By Michael Gleeson, Marc McGowan and Russell Bennett
The Saints are armed with two top-10 picks in this year’s highly touted draft after scoring a first-round selection – currently No.8 – as compensation for losing free agent Josh Battle to Hawthorn.
The unrestricted free agent lodged his paperwork to join the Hawks immediately after the free agency window opened on Friday morning.
Josh Battle will exercise his unrestricted free agency rights to be a Hawk next season.Credit: AFL Photos
St Kilda’s compensation for Battle was the most eagerly awaited decision of the free agency market because of a spike in the salary cap and subsequent change in the mechanism for determining compensation.
Battle’s contract – worth more than $850,000 annually across six seasons – was sufficient to draw a first-round pick as compensation for the Saints, according to two industry sources with knowledge of the situation, speaking anonymously to discuss contract matters.
The big money headed to the new Hawk was not the sole factor behind St Kilda scoring “band one”, or the highest possible, return.
The AFL also factors in contract length when assessing free-agency compensation. Points are now allocated according to the length of a deal, ranging from zero for one and two-year deals, up to a maximum of 12 for any deal of five seasons or more.
Last year North Melbourne received a first-round compensation pick, after their first selection at No.3, for losing full-back Ben McKay to Essendon.
The contentious system has been criticised when clubs losing a player to free agency receive compensation significantly greater than what they would otherwise receive for that player in a trade.
The compensation announcement for Battle comes only days after St Kilda president Andrew Bassat used his speech at the club’s best and fairest to launch a fierce attack on the AFL draft system.
“It’s not a level playing field, as we know,” Bassat, the co-founder of employment website Seek, said. “The system is basically designed, the more I look at it, to favour the wealthier clubs, and it’s designed to favour the northern clubs, and our role is meant to be just to make up the numbers and not complain about it.”
The 26-year-old Battle informed St Kilda in August of his wishes to exercise his free agency rights.
“If the AFL can do the right thing, and we can come home with pick, I think it is eight or nine in [20]24 and build, it’s [a] really exciting period for the club,” St Kilda coach Ross Lyon said.
Battle did not attend the Saints’ best and fairest, at the club’s request. He finished third in the Trevor Barker Award, behind first-time winner and fellow defender Callum Wilkie, but was barely acknowledged.
Free agency moves announced on day one
- Unrestricted free agent Elliott Himmelberg (formerly of the Crows) has signed with Gold Coast. Adelaide won’t receive compensation.
- Unrestricted free agent Josh Battle (St Kilda) has signed with Hawthorn. The Saints will receive round-one compensation (currently pick No.8).
- Unrestricted free agent Harry Perryman (GWS) has signed with Collingwood. The Giants will receive round-one compensation (currently pick 16).
- Unrestricted free agent Tom Campbell (St Kilda) has signed with Melbourne. The Saints won’t receive any compensation for losing Campbell.
- Unrestricted free agent Nick Haynes (GWS) has signed with Carlton. The Giants won’t receive any compensation for losing Haynes.
- Unrestricted free agent Isaac Cumming (GWS) has signed with Adelaide. The Giants will receive end-of-first-round compensation (currently pick 21) for losing Cumming.
The childhood Pie who signed a six-year deal to switch from GWS
The versatile Harry Perryman inked a six-year deal on Friday to cross from the Giants to the club he grew up supporting, Collingwood.
Perryman, 25, signed with the Magpies on the opening day of free agency after playing 129 games for the Giants since making his debut in 2017.
He played 21 games this year, averaging 18 touches per game and recording 59 tackles, and is set to receive more midfield time in the black and white.
He has been a member of the Giants’ leadership group across the past two seasons and will become the seventh player to play for both GWS and Collingwood, following in the footsteps of Heath Shaw, Adam Treloar, Lachie Keeffe, Will Hoskin-Elliott, Bobby Hill and Taylor Adams.
Perryman thanked the Giants for his time at the NSW club through a statement released by Collingwood.
“I’d like to thank the GWS Giants for presenting me with my first AFL opportunity,” he said. “I will always remember my time at Sydney Olympic Park, and to the players and staff; I am so grateful for the friendships I formed along the eight-year journey.
“Collingwood is the right place for me to progress my football journey and I look forward to meeting the boys and the rest of the program. There’s also something special about having the opportunity to play for the team you grew up supporting. I can’t wait to get started.”
The Giants will receive first-round compensation (currently pick 16) for losing Perryman.
Another GWS defender, Isaac Cumming, has also exercised his free agency rights and joined Adelaide, while Nick Haynes has already sealed his move to Carlton the same way. The Giants didn’t receive compensation for losing Haynes, but got an end-of-first-round pick (currently 21) for losing Cumming.
James Peatling has also requested a trade from the Giants to play for the Crows in 2025, but football boss Jason McCartney is confident they will retain out-of-contract utility Conor Stone.
Crows big man signs with the Suns
The other free agency move so far on Friday resulted in Adelaide forward-ruck Elliott Himmelberg signing with Gold Coast, a year after he hoped to join his brother Harry at the Giants.
The AFL confirmed the Crows would receive no compensation for losing Himmelberg, who inked a three-year deal with the Queensland club.
Adelaide loom as one of the most active clubs in the player movement period.
Cumming has come across to the Crows on a four-year deal – with a trigger for a fifth – while they will broker trades for another Giant, James Peatling, and Demon Alex Neal-Bullen.
Adelaide were also keen on Suns swingman Jack Lukosius, but he nominated Port Adelaide instead.
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