Which Victorian club should consider a last-ditch bid for Adam Treloar?
No rival club wants to give away their hand before a possible late battle to secure Collingwood star Adam Treloar. But here are the clubs who could afford him and make a serious play.
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Only Collingwood can answer the question that will ultimately define the future of Adam Treloar in this trade period.
Is moving on Treloar part of a salary cap dump that absolutely requires them to get rid of his salary at any cost given their star power on their list?
Or is it a ploy to jettison a player on megabucks to orchestrate subsequent deals that will be put on the backburner if Treloar digs in his heels?
If the Pies are looking for a rival to absorb Treloar’s full tote odds salary (nearly $900,000 a year over five years) and want multiple early picks back, well good luck Collingwood.
It ain’t going to happen.
But AFL clubs are like jackals and can sniff a wounded rival at 100 paces.
Right now there are plenty of clubs who are considering whether they could get Treloar with Collingwood subsidising some of his wage without handing over a top-10 pick.
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The Pies believe Treloar would struggle without partner Kim Ravaillion and their child in Queensland next year, hoping initially to secure pick 5 from the Suns.
They believe Treloar is aware of the club’s concerns and had even expressed to them last year the couple might end up living out their days in Queensland.
The confusion from fans and anger from his camp is that he maintains he has always wanted to stay in Melbourne where his family and friends reside.
If the Pies want to pull the trigger, they need to do it this year.
A back-ended deal that escalates in worth as the seasons go on would by next year have him owed around $950,000 a season, which no rival would touch.
If it is true that he is determined to remain in Melbourne, which of the Victorian clubs would be suitors?
CARLTON
Yes. Have some cap space, would add serious pace with Zac Williams also in the centre square. Let’s face it, the Williams experiment as a full-time mid has some risks anyway.
But no one has $900K of cap space. Took a first-rounder in Brodie Kemp last year so can give up a future first-round pick. But Pies want back into this draft, not picks in next year’s draft where they will likely trade out of that round because they will secure No.1 overall contender Nick Daicos and don’t want to lose that draft currency. He would put them firmly in the flag window alongside Adam Saad and Williams, but can you imagine the Pies subsiding a deal for their oldest rival?
ESSENDON
Have their irons in the Josh Dunkley fire. Clearly have the cap space after losing Adam Saad, Conor McKenna, Joe Daniher and likely Orazio Fantasia.
What if the Dunkley deal is dead with a day to go? Treloar doesn’t quite fit into their list demographic given he turns 28 before Round 1 next year and they want 23-year-old Dunkley.
But if the Pies paid $150K of his contract, he’s clearly a player worth $750,000 a year. And will have picks 6, 7 and 8 by the time Saad deal gets done so plenty of draft capital to get a deal done.
GEELONG
Nope. Priorities elsewhere. Midfield is already stacked. Got to get the Jeremy Cameron deal done as their only key priority.
HAWTHORN
Hawks footy boss Graham Wright said of Treloar this week: “Like everyone else, we’re an interested observer, just sort of following through and watching what’s happening.
“He’s a high quality player, he’s at a very good club and it appears there’s an impasse there – he’s a very highly paid player there and has a long tenure.
“It’s not something for us at this stage, we’ll always be of the opinion that you’ll never say never, but I think it would be unlikely.”
In other words, we would snaffle him in a heartbeat but the price is too rich.
The Hawks have picks 4, 24, 45 and 46.
Surely a club that wants to take pick 4 to the draft and must introduce more young talent would only consider him if this was a fire sale, handing over pick 24 at the last minute.
Hawthorn has plenty of cap space, having seen Isaac Smith, Ben Stratton, James Frawley and Paul Puopolo depart.
MELBOURNE
Melbourne’s cap issues all surround Tom McDonald, who hasn’t got a home and will suck up a slab of their cap space for next year.
Footy boss Josh Mahoney said the club was “unlikely” to be a suitor.
Let’s face it, if a club with Jack Viney, Clayton Oliver, Angus Brayshaw, Christian Petracca, Ed Langdon, James Harmes and Christian Salem can’t get its midfield right it’s a coaching issue, not a talent issue.
Surely if McDonald leaves their cap space is better used in other positions including the wing.
NORTH MELBOURNE
Not interested in a player who turns 28 in March and won’t be in their premiership window, whenever that is. The Roos will need some experience in their group but it would go against everything they are trying to do with their list to bring in a player on a stack of cash and deny the likes of Luke Davies-Uniacke centre-square minutes next year.
RICHMOND
Imagine that. The bloke who ignored Richmond landing there after missing those three flags for a team with a supposedly better list.
Not going to happen given Richmond’s cap obligations.
ST KILDA
Head of football Simon Lethlean didn’t officially shut the door on Treloar on SEN Radio on Thursday despite saying its “very unlikely” he will get to the Saints.
St Kilda has the cap space, the first-round pick (currently at 17), the inclination to bolster its midfield.
But clubs need half a year to plan for clearing the kind of cap space that Treloar’s contract requires. Surely they would only be a player if rivals took Jimmy Webster and Luke Dunstan off their hands, which at this stage seems unlikely.
Still, clearly a club to watch in this space.
WESTERN BULLDOGS
Treloar to the Bulldogs makes a heck of a lot of sense.
Tom Boyd’s retirement clears massive cap space and if the Dogs are to lose Josh Dunkley they will need to hit back in a way that doesn’t diminish their list given they were a long way from premiers this year.
Securing a player of Treloar’s calibre makes sense.
For all of the Dogs’ public positioning on Josh Dunkley, Treloar is an upgrade on a player Luke Beveridge often does not play in his midfield.
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Collingwood holds discussions with Melbourne clubs about Adam Treloar’s future
Ideally you don’t trade a 23-year-old and bring a rising 28-year-old in, but this is the Dogs’ flag window.
If the Dogs could secure pick 7 from Essendon (and something else) for Dunkley, they could split that pick 7 for a mid-teens and a later selection.
They could hand the mid-teens pick to Collingwood for Treloar while retaining later selections.
You never want to lose contracted players but the Dogs could emerge from a tough situation at least looking like winners, especially if Treloar can make an instant impact in a team that didn’t win a final this year.