AFL trade news: Port Adelaide pull pin on three-way deal, threaten to send Dan Houston to North Melbourne
In a late twist, Port Adelaide has stunned Collingwood by pulling out of a three-way trade while threatening to deal with a rival club on Dan Houston.
Port Adelaide has sensationally pulled back from the brink of a mega three-club trade deal that would have secured Collingwood the services of All-Australian defender Dan Houston.
In a stunning turnaround late on Monday night, the Power shocked the Magpies and Gold Coast – as well as the Houston camp – by choosing not to proceed with the complex arrangement.
That deal involved three clubs, five players, two future first-round selections and a host of draft picks changing hands.
Collingwood and Gold Coast believed they had nailed a deal that could have unlocked the trade impasse on Houston, but Port Adelaide late Monday baulked at the meagre return it would have received on the deal.
The core elements of the deal would have seen the Pies secure Houston and pick 58 for their future first-rounder and John Noble.
The Suns would have landed Noble, Port Adelaide and Collingwood’s future first-rounders and pick 39, and the Power would have got Jack Lukosius, Rory Atkins, Joe Richards and picks 13, 29 and 36.
But on Monday night, the Power was adamant the deal was insufficient and was threatening to trade Houston to North Melbourne. The Roos have offered a future first-rounder as part of a deal.
The Power’s view is that having agreed to trade Houston back to Victoria, they are not willing to accept a lesser Collingwood offer when the Roos’ deal is clearly of a higher quality.
The only wrinkle in accepting a Roos 2025 first-rounder for Houston is that the Power would prefer 2024 selections instead of future picks.
It remains to be seen if the Magpies and Suns can restructure aspects of the trade deal to resuscitate it, but the Power believed they were being strong-armed by Houston’s camp to accept a lesser deal.
Gold Coast was on Monday night threatening to trade the No.13 draft pick to a rival party if the trade fell over, given huge demand for that selection.
And the Houston camp was furious that a trade that had seemed over the line on Monday night had now seemed to have flatlined.
As of Monday afternoon, the prospective trade would have had the Suns still keeping picks six and 23 to hand to the Tigers for Rioli.
Rioli finished second in the 2022 best-and-fairest by a single vote to Tom Lynch and won this year’s Jack Dyer Medal.
The Suns will require the Tigers to trade into a pick in the 30s this year to help them secure the points for academy player Leo Lombard.
It will require the Tigers to find a third party who wants a higher top-20 pick but has a pick in the 30s to help the Tigers.
The Suns will still hope they can uphold that Richmond deal given their determination to secure Rioli.
Richmond is still demanding picks 10 and 11 from Fremantle for Shai Bolton, with the Dockers adamant he is only worth picks 10 and 18.
They are still holding pick 11 in the hope Liam Baker might not be able to get to the Eagles.
But West Coast is still considering whether to split its pick 3 for the Blues’ picks 12 and 14.
That would allow the Eagles to take an elite draftee at 12 and hand 14 to the Tigers for Baker.
The Bolton camp is hopeful Richmond will accept a compromise position that again involves a third party.
Gold Coast’s Rory Atkins has only one more year on a deal that is worth about $400,000 next year and is keen to get to a third club where he has chances to play.
He played 17 senior games last year, but only three this season, and with the Power missing on Isaac Cumming and Harry Perryman, then losing Houston, they will need some defensive cover.
The Power have ample cap space and are open to securing Atkins, given it would help the Suns clear cap space.
But they would only do so if they are advantaged by the three-club deal rather than left counting the cost of that deal.
EARLIER: FOLLOW DAY EIGHT’S TRADE UPDATES AS THEY HAPPENED
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