#the Rover Darcy Moore

The AFL Rover: The biggest trade target at each club

Author Photo

As the home and away season nears an end a lot of AFL clubs start looking at trades and free agents.

Our man the Rover takes a look at the biggest name at each club that finds themselves in the sights of another side.

Who could you lose and can you afford to let them to walk?

MORE: Demons in Hell as Jess Hogan's season ends | Andrew Gaff meets up with Andrew Brayshaw

What can your team get in return, and is it maybe not such a bad thing to let a once-favourite son find a new home if what comes the other way is even better?

Slide on to see who's wearing the biggest bullseyes ...

Adelaide Crows

Adelaide Crows

Mitch McGovern

Connected to: Anyone happy to pay a high price, with obvious links to WA teams or straight to Carlton.

The rumour: McGovern is contracted to the end of 2020 and would be considered a key to Adelaide’s future, but he may have more value as a trade to help get top-rated junior Jack Lukosius to the club.

The Crows have a few high picks, but not enough to trade for number one, however, throw in a player of McGovern’s potential - and he’s only 23 years old - and all of a sudden a few more options become available.

Upside of letting him go: Adelaide gets an absolute gun for the next 10 to 15 years.

Downside: McGovern is good, and it will cost high picks as well. What’s better value: two (or three) A-graders or one superstar?

Verdict: Stay. I can’t see the Crows being able to get their hands on the number one pick no matter how hard they try.
Brisbane Lions

Brisbane Lions

Dayne Beams

Connected to: Essendon

The rumour: There’ve been whispers for a while but now they’re being spoken out loud – Beams wants to head back to Victoria.

Last week the Bombers went to the lengths of putting out a press release denying they were pursuing Beams … which means they‘re keen.

Upside of letting him go: The Lions could cash in big time on a guy who’ll be 29 by the beginning of next season, and with a history of injury trouble.

Downside: Stability and making Brisbane an attractive destination is key for the Lions. Beams leaving would do damage to the brand the club is trying to repair.

Verdict: Stay. The Lions’ reputation is more important than its playing list at the moment.
​Carlton Blues

​Carlton Blues

Harry McKay

Connected to: Anyone prepared to pay a first-round pick or quality young midfielder.

The rumour: With Jack Lukosius the logical number one draft selection, the Blues will be well-catered for key forwards for the next decade, so McKay could be used to add another quality midfielder to the ranks.

However, McKay’s upward curve this season is making it more likely the Blues will lock him in for the next 10 years and look at Victorian mid Sam Walsh with the first pick in the draft.

Upside of letting him go: Carlton needs players all over the ground but nowhere more so than in the middle, and trading McKay could get them a gun.

Downside: If the Blues do draft Lukosius and stand him next to Charlie Curnow, then McKay could be left dominating in the VFL while he loses value for a possible future trade.

Verdict: He’ll stay. McKay’s shown enough this year for Carlton to be confident he can be Curnow’s sidekick for a decade.
Colingwood Magpies

Colingwood Magpies

Darcy Moore

Connected to: Sydney

The rumour: The Swans are light on in key positions. Buddy’s 31, Heath Grundy’s 32, Kurt Tippett’s gone, Sam Reid is rarely there and Alex Johnson … too soon.

Darcy Moore can play either end of the ground and has a lot of football ahead of him, so Sydney is keen.

The key to Moore’s move is if the Pies are the first choice of Gold Coast’s Tom Lynch, in which case they’ll have trouble finding the money to keep Darcy, and less opportunity to play him now Mason Cox seems to be entrenched at full forward.

Upside of letting him go: Moore’s missed a lot of football and hasn’t exactly set the world on fire when he’s played. It’s fair to say after four years in the system his reputation exceeds his returns, making it a seller’s market for Collingwood. The Swans’ first-round draft pick wouldn’t be out of the question.

Downside: As injury-prone as Moore is, so are all of Collingwood’s other talls. Letting one go, especially a very capable swingman, leaves them with one less spare to cover the seemingly inevitable losses.

Verdict: Stay. If the Pies don’t get Lynch then they won’t want to let Moore go. Anyway, his old man is a black and white legend – it just wouldn’t be right.
Essendon Bombers

Essendon Bombers

Aaron Francis

Connected to: South Australian teams

The rumour: There’s no secret Francis wanted to go home to SA last year but it didn’t happen. After dealing with a few issues he’s only recently got back in the Bombers senior side and seems to be settling in okay.

Contracted to the end of next year, there’s no doubt that if Francis gets through the rest of this season in good nick there will be questions asked at trade time and it’s likely he’d prefer to be back in Adelaide.

Upside of letting him go: There’s an inevitability to his leaving at some stage over the next few years, so the Bombers would prefer to rip the band aid off quickly. They wouldn’t get the sixth pick they spent on him, but compensation could be worse or non-existent in future years.

Downside: Letting go of a highly rated draftee without seeing the best of them is never a good feeling.

Verdict: He’ll stay this year and leave at the end of 2019.
Fremantle Dockers

Fremantle Dockers

Bradley Hill

Connected to: A move to Victoria

The rumour: Hill, after making a big song and dance just two years ago about wanting to head home to Fremantle and play with brother Stephen, is now said to be seeking a trade back east, hungry for success and a preference for the East Coast lifestyle.

Upside of letting him go: The Dockers could get a very good price for Hill. He’s only 25, has three premiership medallions in the cupboard and showed he earned them by winning Freo’s best and fairest award in his first year in purple.

Downside: Losing a 25-year-old, triple flag winning Doig medallist.

Verdict: Stay. Contracted till the end of next year and too valuable to let go.
Geelong Cats

Geelong Cats

Daniel Menzel

Connected to: St Kilda

The rumour: The Saints are connected to a lot of names and Menzel is just the latest.

Details of any offer haven’t been leaked, but I’d imagine length of contract is more important than annual salary for Menzel who’s been on one-year contracts at Geelong since Adam was a boy.

Obviously he’ll be available. Somewhere around $1 million over three years would be about right.

Upside of letting him go: There’s no great upside for the Cats beyond getting rid of an injury-prone and defensively unaccountable footballer.

Downside: Menzel can be a match-winner on his day.

Verdict: He’ll go, although maybe not to the Saints.
Gold Coast Suns

Gold Coast Suns

Steven May

Connected to: Collingwood

The rumour: There’s no point putting Tom Lynch in here as he’s done and already has the number 19 locker at Punt Road, so let’s look at May.

Word is Collingwood is after him, as the Pies need to get more key defensive options on the list, or at least key defenders that get on the field every now and then.

With all the talk centred on Lynch it’s almost as if people think May could sneak out the back door when no one’s looking.

Upside of letting him go: May’s contracted till the end of 2019 so Collingwood would need to divvy up some shiny coin to get the deal done.

Downside: The Suns don’t need draft picks, they need loyalty, and losing their two co-captains in one year – as everything else falls apart around them – would be disastrous.

Verdict: He’ll stay. If Gold Coast let him go they may as well move to Tasmania now.
Greater Western Sydney

Greater Western Sydney

Dylan Shiel

Connected to: Carlton

The rumour: The Blues, along with Hawthorn and Essendon, are getting in early before Shiel becomes a free agent next year.

Carlton are said to be prepared to use the number one pick in a trade for Shiel, but would want the Giants’ first-rounder in return.

A five-year deal would be on the table and, while no dollars have been attached to the rumours, we’d have to be looking at somewhere at least around $800,000 a year.

Upside of letting him go: GWS is pressed for salary cap space and something’s gotta give. Trading Shiel before he becomes a free agent gives them a shot at that No.1 selection – better than an AFL compensation pick late in the first round.

Downside: Midfielders the class of Shiel are hard to find … but a lot easier with that first pick in the draft.

Verdict: Very good chance he’ll go, but the Blues may have other plans and I’m not sure the Hawks or Bombers could make a deal worthwhile.
Hawthorn Hawks

Hawthorn Hawks

Cyril Rioli

Connected to: Melbourne (and three other unnamed clubs)

The rumour: Rioli can live the life of a semi-retired legend in the Northern Territory, keeping himself fit enough to come out twice through the season to play for the Demons in their Top End forays and in finals, should the Demons’ September hoodoo somehow be broken.

Upside of letting him go: Cyril is theoretically contracted till the end of 2020 so the Hawks could demand a trade and get something, although not likely to be much, when they expected nothing. Much like they did with Luke Hodge, securing late picks that finished up getting James Worpel – not a bad result.

Downside: There’s no downside for Hawthorn, apart from their fans having to watch a favourite son run around in another jumper.

Verdict: Maybe, just maybe … Rioli’s manager Adam Ramanauskas was adamant Cyril is done, but this is an offer too good to refuse for a bloke that just loves playing footy.
Melbourne Demons

Melbourne Demons

Jesse Hogan

Connected to: West Australian teams

The rumour: One of the AFL’s longest-standing whispers is Hogan wants to go home.

He’s contracted till the end of next year, but the latest take is: he’s done for 2018, Melbourne can’t rely on his availability for all sorts of reasons, Tom McDonald’s emergence as a forward makes Hogan more expendable and Andrew Gaff is looking for a finals-ready Victorian home.

Interesting.

Upside of letting him go: Bringing in a reliable gun for an unreliable gun.

Downside: He may be unreliable, but when Hogan’s on he’s worth a darn sight more than a good midfielder.

Verdict: He’ll stay. There’s plenty of big names hitting the market next year so if Jesse does want to head home  when his contract ends the Demons won’t be out of pocket.
North Melbourne Kangaroos

North Melbourne Kangaroos

Brayden Preuss

Connected to: On the market

The rumour: There’s not much interest in outgoing traffic at North Melbourne – it’s all the other way – but last year’s ‘ruck sensation’ is this year’s chip wrapper and talked about as tradable if it helps bring a star to Arden Street.

Upside of letting him go: The Kangaroos have been angling for a big fish for the past couple of years but haven’t been able to land one. Maybe the bait’s been wrong and it’ll take the rarest of AFL commodities – a ruckman that can actually play the game – to get the job done.

Downside: He may not be getting a game, but Preuss is good back up for the day Todd Goldstein goes down.

Verdict: He’ll stay. He’s worth more to the Roos’ long-term plans than they would get in a trade.
Port Adelaide Power

Port Adelaide Power

Jared Polec

Connected to: North Melbourne

The rumour: Polec has a five-year, $3.5 million deal in front of him from the Roos.

Port Adelaide has admitted that if those numbers are right, there is little they can do to match them. To be honest, Ken Hinkley sounded like he had no interest in trying to keep Polec at Alberton.

Upside of letting him go: Polec’s not a free agent and other club’s are reportedly interested, so Port can push for a good trade. North’s first round draft pick, somewhere around 10, would see the Power win on the deal.

Downside: Polec has become an important part of Port’s game plan, but results suggest being forced to change that game plan may not be a bad thing.

Verdict: He’ll go. The money’s too good to refuse and well above anything else he’ll be offered.
Richmond Tigers

Richmond Tigers

Shai Bolton

Connected to: West Australian teams

The rumour: Bolton’s frustrated at not being able to crack the Tigers’ senior side despite doing pretty much everything right, and he knows he’ll get a game at other clubs.

The WA clubs are interested, if not making him a priority, and they now a guy with a massive X factor will come cheaply.

Upside of letting him go: Richmond has too many similar types ahead of Bolton so can use him to trade for a type of player they feel they need, or get an extra pick, probably in the second round, at this year’s draft. Alternatively they could upgrade their first rounder to somewhere near the top 10.

Downside: Bolton does have some impressive abilities and it would almost be guaranteed that the deal will always look like a big win for whoever gets him.

Verdict: He’ll go, but maybe not west. The Tigers’ other small forwards are good, young and happy where they are.
St Kilda Saints

St Kilda Saints

Paddy McCartin

Connected to: Sydney

The rumour: The injury-plagued forward goes to the Swans to join younger brother Sam and provide a much-needed genuine second tall forward, all while greasing the wheels on the Saints’ bid to get Dan Hanneberry down to Moorabbin.

Upside of letting him go: The former number one pick’s career is at a point where it may never turn into anything productive, so to guarantee the arrival of Hannebery would at least see St Kilda get something for the investment they made at the 2014 draft.

Downside: Waving goodbye to such a highly touted prospect after four years and just 35 matches is always going to hurt.

Verdict: It’s a long shot so a betting man would say it won’t happen.
Sydney Swans

Sydney Swans

Dan Hannebery

Connected to: St Kilda

The rumour: The Saints have put a five-year deal on the table for the 27-year-old in an effort to get an immediate injection of class into their midfield.

St Kilda admits talking to Hannebery’s management and are continuing to work towards the deal being done.

Upside of letting him go: 2018 has been a disappointing one for Hannebery and 2017 wasn’t much better, so while the Swans know he can still be an important player on his day, he’s probably past his best. Still contracted for three more years at Sydney at around $700,000 per season, getting rid of him will free up a lot of salary cap space.

Downside: The Swans midfield is ageing, with Jarrad McVeigh, Josh Kennedy and Kieren Jack all in their 30s and no rush of youngsters coming through to take the reins.

Verdict: He’ll go. The Swans will find a way of turning the trade to their advantage and get a gun from somewhere with the dollars they save.
West Coast Eagles

West Coast Eagles

Andrew Gaff

Connected to: St Kilda amongst others

The rumour: The Saints have not only had Gaff in their sights for years, but are also rumoured to have been chatting to him about a move for a couple of seasons now, just waiting for him to come out of contract.

There’s plenty of interest around Victoria though, with Melbourne keeping in the equation and, of course, North Melbourne is never far away from an uncontracted big name.

Upside of letting him go: The Eagles may have trouble matching any offers for the free agent so may just be stuck with AFL compensation. That’ll be a guaranteed first round selection though.

Downside: Due to West Coast’s surprisingly good season, a first-round compensation pick won’t be till around 14 at best, which isn’t exactly commensurate with the loss.

Verdict: He’ll go. The only thing that could get Gaff to re-sign at the Eagles is if he felt he owed them something … ooh, hang on.
Western Bulldogs

Western Bulldogs

Mitch Wallis

Connected to: Essendon

The rumour: Wallis, possibly packaged up with best mate Tom Liberatore, is too much trouble off the field for the Bulldogs to handle, and Essendon wants inside grunt, so it’s a match made in heaven.

The Bombers don’t have a lot to trade though, with their first round draft pick, a late second rounder and nothing in the third, while player-wise there’s not a lot to spare.

Upside of letting him go: If some of the things we hear are true then getting Wallis out of the Whitten Oval would see the playing group focus a bit better on playing football, but then that was the theory with moving on Jake Stringer.

Downside: The last few rounds have seen Wallis return to a good level of output and providing strong support to top liners Marcus Bontempelli, Jack Macrae and Lachie Hunter. Strong clubs rely on a quality second tier of talent.

Verdict: He’ll stay. Like Darcy Moore at Collingwood, the Wallis name is just too entrenched out west. But ‘Liberatore’ could be another thing.
LATEST VIDEOS