MoneyBall: All the latest AFL trade news and whispers
The Giants are set to undergo a familiar pattern of losing high draft picks to the go home factor, with two top 20 talents being heavily targeted by three different clubs.
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Nakia Cockatoo appears headed towards a multi-year deal at Brisbane as he seeks security after just two AFL games in three seasons at the Cats.
The wildly talented No. 10 draft pick has played just 34 AFL games and returned to Geelong for wrist surgery on Thursday.
His partner Grace is also expecting their first baby, with continuing talks underway between the Cats and Cockatoo about his future.
But the Herald Sun understands the security of a contract longer than a season on a base wage appears irresistible as he follows the pathway trodden by ex-Cat Lincoln McCarthy.
The Lions secured McCarthy for a late pick swap after years of injuries and he kicked 20 goals last season, playing 24 games after only five in the previous two seasons.
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Geelong cannot yet guarantee him a list spot given the potential for lists to shrink.
But he has multiple suitors given his explosive pace and power that is untapped at only 23 given his recurring hamstring problems.
The Cats have three first-round picks and will re-sign Tom Hawkins on a two-season deal after a season where he will this weekend win the Coleman Medal.
Geelong chief executive Brian Cook said on Friday his best guess is that AFL lists will likely be 38 senior listed members with two rookies and two category B rookies normally taken up by Irish players or those coming from rival sports.
As reported by the Herald Sun, Geelong is keen to secure at least quality free agent and is interested in Melbourne’s Jack Viney, Essendon’s Joe Daniher and Adelaide’s Brad Crouch.
Viney said on Saturday night he “absolutely” wanted to remain at Melbourne but the Cats’ intent is there for all to see.
Gary Ablett will retire at the end of the finals series but Geelong’s determination to lure elite free agents shows they are desperate to secure a first premiership for Patrick Dangerfield and a fourth for Joel Selwood.
They can do so by bringing in players like Crouch, who at 26 still has many years left in his career, while also taking multiple first-round picks.
If Adelaide do not secure a first-round compensation pick for Crouch they could match a bid, then secure a trade for him as they did with Patrick Dangerfield.
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Brad Crouch’s suitors – including Geelong and Essendon – will be invited to register their interest in the best-and-fairest winner by next week as he assesses his future.
Crouch will play his last game of the season against Richmond, with the Crows having notched three wins in a row since his return to the side from injury in Round 15.
Adelaide is totally open to Crouch leaving should he reach the threshold for a first-round free agency compensation pick which would give them a second top-three pick in December’s draft.
But they could also match any bid that fell short of a deal likely to hand them that selection given he has said he is keen to remain.
Crouch has battled injury this season but in his best-and-fairest winning season he averaged 30 possessions, 98 ranking points, 10 contested possessions, 4.6 clearances and 3.7 tackles.
Rival clubs have often wondered if he does enough with his possessions but there are enough clubs desperate for inside midfielders that he will find a home if he leaves.
His manager Garry Winter told News Corp yesterday he was keen to solidify his future but would not disclose interested clubs.
Interested parties have been told Crouch wants a long-term deal on a significant price tag.
“We are getting to the end of the season where all clubs are considering what they are doing so we have made it clear if they have an interest in Brad next week we will sit down and go through what the options are. There are numerous clubs who will put bids in for Brad and we will work through that with the Crows.”
Clubs believe Crouch would need to be offered a deal well in excess of $650,000 a season to be worthy of a first-round compensation pick.
But the AFL has always kept its recipe secret despite some clubs believing players need to be in the top five per cent of players over 25 ranked on salary to secure first-round compensation.
Nank suddenly becomes priority
RICHMOND will have to make Toby Nankervis’ signature a clear priority now that Ivan Soldo has gone down with an injury that could threaten his entire 2021 season as well.
Nankervis has always wanted to stay at Punt Road but looked likely to be shuffled out because of Soldo and Callum Coleman-Jones.
Sydney was a natural link given their ruck issues.
Damien Hardwick has been reported as not guaranteeing the future of Coleman-Jones but despite a slip of the tongue in a press conference he immediately back-tracked and confirmed the contracted ruck would be around.
GWS and Adelaide are interested in Coleman-Jones but there is no prospect the Tigers would release him given his upside.
Gold Coast’s interest in Richmond’s Nathan Broad is real as he faces being pushed out of the Tigers side for the foreseeable future but the Suns are intent on retaining cap space for their bevy of emerging stars.
It means he would be more likely to get an extra year of tenure but less salary, with the Suns unwilling to give up quality picks for the 27-year-old.
Noah Balta’s emergence at Richmond means the Tigers are shuffling backline spots, with David Astbury the latest key defender ready to come into that backline.
Dual premiership player Broad has been one of the club’s unsung heroes shutting down elite forwards with a minimum of fuss.
Low finish gives Crows strong hand
ADELAIDE’S likely wooden spoon will also hand them the first pick in the pre-season draft, which could hand them significant leverage in December as they chase players like GWS midfielder Jackson Hately.
St Kilda and Essendon are keen on the Giants’ other young pick from the 2018 draft, the No.11 in Jye Caldwell.
They would need to trade for him in what has become a familiar theme for the Giants – take early picks and if they come home then still get quality picks in return.
But if Central Districts graduate Hately, the 2018 national draft’s No.14 pick, did want to come home Adelaide would have a prized hand with that pre-season pick.
Clubs are always keen to get trades done to ensure the player gets to their destination smoothly but the Crows would have the pre-season pick in their back pocket as leverage in case the deal fell over.
Last year the Blues used the pre-season draft to secure Jack Martin, but had to put a massive price on his head to get him past rivals including the Suns, the club he had just left.
Crows checking out Brodie
ESSENDON has competition from Adelaide as clubs consider Gold Coast’s inside midfield bull Will Brodie.
Brodie has played only a single AFL game this year despite being selected as the No. 9 pick in the 2016 national draft, with his second-last game a 26-possession, 10-tackle, six-clearance display against Carlton late last year.
But Matt Rowell and Hugh Greenwood have taken his spot as an inside mid at the Suns, with Greenwood having a better balance of clearances and defensive run and tackling.
It means Brodie will find a new home elsewhere, with multiple clubs looking for inside bulls who can farm the ball out to teammates on the outside.
The prospect of the Suns losing another top-10 pick would have filled them with dread only 12 months ago but right now Gold Coast looks stacked, having signed up every priority target past 2020.
Corr signing leads to nervous Roos
NORTH Melbourne will secure GWS defender Aidan Corr on a long-term free agency deal and it doesn’t bode well for their mid-sized defenders in Marley Williams, Jasper Pittard and Jamie McMillan.
The Roos seem to be well-served by Robbie Tarrant, Josh Walker and the emerging Ben McKay but will likely slot in Corr as a close-checking stopper despite his 195cm frame.
Pittard and Williams will be told of their futures of exit meetings in coming days, with McMillan having left the club’s hub as he prepares for the birth of his first child.
He has kept Josh Bruce, Rory Lobb and Jack Ziebell goalless and kept West Coast’s Josh Kennedy to only a single goal in an excellent year.
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Corr averages only 0.9 intercept marks a game and 3.3 intercept possessions, having played 98 games in eight seasons with the Giants.
The Roos are clearly confident he will slot into their best 22 despite being stuck with long-term contracts for Dom Tyson, Aaron Hall and Jared Polec.
They will have to hope his best football is ahead of him, having only turned 26 this season.
Originally published as MoneyBall: All the latest AFL trade news and whispers