AFL Trade Period Day six at Etihad Stadium

AN “absurd” moment in the trade period has seen Geelong gifted with a massive bonus as a club veteran makes an exit.

Done deal.

AFL trades

The trade action is expected to heat up on day six after some major trade dominoes fell on Friday.

STEVEN Motlop’s massive move to Port Adelaide has massive ramifications for club’s looking to land a blow in the AFL trade period. Motlop’s free agency move to the Power leaves the Crows with money to splurge and piles the pressure on the clubs looking to land Demons big fish Jack Watts.

3:15pm

Geelong powerplay: ‘They've been struck in the arse by a rainbow’

Steven Motlop is heading to Port Adelaide.

Geelong will receive a first-round draft pick after losing gun midfielder Steven Motlop to Port Adelaide. The Cats opted against matching the Power’s offer and chose to receive draft compensation. They will get Pick 19 in next month’s draft.

“Considering no one wanted (Motlop) this time last year`, that is an extraordinary result,” Herald Sun reporter Jay Clark said.

Fans questioned on Twitter why the Cats were awarded so generously with their free agent departing.

I'll say it again. Also Geelong getting the same compo for Motlop as Brisbane did for Rockliff is absurd. https://t.co/3auSxxJpBr

— Mark Gottlieb (@MarkGottliebFOX) October 14, 2017

Surely pick 19 is excessive for Motlop, same pick Hawks got for Buddy going to Swans! Should mean Ablett to Cats is done 9am Monday though.

— Adam Hill (@adamhillmedia) October 14, 2017

Don't think @GeelongCats expected to get pick 19 Motlop - to quote P.Keating, they've been struck in the arse by a rainbow

— Jake Niall (@JakeNiallFOX) October 14, 2017

“It was a difficult decision to leave Geelong,” Motlop said as the news broke.

“I spent nine great years there and they were fantastic for my footy and a great support for me and my family.

“Having decided to leave, I was really impressed by the presentation Ken Hinkley and some of the club’s other leaders made.

“I already have a connection to the Power where my older brother, Daniel, played for six seasons and my cousin, Marlon, still works in the community department.

“Port Adelaide is also an industry leader with its Indigenous community work, which is an area that is really important to me.”

12pm

Kochie suggests trade move is done

Kochie’s man.

David Koch’s Instagram dealings suggest Jack Watts is playing for Port Adelaide in 2018.

Koch has been spotted following the former Demons No. 1 draft selection, who reportedly fell out of favour with coach Simon Goodwin towards the end of the 2017 season.

Watts was reportedly being chased by Geelong and Sydney, but has knocked back the two premiership heavyweights to join the star-studded queue of AFL players indicating they want to move to the Power.

Cats star Steven Motlop and Lions gun Tom Rockliff have both lodged paperwork with the AFL to make a move to the Power through free agency.

Watts, 26, does not qualify as a free agent and the Power still need to find a way to get a deal done with the Demons.

However, Melbourne reportedly are not interested in blocking any move Watts wants to make and will accept a draft pick as low as a second-round selection in exchange for letting the star go.

No @traderadio today but we still have movement. #AFLTrades pic.twitter.com/1gDPbKIFBm

— Kane Cornes (@kanecornes) October 14, 2017

The Herald Sun reported on Friday Watts has settled on the Power as his preferred destination, but he is yet to go public with his decision.

Currently holding picks 30 and 33, the Power will begin working towards bringing Watts to the club on Monday, after it was stated Watts would take the weekend to clear his head before making an announcement.

After finishing the 2017 AFL season in fifth place, the Power were overrun by the Eagles in their home elimination final and have retooled in a big way during the trade period.

With Tom Rockliff and Steven Motlop already on board, the services of Watts would put the Power into early premiership favouritism and build the pressure immensely before the first bounce of the 2018 season.

9.15am

Josh Schache mystery deepens

The Josh Schache saga is just beginning.

Brisbane expect the market for Josh Schache to heat up in the second week of the AFL trade period.

The Lions dropped a bombshell on the opening day of the trade period when they said they would be open to moving the Victorian forward on.

But the lack of interest from Melbourne clubs in the former No. 2 pick has been one of the more bemusing storylines of this year’s trade window. No offers have been forthcoming with some clubs — like Collingwood and North Melbourne — openly stating they’re not interested.

Lions football chief David Nole is adamant his club will be happy to hang onto Schache if nothing emerges but he is expecting movement on that front next week.

“Josh’s discussions will pick up ... trade period always seems to unfold once the bigger (trades) have landed,” Noble told RSN radio.

“Then clubs know what picks they’ve got and the value of the market is established.

“We’re not surprised that everyone has been jumping off so to speak, but if something can happen that’s great and if not we’re happy to keep Josh.”

The Age’s Caroline Wilson reported on Friday Schache is at the centre of an extraordinary feud between the Lions and Richmond.

The report claims Richmond officials approached Schache about a move to the Tigers early in the 2017 season. The Lions believe the move destabilised Schache’s development.

Good question. Both Richmond & Lions adamant Schache didn't cry in the interview. Lepper even made it clear the interview went well https://t.co/yLdPicf0j5

— Jon Ralph (@RalphyHeraldSun) October 14, 2017

The Lions reportedly blame former senior coach Justin Leppitsch — now the Tigers’ assistant coach — for using his personal relationship with Schache to bring him to Punt Road.

“Further there was an allegation that Richmond subsequently lowered Schache’s trade stocks by passing on stories alluding to his fragility involving a first-hand experience after the Tigers interviewed him,” Wilson reported.

— with AAP

7.30am

Motlop highlights day five wrap

Adelaide’s AFL stand-off with Brisbane over speedster Charlie Cameron took another twist on Friday with Steve Motlop’s decision to join Port Adelaide. The Crows and Gold Coast had also keenly sought the signature of the Geelong restricted free agent, but he went with Port, who lodged paperwork on Friday afternoon with the league.

The Cats have three days to decide if they will match the Power’s offer, but that is considered unlikely.

Motlop’s decision could affect Cameron’s desired move to the Lions, who have unsuccessfully offered pick No. 19 to Adelaide.

The Crows have pushed the line that he will be required to see out the final year of his contract next season, but this had been widely regarded as a negotiating tactic.

The Lions also hold picks one, 12 and 18 in the first round. If Motlop had chosen to join Don Pyke’s team, Cameron would have likely found his way to Brisbane, with the Crows — having found a speedy replacement — then pushed to claim pick 18 or even 12 in return.

But with Motlop set to ply his trade for their cross-town rivals, Adelaide might be forced to knock back Cameron’s request to be closer to family in Brisbane. Cameron’s manager Colin Young has done his best to crowbar his client out of West Lakes.

Young has stated Cameron will never sign a new deal after his contract runs out at the end of next season and won’t be happy if he is retained. “I try not to get caught up in the emotion of it too much ... we have a really good relationship with Col and Charlie,” Crows list manager Justin Reid told AFL Trade Radio on Friday.

“I know Charlie, if he was at our football club next year which we expect, then he’ll come with the right attitude and we know we’ll put our arms around him and he’ll play good football.” Cameron is one of several players whose futures will not be decided until the second week of the trade period.

Jack Watts is reported to be close to nominating the Power as his club of choice after being put on the trade table by Melbourne.

Essendon are still trying to find a way to land Jake Stringer and Adam Saad after sending pick 11 to Greater Western Sydney on Thursday for Devon Smith in a trade that had included a swap of later selections.

In other completed moves, Adelaide have four first-round draft picks over the next two years after Thursday’s Jake Lever trade — No. 10 and 16 this year and their own and Melbourne’s first call in 2018.

Port Adelaide traded Jarman Impey to Hawthorn for a second-round pick and a further swap of later selections.

Fremantle completed the fourth official move of the trade window on Friday when Hayden Crozier shifted to the Western Bulldogs for pick 40.

— AAP