Trade buzz: Hunter Clark closes in on new Saints deal, Swans still chasing Ben McKay
Trade talks are ramping up as the footy season draws to a close, with the Bombers appearing to be big players in the player movement market. Jon Ralph has the latest trade buzz.
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Hunter Clark is moving towards a new deal at St Kilda despite last year’s aborted trade.
The Saints were happy to trade him to North Melbourne when they were in the race for Jordan De Goey to clear cap space, but kept him when the Pies free agent re-signed.
But after a solid season dodging the major injury issues that have plagued his career negotiations are continuing for a new deal.
He has been on excellent money as a top-10 draft pick finishing his sixth season, but a new deal will allow him to continue his resurgence after a career-high 19 games this year.
St Kilda delisted Jack Bytel, Leo Connolly, Jack Peris and Oscar Adams during the week, with Jack Billings contracted but having only modest interest from rivals.
If he did leave it would likely be for a very late pick given his $1 million of salary due in the next two years, unless the Saints picked up some of that tab.
SYDNEY has locked away key defender Lewis Melican for another season as industry figures believe Ben McKay will play for Essendon next year despite the Swans’ interest.
The talented Melican battled hamstring issues again this season but returned for the final against Carlton in a sign of how much the club values him.
The Swans held up well against Carlton’s talented forward line and while they are keen on McKay there is a feeling Essendon’s significant offer has put them behind in the race.
This masthead reported this week Essendon had emerged as the favourite given their willingness to pay him a significant amount on a long-term deal to help ease their defensive woes.
Rival clubs believe that McKay will play for Essendon and be joined by Roos ruckman Todd Goldstein, with the Dons also keen to secure St Kilda free agent Jade Gresham.
If they miss out on McKay there are other options on the trade table including St Kilda’s Dougal Howard but in Tom McCartin, Dayne Rampe and Melican they could hold up for another season.
Sydney had an offer on the table for most of the season for the departing Dylan Stephens, who was a No. 5 draft pick but has played only 43 games in four years at the Swans.
He is set to arrive at North Melbourne for an improved long-term offer.
North Melbourne is keen to find another wingman but Stephens did only average 13 possessions and ranked below average for disposals, clearances and scoreboard impact and average for kicking and metres gained.
Against the Roos in round 10 he had only nine possessions in 85 minutes of game time so North Melbourne clearly believe he has significant upside.
CARLTON could secure former No.7 draft pick Elijah Hollands for a future pick mid-way through the 2024 national draft to reunite him with brother Ollie.
The Suns are bracing for North Melbourne to bid on academy picks Jed Walter and Ethan Read as high as picks 2 and 3, but they will have enough points to secure all four academy products.
So if Hollands landed at Carlton the Suns would want a future pick for a player who doesn’t want for much as an elite running midfielder who has played on the wing and half forward at AFL level.
The Blues will ask for reasonable compensation for North Melbourne if Zac Fisher departs given he could be offered a five-year deal and will attack the 2023 draft with plans to bring in one player in Hollands at most.
They will not be a taker for St Kilda free agent Jade Gresham.
ADELAIDE has no interest in trading Shane McAdam for Demons depth players James Harmes or Adam Tomlinson given their hefty salaries.
McAdam wants to be traded only to the Demons, having knocked back a three-year deal from the Crows.
The Crows would be interested in a trade for a player given they already have three top-23 draft picks — their own first-rounder and second-rounders linked to North Melbourne (pick 20) and Gold Coast (pick 23).
So the Crows might eventually settle on a Demons player of interest but despite needing key defensive depth they aren’t a taker for Tomlinson.
He has one more year left on a deal worth over $500,000, while Harmes will be in the final season of a five-year extension signed when he finished fourth in the best-and-fairest.
Expect the Crows to play hard ball given McAdam is a point-of-difference forward who finished seventh in the club’s best-and-fairest in 2020 and 2022.
ADELAIDE defender Tom Doedee is seriously considering a long-term deal from Brisbane as the Crows prepare for him to have medical tests with rival clubs as they assess his ruptured ACL.
This mastheads revealed last month the Crows had pulled a long-term free agency deal after Doedee’s ACL tear then replaced it with a significantly reduced deal.
Clubs like Brisbane are keen but given he tore his ACL in round 12 would want to be confident he could return early next year to make an impact in the 2024 season.
Adelaide is searching for key backs and has some interest in the delisted Tim O’Brien as well as Suns tall Chris Burgess, who can play back despite kicking 51 goals in 17 home-and-away games in the VFL.
But Adelaide have clearly offered Doedee a deal he can well and truly refuse as he looks for long-term certainty.
Sydney has played down industry talk that it would be keen on Doedee as a fallback if it misses on McKay.
ESSENDON is still making mid-season pick Massimo D’Ambrosio sweat on a new deal after turning him into a super sub in the second half of the season.
The swift left-footer played eight games for the year but in round 9 was subbed out after nine disposals.
In his four games after that contest he played 29 minutes, 22 minutes, 33 minutes and 16 minutes.
So while the Dons signed Jy Menzie this week he will have to wait alongside Patrick Voss, a strong-bodied forward who impressed in the VFL but didn’t get a senior game.
The Dons have told player managers they have few list spots, and if they can land all of Ben McKay, Todd Goldstein and St Kilda free agent Jade Gresham it would explain why.
HAWTHORN has offered 23-year-old forward Jacob Koschitzke another deal as it considers the future of Fergus Greene, Jai Serong, Emerson Jeka and Ned Long.
The Hawks could consider offers for top-10 pick Denver Grainger-Barras and will trade Tyler Brockman to West Coast.
But with Mitch Lewis battling ACL damage then a mid-foot sprain it was apparent how bereft their forward line was at times when their key forward was missing.
So while Koschitzke only kicked nine goals in 12 games — much quieter than his breakout 2021 season kicking 27 goals from 20 games — he is a required player.
No word yet on whether rivals have interest but there is a clear chance for him to establish himself as the foil to Lewis.
The Hawks are still in the race for North Melbourne free agent Ben McKay, and have Josh Morris and Lachie Bramble uncontracted alongside Green, Serong, Long and Jeka.
Greene kicked 15 goals in 10 games so would be hopeful of another one-year deal, while Jeka was a much-hyped forward but after being trialled as a key back late in 2022 didn’t play a senior game this year.
DEV Robertson’s strong form in the back half of the season has him more likely to remain with the Lions on a new deal.
Brisbane mid-forward Robertson has interest from West Coast in a year in which he went viral after his scrap with Pies rivals saw him running around shirtless for several minutes.
Robertson is seen as extremely loyal to the Lions and enjoys Brisbane so while he is undecided he is favouring signing a new one or two-year deal.
Brisbane has an array of young midfield talent only set to improve next year when Will Ashcroft’s brother Levi joins the club as a father-son.
But it would be hard to leave perennial contenders Brisbane for the hapless Eagles.
NEW Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick will watch the club’s VFL preliminary final this weekend as Mabior Chol, Jeremy Sharp and Chris Burgess consider their futures.
Wingman Sharp was on the outer with Stuart Dew, with Chol contracted and keen to stay as another player who was not a huge fan of the former coach given he had been pushed out of the side.
Brisbane is believed to have some interest in Chol given uncertainty about Jack Gunston’s future, reluctant to keep rucking Joe Daniher.
So Sharp will hope to make every post a winner in the VFL preliminary final against the Box Hill Hawks on the Gold Coast to secure a new deal.
Talent spotters say the pipeline of talent set to flow from the Suns’ academy won’t stop at the four players who could be taken within pick 30 this year.
The AFL Under-16 academy series this year on the Gold Coast featuring players eligible for the 2025 draft had at least four Suns players who look to be elite talents.
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