By Marc McGowan and Peter Ryan
Money Talks.Credit: The Age
Carlton expect to take a first-round selection to this year’s draft, complicating any attempt to secure Port Adelaide star Dan Houston.
The Blues inquired about Houston’s position after it was widely reported that the contracted defender’s willingness to join Melbourne had cooled as the Demons dealt with Christian Petracca’s frustrations and this masthead revealed Alex Neal-Bullen had asked to be traded for family reasons.
Dan Houston wants to return to Victoria, but it is still unclear where he will land.Credit: Getty Images
Houston and Petracca have different agents, but are both Connors Sports clients.
The Power are open to trading Houston if they gain a significant return for the 2023 All-Australian to use in this year’s talent-laden draft, with the Demons potentially willing to create an attractive-enough deal.
Port indicated to Melbourne in preliminary discussions about Houston, who is contracted through the 2028 season, that they wanted two first-round picks in return for him.
The Blues are keeping their options open, with a range of players, including small forward Matt Owies, yet to re-sign.
They have also given no indication to the injured Jack Martin or Jack Carroll, who are out of contract, whether they want to retain them, although Martin’s future is precarious after he suffered another hamstring setback in round 22. Houston would be a good addition to the Blues, which, despite their season being derailed by injury, are closing in on a flag, but with future trading still restricted to one year, finding a way to make it happen will be difficult.
Melbourne, meanwhile, have remained open about Petracca’s frustrations while locking in their skipper Max Gawn until 2027 and vice-captain Jack Viney through to the end of the 2028 season after North Melbourne registered their interest in him.
The Demons remain adamant they will not trade Petracca, and recently re-signed premiership pair Ed Langdon and Harrison Petty, while Kysaiah “Kozzy” Pickett is tied to the club for three more seasons.
Emerging youngsters Caleb Windsor and Koltyn Tholstrup have also re-signed until 2028.
No-one at Melbourne has denied issues need to be resolved, but with a deep draft making each first-round selection extremely valuable, the number of Victorian clubs willing to offer something compelling enough to convince Port Adelaide to trade Houston appears slim.
Reimagining the Tigers
Richmond are facing a 573-game black hole this off-season that will strip their rebuilding efforts back to almost ground zero – but present the chance to be the biggest player in this year’s strong draft.
There is one game left in Adem Yze’s challenging first season as coach, but the most important juncture of the Tigers’ year and future will come in the weeks and months afterwards.
Shai Bolton is “open” to being traded home to WA despite having four seasons left on his contract.Credit: Getty Images
Liam Baker, unrestricted free agent Jack Graham and contracted stars Shai Bolton and Dan Rioli could all be playing elsewhere next year. That match tally above does not even factor in the retirements of premiership greats Dustin Martin and Dylan Grimes.
If the aforementioned quartet all end up departing, there will be an even heavier reliance on captain Toby Nankervis, Nick Vlastuin, Dion Prestia, Tim Taranto, Jayden Short, Tom Lynch, Jacob Hopper and Nathan Broad.
Yze conceded after Sunday’s 63-point thrashing to Hawthorn that the constant speculation about Bolton and Rioli, in particular, was “frustrating”. That came a day before Bolton’s Perth-based agent, Anthony Van Der Wielen, revealed they had told Tigers list boss Blair Hartley in “ongoing discussions” that he was “open to the idea of returning home to Perth”.
Triple premiership star Prestia is among the club’s 14 out-of-contract players but set to re-sign, while the likes of Kamdyn McIntosh, Marlion Pickett and Thomson Dow are also still looking for a new deal.
The reimagining of Richmond – four years after the third of their flags in an extraordinary four-year period under Damien Hardwick, who is now at Gold Coast – is well underway.
The Tigers will collect their first wooden spoon since 2007, and have pick No.1 in the draft for the first time since selecting Brett Deledio two decades ago. Before Deledio, you had to go back to the late 1980s, when they grabbed Richard Lounder and Anthony Banik at the top of their respective drafts.
Richmond auditioned No. 1 draft prospects Jagga Smith, Finn O’Sullivan and Harvey Langford in their VFL side in the past fortnight. With an even talent pool at the top end of the draft recruiters who speak to this masthead believe there is a large pool of players they would be happy to select with a first-round pick.
Tigers star Dion Prestia is yet to re-sign for next season.Credit: Getty Images
They may even score themselves a mighty draft hand like in 2004 – which they did not use to full effect when they nabbed Deledio (pick one), Richard Tambling (four), Danny Meyer (12), Adam Pattison (16) and Dean Polo (20) – if Bolton, Baker and Rioli end up being traded.
Each of that trio could command a first-round draft pick, possibly more in some cases, but the yellow and black face a significant talent drain and potentially a lengthy rebuild in that scenario.
As it stands, the Tigers have picks one, 21, 30, 39, 41, 48, 57, 65 and 73, several of which they will try to bundle to move up the order.
Richmond extended the contracts of Kane McAuliffe (2027), Josh Gibcus and Broad (both 2026) – the latter of whom had interest from North Melbourne – this month despite not being out of contract until next year, and re-signed Maurice Rioli and Mykelti Lefau for two seasons in the past week.
Berry unlikely but keen on Keane
Collingwood’s chances of securing emerging Adelaide midfielder Sam Berry have dimmed, with the Crows keen to retain him beyond this season.
The Magpies liked the ball-hunting 22-year-old and have monitored his performance, but are unlikely to have the capacity to lure him across the border as he finds his niche in Adelaide’s midfield after battling to cement his spot early in the year.
Sam Berry of the Crows runs with the ball under pressure.Credit: Getty Images
Selected with No. 28 in the 2020 national draft with the compensation pick the Crows received for losing Brad Crouch to St Kilda, Berry has been impressive since he returned to the team in round 12.
However, contracted Crows defender Mark Keane, who played five games with Collingwood before returning to Ireland in 2022, remains in the Magpies’ sights in the event Adelaide agree to consider a trade. At this stage, the Crows are not open to that prospect as Keane has been an excellent performer in the Crows’ back line this season and is very invested in the group.
The Irishman is a free agent at the end of 2025, which may give Adelaide some reason to consider maximising his value in this year’s trade period or, alternatively, they could back themselves to keep him, having lured him back to Australia at the start of 2023.
Dee is Crows-bound
Departing Demon Alex Neal-Bullen will almost certainly play for Adelaide next season, with Port Adelaide preferring to chase younger stars who better fit their emerging group.
Neal-Bullen, who turns 29 in January, will be an ideal addition for a Crows squad trying to climb the ladder and in need of more quality and experience.
Melbourne premiership player Alex Neal-Bullen will play his final game for the club on Friday night.Credit: Getty Images
The 175-gamer, one of Melbourne’s best players this season and a key contributor in their 2021 flag, and his wife, Georgie, want to return to SA for more family support after the birth of their first child in February. The Demons have agreed to work with the SA clubs to facilitate the move.
Neal-Bullen will play his final match for the Demons against Collingwood on Friday night.
Adelaide also hope to lure home-grown product Jack Lukosius, who is contracted until 2026, from Gold Coast, but there is the possibility of Victorian clubs pursuing him as well.
The Power are instead chasing GWS unrestricted free agents Harry Perryman and Isaac Cumming – particularly if, or when, Houston requests a trade to a Victorian club – while they have identified Collingwood’s Joe Richards, whose contract expires this year, as someone who could help bolster their attack.
Hawthorn, who are set to land contracted West Coast key defender Tom Barrass and trying to sign St Kilda’s unrestricted free agent Josh Battle, are also interested in Perryman.
The Saints remain keen to retain Battle and expect to head to the national draft to keep building their talent base having unearthed Darcy Wilson to join a core of youngsters – Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, Marcus Windhager, Mitch Owens and Liam Henry – who are developing well.