A mid-season trade window will be good for the game, writes David King

TODD Goldstein would enhance Geelong’s premiership chances if he joined the Cats mid-season, the same for West Coast if it traded to secure Marc Murphy. Opening a June trade window would add spice to the season, writes DAVID KING.

BREAKING news: At 2pm on June 15, Geelong trades its first-round national draft pick for North Melbourne’s Todd Goldstein.

The Cats are all in for the 2018 premiership.

This follows the previous day’s triangular trade in which Collingwood’ Darcy Moore joined Sydney, Aliir Aliir left the Harbour City for St Kilda, and the Saints shipped Jack Billings to the Magpies and picked up the Swans’ second-round selection in the super draft at the end of this season.

How good would that be?

HILARIOUS: DANNY McGINLAY’S MID-SEASON BANNERS

YOUNG TALENT: CARLTON’S NEW $800,000 MEN

It’s time for the AFL to ­introduce an in-season trade window — a window that slams shut immediately after Round 12 or 13 every year or on a set date in June.

It just has to be a date deep enough into the season to allow teams to understand where they sit in the premiership race.

While all the talk is about “set the Sherrin free”, how about we “set the players free”?

AFL fans are ready for these sorts of innovations or, at bare minimum, serious discussions about them.

Would West Coast do a trade to secure Marc Murphy?

Another quality midfielder riding shotgun for Luke Shuey is just what the doctor ordered.

Murphy’s ability to hit targets Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling in a finals campaign might just be the tipping point to send the premiership silverware west.

Would a mid-season trade of North Melbourne’s Todd Goldstein to Geelong deliver the Cats a premiership? Picture: Getty Images

There were rumours Dayne Beams wanted to come back to Victoria — which Brisbane says are inaccurate — but the Lions need top national draft picks.

Any club in the land would want Beams, so put up your best deal.

Could he be worth a first-round pick — or even two second-rounders — this season?

Jake Lever has done his ­anterior cruciate ligament and Melbourne’s premiership tilt now looks wobbly, but there’s West Coast’s Jeremy McGovern still unsigned …

If his brother, Adelaide’s Mitch McGovern, wanted to join another flag contender, what would be the asking price?

What about Crows teammate Eddie Betts? Which club?

Then there are those players who cannot get opportunities, such as Anthony Miles and Sam Lloyd at the Tigers, Braydon Preuss at the Kangaroos and even Dom Tyson or Dean Kent, who appear to be on the fringe at the Demons.

While these guys won’t command first-round selections, their clubs could reasonably demand a second or third-round pick.

Marc Murphy would add another quality midfielder to the Eagles’ list. Picture: AAP

Don’t forget those who are close to the end or are on the nose at their current club.

Would Michael Johnson of Fremantle be of any value?

Would Gold Coast have ­received more than a shuffling of first-round picks and a rise from fourth round to second round of next season’s draft ­selections for Gary Ablett if they had traded him to the Cats mid-June last year?

Could Ablett have had an impact on preliminary final night against the Crows?

In-season trading would put pressure on flag contenders to trade if those around were ­engaging, but the likelihood of them trading with each other would be slim.

Why would you help your nearest rivals improve?

Therefore, teams situated midway down or towards the bottom of the ladder would be heavily involved and the ­desperation to get deals done would ensure contenders paid “overs” in-season.

It would be a sellers’ market and exactly what is needed to push teams back up the ladder, to minimise the rebuilding phase.

Let’s put the list managers to work.

Challenge another facet for clubs to find an advantage through strategy and intelligence. Allow clubs more control and greater opportunities through list flexibility.

There will be questions ­regarding salary cap, but each club’s committed salaries at the start of the season would be maintained by the original club until the season’s end.

For instance, if Geelong ­recruited Goldstein on a reported $850,000, then that becomes a factor with the traded compensation.

What would normally ­attract a second-round draft selection would be upgraded to a first-round pick because of the financial impost on the Kangaroos’ pay structure, but then the future seasons’ contracts become the new club’s responsibility from the next year on.

Restricting the volume of trade acquisitions would be up for discussion, but if a maximum of two players could be added to your roster from AFL lists — not involving the SANFL, WAFL or lower grades — all decisions would become quite critical.

Other sports have illustrated how significant player movement can be in a short space of time.

Why don’t we lower the tenure qualification period of free agency? This would ­ensure more players were available, lowering the ­demand by increasing supply.

At the same time, there would be clubs that would scream that their list builds were being affected at a time when their players were coming into their prime years.

Jeremy McGovern will be an ideal replacement for Jake Lever at Melbourne. Picture: Getty Images

Can we meet the clubs halfway? What if the players drafted in the first two rounds of the national draft were locked into a five or six-year minimum term at the club that selects them?

This would give the clubs some stability and a chance to rebuild or realign.

If both parties agree on a trade before the five or six-year minimum, then moves could eventuate, as happened with Tom Boyd.

The current situation of first and second-round draftees choosing to leave a club after only two or three years for a destination of their choice must cease.

These defections fly in the face of the equalisation pillar — the draft and the draft order.

Food for thought.

The AFL Players’ Association and its constituents currently hold the whip hand on player movement — as they should — but opening up in-season trading would be great for players languishing in the reserves and could provide an immediate premiership opportunity for others.

Who could your club attract immediately to improve its premiership chances this ­season?

Or which players would it offload to attract much sought- after, high-end national draft selections?

Let the games begin.

LIVE stream every match of every round of the 2018 Toyota AFL Premiership Season on FOX SPORTS. Get your free 2-week trial & start watching in minutes. SIGN UP NOW >