Moneyball: All the latest trade and contract news from across the AFL
The Western Bulldogs are working towards locking away for key players, including a young gun who is set for an eye-watering pay rise. Plus, the latest on Scott Pendlebury’s future.
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Western Bulldogs young gun Sam Darcy will secure one of the game’s biggest pay rises on his next deal as part of a club plan to lock away four priority players.
Darcy has played just 18 games across three seasons but is set to command upwards of $800,000 a year on his next deal as one of the game’s most talented talls.
The Dogs are expected to soon begin work on new deals for Darcy, superstar skipper Marcus Bontempelli, goal kicker Cody Weightman and much-improved midfielder Ed Richards.
While the Dogs’ quartet does not come out of contract until the end of next season, they have emerged as clear priority targets to sign up later this year considering their importance to the club’s list strategy.
List boss Sam Power will set aside about $3 million for the four players with Bontempelli, 28, certain to remain on $1 million a year, while Weightman and Richards are expected to cost about $700,000 a season.
Darcy, 20, is on a path to become one of the highest-paid players in the game following his stunning rise in his third season kicking 22 goals across 11 games this year.
Darcy’s father, club great and former superstar captain Luke Darcy, is on the club’s board but will stay out of conversations regarding his son’s playing contract.
Bontempelli is widely considered a top-three player in the game and arguably the Bulldogs’ greatest player. He is a five-time best-and-fairest winner and five-time All-Australian, and has finished top-two in the Brownlow Medal twice in the past three years.
Bontempelli has been the club’s highest-paid player and is expected to remain on the top salary in reward for his continued brilliance.
It means the club will not overpay on deals this year for out-of-contract pair Bailey Smith and free agent ruckman Tim English, whose contracts are both in a holding position.
Smith, 23, is expected to leave at season’s end with Hawthorn, Geelong and Collingwood all circling, while the Bulldogs remain keen to keep 26-year-old English.
English, who is from Western Australia, has a significant concussion history after head knocks in 2021 and 2022, and missed a chunk of pre-season training due to unrelated migraines.
The Dogs may also consider rival offers for premiership stars Caleb Daniel, 27, and Jack Macrae, 29 if rival clubs make a strong push for the pair after falling out of favour earlier this season.
PENDLES TO GO ON
Collingwood champion Scott Pendlebury will play on next season after progressing in talks with the club about a new contract for next season.
The Magpies are finalising a deal to keep the brilliant ballwinner in black and white for a remarkable 20th AFL season next year.
The contract extension is in reward for his continued outstanding form and leadership role helping steer Collingwood’s back-to-back premiership assault.
Pendlebury, 36, showed his class racking up two goals and 30 disposals against Adelaide in Round 10 which continued a sparkling month for the veteran onballer.
Collingwood champion and former coach Nathan Buckley lauded Pendlebury’s continued contribution at the highest level on the back of the win over the Crows, saying “I don’t think there’s any doubt that he should officially be seen as Collingwood’s best player in history.”
The new deal will catapult the six-time All-Australian and five-time best and fairest winner towards Brent Harvey’s all-time games record of 432 matches next year.
Pendlebury is on track to return from a bicep injury in Round 16 against Gold Coast in his 395th match.
It puts him on track to play his 400th game in a Saturday night blockbuster against Carlton at the MCG in Round 21.
REVEALED: PIES AMONG THREE CLUBS EYEING SUNS RUCKMAN
- Glenn McFarlane, Jon Ralph and Jay Clark
Adelaide, Melbourne and Collingwood have expressed strong interest in Gold Coast’s back-up ruckman Ned Moyle as the 22-year-old attempts to dislodge Jarrod Witts as the club’s No. 1 ruckman.
Moyle has been extremely impressive in his three games this season as the Suns’ wealth of options in their key position stocks creates a logjam at selection.
He has not engaged with any other teams despite being out of contract and his preferred option would be to remain with the Suns despite being behind Witts in the pecking order.
But as many as five clubs are pursuing him given his physical style and impressive recent AFL contests.
As the season progresses his future will become more clear given Witts was rested for him in one of the club’s Darwin clashes before missing with a hamstring against Essendon.
Witts signed on for another two seasons early this year and both are contested ball ruckmen who do not play forward, which makes it hard to play both in the one side.
But Gold Coast would love to retain Moyle, with coach Damien Hardwick saying on Thursday he would play again given Witts’ injury.
“Young Ned Moyle will play 80 per cent of that role, he was really good last week he’s grown with every game he’s played,” he said.
“He’s shown us he’s a capable AFL ruckman. We’re very fortunate we have two great rucks, one towards the end of his career (Witts) and one towards the start (Moyle).”
Adelaide this week dropped first-choice ruckman Reilly O’Brien for 28-year-old Kieran Strachan and would love Moyle’s contested style of play in their mix.
The Suns expect Adelaide to again come hard to key position forward Jack Lukosius, who is on a lucrative contract to 2026 but is keen to remain on the coast.
Collingwood, Melbourne and St Kilda are all keen to lure ruck depth to their clubs, but the Saints are looking for a forward who can complement Rowan Marshall in the centre square.
The Pies need ruck strength as a succession plan for Mason Cox and Darcy Cameron, with Aiden Begg and Oscar Steene showing promise but both out with long-term injuries.
The Herald Sun revealed last month Rory Lobb would ask for a trade from the Dogs at year’s end.
Melbourne has star ruckman Max Gawn contracted to the end of 2025 but has only key tall Tom Fullarton and youngster Will Verrall as back-up for footy’s most dominant ruckman.
It would be a coup if the Suns could retain former mid-season draftee Moyle despite Witts’ presence and an endorsement of the culture that coach Damien Hardwick is attempting to build.
The club recruited Ethan Reid as a versatile key position forward but he might eventually settle as a roaming half back alongside Mac Andrew, Sam Collins and Charlie Ballard.
Ballard is a free agent next year while Andrew and star mid Matt Rowell are also out of contract at the end of 2025.
$1.4M DEAL THAT BUSTS OPEN DONS’ SALARY CAP
Essendon star defender Ben McKay will take home about $3.5 million over the first three years of his deal at the Bombers to allow the club to go hard in the exchange market when the list peaks.
McKay, 26, is one of the highest-paid players in the AFL this year with the full back set to pocket about $1.4 million in 2024 as part of a heavily front-ended deal.
The star stopper, who has made a significant impact in his first year at Tullamarine, is expected to earn about $1.1 million in his second year and slightly less than that in season three.
But his wage drops sharply in seasons four to six to a much more modest figure believed to be worth several hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, or roughly in-line with an average AFL wage.
While the six-year deal still triggered first-round compensation for North Melbourne, McKay’s recruitment has been a shrewd move from Essendon which has risen to second spot on the ladder ahead of Sunday night’s clash against Carlton.
McKay will play on his twin brother, Harry, for the first time in his eight-year career in front of more than 90,00 fans at the MCG which could top the 91,571 record set in 2000.
Essendon beat Hawthorn in the race for McKay’s signature late last year, with the defender declaring the move to Essendon has helped reignite his love of the game.
According to Champion Data, the former Roo has averaged 7.6 intercept possessions and 3.2 intercept marks a game and has conceded only 21 goals across 12 matches paired up on some of the best key forwards in the game.
The Bombers are expected to have significant salary cap space in coming years to attack the trade and free agency market after heavily front-ending a spate of recent deals including McKay’s.
Recent extensions for Kyle Langford and Jordan Ridley also helped front-end their contracts and clear cap space for coming years when Essendon’s list is expected to fully mature.
Essendon has used its prized first draft picks on Nate Caddy and Elijah Tsatas over the past two years, and remains intent on keeping its top pick this season in-line with Brad Scott’s vision to build for the future.
He said the bulk of the list including recent free agency additions Jade Gresham and McKay and ex Port Adelaide wingman Xavier Duursma could play for the next eight years together.
Essendon could target a powerhouse goal kicking midfielder and key forward in coming years to help strengthen the list after landing stars Sam Durham and Nic Martin cheaply in the mid-season draft and supplemental selection period.
DON DEALING
Essendon will move onto deals for Jye Caldwell and Nik Cox after locking away Archie Perkins for two seasons, but movement on Jake Stringer’s deal will still take place in the back end of the season.
Essendon’s contracts often take a little longer to broker given they do not offer players a percentage rise in the CBA. But Caldwell and Cox are both keen to stay, with Caldwell putting in a career-best season and Cox kicking three goals as an unlikely forward after playing across half back and wing this year.
The Dons also have Nick Hind out of contract, with Harrison Jones hitting a trigger for 2025 and Dyson Heppell playing well enough to at least consider his future.
SHOW OF FAITH IN HEAD HAWK
Hawthorn’s strong surge in form across the past two months will see the club sign off on an extended deal for coach Sam Mitchell before the end of this season.
Mitchell is one of eight AFL coaches who come out of contract at the end of 2025, but he is expected to be the first locked in beyond that time.
While the coach and the club have yet to ramp up any meaningful discussions, this masthead understands both parties are committed to striking a new deal in the coming months.
The Hawks lost the first five matches, but have won five of the past seven matches, including a demolition of Adelaide last weekend.
The Hawks board couldn’t be happier with Mitchell’s evolution as a coach and his connection to the playing group in only his third season since taking over from Alastair Clarkson.
A new deal before the start of the pre-season would also be a positive sign to players from rival clubs seeking a new home that the Hawks are a stable operation set to move into a state of the art, $100m training and administration base at Dingley by the end of next year.
It would mean the Hawks could seek out key free agents and trade options with the surety of having Mitchell locked in potentially until the end of 2027.
It would also be a vindication of the Hawthorn’s bold decision to move on Alastair Clarkson, which saw them move on the four-time premiership coach at a cost of more than $900,000.
Part of the ‘Destination Dingley’ approach to attracting new talent is to promote the manner in which Mitchell allows his players to play with a sense of freedom, dare and fun, which former Magpie Jack Ginnivan has spoken at length about.
Hawthorn 250-gamer Jack Gunston played in three premierships with Mitchell but told this masthead he was a vastly different personality from his playing days.
He endorsed Mitchell’s leadership given he was mixing his football acumen with a more modern approach to man management.
“He has started his journey really well. He knows how to adapt and talk to individuals. He has always had a footy brain but he puts so much thought and time into his meetings and preparation each week. You can see the players play for him and enjoy learning from him.
“He is a totally different coach to what he was as a player and credit to him for adapting with the times. Back 10 or 11 years ago he was really demanding and we all had high expectations of each other and there was a lot of firm feedback.
“There is still room for that but he does it in different ways and he’s taught us older guys about it. How you do it, how you adapt to this day and age. He builds respect with the young group and loves them and is there for them, so you see his nurturing side but there is also a hard side.
“When it comes time to do it he has already earned that respect.”
The other AFL coaches who come out of contract at the end of next season are: Luke Beveridge (Western Bulldogs), Ken Hinkley (Port Adelaide), John Longmire (Sydney), Chris Fagan (Brisbane Lions), Justin Longmuir (Fremantle), Adam Kingsley (Greater Western Sydney) and Adam Simpson (West Coast).
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YOUNG SUN LIKELY TO STAY
Gold Coast has a strong level of confidence that Mac Andrew will sign-on this year past the 2025 season, despite him changing management groups with his own manager Julian Petracca.
Petracca is with Hemisphere Management, but is to move to the Connors Sports stable in July.
It means Andrew’s management fees will be paid to Hemisphere until the end of 2025, but the 20-year-old will move with Petracca, who can broker his next contract for 2026 onwards.
Andrew is one of the brightest prospects in footy and is seen to be happy on the Gold Coast as his intercept-marking skills come to the fore. He could name his own price if he wanted to move on, but as the Suns push towards a maiden finals berth he is content and keen to remain at the club long-term. The Suns will have to give him a bumper payrise given his growth, but with Noah Anderson and Charlie Ballard coming out of contract at the end of 2025 they will want to save some cap space.
CHARLIE HAPPY TO STAY
Charlie Cameron is keen to stay at the Brisbane Lions and sign a new extension this year despite rival interest in a player who becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of 2025.
Cameron is happy in Brisbane despite a rocky start to the season and turns 30 in July, with clubs increasingly signing up free agents a year ahead of schedule.
He believes he can play well into his 30s and would ideally like to have his future made clear by the end of this season.
It means clubs will continue to ask about him but the highly likely scenario is that the Lions tuck him away with a new contract before he comes out next year.
Brisbane has cap space to secure its next free agent Jarrod Berry, who wants to remain at the Lions, after securing Hugh McCluggage on a new long-term deal.
DOCKER WANTS TWO YEARS
Medium forward Bailey Banfield is keen to stay at Fremantle, despite his status as an unrestricted free agent, but would need a two-year deal to stay.
The Dockers are putting off plenty of contract talks until after their mid-season bye.
Banfield has started the year in impressive fashion with 14.8 from 12 games as the Dockers gather steam.
A club that is keen on bringing in more goalpower and quality ball use in its forward line – possibly through Richmond’s Liam Baker – can scarcely afford to lose players like Banfield.
But with the Dockers on a roll, all points to a happy resolution if he can secure at least a two-year deal.
CONTRACT CONCERN
Clubs are concerned players’ long-term contracts are getting out of control following a spate of seven- and eight-year signings.
Club officials have raised the idea of capping contract lengths as part of a new AFL measure in the competitive balance review. The blockbuster deals leave clubs exposed if players suffer a serious injury or repeat concussions.
But the AFL Players’ Association would strongly oppose any limit on terms due to a restraint of trade and unnecessary restriction on player earnings.
Players already have no control where they start their AFL career when they are taken in the national draft involving all 18 clubs. It means the club push for a contract cap is almost certain to be unsuccessful, with the league aware of list managers’ concerns.
Clubs are waiting on details from the league around concussion payouts and how much of a player’s salary counts in the cap in future years if they retire due to concussion.
Brisbane Lions midfielder Hugh McCluggage and GWS Giants stopper Sam Taylor this week signed for seven years, amid ferocious interest from rivals.
The deals come on the back of a seven-year extension for Melbourne’s Clayton Oliver and an eight-year deal for Western Bulldogs spearhead Aaron Naughton.
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