AFL Trades 2023: Latest moves, news, whispers from day three of trade period
The Swans have landed two big recruits as they gear up for a return to premiership contention in 2024. See how day three of the trade period played out here.
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Day three of the trade period is done and dusted.
There were plenty of deals that went through late in the piece, with the Swans and Roos landing two recruits each.
Plus draft picks traded hands and the Crows have a new swingman.
See how it panned out below.
ADAMS, GRUNDY MAKE SYDNEY MOVE
Brodie Grundy’s short stay at Melbourne is over as he and Taylor Adams were traded to Sydney in a half-hour of shrewd business that completed a drastic revamp of the Swans midfield.
The All-Australian pair were shipped to the Swans on Wednesday afternoon.
Grundy went first, with Melbourne landing the No.46 pick and a future second-rounder for the ruck.
Minutes later, his former teammate Adams followed suit, in a clean swap with Collingwood for pick 33.
The Swans had previously landed James Jordon from Melbourne and Joel Hamling from Fremantle as free agents.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Swans sent winger Dylan Stephens and pick 25 to North Melbourne for pick 44 and one of North’s bonus picks at the end of the 2024 first round.
The Adams swap came quickly after he toured Sydney a week ago, with the former Giant back in the Harbour City after he was shoved out of Collingwood’s midfield rotation for much of 2023.
Adams, who played 175 games in the black and white, is expected to join Sydney on a three-year deal, after already holding a 2024 contract at Collingwood.
Magpies footy boss Graham Wright acknowledged Adams had left to get more midfield time.
“We understand Taylor’s aspiration to seek opportunity at another club that will provide him with more opportunity,” he said.
Grundy’s Demon phase lasted just 17 games as his partnership with Max Gawn was aborted before the finals series and he will walk into the No.1 ruck role after Tom Hickey’s retirement.
“He is an outstanding person and elite ruckman in the competition and will be a fantastic addition to our club,” Swans footy boss Charlie Gardiner said.
Demons list manager Tim Lamb said the two picks received in the Grundy trade would keep Melbourne’s options open for the rest of the trade period.
Collingwood will continue to pay a portion of his salary while Grundy is at Sydney and Melbourne will wipe his money off its books.
“Brodie has had a significant impact on our group over the past 12 months and we wish him well for the future,” Lamb said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Melbourne moved up the draft board in a deal with Gold Coast.
The Demons snared pick no.11 and handed off 14, 27 and 35 to the Suns.
Now holding prized selections 6 and 11, the Demons have enough ammunition to make a play for West Coast’s No.1 choice.
ROOS LAND SECOND RECRUIT OF DAY
North Melbourne has landed their second trade target of the day with Zac Fisher joining the Roos from Carlton while also getting another pick inside the first round.
The Roos traded pick 21 and pick 25 for Fisher and Carlton’s pick 17.
It was the second player to join the club with Sydney’s Dylan Stephens coming across earlier in the day.
FOUR CLUBS INVOLVED IN MEGA DEAL
Melbourne completed a pick swap on Wednesday that saw them secure the No.11 draft pick, Adelaide taking pick 14 and key back Chris Burgess, North Melbourne pick 18 and the Suns handed an array of 2023 picks to lock in their academy selections.
Melbourne on Wednesday traded their own pick 35 - as well as 14 and 27 - for Gold Coast’s pick 11.
But they are likely to secure a pick around that range for Brodie Grundy, having knocked back the Swans’ initial offer of a mid-40s pick.
Burgess will help the Crows with their key position issues, but they are still intent on holding Elliott Himmelberg unless they can secure more defensive cover.
The Crows now have selections 10 and 14, and could attempt to use another mid-30s pick at the draft or to push further up the order.
SWANS TRADE COMPLICATES ADAMS, GRUNDY DEALS
North Melbourne has landed the club’s new wingman Dylan Stephens using one of the AFL’s special assistance picks and a swap of selections.
The Roos believe former pick 5 Stephens can play a critical role on the wing but also be a versatile onballer for them after four years in the system.
The Swans handed over their No.25 pick but in return got back North Melbourne’s pick 44 this year as well as next year’s future end-of-first-round pick.
The Roos were keen to trade those selections to ensure the league did not take them off the club, so at least one of those picks has been put to good use.
But Sydney trading out their No.25 pick does not help either Collingwood – which wants it for Taylor Adams – or Melbourne, who wants it for Brodie Grundy.
The Swans now have picks 33, 44 and 46 to attempt to broker those deals.
Stephens played 13 AFL games this year and averaged 13.5 possessions and kicks at 62 per cent efficiency, but the Roos believe he has a clear upside after a solid grounding at the Roos.
He will add to a list that will also secure Carlton’s Zac Fisher, with SANFL interceptor Toby Pink to also join the club after an elite season that culminated in a premiership.
“We are excited to welcome Dylan to Arden Street,” North Melbourne football manager Todd Viney said.
“We’ve been tracking him for a while and believe he has some great attributes to add to our midfield with more opportunity at AFL level.
“He’s got some great athletic attributes, and we think he’ll complement our group enormously with his footy nous and professionalism.”
LATEST ON WANTAWAY YOUNGSTERS
Wantaway Bomber Massimo D’Ambrosio and Gold Coast young gun Elijah Hollands are both waiting as their clubs focus on other deals to start trade period.
Hollands is yet to go public with a trade request out of the Suns, despite Carlton list boss Nick Austin stating “there is some interest there” to unite the former No.7 draft with his Blues brother Ollie.
Gold Coast faces another busy trade period, with forward Mabior Chol keen to get to Hawthorn and the Suns focused on moving their bevy of draft picks around to make room for a host of top-tier academy talents.
The Blues meanwhile have their hands full negotiating exits for Zac Fisher (likely to North Melbourne) and Paddy Dow (St Kilda)
Both Carlton and Gold Coast are expected to step up talks about Hollands over the weekend.
D’Ambrosio did declare his hand when he requested a trade to Hawthorn, but as of Wednesday morning, little progress had been made on a move from Essendon for the rookie.
As an out-of-contract rookie, D’Ambrosio is likely to be traded out for a late pick as Essendon works through a busy period as the Bombers hope to land Jade Gresham and Xavier Duursma while Brandon Zerk-Thatcher is keen to get to Port Adelaide.
Essendon list boss Adrian Dodoro is famously heavy handed during trade negotiations but the D’Ambrosio deal is expected to get done next week and is seen as a more simple swap than some other deals.
The Hawks not only want to bring in Chol and D’Ambrosio but will send out Jacob Koschitzke to Richmond and Tyler Brockman wants a move to West Coast and consider a move for the Eagles’ No.1 draft pick.
The dashing D’Ambrosio is set to move onto Hawthorn’s senior list after being a rookie with Essendon and is looking at a two-year contract with his new club.
Also waiting to see how things shake out is Richmond tall Bigoa Nyuon.
The 22-year-old tall defender met with North Melbourne recently as the Roos look to fill multiple holes down back with Ben McKay now at Essendon and Griffin Logue recovering from an ACL rupture.
Nyuon is an unrestricted free agent so he can walk to the Roos but he is yet to be offered a deal by either North Melbourne or Richmond.
North Melbourne has former Sydney-listed defender Toby Pink in mind to sign as a delisted free agent after a strong SANFL season.
“He has had a great year at Glenelg this year and been one of the premier defenders in that league this season,” Pink’s manager Tom McConvile told Trade Radio.
HAWKS’ FRUSTRATION AT KANGAROOS COMPO
Hawthorn will express its frustration to the AFL over North Melbourne’s free agency compensation for Ben McKay sliding its own first selection down to pick 4, saying it has likely killed off any potential trade with West Coast for the No.1 draft pick.
The Hawks had held pick 3 after finishing 16th on the ladder this season, but has now been pushed back a spot after the AFL handed that selection to the Kangaroos under the controversial free agency formula for losing McKay to the Bombers.
“What comes with finishing 16th is that you get pick No.3 in the draft and usually that ends up being a pretty good player,” Hawthorn head of football Rob McCartney said on SEN.
“And that (pick 3) gets shuffled back because of things like this (free agency compensation). There is a level of frustration.
“I must admit there is a lot of work to do in a footy club and controlling the controllables is one of them, which means you have to move on pretty quickly.”
McCartney said the Hawks would detail their thoughts to the AFL as a matter of course, but will now get on with the business of trying to get the best possible outcome with pick 4.
“The one thing in showing you have a good relationship with the AFL is that open dialogue around the decision making and we will definitely have those conversations,” he said.
“Now we know where we sit, we have to play the cards that have been dealt to us.”
But McCartney said the shuffling from picks 3 to 4 meant any deal with the Eagles to try and prise the No.1 pick one off them in a swap – and potentially take Harley Reid – is almost a forlorn hope.
“I think there might be another club now (North Melbourne) that might have a little bit (of a) better offer to put to West Coast than maybe what we have,” he said.
“We have shown a genuine interest in our journey to continually look to see if we can improve our draft hand. (To) turn pick (4) or other opportunities, we will definitely explore, but I think maybe some other clubs have greater assets to put towards that.”
He said the Hawks saw Suns forward Mabior Chol – who has requested a trade to the club – as a player who could come in and make a difference to the club’s forward set-up.
“Our front end isn’t at the level to be able to win enough games to even get into the finals, let alone win one, so he (Chol) definitely adds some value to that,” he said.
“He is a player that hasn’t played a lot of AFL football this year, so we are hoping our environment could be a bit of a spark to him.
“That’s an opportunity for him to play alongside Mitch Lewis. We think he will make Mitch Lewis a better player, and make us a better team.”
REID WANTS TO SPEARHEAD REBUILD
Highly-rated No.1 draft prospect Harley Reid has pledged to help rebuild whatever club picks him next month – whether that is West Coast or North Melbourne – as he looks to make an instant impression on AFL football next season.
The much-talked about 18-year-old says he wants to reward the club that picks him and play a role in helping them return to finals footy as soon as possible.
“If it is West Coast or if it is North (Melbourne), I would love to get in there and influence the team to turn them around and be a part of the process that puts them back into finals footy,” Reid said on SEN.
“Obviously, there are all those little percenters in earning respect (which come into it) … (but) I feel like I would love to be a part of a team that is not there at the moment. I would love to be a part of the process to (help) turn them around.”
Reid has long been talked about as the best player in the 2023 draft pool, with West Coast holding the No.1 draft pick but with North Melbourne – at picks 2 and 3 and a wealth of other good selections – capable of doing a trade or a deal to secure the teenager from Tongala.
He once again dismissed suggestions he had ever said he was not keen to play for the Eagles, saying: “You know what you said, your manager knows what you said, West Coast know I didn’t say it … it is a crazy trade period, who knows what will happen.”
Reid played for a variety of teams in 2023 including with Carlton and Essendon’s VFL sides, saying he copped it from a few AFL-listed players.
“I copped it a bit, to be honest (in) the Brisbane-Carlton game,” he said. “(It was Lion) Rhys Mathieson … he gave it to me. He was feeding me with, ‘Who am I?’.”
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