Source :- THE AGE NEWS
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT (for Essendon supporters)
Former Essendon captain Zach Merrett has made his first appearance in Hawthorn colours.
The two clubs agreed to a deal on Monday for the star midfielder moved to the Hawks in exchange for picks 15, 25 and 2028 second-round pick.
Richmond have secured ex-Fremantle winger Nathan O’Driscoll in a low-cost move to bolster Adem Yze’s midfield division.
O’Driscoll, who played a career-most 17 matches this season, informed the Dockers in the past week that he would explore his opportunities elsewhere after rejecting a three-year offer.
The Tigers handed over pick 61 for O’Driscoll in the only completed deal on the second day of the trade period on Tuesday.
This masthead has confirmed that O’Driscoll signed a three-year contract.
The Western Bulldogs had also expressed interest in the 24-year-old, who was axed after Fremantle’s shock qualifying final loss in Perth to Hawthorn and never regained his spot
Free agency is under-used in the AFL and has not affected the equality of the competition, according to the players’ union – and could face a major overhaul as part of the league’s next pay deal.
The AFL Players’ Association’s review into free agency, seen by this masthead, concluded that the player movement mechanism had not “materially” impacted competitive balance and was not being used to its potential.
AFLPA chief executive James Gallagher, who officially replaced Paul Marsh in October last year, said free agency should create a more open player movement market and enhance competitive balance.
“Our review suggests free agency is underutilised and hasn’t materially impacted competitive balance either for better or worse,” Gallagher said.
“The gap between the bottom- and top-placed teams in the competition is no different now than what it was before the introduction of free agency.”
Hawthorn have lodged paperwork for sharpshooter Ben King to join the Hawks as a free agent from Gold Coast.
There is no firm guarantee from the Suns that they will not match a bid. With Hawthorn’s Aidan Schubert and his family touring the Suns’ facilities on Tuesday, the hope and expectation is the young forward agrees to seek a trade.
If that happens, the Suns will be predisposed to not matching King’s free agency contract and accepting pick seven as compensation for losing him.
If, however, Schubert decided against a move north, it’s a risk for Hawthorn that the Suns will match the contract offer and force the Hawks into a trade. The Hawks have already traded picks to Essendon for star midfielder Zach Merrett.
The strong likelihood is Schubert, taken with pick 23 in last year’s draft, will agree to a trade.
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New North Melbourne coach Jaymie Graham was told “to just be himself” by club officials before facing the media for the first time in his new role on Tuesday.
Truth be told, a relaxed Graham, 43, was already doing that for the previous 10 minutes, sipping on a coffee and enjoying a relaxed chat with midfield coach Michael Barlow at the back of the common room at Arden Street, as the bright lights awaited.
After the tumult of the Alastair Clarkson sacking last month, amid claims players were confused about the game plan and mixed messaging, the Kangaroos were after a strong but caring people manager, who could deliver a modern game plan understood by a younger generation of player, and their sometimes short attention spans.
In Graham, a former West Coast Eagles player, and a man just pipped at the post for the recent senior coaching roles at Carlton and Essendon, the Kangaroos believe they have the right man – their seventh coach since the start of the 2019 season, including Brad Scott.
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.
