AFL delistings and retirements: All the list management decisions made by every club
Melbourne is set to delist embattled swingman Joel Smith, with the 28-year-old reportedly disillusioned with football. JAY CLARK has the details.
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Melbourne forward Joel Smith is set to be delisted by the Demons as he awaits a potential multi-year ban for allegedly trafficking cocaine.
Smith was provisionally suspended by the AFL in October after testing positive to the illicit substance following the Round 23 game against Hawthorn last year.
The 28-year-old has effectively walked away from the game over the matter as Sports Integrity Australia continues its investigation into whether Smith offered cocaine to teammates.
Smith was prohibited from training at Melbourne this year, and has lost interest in Australian rules. He was out of contract at the end of the season and will not be offered a new contract by the club.
The son of club great Shaun Smith played 42 games across four seasons for the Demons and missed out on the 2021 premiership win due to a calf injury.
Read more about clubs’ delistings and retirements below.
ADELAIDE
Rory Sloane called time on his career midway through the year after 255 games.
BRISBANE
Jarryd Lyons has announced his retirement, which will begin when VFL and AFL finals finish.
CARLTON
Jack Martin requested Carlton to delist him this week to keep his options wide open amid strong interest from Fremantle and inquiries from both Queensland-based clubs.
Carlton had told the injury-prone forward it was keen to keep him on their list until the trade period before making a decision on the 29-year-old and 33-goal small forward Matt Owies.
But instead Martin and his management have enough interest to make clear it was time for the Blues to cut ties with the half-forward, who broke down in two of his three AFL games this year.
The Blues were happy to eventually delist him along with veterans Caleb Marchbank and David Cuningham plus ruckman Alex Mirkov and defender Dom Akuei.
Martin has had a medical at Fremantle and as an unrestricted free agent it is much easier for him to find his club of choice instead of waiting for the Blues to trade him for a late pick.
Victorian clubs are also interested given at his best he is a hard-tackling silky forward despite averaging only 13 games a season.
Martin was never able to find his best at Carlton despite a five-year deal that paid him $650,000 a season but his rare talent means there are suitors.
Clubs have promised him they would go to the ends of the earth to assess his soft-tissue concerns and find remedies.
Martin started as a brilliant mid-forward on the Gold Coast and while he expressed some desire to return to Queensland it will be harder for the Suns or Brisbane to find a spot for him.
Fremantle shapes as a natural home for a player born in Broome, who moved to Geraldton at 12 years of age.
Owies will now attempt to find a new home and has suitors at rival clubs after being told by the Blues they would need to wait until the trade period to assess his future.
He has kicked 60 goals in the last two seasons combined and ideally would stay at the Blues.
But given the impasse he has no other option but to start exploring that rival interest as a smart small forward who Champion Data ranked above average for forward 50 marks, ground ball gets and pressure as well as goals and accuracy after 33.13 for the season.
Carlton has in effect run out of list spots given it will secure free agent Nick Haynes, is chasing Dan Houston, wants to take at least a first-round pick and has committed to the Camporeale brothers as father-sons.
Jack Carroll is also out of contract and being told to wait by Carlton on a decision on his future.
Cuningham was smashed by knee and calf injuries through his time at Carlton, and played just 58 games after his debut in 2016.
Similarly Marchbank played 63 games in 10 seasons for the Blues and GWS.
He only appeared three times this AFL season.
Blues list boss Nick Austin praised Cuningham, Marchbank and Martin for working through constant injury setbacks.
“David and Caleb have persevered through adversity throughout their extended careers at Carlton,” Austin said.
“Their resolve to continue to front up and give themselves every chance to overcome each challenge is a testament to them and will hold them in good stead with whatever the step is that they choose to take.
“Jack also showed a resilient mindset through his five seasons and has made some lasting friendships at the football club.”
COLLINGWOOD
Project ruckman Aidan Begg has been delisted from the Pies after three AFL games over four seasons after being picked in the 2021 mid-season draft.
He missed most of the 2024 season after picking up a PCL injury in the VFL.
Nathan Murphy and Josh Carmichael were also forced to retire earlier this season due to concussion.
ESSENDON
Essendon informed Nick Hind, Kaine Baldwin, Jaiden Hunter and Tex Wanganeen they wouldn’t be offered contracts for 2025 and beyond.
Hind played 71 games in red and black after 21 at St Kilda, who drafted him out of Essendon’s VFL program in the 2018 draft. He joined Essendon in the 2020 trade period.
Baldwin was considered a possible top-10 draft pick when he was 16, but two ACL injuries at 17 and 18 meant he was overlooked in his draft year, with Essendon selecting him in the 2021 SSP period, playing at both ends of the ground.
Wanganeen, the son of dual premiership and 1993 Brownlow Medal winner Gavin, was taken in the 2022 SSP, but injuries cruelled his time at the Bombers, meaning he only played five games.
Hunter was selected in the 2023 mid-season draft as a key forward, but back injuries last season and an ACL injury last year meant he spent most of his time on the injury list.
Dyson Heppell and Jake Kelly have also retired.
FREMANTLE
Fremantle have told stalwarts Matt Taberner and Ethan Hughes they won’t be offered new contracts, while Sebit Kuek and Conrad Williams have also been delisted.
Taberner played 125 AFL games for Fremantle between 2013 and 2024, kicking 173 goals, and was leading goalkicker in 2020 and 2021.
The 13th pick in the 2014 rookie draft, Hughes played 107 games in his time at the club.
Both will continue to play for Peel Thunder during its finals campaign.
Kuek was picked at No. 15 in the 2022 AFL Mid-Season Draft. The 23-year-old never made his AFL debut, while NGA pick Williams was selected by Fremantle as a Category B rookie in the 2022 draft period.
GEELONG
Zach Tuohy has announced he will retire at the end of the season, while champion Tom Hawkins has also said 2024 will be his last season.
GOLD COAST
Gold Coast’s list cull has commenced with the club on Wednesday confirming six players had not been offered contracts for 2025.
Darcy Macpherson, James Tsitas, Jack Mahony, Sandy Brock, Oskar Faulkhead and Will Rowlands were all told they would not have their contracts renewed for the upcoming season.
It comes a day after this masthead revealed the Suns had been told by the AFL their rookie list would be cut in half for next season.
The Suns previously had 10 rookie list spots thanks to the 2019 assistance package that helped the club land Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson at the top of that year’s draft. But that will drop to five in 2025.
It left the Suns with some tough decisions to make on players who found themselves near the tail end of the list.
Macpherson, 26, played 97 games over nine seasons. He joined the Suns via the 2016 rookie draft and finished third in the club’s 2019 best and fairest.
After playing all 23 games in 2023 he made just two appearances this season under new coach Damien Hardwick. He played the opening two games of the year but was subbed out in both and spent the rest of the season in the VFL.
Tsitas was a 2022 supplementary selection and played five senior games for the club, though none of those came in 2024.
Mahony, Brock, Faulkhead and Rowlands did not feature at AFL level during their time at the club.
It is understood Rowlands will be invited back to train with the club in pre-season as a possible supplemental selection period (SSP) addition.
“Darcy, James, Jack, Sandy, Oskar and Will have all had unique journeys to the AFL and we commend them for all the hard work and dedication they have invested in our club over the years,” Suns list boss Craig Cameron said.
“We sincerely thank them for their service to the Suns and wish them all the best for the next stage of their careers.”
Inaugural Sun Sam Day will also depart the club.
“It’s been a challenging journey at times, but I wouldn’t change it for anything, and know those setbacks have helped shape the person I am today,” Day said. “I’d like to thank the Suns for giving me an opportunity as an 18-year-old, many of the people I have had the pleasure of working with at the club, and the Gold Coast community for showing me so much love throughout my career.”
Gold Coast fan-favourite Hewago Oea has also been told he will not be offered a contract with the club next season. The Papua New Guinean speedster, known affectionately as ‘Ace’, played 13 games in his four seasons at the Suns. Oea joined the Suns Academy in 2017, made his NEAFL debut in 2019 and was drafted by the Suns as a Category B rookie in 2020.
He became the first PNG-born player to earn an AFL start when he debuted against Collingwood in round 16, 2022. He playeda further five games that season and eight in 2023, but did not feature under new coach Damien Hardwick this year.
Brandon Ellis also announced his retirement after 251 games.
HAWTHORN
Small forward Chad Wingard announced his retirement after 218 games and 300 goals with Port Adelaide and Hawthorn.
Wingard struggled with injury in his time at the Hawks, but was a two-time All-Australian with the Power earlier in his career.
MELBOURNE
The Demons have told Josh Schache and Kyah Ferris-White they won’t be offered contracts for next season. Schache was a No. 2 draft pick at the Brisbane Lions in 2015, but was traded to the Western Bulldogs after two seasons and 27 games. After four years at Whitten Oval Schache was traded to Melbourne. Ferris-White was drafted as a category B rookie in 2022, playing for the Dandenong Stingrays and Casey in his time on the Demons’ list.
Ben Brown has also called time after 175 games and a premiership with Melbourne, while Angus Brayshaw was also forced to retire earlier this season.
NORTH MELBOURNE
The Roos are yet to make any delistings, but have had Liam Shiels and Hugh Greenwood retire.
RICHMOND
There is plenty of movement expected at Punt Rd this off-season, with Shai Bolton, Liam Baker and Dan Rioli all requesting trades.
Premiership heroes Dustin Martin, Dylan Gimes and Marlion Pickett have all retired, along with Sam Naismith.
ST KILDA
St Kilda has parted ways with 211-game midfielder Seb Ross after not offering him a contract for the 2025 season.
Ross won the club’s best and fairest awards in 2017 and 2019, making his debut in 2012.
The Saints have also cut first-year defender Riley Bonner and journeyman ruck Tom Campbell as part of its first list changes.
Bonner appeared to have found a second AFL home at Moorabbin this season when he played in 19 of the club’s first 20 games, only missing one game through injury.
But the defender, who was delisted by Port Adelaide and signed over summer by St Kilda, fell out of Ross Lyon’s team in the later weeks of the season and was delisted on Tuesday.
Youngsters Matthew Allison and James Van Es were also delisted.
Bonner averaged 21.1 disposals per game off halfback and 466 metres gained.
He played 93 games with Port Adelaide before joining St Kilda.
“Riley came to us just over a year ago with a willingness to play his role and submit to the needs of the team and he did exactly that,” Saints footy boss David Misson said.
Campbell’s incredible journey began with the Western Bulldogs before a stint with North Melbourne and finally St Kilda.
The 32-year-old backup ruck incredibly never played more than nine games in any season but played in 11 separate seasons after his 2012 debut and tallied 58 appearances, including two this year.
Campbell was a widely respected teammate, with Misson describing the big man as “an incredible member of our playing group”.
Allison and Van Es both went through their St Kilda run uncapped amid injury battles.
SYDNEY
Premiership player Sam Reid has called time after 181 games.
WEST COAST
Andrew Gaff has called time on his career with West Coast, while midfielder Zane Trew, utility player Jamaine Jones and Next Generation Academy product Jordyn Baker were all delisted by the club.
WESTERN BULLDOGS
Aidan O’Driscoll was forced to retire due to concussion.
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