Every player who changed clubs during trade period ranked 1-28

JAKE Lever, Bryce Gibbs and Gary Ablett could repay their new clubs with silverware next year but Josh Schache is a long-term gamble. Which traded players will have the most impact?

THERE were 28 players who changed clubs during the exchange period and JON RALPH ranks them on the impact they’ll make at their new homes in 2018.

TRADE ANALYSIS: GARY BUCKENARA RATES YOUR CLUB

GARY BUCKENARA: SORRY PIES, HAWKS IN BOX SEAT FOR LYNCH

TRADE TRACKER: EVERY 2017 DONE DEAL

1. GARY ABLETT (Geelong)

HOW can one of the game’s greatest midfielders not be at No.1? Wrap him in cotton wool, don’t play him away and rest him through slabs of June and July.

Just get him to September fit and rested, given he has played only one game past Round 17 since 2013.

Gary Ablett is returning to Geelong.

2. BRYCE GIBBS (Adelaide)

THE Crouch brothers, Matt and Brad, had 66 touches between them for Adelaide in the Grand Final.

Rory Sloane was again tagged out of it after halftime, Paul Seedsman had 15 touches, Riley Knight nine, a banged-up Hugh Greenwood 13 and Rory Atkins 17.

If the Crows win the 2018 premiership, this trade and what it cost will be vindicated a hundred times over.

3. JAKE LEVER (Melbourne)

THE final piece of the jigsaw puzzle for Melbourne. One of the game’s best intercept marks will make an instant splash, shoring up the back six and releasing Tom McDonald to play forward more often.

The Demons ruthlessly went out and got what they needed like the grand old days.

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4. TOM ROCKLIFF (Port Adelaide)

IT will take playing in a winning team for fans to realise what a star this bloke is.

In the first eight weeks this season, he averaged 10 clearances and eight tackles. In the last month as a half-forward he averaged 20 possessions and 2.25 goals.

So versatile.

5. ADAM SAAD (Essendon)

IF Essendon is to go deep into September, its point of difference will be intoxicating ball movement. And Saad will lead the charge.

This guy locks down forwards of the calibre of Eddie Betts, Daniel (and Cyril) Rioli and Robbie Gray, breaks lines and hits targets. Imagine this backline if Cale Hooker switches to defence.

6. JAKE STRINGER (Essendon)

HIS manager said on Friday that Stringer wants to be the next Dustin Martin.

For anyone else it would be a pipedream. But if he cuts out the off-field nonsense, he has the talent to be a 50-goal-a-season forward.

Can he emulate Brad Johnson, who eight times kicked 35 goals and had 500 touches in a season?

7. JACK WATTS (Port Adelaide)

TIME to get angry, Jack. If it’s not crashing packs, it’s using the Demons’ utter rejection of him to have the season of his life next year.

Travis Boak and Charlie Dixon kicked 3.9 between them in Port’s finals loss. Watts can cut rivals to pieces with his foot skills and conversion. It’s time to show it.

Jack Watts was one of three players who went to Port Adelaide. Picture: Getty Images

8. CHARLIE CAMERON (Brisbane)

HE could be anything. Has kicked multiple goals in three of his six finals (five in the prelim), and has gone 29-20-29 goals in past three years.

Can break lines, can run all day. He is exactly what the Brisbane Lions need in their building midfield.

9. DEVON SMITH (Essendon)

How many half-forwards move clubs to get midfield opportunities and end up playing exactly where they were before?

Josh Caddy comes to mind. But if Smith replicates his 2014 season — 26 goals, average 4.5 tackles, average 22 touches — he can be a spectacular success even at half-forward.

Devon Smith in Essendon colours.

10. NATHAN WILSON (Fremantle)

THE highlights reel kicks he showcased in the prelim paper over some inconsistencies and weaknesses.

But his best is sublime, so can he play some midfield and on the wing in a Dockers team including Harley Bennell, Michael Walters and the Hill brothers, Stephen and Bradley?

At times their speed will blow away rivals.

11. SAM GIBSON (Adelaide)

WE know he is a reliable-as-death-and-taxes midfielder who overcomes average kicking with hardness, durability and his ability to perform a role.

How does Don Pyke turn him into a weapon as a lockdown tagger on wingmen?

Or is he just a depth player?

12. LUKE HODGE (Brisbane)

HOW do you quantify effect on culture, on morale, on defensive organisation?

That will be the measure of Hodge’s time at the Brisbane Lions, and you can bet it will be profound.

Luke Hodge will have an on-field assistant role at the Lions. Picture: Mark Stewart

13. MATT KENNEDY (Carlton)

HE tackles hard — almost five a game — and he has a good blend of inside and outside game.

Now pick 13 from the 2015 national draft has all the opportunity he wants in a midfield crying out for new stars.

14. LACHIE WELLER (Gold Coast)

ROSS Lyon thought he was the Freo midfield’s best kick and best runner. Love that Gold Coast repaid his commitment, despite the price.

Can he emerge as a midfield leader in a team that needs more grunt and less flashiness?

15. JACKSON TRENGOVE (Western Bulldogs)

PLAYED ruck, forward, back, defensive forward, then finally SANFL as an unsettled season took its toll.

His best footy in 2016 was as a pure ruckman with Paddy Ryder suspended, so where does Luke Beveridge end up playing him? Maybe ruck.

16. STEVEN MOTLOP (Port Adelaide)

FOOTY’S most frustrating player turns 27 in September and has the chance to rid himself of that tag.

His best is brilliant — 44 goals, 428 touches and 104 inside-50 entries in 2013.

Can he get back to that?

Can Steven Motlop show consistency at Port Adelaide? Picture: Michael Klein

17. JARMAN IMPEY (Hawthorn)

YOU know Alastair Clarkson doesn’t bring in players on a whim.

It seems he wants Impey to put on the afterburners as a line-breaking half-back.

18. HAYDEN CROZIER (Western Bulldogs)

SIX seasons of footy without making his mark.

He has never kicked
more than 13 goals or averaged more than 16 possessions in a year.

But his best footy last year was as a half-back, where Bevo has big plans for him.

19. AARON YOUNG (Gold Coast)

OTHERS went past him at Port, where he played only 13 games this year. But in 2016 he applied great pressure and kicked 37 goals.

Much more reliable than the exiting Brandon Matera, and he is only 24.

20. BRENDON AH CHEE (West Coast)

JUST five senior games this year, but he did it all in the SANFL — huge possession tallies, clearances, goals and tackles to boot.

Will never have a better chance in an Eagles team that needs inside grunt with Sam Mitchell and Matt Priddis retired and Chris Masten on the outer.

21. DARCY LANG (Carlton)

THE former pick 16 needs to prove he can make more of an impact than Billie Smedts, a Geelong pick 15 who also went to Carlton for opportunities.

Lang is an underrated tackler (averaged seven in two finals this year) and can rack it up (24 touches in the semi) — he just needs to be much
more consistent.

22. BRANDON MATERA (Fremantle)

AVERAGED 1.5 goals a game in the past four years, but the fact Gold Coast gave him up so readily tells you everything.

He has plenty to prove after squandering his talent. Can coach Ross “the Boss” Lyon work his stare?

23. HARLEY BALIC (Melbourne)

RACKED it up as a junior, but his two years at Freo were hampered by injury and personal issues.

It was a prudent trade as Melbourne gave up little for him, but he has plenty of others to get past.

24. HARRISON WIGG (Gold Coast)

TOUGH inside midfielder from Adelaide who the Suns hope will be the next Jarryd Lyons. Didn’t play a senior game at the Crows.

25. JOSH SCHACHE (Western Bulldogs)

SUPER decision by the Bulldogs to secure Schache.

If he played a dozen AFL games while working on his ferocity and pressure in the VFL it would be a good year.

A long-term decision.

The Bulldogs made a late play for Josh Schache. Picture: Getty Images

26. SAM MURRAY (Collingwood)

YOU don’t give up a future second-rounder (with a third-rounder back) unless you plan to play this kid in Round 1.

He has pace from half-back and improved his wonky kicking this year.

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley is clearly a man with a plan for Murray.

27. LOGAN AUSTIN (St Kilda)

THIS is the club that brought you value picks Josh Bruce and Tim Membrey, so let’s wait and see.

His intercept marking was a feature playing SANFL this year after 11 consecutive AFL games late in 2016.

28. MATTHEW LOBBE (Carlton)

CAN he show he is more than a salary dump for the Power? At worst, leadership and ruck insurance. At best, he can arrest three years of ever-diminishing returns.