AFL 2023 trade news: Carlton gun requests move, Nick Coffield-Liam Henry link to unlock deal
Paddy Dow will find his way to St Kilda after reuniting with Stephen Silvagni, six years after he chose him at pick 3 in the 2017 national draft. Latest trade news.
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St Kilda could attempt to use its trade compensation for departing top-10 pick Nick Coffield to broker a deal for Fremantle midfielder Liam Henry as Paddy Dow officially nominated the Saints on Sunday.
Carlton clearance specialist Dow will find his way to St Kilda for a later pick after reuniting with Stephen Silvagni at Moorabbin, six years after he chose him at pick 3 in the 2017 national draft.
The Blues will not stand in his way and are likely to accept a late draft pick for the midfielder.
The Saints will enter the first day of the trade period attempting to retain their early picks, desperately hoping an offer for Essendon-bound Jade Gresham hits a first-round trigger.
It would hand St Kilda pick 13 to go with its no.12 selection, although a trio of Suns academy players and Ben McKay’s compensation selection will eventually push that pick back at least four spots.
If St Kilda did land 30-year-old Essendon midfielder Dylan Shiel it would hope to hand over a later pick given his age.
The Saints currently have picks 11, 32 and 53 so will hope to have at least three picks within 32 by the time Gresham departs and the club secures free agency compensation.
Fremantle has made clear how shattered it is to lose Henry given he played 16 games for Justin Longmuir’s side this year.
But as a pick nine in the 2019 national draft St Kilda might argue his value is roughly comparable to Coffield, a pick eight in the 2017 national draft.
Coffield has accepted a deal at the Western Bulldogs despite being offered a new contract at Moorabbin and will go with the Saints’ best wishes.
St Kilda had believed Henry’s trade value was around a third-round selection before the Coffield development, which will give them more flexibility in satisfying Fremantle.
St Kilda list boss Silvagni said the club was looking to bolster its midfield as well as consider another key forward if the club could find one in the trade period.
“We are looking to bring in quality players. We are looking at certain areas on our list but in all our areas we want to add to,” he said.
“We would like to add more to our midfield and forward line, maybe bring in a developing key defender. We want to bring more talent through the door.”
“Liam is looking for a bit more opportunity and he’s nominated St Kilda so now we have to try to get a deal done with Fremantle.”
ROOS, SAINTS TO REAP FREE AGENCY REWARDS
North Melbourne and St Kilda are expected to cash in on free agency compensation this year as the league compares future deals for Ben McKay and Jade Gresham to 2023 AFL salaries.
The league has told clubs that it has no discretion to award a club like the Roos greater free agency compensation because of their dire win-loss record, instead going on a strict formula.
But as Essendon prepares to lodge offers for Ben McKay and St Kilda’s mid-forward Gresham, market conditions will help both clubs with free agency compensation.
It comes after clubs were shocked that deals for James Jordon and, in particular, Matt Flynn secured end-of-second-round compensation on Friday.
Some clubs believed Jordon’s age of 22 helped trigger a better compensation pick, there was greater surprise that 26-year-old Flynn also earned a decent selection.
The league’s general manager of clubs David Grossman has confirmed the league will compare deals to salaries from round 1, 2023 - pre-pay rise - to assess whether players fall into the top five per cent of paid players over 25 years of age.
The league uses this year’s salaries as a round 1 cut-off to set free agency compensation even though next year’s salaries will be 15 per cent higher under a newly-brokered pay deal.
So the Roos will receive the No.3 overall pick as free agency compensation if McKay is offered a deal of just under $800,000 in guaranteed money instead of up to the $920,000 a year needed for free agents next October.
Under free agency rules a deal needs only be two years in length to trigger compensation.
So Essendon could offer Gresham a short-term deal of two or three years on just over $800,000 a season to secure first-round compensation for St Kilda.
Grossman said the rise of first-round picks being offered significant sums to sign their second contract had also seen more money paid to players in their third to fifth seasons.
It means there are less players on $800,000-plus in the industry, which helps maximise free agency compensation when offers are lodged exceeding that figure.
“What we have seen in the last half dozen years is that the value of third, fourth and fifth year player contracts has increased a lot,” Grossman said.
“That sucks money out of the total player payments away from older players. So the value of salary that sits within the 25-and-plus-year cohort is lower on a relative basis. Which means the nominal value of a contract relative to that cohort is different over time.”
The league is assessing whether to tweak the free agency formula based on the number of years in a free agency contract to reflect the reality that a six-year deal is more valuable than a two-year deal.
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Originally published as AFL 2023 trade news: Carlton gun requests move, Nick Coffield-Liam Henry link to unlock deal
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