Moneyball column: All the latest AFL trade, draft, free agency and list news
Essendon star Orazio Fantasia has officially told the Bombers of his wish to be traded back home to Port Adelaide as cross-town rival Adelaide gets a rude shock on the potential compo for Brad Crouch. LATEST TRADE NEWS
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Orazio Fantasia has officially told Essendon coach Ben Rutten he is requesting a trade to Port Adelaide on what is likely to be a three-year contract.
One of Port Adelaide’s first two picks in selection 26 or 31 will be on the table for the injury-prone half-forward.
The Power were always Fantasia’s preferred candidate over Adelaide, with the South Australian keen to pick up relationships old and new at the Power.
He is a friend of captain Tom Jonas and has a close connection with forwards coach Nathan Bassett but also struck up an unlikely friendship with small forward Zac Butters during lockdown.
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The pair were both training by themselves at a local South Australian oval when they crossed paths and spent the session having a kick as they kept in shape for their respective teams.
Port Adelaide has traded away its first-round pick but will have to bid for NGA prospect Lachlan Jones who is set to be taken at around pick 10-15.
It means a team that finished top-four this year will secure an elite talent and a player with huge upside in Fantasia.
Port Adelaide must spend the $650,000 of cap space it had banked in 2021 and can spend above the salary cap next year or it will lose it.
Clubs which spend less than 100 per cent of the salary cap in a given year can, in effect, save that cash and spend it the following next season.
Port Adelaide has asked the question about whether Sydney would be prepared to trade defender Aliir Aliir but the deal is far from over the line.
Sydney expressed its interest during discussions about whether the Power would release one of their ruckmen but Port Adelaide is intent on keeping its talls.
The Power believe he has huge room for growth as an intercept defender but while, Fantasia will find his way to Alberton, there is less certainty about whether they can acquire Aliir.
CROWS COULD BE STUNG ON CROUCH COMPO
Adelaide’s hopes of getting a draft pick as high as No.2 for Brad Crouch’s departure to St Kilda are being complicated by the deal for the future Saint being compared to contracts signed off before COVID-19 hit the AFL.
Crouch has informed the Crows he wants to exercise his restricted free agency rights and join the Saints on a five-year deal.
Adelaide would normally be in line for a first-round compensation pick — which would be No.2 in the upcoming draft — if Crouch’s five-year deal was to be above $700,000 a year.
But, in a memo seen by the Herald Sun, the AFL informed clubs players must be in the top-five per cent of earners for their age bracket to trigger first-round compensation — and that would come at the league’s discretion.
At 26, Crouch’s deal with the Saints would be compared to big-money contracts signed by players aged 25 and above — before they took pay cuts in the wake of COVID-19 austerity measures.
This is despite the expectation deals for free agents will be lower across the competition this year, with players bracing for another hefty pay cut.
It’s left the Crows pessimistic at the possibility of receiving the No.2 pick for Crouch, head of football Adam Kelly and football director Mark Ricciuto flagging the club could get creative and match the Saints’ bid, then force a trade to get a better return — similar to what it did with Patrick Dangerfield’s deal to Geelong in 2015.
When restricted free agent Dangerfield sought a move to Geelong, the Crows had the option of accepting pick No.14 as compensation but, instead, matched the deal and traded him for selections nine and 28, as well as South Australian Dean Gore.
Adelaide’s draft hand is pick eight, 20, 29, 44 and 50, but that will change due to other clubs’ pending moves for Joe Daniher, Zac Williams, Aidan Corr, Jackson Hately, Adam Saad, Jye Caldwell. Some clubs will also position themselves for academy prospects, ensuring more pick shuffling, as the AFL world awaits confirmation of list sizes in 2021.
Adelaide was surprised Crouch elected to join St Kilda, believing Essendon was his more likely destination.
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Crouch’s camp and the Saints are keen to get the deal done as quickly as possible but don’t expect a resolution until next week at the earliest.
Crouch’s manager Garry Winter said he was unsure what compensation the Saints offer to his client would trigger.
“The formula is almost like the Colonel’s secret recipes … I’ve spoken to many, many people and there is no certainty in how it is calculated,” he said on FIVEaa.
“I understand there is a huge discretionary element to it from the AFL’s perspective and a huge number of factors as well.”
The AFL was contacted for comment.
HOW DUNKLEY CAN FORCE HIS WAY TO DONS
Essendon will continue to target Josh Dunkley in this year’s trade period in the firm belief the hard nut midfielder is interested in making a move.
Dunkley is contracted for two more years and the Dogs have no plans to release him.
But the Bombers have been buoyed by indications from Dunkley that he is keen to accept an attractive long-term deal to help lead Essendon’s midfield.
Essendon has room in its cap to spend on senior talent after losing Joe Daniher (Brisbane), Orazio Fantasia (Port Adelaide) and Adam Saad (Carlton).
Together the trio will clear about $1.5 million a year from the Bombers’ Total Player Payments.
But Dunkley, 23, would have to demand an exit from the Dogs to follow-through on the Bombers’ strong interest.
If Essendon was able to pull-off the longshot bid, it would hand coach Ben Rutten a superb midfield combination to begin the climb up the ladder next season.
In any case, the situation gives Dunkley the leverage to ask for a lucrative contract extension from the Dogs to match Essendon’s money and lock him away.
The Dogs rate him highly as a central cog in the midfield but he was asked to ruck late in the season to assist Tim English.
Earlier in the season he was levelled by an ankle syndesmosis injury.
WHAT’S GOING ON AT THE MAGPIES?
Collingwood onballer Rupert Wills is facing an uncertain future as clubs seek clarification on the size of their lists for next year.
Wills, 27, is unsigned beyond this season and is yet to receive clarity on his contract situation from the club.
It is a nervous wait for players such as Wills who made a meaningful contribution across eight games this season after nine the previous year.
His situation will be directly affected by the Magpies’ discussions with gun midfielder Adam Treloar and Jordan De Goey.
Treloar is keen to stay at the club despite Gold Coast’s interest in a move which could net the Magpies pick No. 5.
The Pies are dealing with a salary cap squeeze and are trying to retain De Goey on about $700,000 which is significantly less than what the goal kicker wants.
WHAT ARE THE DONS GETTING FROM CALDWELL?
Essendon has chosen the perfect player in Jye Caldwell to be its dominant centre square presence for the next decade, according to the man who saw him emerge as an elite prospect.
Bendigo Pioneers talent manager Steven Sharp, who has only just moved on from the position, said the second-year Giants oozed talent and character.
Sharp even coached him as a kid for Golden Square, where he dominated an under-16s game as a late call-up when only 13.
“He loves the contest and he’s as hard as nails, as tough as any kid you would want to see,” he said.
“He has a few little hamstring and calf niggles and in fairness to GWS they had a longer-term approach. I know (departing GWS assistant) Lenny Hayes rates him really highly. Having spoken to him about Jye, he has always felt he’s going to be a gun.
“I coached him at Under-16 level in A grade when we were one short. I called the Under-14s to see if any of the top-age kids to see if they wanted to play. Jye put his hand
“I said, “You are only 13”. We ended up playing him in the back pocket and on the back flank and he was our best player, three years younger than anyone else.
“He is a brilliant kid, a fantastic kid and a team player, he is just going to be one of those really highly valued team members who puts their head over the footy and doesn’t pick and choose.”
ROBERTON FIGHTING FOR HIS FUTURE
Saint Dylan Roberton is confident he has completely overcome the heart issues which threatened his career as he fights for his future.
Roberton takes medication to help prevent a repeat of the scary situation where the gun St Kilda defender collapsed on the field in a game against Geelong in early 2018.
The Saints are open-minded about trading the backman along with Jimmy Webster who is on a decent contract which ties him to the club for two more years.
Roberton only played one game this season in the first round of the year and spent the rest of the season trying to recapture top fitness after missing the bulk of the previous two years on the sidelines.
The defender is keen to showcase himself at the top level after a big summer but his options at the Saints may be limited as they have a raft of defenders.
BROWN WON’T RETURN TO ROOS
Ben Brown is certain to have a new home next year, despite the coaching change at North Melbourne announced on Thursday.
Brown’s manager Adam Ramanauskas said his client was already “down the path” with other clubs – including Melbourne – after being told at the end of the season to find a new home in 2021.
The Herald Sun has reported Brown has met virtually with Melbourne, with the Demons believing he could play alongside Luke Jackson and Sam Weideman.
Ramanauskas said he didn’t expect North Melbourne to change its mind, despite Rhyce Shaw’s departure, but stressed it was likely too late anyway.
“We are finding him a new football club to play at,” Ramanauskas told RSN on Friday.
“We are down the path with other clubs at the moment … (any Kangaroos change of heart) would have to be a reasonably quick conversation.
“We are being told what we had to do (find a new club).”
DEES FORWARD TO JOIN DOGS AS CHASE FOR BROWN HEATS UP
North Melbourne is keen to secure a mid-20s draft pick in exchange for Ben Brown, who has strong interest from three clubs including Melbourne.
The Demons were impressed by Brown in an interview and believed he could ease into a forward line alongside Luke Jackson and Sam Weideman, but have a limit on the offer they can hand him.
It means if Brown is looking for the significant $700,000-plus contract that North Melbourne had at one stage offered him before pulling that offer he will have to look elsewhere.
The Demons will lose mid-sized forward Mitch Hannan to the Western Bulldogs, after their two-year offer was trumped by a three-year deal.
They will retain contracted small defender Neville Jetta, with Collingwood adamant they will not lodge a trade offer for the out-of-favour defender.
If a rival took Tom McDonald off Melbourne’s hands despite a significant contract with two years to run, the club might have more freedom to offer Brown a bigger deal.
But at this stage neither party has committed to each other, with Melbourne’s expectation that he will also speak to other clubs, including Fremantle and Essendon.
The Roos are happy to trade Shaun Higgins to the Cats for family considerations but only if they can secure reasonable compensation from Geelong.
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The Cats will bring in Higgins to play a similar role to Gary Ablett at the same age, and were prepared to exchange their No. 19 pick for Gold Coast’s No. 24 pick and swap a future second-rounder for a future fourth-rounder.
Higgins remains a dynamic half forward so the Roos will be keen to improve their draft order or secure a late second-round pick for the 32-year-old.
WILL CAT’S UNLIKELY COMEBACK CONTINUE?
Geelong is keen for this year’s defensive revelation Lachie Henderson to continue his career in one of footy’s most unlikely comebacks.
Henderson was delisted by the Cats last year until Ryan Abbott moved on to St Kilda, creating space for the club to hand him a footy lifeline.
Abbott was delisted by St Kilda only days ago, while Henderson will likely take on triple Coleman Medallist Jack Riewoldt in the Grand Final on Saturday night.
The Herald Sun understands the Cats have been keen to find out whether he is open to playing on into 2021 and Henderson, still only 30, wants to continue.
An official decision still awaits post-Grand Final but it seems likely ex-Blue Henderson will remain on the list given his stellar performances.
He was one of the few Cats to hold their head high in the qualifying final loss to Port Adelaide with 113 ranking points, six intercept possessions and three intercept marks.
Then he repeated the dose against Collingwood and again against Brisbane as the Lions key forwards were shut out.
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His three finals amassing 113, 94 and 101 ranking points have been his best performances of the season after 13 games since getting back into the team in Round 8.
He has also remained injury-free after a spate of issues including a knee injury seemed to have cut him down after stints at Brisbane and Carlton.
He told the Herald Sun this week he would wait until the end of the year to see what his future held.
“(A premiership) would mean everything. It’s everything you play for. It’s my 13th year and I haven’t had a chance at it in 13 years,” he said.
“If it is the end it would be a great culmination to the 13 years and it’d just feel like you’ve achieved what you set out for all those years ago.
“It would just make everything feel complete, I suppose.”
The Cats will recontract Rhys Stanley and Zach Tuohy, with a decision ahead on Harry Taylor. Gary Ablett to retire after Saturday night.
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