventual preliminary final thriller, and still isn’t sure of the rationale to move on Grundy.
“Watching purely from a football perspective, I feel it’s the reason Collingwood wasn’t in a Grand Final,” he said.
“I was there live and the field position of (Mason) Cox and (Darcy) Cameron in general play, their competitiveness around the centre and secondary bounces, it was the point of difference and Sydney got them.
“It comes back to the salary cap, but the guys who come in will have a cost and he is taking a pay cut to get to Melbourne. If you want to stay, are you happy to take a pay cut here? Whether the conversation took place, who knows.
“If you say you are a Collingwood person and have signed a long term deal, maybe that question is easy to answer.”
Betrayed: True impact of trade on Bowes
– Tom Boswell
Departing Sun Jack Bowes has been left feeling betrayed by a club he has loved deeply and never wanted to leave.
It’s understood Bowes has been left frustrated by a saga he feels the club created and put him on a course to joining Geelong via a trade that will also include the Suns giving away their pick 7.
In return the Cats will take on the $1.6m Bowes is owed over the next two years and give up a future pick.
Bowes signed a five-year extension in 2019.
When Gold Coast figures approached him a couple of years into the deal and asked him to sign an alteration that would significantly reduce his annual earnings in order to back-end the deal, Bowes agreed.
He loves the club.
His parents had moved from Cairns to be on the Gold Coast, with his father Wayne and mother Collette playing a huge role in creating a support network for players and families at the club while Bowes’ grandmother has frequently hosted young draftees in their early years at the Suns.
Bowes believed he would be part of the first Suns side to play in a potential premiership.
He bought a house in Queensland, his partner is from the state and what has unfolded is something he never visualised would happen.
His trust was broken. By doing the right thing by the club in order to help its cause put him in a position where Gold Coast have looked to offload him.
Bowes was holidaying in Bali when he saw some media reports labelling him a ‘wantaway Sun’. It irked him.
A player who captained the Allies under-18 side was once touted as a potential No. 1 draft pick. He slid to 10 because of his Academy links that gave Gold Coast first crack and was having leadership meetings with Hawthorn great Luke Hodge.
He was seen as captain material. The likes of former Suns assistant Dean Solomon said he had never seen anyone improve as quickly as Bowes did in his second year where he thrived in the midfield, matching up against the likes of Patrick Dangerfield, Patrick Cripps and Marcus Bontempelli.
Injuries saw him shift back to halfback in his third year and Bowes has struggled to claw his way back into an engine room that includes the likes of Touk Miller, David Swallow, Noah Anderson and Matt Rowell.
Those closest to Bowes believe they saw the writing on the wall midway through 2021 when Bowes was named in many rolling All-Australian sides but didn’t feature in the club’s top 10 best and fairest count at the same period.
It meant when the Suns told Bowes they were interested in trading him at this year’s exit meeting he was hurt but prepared.
He was down on confidence but the sheer volume of clubs who have wanted to sign Bowes has rebuilt his self-esteem and confidence in his ability.
Geelong, Hawthorn, Essendon, Adelaide and Brisbane led the charge for his signature and more were banging down the door, with his manager Robbie D’Orazio capping discussions with clubs at five.
The Cats are on the cusp of securing their man but it was Hawthorn, led by coach Sam Mitchell, who gave the most impressive pitch and offered more money in the last two years of a four-year deal.
Adelaide was the most desperate to get him while Brisbane was understood to be incentivised by the draft pick and points on offer.
But Geelong’s interest spans over more than 18 months and came well before the lure of pick 7 while Bowes wasn’t interested in going to a rebuilding club after spending six years at the Suns.
Bowes has obvious links to former Suns skipper Gary Ablett and his relationship with Dangerfield stems back to his time with the Allies under-18 team, with the premiership midfielder driving him back to Melbourne after assisting coach Brenton Sanderson.
Dangerfield has wrapped his arms around Bowes ever since, becoming a confidant for him throughout his career.
Cats coach Chris Scott, Dangerfield and recruitment manager Andrew Mackie were all part of a meeting with Bowes where they pitched a role that would see him used across the every part of the ground, rotating through the middle like many of the players.
Bowes is understood to now be jumping out of his skin to play at Geelong and earn a spot in the team’s best 22.
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