Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley questions why AFL would need a pre-season trade period

With plans to introduce a mid-season trade period in the near future on the backburner, the AFL is considering brining in a pre-season trade window instead. But Nathan Buckley isn’t sold on the idea.

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley. Picture: Getty

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley isn’t convinced a pre-season trade period would be beneficial to clubs but would try to make the best of it if the AFL decides to introduce one next year.

Reports emerged today the AFL is considering a trade window after the JLT pre-season matches, which would have the same rules as the end of season trade period but first and second-year players can’t switch clubs.

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The league held a mid-season draft this season where clubs were able to recruit players from state leagues. It was seen as the first step towards a mid-season trade period.

But that might not happen now after support from clubs for such a trade window was limited.

Buckley wanted to reserve his judgment until he had all the details but queried why clubs would need to trade before the season started, having just been through a player movement window in October.

“The mid-season idea has worked for us in some form — the potential of having that trade period then without the capacity in the mid-season, once again you’re locked before Round 1 and there’s no scope beyond that,” Buckley said on SEN.

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley. Picture: Getty

“I’d have to have a look at the detail of it and we’d need to know exactly how it was going to play out.

“It seems it’s just another crack at the post-season trade.

“You’ve gone through a pre-season, you’ve had a look at maybe two JLTs and a practice game, I’m not sure why your plans would change too much.

“You do have injuries through pre-season but not as prevalent as the early part of the season.”

Buckley said he would prefer a mid-season opportunity to add to his list after the Magpies recruited speedster John Noble from the SANFL in the mid-season draft but would make it work either way.

“I must admit I’m probably in the camp of just give us the rules, give us the lay of the land and we’ll make the most of it but I’m sure there’s people whose jobs are more affected by that,” he said.

“I think with any rule there is an opportunity to do it well and take advantage of that and it might be as much as maintaining the evenness of the competition because you might have an outlier injury situation that you can buffer or do something about.

“The salary cap issue, I think, was a concern for mid-season trade for clubs and that might be one of the bits of feedback that went back that has shifted it.

“I still like the idea of clubs having a little bit more of an ability to add to their mix — I like the midway point through the season.

“The AFL are trying to make it more fluid at the moment the players hold sway a lot with when trades can happen and how and where they’re going. What’s the worth of a contract at the moment?

“The idea of making it more fluid is definitely happening and I suppose they’re looking for ways to increase that even further.”