Moneyball trade column: Ex-teammate Adam Treloar tips Stephen Coniglio will be tempted by Victorian interest
GWS star Stephen Coniglio is a player in demand and one of his former teammates says it will be “hard to say no” to the offers coming his way from Victorian clubs. TRADE NEWS
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Collingwood star Adam Treloar says the lure of a big Melbourne club will be a tantalising prospect for GWS gun Stephen Coniglio.
The ex-Giant left GWS for the Pies at the end 2015 and believes his former teammate has a big decision to make.
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“I’ve been through that,” Treloar said on Fox Footy’s AFL360
“I’m a Melbourne boy, so once I knew I wanted to come back to Melbourne, to have the opportunity to play for a big club, that was the most exciting thing.
“If I was in Cogs’ shoes, obviously there’s things you’ve got to weigh up.”
Coniglio is from Western Australia and the 25-year-old could just about pick his club as one of the most attractive off-contract stars on the market at season’s end.
Treloar says Coniglio is his “favourite player in the competition”.
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“He’s an absolute superstar ... he’s probably the best two-way player in the comp in terms of getting back and getting forward as a midfielder.
“He could captain any club.
“Really it’s going to be hard to say no to a few offers that might come (his) way but he’s a very loyal man, so it’s a ‘watch this space’ type of thing.”
THE BREAKOUT STAR BLUES SHOULD TARGET
Carlton wants to bolster its small forward stocks in the exchange period.
The Blues have struggled to lock the ball in its attacking half and want to ramp up their defensive pressure near goals.
Sydney hard nut Tom Papley’s stocks have soared this season and is set for a sharp pay rise on his next deal. He is contracted for one more season.
Blues’ chief executive Cain Liddle said the club would look to be active in the trade period.
"Very clearly, we've got the makings of a once-in-a-generation forward line through Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay," Liddle said on a Carlton podcast.
"We now need to do some work in terms of that small crumbing defensive forward. I think most Carlton supporters can see that.
“But we can be very targeted with that."
MONSTER DEAL HAD GAFF LOSING SLEEP
West Coast star Andrew Gaff says he lost sleep at night thinking about whether he should accept North Melbourne’s blockbuster free agency offer late last year.
Gaff, 27, revealed he was “pretty close” to joining the Roos last season on a deal worth about $8 million over seven years.
The running machine, who was suspended for last year’s Grand Final triumph, said the contract decision weighed heavily on him.
“It was a massive relief to get it off my shoulders and to be honest it had been playing on my mind since about a quarter of the way through (the season),” Gaff said.
“You wake up during the night at times and find it hard to get back to sleep because you are thinking about it.
“When you are from Melbourne, you got a lot of mates you don’t see too often and obviously a (it was a) very good deal.
“It’s something you think about a lot.”
Gaff’s father also endured a heart problem throughout that time. The Eagles’ star said it was easier to stay in Perth once his dad got the all-clear.
It was another tough knock-back for North Melbourne who has narrowly missed out on landing a series of midfield stars including Dustin Martin’s signature in 2017.
“It was a tough one, I was pretty close (to leaving),” Gaff said on Triple M.
“A lot of stuff happened with dad as well throughout that time, and you always want to look at what is best for your family, and I’m very close with mum and dad and my brother,” he said.
“Once I knew dad was going to be OK, it made my decision a little bit easier.
“But West Coast has been great for nine years I’ve been at the footy club and I didn’t have any issues with anyone at the club, or the role I was playing.
“I think our playing group is as good as any team in the comp and I think our top-10 players are as good as any top-10 players form any other team.
“So it gives us a good chance to be a successful team.”
WHAT’S DOING AT CARLTON?
WILL Carlton list manager Stephen Silvagni be a casualty in Carlton’s off-field changes?
While the club has strongly endorsed the list Silvagni has built, powerbrokers are examining all aspects of the football department as part of a tumultuous season.
In the past fortnight, talk has swept through rival clubs that Silvagni could be available and worth targeting for his talent identification skills and recruiting knowledge.
Two of Silvagni’s sons, Jack and Ben, are also at Carlton. Jack was unlucky to get dropped by interim coach David Teague last weekend.
He responded with an outstanding performance in the VFL gathering 26 touches, three goals and 11 tackles, and is-line for a call-up to the senior team for next Sunday’s clash against Fremantle in Perth.
SAINTS KEEN TO SECURE CORE GROUP
St Kilda has turned its attention to re-signing its top clearance winner Luke Dunstan after locking away Jack Billings this week.
The Saints want to keep together their core midfield group and have tabled a fresh offer to tie-up Dunstan for at least two more seasons.
But the 24-year-old hard nut may hold off on re-signing as he looks to continue his career-best season.
The 93-gamer has played an important role for the Saints in 2019, winning a team high 5.9 clearances a game in the absence of Jack Steven.
The South Australian polled another two coaches votes for his 22-possession effort in the win over Gold Coast last weekend.
CAN FREO KEEP LOGUE?
FREMANTLE is set to ramp up efforts to keep emerging key defender Griffin Logue.
The 193cm key defender is out-of-contract at the end of the season and made a sparkling comeback from injury last weekend, gathering 24 possessions against Port Adelaide.
The Dockers desperately want to keep Logue, adamant the West Australian is a key cog in their long-term plans.
But the No. 8 draft pick has played only 14 matches over three injury-riddled seasons and is determined to make the most of his latest opportunity in the wake of Alex Pearce’s left ankle injury.
Rivals including St Kilda are likely to zero in on Logue if he holds out on a new deal over the back half of the season.
Logue is one of nearly 20 out of contract Fremantle players despite the club’s improved form, with Stephen Hill the free agency getting heat from rivals.
His brother Brad is in scintillating form and seems happy and contracted despite confirmation he made overtures last year about a return to Hawthorn.
David Mundy wants to play on and while his contract runs out a player who turns 34 in July seems a certainty to do just that.
Harley Bennell seemed long odds to get a contract extension after his most recent calf issues but is at least showing his durability as he pushes for an AFL return.
Hayden Ballantyne and Aaron Sandilands are expected to retire, with the future of Shane Kersten and Cam McCarthy up for grabs.
PIES NEWBIE GETS A SHOT
COLLINGWOOD’S mid-season pick-up John Noble will make his debut in the VFL on Sunday.
The South Australian wingman offers blistering speed and will make his Collingwood debut against Footscray at Whitten Oval from 11am.
The Magpies said Noble has incredible running power and could make a surprise push for senior selection this year.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR NIC NAT?
Nic Naitanui’s manager Paul Connors is in Perth this weekend to work on the star Eagle’s new deal.
West Coast is prepared to lock him away on a two-year deal but Naitanui’s preference is three more.
He returns from his knee reconstruction in the WAFL this weekend.
DELEDIO HAS PLANS
Brett Deledio is intent on playing into 2020, having already taken a pay cut on his initial three-year deal to get to the Giants.
He has put together four consecutive games with a significant impact, and will hope to join Heath Shaw and Shane Mumford in playing on to win what for him has been an elusive flag
.
PADDY PULLING POWER?
ESSENDON isn’t interested in a reunion with Paddy Ryder, whose future seems uncertain after being dropped by Port Adelaide.
The Power aren’t seen to be keen to hand Ryder the two-year deal he wants, with Ryder out of favour and potentially looking elsewhere.
Essendon were dirty to miss out on SANFL ruck Michael Knoll in the mid-season draft but don’t have the picks or cash for a big ruck splash.
Tom Bellchambers is contracted for another year and they have high hopes for Sam Draper, back early next year after a May ACL rupture.
Ryder will have to fight his way back into the side with blistering form to try to win a multi-year deal.
Essendon also believes Joe Daniher can take his spot in the ruck.
They are comfortable with their progress on Aaron Francis’s contract despite him being out of the side.
Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti was happy to play a chunk of the year before talks on his deal but no one believes he is going anywhere.
PAY UP FOR COACHES
IT’S not just Jack Billings getting a pay rise, with the AFL’s two interim coaches both getting more cash for their half-year stints in the senior role.
Their union has pushed hard in recent years to see interim coaches rewarded, with Rhyce Shaw joking last week that there was no work-life balance.
The industry estimate for those assistant coaches becoming interims for 10-12 weeks is about a $50,000 rise.
KELLY’S LEFT FIELD OP
KUDOS to Geelong to thinking outside the square on Tim Kelly’s contract.
They believe the AFL will approve any of the left-field deals that could see Kelly offered a long-term deal that allows him to extricate himself and go home if homesickness hits hard.
The Kelly family is spooked by talk of him being locked in to four-year deals, so why push him?
He still hasn’t made any commitment but the Cats can say they haven’t left any stone unturned.
They have provided elite support for him and his family, provided him with an on field role that allows him to shine and has offered more flexibility in a deal than any player in recent history.
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