All 61 AFL free agents rated by Herald Sun footy expert Jon Ralph
St Kilda missed out on Dylan Shiel last year despite offering more than Essendon, Carlton and Hawthorn. How high will they go to lure GWS star Stephen Coniglio? JON RALPH rates all 61 free agents.
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AFL clubs will be clamouring over the cream of one of the weakest crops in free agency history this off season.
Jon Ralph looks at all 61 free agents and what their futures hold.
THE LIST: EVERY CLUB’S FREE AGENTS
BUCKS: INTERCHANGE SIGNS ‘A WASTE OF TIME’
UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS
GWS GIANTS
Stephen Coniglio
The marquee man. GWS has cash to pay him a million bucks a year, but will a club come over the top with a massive offer of more than $1.2 million?
Freo keen but he doesn’t want to go there. Hawthorn has been linked to him for nearly a year and the idea of him playing with close mate Jaeger O’Meara appeals. St Kilda and Carlton clearly would pay the world for him. St Kilda missed out on Dylan Shiel despite offering him the highest contact compared to Carlton, Hawthorn and Essendon.
If they struggle again this year do they offer him a Tom Boyd-style deal and stump up $1.3-$1.5 million a year? It’s crazy money, but he’s crazy good.
RICHMOND
Brandon Ellis
Huge interest from rival clubs for the half-back and wingman, who was left out of Richmond’s Round 1 side and recalled for Round 2. Clubs were keen to trade for him last year but the Tigers baulked.
In a free agency period very short on quality he could be a rich man by year’s end if he takes up an offer from a Melbourne club.
Needs to establish himself in the best 22 first, but can’t see the Tigers paying him what others might offer.
ST KILDA
Jack Newnes
Kicked 18 goals to go with his 345 possessions last year in a new role but needs to kick 30 this year to give himself leverage in contract talks.
UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS
ADELAIDE
Sam Jacobs
He is 31 next month and in theory should thrive under the new rules but was beaten by Ben McEvoy in Round 1. A strong year after last year’s disastrous 2018 for the entire club puts himself in position for another multi-year deal.
Richard Douglas
The veteran signed a one-year deal in June last year and is keen to finish his career as a one-club player.
David Mackay
Only signed a one-year deal last August so will be keen to make every post a winner to extend his career.
Andy Otten
Has a chance to push into the backline after Tom Doedee’s injury but needs regular games to get himself another one-year deal
Cam Ellis-Yolmen
Explosive at his best but needs to get into an elite midfield to further his AFL career.
BRISBANE LIONS
Ryan Lester
Finished the year strongly to notch 15 2018 games but needs to again prove himself in the improving Lions outfit.
CARLTON
Matthew Kreuzer
Flirted with joining the Pies a few years back before his medical results put the kybosh on the deal. Now seen as firmly a one-club veteran but after only 12 games last year with heart issues will need to come back through the VFL then prove himself to ensure a lucrative contract. Turns 30 in May.
Ed Curnow
Working hard on a new role as a small forward and only turns 30 in November so should have plenty of years left if he can keep up his high standards.
Levi Casboult
Clearly on the outer last year and couldn’t find a new home given a poor year with only 10 games and 12 goals. Can ruck and play forward and as a player previously delisted is now an unrestricted free agent. Hard to see him getting many chances in the current forward line so needs to fire at VFL to get another chance somewhere else.
Kade Simpson
Just sign him up again. An evergreen who continues with stunningly high standards. The Blues will wait until the post-season but with 308 games under his belt why wouldn’t he go again.
COLLINGWOOD
Ben Reid
Coming back from injury again after being handed a one-year extension in May last year.
At his best a high-marking swingman but after 142 games in 12 years the 29-year-old is just too injury prone for other clubs to consider.
Jamie Elliott
One of the real fascinating case studies in this free agency list.
Veteran list manager Gary Buckenara believes he could be worth $700,000 to a club chasing a small forward if he can put together a full season. And he couldn’t have started the year in grander style with his pulsating Round 1 performance.
Has never been other than Collingwood through-and-through and signed a canny one-year deal last year to get him through to free agency after his season was again decimated by injury.
Clubs like Carlton and St Kilda crying out for dangerous small forwards might be looking at him, but the best result for Elliott would be a 40-goal, 18-plus game year that sees the Pies offering a strong contract he accepts despite their tight salary cap.
Tyson Goldsack
Had to wait to get a one-year extension last year after his remarkable comeback form an AFL reconstruction and now finds himself out of the side after Round 1. Plenty of footy left for him to win back his spot and prove why he gets another year.
ESSENDON
Mark Baguley
Despite his reinvention as a pressuring forward had to wait an eternity amid speculation the club might only rookie-list him before they eventually put him on the senior list.
Turns 32 in May so will be desperate to hang on for another year.
David Myers
Injury and the Court of Arbitration suspension have kept him to 117 games in his 12th season but the club loves his strong body and booming left foot.
Youngsters like Darcy Parish and Jayden Laverde will try to take his spot in the side. Turns 30 in June and needs a strong year to ensure he continues his AFL career.
FREMANTLE
Stephen Hill
Has just moved across to Colin Young’s stable and early talks have started about a new deal. But after a run of calf injuries that continue to push back his return date might want to put together a strong run of form to cash in before signing a new deal.
David Mundy
Has played 295 exceptional games, his durability allowing him to tick off a games-based clause last year. After a cracking Round 1 performance there is no reason why he won’t go around again.
Aaron Sandilands
Only 26 games in the past three seasons and turns 36 in December. Battling calf issues and the Dockers finally have some ruck depth. It would point to this being his last AFL season.
Hayden Ballantyne
Turned back the clock with a sparkling Round 1 display but will now miss with a three-week hamstring. Critics wondered why the club had recontracted him, then he seemed to answer those questions emphatically. Now needs to work back into the side from injury.
GEELONG
Harry Taylor
Signed a one-year extension last year that surprised many given his injury issues but has had a bumper pre-season and started the year in fine style against Collingwood, playing strongly and taking a key intercept mark against Mason Cox late. Keep that up and he might go around again despite turning 33 this June.
Jed Bews
Seemed to be on the outer early in his career but has found his niche as a small defender, playing 40 mostly excellent games in the past two years. Has had a late start to the season with injury but as a local boy and son-of-a-gun, no reason why he won’t sign a contract midway through the year.
GOLD COAST
Sam Day
Keen to wait until the mid-part of the year before talking turkey and was even left out of the Round 1 side given the club’s new batch of talls. The kind of player who will be desperate to put together a career season for leverage given he is in the sweet spot — just 26 — but hasn’t justified his high draft position given injuries and form.
Tom Nicholls
A high-leaping ruckman who has only been able to manage 45 games in his career given form and injuries. Jarrod Witts the clear No.1 ruckman, with Nicholls not playing a senior AFL game since 2016.
Alex Sexton
Has just put together the best season of his AFL career, a 28-goal 300-possession year that he backed up with four goals in Round 1.
Has talked tough about the remaining batch of Suns wanting to stay, so Gold Coast will be assessing his contract as a priority early in the year.
Michael Rischitelli
A foundation member of the club, he played on this year as a rookie this year after 21 games as a player with strong leadership. Turned 33 in January, so likely in his final season.
GWS GIANTS
Adam Tomlinson
St Kilda came hard at him 18 months ago but were rebuffed because he had just signed a contract extension. Is happy at GWS but if he could put together an excellent season as a tall running wingman/swingman/jack of all trades he would boost his value. One to watch as the season progresses, with Victorian clubs watching on.
Matt Buntine
A talented former top-10 pick with a cursed run with injury, at one stage injuring his knee at training only to find out when he had scans that he had been nursing a partially torn ACL for some time. Only just notched 50 games but loves the club and will want to prove his worth this year.
HAWTHORN
Grant Birchall
Has only played five games since the 2016 semi-final as he endlessly rehabs a knee injury. One of the few four-time premiership Hawks left, the 31-year-old is such a smooth mover he would back himself to play on if only he can get his injury right. That is a significant question mark.
Shaun Burgoyne
He might just play forever. Had some hamstring injuries last year but has kept his pace and footy nous and will be desperate to add another 20 games to his 359 AFL matches. Desperately keen to play on next year if his form warrants.
Paul Puopolo
His pressure is still off the charts and while he keeps kicking goals — 20 from 20 games last year — he will be keen to play on despite turning 32 in December. The Hawks will slot Chad Wingard into the forward line at some stage, so that will affect the Breust-Poppy dynamic. But there is always room for a small forward with frenetic pressure who gets on the scoreboard.
Ryan Schoenmakers
Has battled persistent injuries and at times been overlooked for poor form, playing only nine games next year. Will need a significant spike in form to warrant another season but still has that premiership medallion and is a much-loved member of the Hawks list.
Ben Stratton
What would the Hawks captain be on in an open market? Its academic because he clearly isn’t going anywhere, his manager to sit down with the Hawks in coming weeks to kickstart talks which should be fairly routine. But he has been such an underrated defender in previous years, mostly shutting down the opposition’s best small or mid-sized defender. The Hawks have enough cap space for amicable talks to reward the new skipper.
MELBOURNE
Nathan Jones
Keen to sign another deal after coming off a lucrative four-season deal acquired when he was at the top of his game. So clearly a pay cut is coming but Jones would realise that.
After two hamstring injuries over summer and a fumbly display against Port Adelaide, a player who was pushed out of the centre square at times last year because of midfield depth will be desperate to put together another excellent season.
NORTH MELBOURNE
Todd Goldstein
Turns 31 in July and is coming off a huge four-year deal (three seasons adding to an existing one-year deal) that was signed when he was at the top of his game. At times as he suffered a form slump he wasn’t worth those figures but bounced back in grand style last year.
Would rival clubs register interest if the ruck rules turn out to be decisively in favour of mobile rucks with good tap skills who can also get around the ground and kick goals? Most definitely, but surely his career ends as a one-club player.
Majak Daw
Everyone is focused only on Majak Daw’s recovery as he makes solid progress from his Bolte Bridge fall. The Roos were so keen to ensure he could play again this year they didn’t elevate a summer rookie, so if he can show he has recovered sufficiently they won’t hesitate to sign him up again. It might not be at the considerable money that would have followed if he had followed his strong finish to the 2018 season with a career-best year, but some things are much more important than cash.
Scott Thompson
Returns from a Round 1 suspension this week with the Roos needing him more than ever after another long-term injury to a key defender. Had to sweat on a one-year deal but if he keeps up his form why wouldn’t the Roos consider keeping him around?
Sam Wright
Bounced back from long-running ankle issues to play 16 very solid games last year. Had played only eight games in the previous two years. The Roos might be keen to see some exposed form but no reason why they won’t reward him with another solid deal if he can stay out on the park.
PORT ADELAIDE
Matthew Broadbent
The durable veteran managed only two SANFL games last year because of ankle injuries which eventually curtailed his season. Didn’t play Round 1 but has always been a mainstay in this side. Can he play 15-plus games in a rejigged backline as Kenny Hinkley plays the kids?
Justin Westhoff
Plays his 250th game this week as an out-and-out star, having inherited the AFL’s consecutive games streak from Zach Tuohy and playing as well as ever. Only signed a one-year extension in October last year so will get to the end of the season and assess. But no one would be surprised if he kept playing until 2020.
RICHMOND
Shane Edwards
Contract talks have only just started on what would likely be a two-year deal for the 2018 All Australian, who could hit 250 games by year’s end and turns 31 in October.
The only issue for a player now getting recognition for his unique skills is what he is paid given the Tigers have cap issues, but no reason for many delays in this contract negotiation.
David Astbury
Talks have started with his media-shy manager Alex McDonald. Astbury’s role only grows in importance with Alex Rance out of the side for a year. Nearly went to Brisbane a few years back but no reason to leave a club he loves.
Bachar Houli
Eventually signed a one-year deal late last season but at his best a damaging half back and desperate to keep playing for a few more years yet.
Shaun Grigg
Sidelined with a knee injury and with his role as a quasi-ruckman likely to be diminished. But Grigg has always been one of the AFL’s most reliable ball winners and will feel he can prove himself all over again when he returns from injury.
ST KILDA
David Armitage
Big challenge for the 31-year-old to remain relevant at the Saints after he missed Round 1 in a team trying to add more precision to its inside midfielder stocks. Always been a midfield bull but can be more than untidy with his possession.
Jarryn Geary
Has a games based clause he is expected to tick off midway through the season to automatically get another season in 2020.
SYDNEY
Harry Cunningham
Played every game for 422 possessions and seven goals last year and started Round 1 with another bang for the pacy onballer. With Sydney’s midfield in transition he will want to continue that strong form to maximise his contract worth.
Heath Grundy
Held on last year as Lewis Melican battled injury and was more than handy. But the Swans will hope their young crop of defenders are advanced enough to be able to farewell one of their most admired players at the end of this year.
Jarrad McVeigh
The great survivor, he is still playing excellent football after two years ago appearing done because of soft-tissue injuries. Soon turns 34 but after 19 games last year don’t write him off.
Nick Smith
Has battled injury concerns this summer but has a record that includes more than 20 games in the past eight years. At only 30 years of age there is no reason he won’t get another few years of his body to extend an excellent career.
WEST COAST
Nic Naitanui
Returns to football in mid-year after a second ACL reconstruction and admitting he will have to take a pay cut after his recent injury history.
The Eagles have an impossibly tight salary cap after their recent re-signings so that deal might take some time to broker.
Chris Masten
Fought back from 13 games in 2017 to play every game but one as a 2018 premiership Eagle.
Plays his 200th game this week but needs to continuing firing on all cylinders to remain in this elite West Coast side.
Will Schofield
Few possessions, big impact for the veteran defender who still played 12 games last year including the premiership. Might look a shade older than his 30 years but his destiny is very much in his own hands if he can keep up his high standards.
Fraser McInness
Only 14 games in the past four years for the 197cm McInness, who at 25 hasn’t been able to make the jump from WAFL regular to AFL player.
WESTERN BULLDOGS
Tory Dickson
Was able to secure another one-year deal despite only 17 games in the previous two seasons.
The premiership Dogs sharp shooter will need to sing for his supper this year and played Round 1. At his best he is lethal but only 19 goals in the past two seasons means past glories won’t save him if he doesn’t fire this year.
Tom Liberatore
Started the season in a blaze of glory after the Dogs waited until the 11th hour to finally hand him a one-year deal that makes him realise they don’t trust him yet to show the professionalism football now demands. This could be a million dollar swing for him. Misbehave again and he could be done with footy by the end of the year. Win the best-and-fairest and he might be able to extract a two or three year deal on $500,000 a season. All signs show Liberatore has done everything to ensure the latter scenario occurs.
Dale Morris
Wants to go on forever. We hope he does. Has suffered basically the identical injury as last year, where he was able to return from an ACL injury by Round 11.
His level is still high enough for the club to consider him going on if he gets back this year, but even for the redoubtable Morris that must be a real question mark.
Liam Picken
Still battling the effects of concussion but not prepared to give up on his career yet.
Even if he can’t get back to football — and there has to be real doubt — he will eventually retire as one of the club’s favourite sons.
Fletcher Roberts
A premiership defender who played 18 games in the 2016 season then could eke out only 10 games in 2017 and two last year. The club hasn’t written off his chances, coach Luke Beveridge mentioning him several times in recent weeks. But while he is only 25 he will need to make an impact this year to have any chance of winning a new deal.
FREE AGENCY NEEDS FINE-TUNING: AFLPA
The AFL player union believes free agency triggers at six seasons would add to the league’s competitive balance as the current crop shapes as the weakest in free agency’s history.
Only five restricted and unrestricted free agents moved clubs last year, a season after only three restricted free agents moved clubs at the end of 2017.
This year’s stocks of free agents — released by the AFL on Monday — has been diminished by early free agency signings and the trading of 2019 free agents Tom Lynch and Steven May.
AFLPA chief executive Paul Marsh told the Herald Sun the union would be prepared to consider club requests in exchange for earlier free agency as part of a mature discussion.
Clubs are keen to secure their early draft picks for three seasons rather than two as the go-home factor intensifies.
The current collective bargaining agreement runs until 2022, and clubs would need several years notice to changes given list management strategies.
But Marsh says the fearmongering around free agency has been shown to be a storm in a teacup.
“The fears around this have been totally unfounded,” he said.
“A very small number move. It is important to note we have agreed to a CBA until 2022 so unless there was an appetite from the AFL’s perspective to change it.
“But if you reduce the years of eligibility it provides for more free agents and that provides a market.
“So we think that it gives players at an earlier part of their career a chance to move clubs and they will be more attractive for clubs that might want to pick them up.
“It will just improve player movement which we are seeing is good for competitive balance.”
The AFLPA model proposed would be six years for restricted free agency and eight years for unrestricted free agency.
In theory under a six-year free agency model players eligible this year would include Josh Kelly, Marcus Bontempelli, Patrick Cripps and Zach Merrett if they fell out of contract.
The player union believes three-year mandatory contracts are too restrictive for young players but would be prepared to horse-trade if clubs were open to discussions.
“Mandatory three year contracts is an issue that comes up with some clubs. We want to reduce the years of eligibility. We want to give the players more movement and more options.
“Tying players down for a longer period of time in an era that is so restrictive is not that appealing to us. But on the flip side if you were talking about other things? You don’t always consider issues in isolation, you look at them together and see what it might look like.”
AFL figures warned that free agency would bring about a two-tier system where the AFL’s best clubs thrived.
But AFL figures show as many players head to teams out of the eight through free agency as top clubs, even if few top-tier free agents move to bottom-four clubs.
Delisted free agency has been a success that has smoothed the path for delisted players to move to the club of their choice.
But in 2014 only five restricted or unrestricted free agents moved clubs, followed by four in 2015, four in 2016, three in 2017 and five last year.
Delisted free agents invariably still got to new clubs if they had currency under old rules by moving into the national or pre-season draft, but now can choose their new homes.
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