AFL Trade 2023: All the Port Adelaide news as standoff with Essendon and Geelong continues
As the AFL trade deadline looms, Port Adelaide is still at odds with Essendon and Geelong over key deals – JAY CLARK and CHRIS CAVANAGH reveal the latest details.
Geelong and Port Adelaide will meet for talks on Wednesday in a bid to find the crucial middle ground required to secure the deal for Esava Ratugolea.
The Power have offered pick 25 for Ratugolea, but the Cats are set to explore an extra pick or pick swap sweetener which could help improve their return for the key defender.
There is also the possibility a third club could get involved to help satisfy Port and Geelong in a player or pick exchange, similar to the three-club deal which found Tom Mitchell and Ollie Henry new homes last year in the final hour of trade period.
Sources close to the deal were confident progress would be made on what has been the most difficult trade of the AFL’s trade period one year after the Cats kept Ratugolea at the club against his wishes.
The Cats have pick eight and could use pick 25 – plus future draft picks from next year – to help climb higher up the order on draft night next month.
It is set to be an enormous final day of trade talks for Port Adelaide which is also looking to secure Essendon backman Brandon Zerk-Thatcher, and ruck pair Ivan Soldo (Richmond) and Jordan Sweet (Western Bulldogs).
Port is desperate to bolster its back line after Ken Hinkley’s men were caught short in the defensive half in their 2023 campaign.
And missing their two back line targets would be a huge blow to the club’s flag tilt next season, meaning Wednesday’s trade talks will be high stakes.
Port Adelaide’s football manager Chris Davies said the club would consider walking Ratugolea and Zerk-Thatcher to the draft, but there were high hopes on Tuesday night a messy draft scenario – and weeks of uncertainty – could be avoided for both players.
Essendon is prepared to approve a trade for Zerk-Thatcher to Port Adelaide as part of a straight-swap for wingman Xavier Duursma.
The Bombers are happy to do the deal early on Wednesday if it is a straight swap.
If Zerk-Thatcher is walked to the draft, there remains the possibility Essendon would pick him first as the Bombers have an earlier selection in the pre-season draft.
Port Adelaide want an extra pick in the Duursma – Zerk-Thatcher deal because Duursma is contracted.
“He’s desperately wanting to come back to Adelaide and he’s made it clear to Essendon that he doesn’t want to go back there,” Davies said.
“If we can’t find a deal in the next period of time, then the drafts – the pre-season draft or the national draft – become the live option. We’re not going to take our priority away from having those players at our club. So we’re going to have to look at every option that we’ve got at our disposal and walking them through the draft is one of those.”
Essendon remains confident it can do a swap without draft picks before Wednesday’s deadline but Davies said Duursma being under contract skews the worth of the pair.
“The big difference in those two players is that Zerk-Thatcher is out of contract and Xavier is not,” he said.
“So, we don’t have to fall into doing anything that we don’t think is fair.
“I understand that for everyone who just wants deals done, you will look and say that players just swapping clubs is the easiest way for it to happen. I think that may end up being the case, but it’s certainly not going to be the case in the next day.”
Essendon on Tuesday night welcomed pick 35 and a future fourth-round pick from Carlton for pick 52 and a future third-rounder in a four-club swap.
But Soldo is also contracted at Richmond, and the Tigers have told the back-up big man they do not want to lose him.
Complicating matters for Port is its lack of draft picks after bringing in Jason Horne-Francis and Willie Rioli last year, and trading out its future first-round pick last week for two second-round picks.
It has left Port Adelaide with 25, 41, 49 and 76 as well as an extra future second-round pick as part of the swap with Fremantle.
Port need at least one ruckman to help bolster the ruck division, following Scott Lycett’s battle with a knee injury this season.
The Cats have said that Ratugolea should come with a “premium” price tag given the “market forces” at play this year.
Davies said on Tuesday that the club was still “hopeful” of agreeing to terms with Geelong, but was looking at back-up plans should negotiations break down.
“There is potential for another club to take any player that ends up in either the national or pre-season draft,” Davies said.
“I’m still really hopeful that we’re able to strike a deal with Geelong … because what has become clear through the trade period is that Esava wants to leave Geelong and he wants to play for Port Adelaide. So that’s something that we’ve got to work through.”
Ratugolea, who turned 25 in July, has played 75 AFL games across seven seasons for Geelong, including 16 matches this year.
The 197cm backman ranked above average in the competition for both intercept marks and spoils this season, but only rated average for one-on-one contests.
Davies will travel to Melbourne on Wednesday to assist list manager Jason Cripps with the testing negotiations, but insisted there was no bad blood between the clubs.
“My relationship with the guys at Geelong is fine, but ultimately it’s not necessarily about relationships,” Davies said on Trade Radio.
“It’s about being able to strike a deal at the end of the day, whether you like each other or not.”
“The trade period goes for a week and a half and it doesn’t really matter when you get the deals done as long as you do get them done.”
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