Source : the age
The 18 clubs have held their best and fairest counts for the year.
Check out how they finished at your club. Any surprises?
Out-of-contract forward Zane Duursma won’t consider returning to North Melbourne despite Kangaroos list boss Brady Rawlings holding out hope they could talk him into staying.
Duursma, the No.4 pick in the 2023 draft, wants to join the Demons, and his decision is based on wanting a fresh start rather than a cash grab, given Melbourne’s two-year contract offer is believed to be more modest than if he remained at Arden Street.
The Demons have presented North with three different options – pick 47 in this year’s draft, or a future second-round selection in 2027 or 2028, according to a source familiar with negotiations.
None of those picks are expected to be enough to tempt the Roos to trade Duursma, but there is more than a week left before the trade deadline for Melbourne to improve on their offer.
Carlton’s father-son prospect Cody Walker is one of “five or six” players Richmond are looking at with their prized No.2 pick in this year’s draft.
Walker committed this year to the Blues but had been eligible to go to Richmond as a Next Generation Academy selection.
The son of Carlton great Andrew Walker, Cody Walker has been widely touted as a top-two selection behind Port Adelaide NGA star Doug Cochrane through his years in the AFL’s pathway system.
“We actually need to go away and work out our ratings,” Richmond’s national recruiting manager Rhy Gieschen told AFL Trade Radio. “He is a player we have watched closely. It is something we’d consider and rightly so.
Geelong’s Gryan Miers is one of the more intriguing names to pop up during this year’s trade period.
Miers completed a medical with West Coast before travelling to Rome for holidays.
With his precise kicking and ability to set up goals for his teammates, the half-forward has been a key player for the Cats, but his name keeps popping up.
Miers missed several games this season due to a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament, but recovered in time to play in the finals.
This is one for the North Melbourne fans among us.
AFLW Footy chief Laura Kane will be advocating for more double-headers next year and said international matches are “here to stay”, confirming there have been talks to potentially take a game to Ireland.
Kane and footy players gathered at the Victorian Pride Centre in St Kilda on Tuesday morning to celebrate the launch of AFLW Pride Round, which takes place over the next fortnight.
Kane said the league will push for more double-headers, which have increased AFLW crowd attendance.
“We’re up, 35 per cent in attendance year-on-year, which is an enormous number. It’s 50,000 more people that have come to W, and it’s because of those double headers,” she said.
North Melbourne have formally announced Jaymie Graham as their next senior coach.
Graham comes into the top job with an extensive CV, most recently as the forwards coach for this year’s grand finalist and minor premier Fremantle and before that as an assistant under Adam Simpson in West Coast’s 2018 premiership.
“He is widely respected across the industry as a developer of talent and a connector of people – someone who builds strong player relationships instantly and earns respect through his actions,” North president Sonja Hood wrote in a letter to members.
“Our selection panel – chaired by Jennifer Watt and comprising Todd Viney, Andrew Swallow, Nick Dowling, Darren Crocker, and Steele Sidebottom – felt the alignment of Jaymie’s personal values with those of our club, along with all of his extensive football credentials and clear capabilities, made him the very best person to take our club forward.”
Unlike for most first-time coaches, the expectations are high for Graham to get instant results at Arden Street.
After six seasons in the bottom two, North belatedly climbed up the ladder this year – albeit to only 14th – but nothing short of at least a wildcard berth will appease the Kangaroos faithful in 2027.
Further to the last post about Rowan Marshall, the St Kilda ruck finished 10th in the Saints’ best and fairest.
As this masthead reported on Sunday, the Saints want Geelong’s first-round draft pick (pick No.14) and a player in exchange for Marshall. They initially asked about small defender Lawson Humphries but have since shelved that inquiry.
From a Geelong perspective, that seems a high price for a ruck who turns 31 next month, though the Saints will argue their demand is fair as he is contracted until the end of next year.
The Cats also have picks 34, 55 and 73 from this year’s draft, and a full suits of selections from 2027 and 2028. Bear in mind, they also need picks to get a deal done for Essendon defender Jordan Ridley, whom the Bombers will ask for decent compensation.
Wantaway ruckman Rowan Marshall boycotted the St Kilda best and fairest award on Monday night as he pushes the club for a trade to Geelong for the second straight year.
Marshall, 30, informed the Saints last week that he would not be attending the Trevor Barker Award function at Crown’s Palladium, saying he didn’t feel valued by the club and didn’t feel it was appropriate to attend while his trade request was in limbo.
Marshall has played 177 games for the Saints over a 10-year stretch. But his boycott of Monday night’s function is a clear sign of the escalating tensions between him and the club since it brought in high-priced recruit Tom De Koning from Carlton last off-season and installed him as the No.1 ruck option.
The Saints are driving a hard bargain with the Cats in negotiations on Marshall, given he remains under contract, and aware of Geelong’s desire for a seasoned ruckman to bolster their premiership aspirations.
This masthead reported on Sunday that St Kilda had sought Geelong’s first-round draft pick (pick No.14) and a player in exchange for Marshall. They initially asked about small defender Lawson Humphries but have since shelved that inquiry.
Have a look at our interactive to see what the order is as of Tuesday morning. You can also filter to search for each club’s picks.
