Moneyball: Follow all the latest trade, contract and draft news across the AFL
Josh Kelly has committed to GWS for another eight years, but only after a huge carrot was dangled in front of him by North Melbourne. Get all the latest trade and contract news.
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Carlton is one of a handful of Melbourne-based clubs keeping close tabs on out-of-contract Giants forward Jake Riccardi, who has a big decision to make on his AFL future.
Riccardi, 21, burst onto the AFL stage last season with eight goals in his first three games, but has struggled to cement a permanent spot in the Giants’ team since.
He has played eight matches this season, including last week’s gritty win over the Cats last Friday night, and the Giants are keen to keep him.
GWS has tabled a new deal for Riccardi, but he has yet to sign it with a number of clubs, including the Blues, looking to potentially coax him back to Victoria in 2022.
Carlton’s key forward stocks are strong with Harry McKay leading the Coleman Medal after a breakout season along with Charlie Curnow’s long-awaited return in the past two weeks.
In any team, Riccardi could potentially play as a third tall (he is 195cm), but he has the flexibility to also play in defence as well, which would be attractive to rival clubs.
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KELLY RE-SIGNS ON GIANT DEAL
Josh Kelly has committed to Greater Western Sydney for the next eight seasons in another show of faith in the club’s direction.
Kelly had asked for more time to discuss his future with his family and partner, who had only arrived from the transition hub last Thursday.
But he will now remain at the club for his entire career — in a deal worth about $8 million — in another coup for the Giants as they push for an unlikely finals berth.
As revealed in the Herald Sun last month, Kelly was always certain to stay and rebuff a six-year offer from North Melbourne worth about $6 million.
Kelly confirmed his commitment on Tuesday night and said he could see the future at Greater Western Sydney.
“I couldn’t be happier to commit my future to the Giants as I see big things coming for the club,” Kelly said.
“I’ve been a Giant since being drafted in 2013 and after weighing everything up, just can’t wait to continue building on what we have here at the Giants.
“The club has grown considerably since I’ve arrived. We’ve got a strong track record of playing finals football and I believe the best is yet to come for the Giants.
“I can’t wait for what lies ahead for this team and the club.”
GWS has been told by his management group that he will trigger the eight-year deal as part of a 10-season contract signed two years ago.
In a left-field contract brokered by his manager Paul Connors, he could have declined the last eight years and officially become a free agent.
But the Giants continue to bounce back from last year’s player exodus, with Jacob Hopper set to sign a two-year deal at the end of the season.
Jesse Hogan has all but agreed to a one-year deal with a games-based trigger for a second.
GWS football boss Jason McCartney had made clear in recent weeks the club was comfortable with handing Kelly some more time to ensure he had made the right decision.
The 26-year-old has enjoyed an exceptional season despite missing last week with quad tightness and has enjoyed playing back as a pure midfielder in recent months.
North Melbourne had lost hope of securing him in recent weeks given his return to that midfield role after playing wing and half forward earlier in the season.
No Kelly, but North’s war chest about to get real
North Melbourne is sitting pretty with millions of bucks of salary cap room, aware it could end up with the pick of the trade period even though it has missed out on Josh Kelly.
Kelly was offered as much as $6 million over siz years from the Roos.
What North Melbourne knows is that multiple clubs are up to their eyeballs in cap issues after back-ending contracts under AFL rules and will be desperate to shed cap space.
It means clubs with cap space are in pole position, just as the Roos were last year when they got Jaidyn Stephenson at a bargain-basement price when the Pies got desperate to shed his salary.
They won’t splash the cash on players they don’t want, but given a club with significant stocks of young talent still has list holes they are perfectly poised.
Dees on Weid’s future
Melbourne has reassured fringe forward Sam Weideman he remains a big part of the club’s plans despite being overlooked on Monday night.
Weideman is out of contract and attracting interest from North Melbourne and has also been linked to Collingwood even though the Pies are unlikely to have the salary cap room.
The agile forward was not picked as Tom McDonald’s replacement when the Demons made a late change for the win over West Coast on Monday night, with coaches electing for young midfielder James Jordon instead.
But Melbourne officials have spoken to Weideman about the selection call, saying Weideman would have got the nod if the game was played in dry conditions.
The Demons are desperate to keep Weideman despite kicking only three goals from five senior games this year.
The issue shows the strong depth Melbourne has with Michael Hibberd, Nathan Jones and Weideman all out of the team.
Ballwinner Jake Bowey is the latest young Demon to shine, continuing Jason Taylor’s hot run of excellent draft choices.
Friends expect Walker to return to AFL
Close confidantes of Taylor Walker believe he will eventually return to the Crows to see out next season’s deal despite effectively being banished from the club.
It was made clear to Walker that it was not appropriate for him to be at the club in the short-term future given the offence caused to the club’s four indigenous players and their clear anger at his behaviour.
He is serving a six-week ban for a racial slur on the severe end of the scale, only filming a heavily managed video apology that required the tick off from every stakeholder before it was published.
Despite criticism of the video the Crows had spent 72 hours urging Walker to consider an apology in front of the media so he could show his contrition and move on.
Walker is said to be “broken”, and would not have been able to detail any of the events of the episode given the constraints of the resolution under AFL rules.
But close friends believe he realises he will need to return to football after a period of education and reflection so this is not the last chapter of a storied career.
Bombers win big at the bargain bin
Three fourth-round draft picks in exchange for two players who might yet play a role in Essendon’s bid to win its first final in almost 20 years?
It’s looking like the biggest bargain of last year’s trade period.
While Geelong was clearly the ‘broadway act’ of the 2020 trade window in landing Jeremy Cameron and Shaun Higgins (along with free agent Isaac Smith), Essendon’s efforts to secure Nick Hind and Peter Wright for next to nothing looks set to yield long-term benefits.
Yes, the Bombers got great compensation for losing three key players in trades and free agency, picking up Nik Cox, Archie Perkins and Zach Reid in the national draft.
But the work of Adrian Dodoro and the Bombers’ list management team in securing Hind from St Kilda for picks 67 and 74 (neither used by the Saints) and Gold Coast’s Wright for a future fourth round pick is looking better and better by the week.
Hind has been so important all season, proving a cheap and suitable replacement for Adam Saad, and Wright has provided a good target in attack, with his seven goal against the Bulldogs last week critical to the end result.
Crows dangle contract in front of free agent
Adelaide has offered free agent Matt Crouch a new deal of up to three years and is confident he wants to stay at Adelaide despite a season ravaged by injury.
But the club is yet to hand Daniel Talia a new deal on the day it confirmed Tom Lynch had not been offered a new contract.
Crouch would be taking a pay cut off the deal signed in a year when he won the most possessions in the league but after only a single SANFL game this year the most likely outcome is that he will stay.
Clubs with already-tight salary caps would have trouble fitting in a player who is elite for clearances but has not often hurt rivals with his disposal.
Lynch will likely have some interest as a restricted free agent given he remains elite for disposals and kicks in his position, underlined by a 94-ranking point, 22-possession display in the Showdown.
Talia seems unlikely to secure a new deal, with Adelaide not interested in Richmond’s Callum Coleman-Jones given a long list of emerging talls including Riley Thilthorpe.
Hogan has destiny in his own hands
Jesse Hogan is all but signed away for 2022 on a one-year contract that will have a games-based trigger clause for the 2023 season.
Hogan has been impeccable on the field despite injury worries and off the field as Shane Mumford’s babysitter given he resides in his teammates’ granny flat.
The games-based trigger will be modest enough — around 12 or 14 games — that he will have an excellent chance of securing that second season on a guaranteed wage.
But as he showed this year despite only six games so far he has a bright future despite a number of false starts so far in his career at Melbourne and Fremantle.
Murphy joins rare list of most-durable No. 1 picks
Carlton veteran Marc Murphy will join an elite crew this week when he becomes only the fourth No. 1 draft pick to play 300 games.
The first player picked in that 2005 national draft will join Nick Riewoldt (336 games), Luke Hodge (346) and Brendon Goddard (334) in that (so far) select No. 1 and 300-game group.
Incredibly, the first six No. 1 draft picks – Martin Leslie, Richard Lounder, Alex McDonald, Anthony Banik, Stephen Hooper and John Hutton – collectively played 324 games.
Murphy’s decision to retire from the game leaves eight No. 1 draft picks in the AFL system — David Swallow, Lachie Whitfield, Jacob Weitering, Andrew McGrath, Cam Rayner, Sam Walsh, Matt Rowell and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan.
Twenty-seven of the 34 No. 1 draft selections since Brisbane’s Martin Leslie was the first in 1986 have retired, or in Murphy’s case, will retire.
Those players have played an average of 178 games in their careers, but not necessarily just with the club that drafted them.
Brave new Covid world for recruiters
The latest postponement in the VFL season has brought recruiters’ frustrations to the fore once more due to a lack of meaningful game time for fringe players and state league prospects.
Clubs employ pro-scouts to monitor second-tier competitions but they have found it hard to properly assess the combined-team scratch match games for teams’ leftover players this year.
They also closely monitor the other state leagues around the country such as the highly-rated SANFL and WAFL but Victorian recruiters are watching those games on screens.
Recruiters have said it is hard to assess running patterns, workrate and off-ball movements and actions when the camera is not on them, making it harder to assess players and potential recruits from afar.
The NAB league was again put on hold due to the latest COVID-19 outbreak.
Mitchell, Ken’s frosty silence continues
Sam Mitchell has reflected on the ugly end to his side’s semi-final loss during which Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley clashed with Hawks players.
Tragedy, triumph and the phone call that changed everything
Logan Evans started 2023 as a highly-rated draft prospect. But in the space of two months, his life was turned upside down. The teenager was then hit with another blow in November – before the phone rang.