By Michael Gleeson, Marc McGowan and Danny Russell
Credit:
Geelong have re-signed the first of their out-of-contract young stars, with speedy midfielder Max Holmes committing to the Cats for four more years.
Holmes was a strong target for other clubs after the 21-year-old was left out of the Cats side for the 2022 grand final after recovering from a hamstring injury.
Geelong young gun Max Holmes.Credit: AFL Photos
Geelong later confirmed on Tuesday night that Holmes had signed until the end of 2028.
The quick, skilful Holmes started his AFL career on the wing but has been used off halfback and on the ball this year. He has not only established himself comfortably in the Cats’ best 22 but is one of the young next generation of leaders the club is building around.
Holmes was a priority signing for the Cats as they started the year with 23 players on their list out of contract.
They have re-signed Tom Stewart, Zach Guthrie, Jhye Clark and Mark O’Connor in the past few months but have several free agents still unsigned.
Premiership player Jack Henry, one of the few tall defenders who is an unrestricted free agent, is sure to attract opposition interest while unrestricted free agent Ty Stengle could command a strong contract after being an All-Australian and premiership player in his first season with the Cats.
Stengle was one of the Cats’ best players on Saturday night against the Brisbane Lions.
Veterans Patrick Dangerfield, Mitch Duncan, Rhys Stanley and Tom Hawkins are all playing good football, but the club is likely to have a good look at the form of their senior players before locking them up for another season.
Also out of contract is Zach Tuohy, who has played two matches and been managed this season, as well as Gary Rohan and Jed Bews, who are yet to play a senior match in 2024.
Brandan Parfitt has forced his way back into the team with his form making other clubs sit up and take notice of the unrestricted free agent while Jake Kolodjashnij has been solid again.
Shannon Neale will create interest from clubs desperate for a key forward as he bides his time behind Hawkins. He is contracted until the end of 2025 and the Cats are keen to keep him while emerging ruckman Toby Conway, who, like Jack Henry, grew up within walking distance of GMHBA Stadium, is also contracted until the end of next season.
Mid-season race set to heat up
The race to be the No.1 pick in this year’s mid-season draft remains wide open.
The 2024 draft will be held on Wednesday, May 29, following round 11 – barely five weeks away – but list and player management sources, who spoke anonymously because they are involved in the process, told this masthead there was still no clear-cut contender to be the first player taken.
Tall defender Cooper Trembath (right) is among the mid-season draft contenders.Credit: AFL Photos
North Melbourne would have first dibs, as it stands, on the player pool, which is made up of those previously overlooked in the national and rookie drafts.
Callum Coleman-Jones ruptured his Achilles on Good Friday against Carlton.Credit: AFL Photos
Injured pair Callum Coleman-Jones and Josh Goater are out for the rest of the season, so the Kangaroos can place them on the long-term injury list to open two vacancies.
They have a key defensive need and could turn to Cooper Trembath, a 193-centimetre Eastern Ranges over-age player on North’s VFL list. Trembath, 18, boasts a good leap and has gobbled up eight intercept marks in two appearances for the Ranges so far this season.
Essendon and Gold Coast each left one spot open heading into the year.
The Bombers can create a second vacancy because of Jaiden Hunter’s season-ending knee injury, as could the Suns if they do not believe Lachie Weller will make it back this year from his second knee reconstruction.
Will McLachlan leads the Talent League goalkicking.Credit: AFL Photos
Adelaide (Wayne Milera and Patrick Parnell), Brisbane (Keidean Coleman), Carlton (Sam Docherty and Jack Silvagni), Collingwood (Dan McStay), Fremantle (Josh Corbett and Sebit Kuek), Greater Western Sydney (Adam Kennedy), Hawthorn (James Blanck), Richmond (Judson Clarke and Josh Gibcus) and Western Bulldogs (Bailey Smith) have the option as well because of long-term injuries.
Gippsland Power’s Ryan Maric had begun to separate himself at this time last year before West Coast selected him at No.1, ahead of Robert Hansen jnr (North Melbourne) and Clay Tucker (Hawthorn).
Maric is proving an astute choice as the most successful player from last year’s edition, including kicking a goal and having four inside 50s from 13 disposals in the Eagles’ derby upset of Fremantle at the weekend.
The 19-year-old, who has played 15 games, inked a two-year extension last month until the end of 2026.
Mid-sized Geelong Falcons forward Will McLachlan is leading the Coates Talent League goalkicking with 13 in three games, including 11 in his past two, and is another mid-season prospect. McLachlan’s teammate, Liam Kershaw, has made his mark as an interceptor, too.
Last year’s Tasmania Devils best-and-fairest winner Geordie Payne, like Trembath, McLachlan, Kershaw and others, will try to use the Young Guns series to push his case after being overlooked last year.
Among the success stories from mid-season drafts across the years are Jai Newcombe, Ryan Gardner, Marlion Pickett, John Noble, Sam Durham, Ash Johnson, Jed McEntee, Jordan Boyd and Cooper Sharman.
No rush on 2023 draftees
Fresh draftees commonly used to ink multi-year extensions before even playing a game in the past – and often ahead of the next season starting.
However, rules changed as part of the new collective bargaining agreement, meaning clubs cannot re-sign draftees from the previous year until after round six.
That came after a compromise between the AFL – which was keen for players not to be able to extend their rookie deal until after their first season – and the players’ association.
That deadline passed at the weekend, but there is not expected to be a mass of re-signing announcements in the coming days, particularly from those selected in the top 20 – headlined by No.1 pick Harley Reid – who are the first crop of draftees subject to a three-year initial deal rather than two.
Another CBA development for draftees, much to agents’ chagrin, was built-in clauses that mean first-round picks must perform at a very high level, win awards and play regularly in their first three seasons to earn good money.
That could lead to draftees holding out longer before signing their second contract, trying to maximise their value before making a call on their future.
Complicated negotiations
Hawthorn dasher Changkuoth Jiath’s latest setback has further complicated negotiations about his playing future.
Jiath, who is out of contract at season’s end, was set to make his return from a hamstring injury for Box Hill in the VFL last Saturday, only for a quad issue to keep him out and continue his frustrating campaign.
The 24-year-old, who has played 45 games in total but never more than 16 in any one season, last appeared at senior level in round nine last year, only for calf and groin problems to ruin the second half of his 2023.
Jiath travelled to Qatar at the start of this year to visit a world-leading sports medicine facility, which football boss Rob McCartney revealed was focused on his groin and pelvic region, but he sustained a hamstring injury in the Hawks’ intraclub game in February.
He finished eighth in Hawthorn’s club champion award in a breakout 2021 season and there is no doubting his ability, but his durability concerns are making it tricky for the parties involved to thrash out a new deal.
Will Hoskin-Elliott celebrates a goal with teammate Brody Mihocek during the Pies’ clash with Port Adelaide.Credit: AFL Photos
Pie enhances hopes of new contract
Valuable role player Will Hoskin-Elliott helped his chances of squeezing at least another year out of Collingwood with a match-turning performance against Port Adelaide at the MCG on Saturday.
Hoskin-Elliott is playing for his career, having stepped into this season on a one-year extension. Turning 31 in September, he is out of contract at year’s end.
“I want to play for as long as I can,” Hoskin-Elliott told this masthead after the Magpies’ 42-point win over the Power. “I love playing footy and I love the Pies, so whatever happens, happens.”
Hoskin-Elliott provided a much-needed spark on Saturday against Port Adelaide, with a goal-square hanger and ensuing goal that helped his side transform a 31-point deficit into a 42-point victory. His ability to play at both ends of the ground earned high praise from Magpies coach Craig McRae.
“I call Will ‘the Swiss Army Knife’ because he can play everywhere,” McRae said.
“He’s done a lot of jobs for us over a long period of time, and we wanted him to go forward today and play a bit taller, and it’s pleasing because he takes his marks. He’s a brilliant mark.”
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