He says Hawthorn wasn’t willing to offer four first-rounders to Essendon — but refuses to chat on specifics with regards to the deal. «We’re empathetic to Will Hayward and Ollie Florent (but we walked in knowing we’d have give up a fair bit. «Day one of pre-season might be a little bit awkward), but we’ll move on really quickly because he’s an inspirational player. » «An offer lobbed yesterday so with 36 hours to go (it was quite late), but out of respect for Zach, we did have conversations with Tom and Hawthorn,» he says. I thought a 2nd and a 3rd seemed a fair good faith offer for Ah Chee. It’ll be a little awkward for a bit (as Matt Rosa said), but the Bombers don’t need to fear Merrett downing tools or purposely tanking his value next season.

Initially, Josh Gabelich, a reporter for AFL Media, disclosed on X that ruck Max Heath had been traded by St Kilda to Melbourne, a move later confirmed by AFL House shortly thereafter. According to Foxfooty.com.au, both top ruck Jordan Sweet and unrestricted free agent Darcy Byrne-Jones are anticipated to remain with their current clubs and may be among the first to sign. With no alternative player found to join the Bombers — Henry Hustwaite continues to be part of the proposal.

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But that’s okay, because just like you we care. I just want to give you a bit of an insight into the Thursday afternoon team. Maybe the eagles can use it to lure the likes of Travis Boak out of retirement. I mentioned this a little earlier, but Josh Jenkins has gone into a it a bit more on Trade Radio.

**Jenkins predicts St Kilda will ‘face consequences’ due to Aleer’s change of heart. **

• There has been trade speculation surrounding contracted rucking duo Luke Jackson and Sean Darcy all year, though Jackson had his exit meeting and told the club he isn’t going anywhere.
• Even though O’Brien will remain at West Lakes — Adelaide is still pursuing Bombers free agent Sam Draper, who is also being sought after by Brisbane.
• Meanwhile, Fremantle midfielder Neil Erasmus is mulling over his future at the Eagles, as he has yet to sign their three-year contract offer.
• Logan Morris (a dual premiership Lion), is highly sought after, with at least five clubs interested in acquiring the star goalkicker from Brisbane, as reported by AFL Media’s Cal Twomey.
• Although Richmond will not play a significant role in October, they have been consistently associated with the out-of-favor Gold Coast livewire Malcolm Rosas Jnr.
• Speaking on Wednesday night, Morris said the out-of-contract Saad was “keen to go again” in 2027.

Rowbottom reportedly initially entertained talks with Carlton and Collingwood after his name was mentioned as part of a Curnow deal. While the two clubs haggle over a deal for star forward Charlie Curnow, rebounding defender Ollie Florent has reportedly been traded to the Blues in a separate deal. Tom De Koning assumes the number-one ruck role in a pairing with Rowan Marshall, who figures to play more time forward to straighten up Ross Lyon’s forward line along with the returning Max King. His manager Colin Young (I think), really keen for him to stay. But I just think there’s a Bontempelli factor (there is Luke Beveridge), there’s the proximity to home, which is just a little bit closer to Geelong. They’d be prepared to offer upwards of $1.7 million a season over at least eight years if Butters was keen.

**Trade Talk RECAP: Fremantle leaves, North Melbourne gains height, Demon remains. **

Scroll down to see the latest AFL trade news from day four of the exchange period. Sweet has played 49 games for the Power since arriving during the 2023 off-season, having deposed the now-retired Ivan Soldo as the club’s No. 1 ruck. “When talking about the concussion challenges — that longevity of contract is a really important safety net for players; it’s probably the best one we’ve got where there is absolute contractual certainty in our game,” he said.

That probably comes at the expense of Leek Aleer — who surprisingly remains at the club after his move to St Kilda controversially fell through. A healthy Jack Buckley and Brent Daniels come return to the side, with Buckley straightening up arguably the most stout defence in the competition. While losing out on Curnow hurts, it’s still a stacked forward line and Shannon Neale should only get better and A-League news better. While this is effectively Craig McRae’s optimal line-up — don’t be surprised if there’s more of a sprinkling of youth. Pies fans will be keen to see Bobby Hill back fit and firing in 2026 and expect Beau McCreery to get more midfield exposure. The returns of those soldiers (however), might make it tough for the likes of Bruce Reville, Sam Marshall and Darcy Gardiner to keep their spots in Chris Fagan’s best side, despite being premiership players this year.

Suns list boss Craig Cameron was steadfast that the young gun was going nowhere, despite Humphrey expressing a desire to return to Victoria. The Suns also struck a cheap deal for Western Bulldogs for Jamarra Ugle-Hagan in what’s essentially a free hit for the troubled forward. But that’s more likely to fill a rookie spot and something they’ll address post trade period. Dockers footy boss Joe Brierty said the club would look for a back-up ruckman to play behind Luke Jackson and Sean Darcy after Reidy’s departure. Keep an eye on what Essendon does with its draft hand from here, with the club believed to be keen to move further up in the first round in plans that could extend beyond the trade period. You sense they were keen to preserve their future draft assets to ensure they have their full suite of picks available to have a crack at the likes of Zak Butters and Ben King in 2026.

I know that’s hard to do because players want their futures decided earlier than that. “For Fremantle (if I was them), I would wait until the end of the year to make that sort of offer. Collingwood has emerged as a likely destination, with reports suggesting the Magpies are prepared to offer a three-year deal worth up to $3 million. Tassie have got that big sign-on bonus, so that’s something that we’ll be keeping a close eye on.”

His long-time teammate Jack Silvagni will join forces with him at Moorabbin, as reported by foxfooty.com.au. Star ruck Tom De Koning will sign a lucrative eight-year deal at the Saints, worth around $1.75m a season. A four-year deal is now on the table for him to sign, and it’s now increasingly likely he’ll remain a Saint until the end of 2029. The small forward was linked to a departure last year while still contracted, but now without a deal for 2026, he seems destined for a fresh start elsewhere, with the Tigers one of multiple reported suitors. Richmond won’t be a major player in October, but it’s been consistently linked to out-of-favour Gold Coast livewire Malcolm Rosas Jnr. Another without a deal at St Kilda beyond 2025 is four-game ruck Max Heath, who Melbourne are thought to also be in the running for as longer-term Gawn coverage.

Initially (the Magpies presented a two-year contract to 33-year-old Elliott), but journalist Tom Morris reports that Collingwood has since included additional funds and an option for a third year in their proposal. Jamie Elliott has opted to remain at Collingwood despite receiving a longer-term deal and serious interest from Gold Coast. Reports suggest that the Suns are eager to acquire St Kilda’s pick no.7 in exchange for Flanders — which they would then trade to Melbourne as part of the deal for Christian Petracca. As an unrestricted free agent — the 32-year-old has chosen a three-year offer from Melbourne over the Magpies’ two-year proposal with lower compensation. The unequivocal response received by Butters stated that he must fulfill his contract at Port Adelaide — which is set to expire at the end of 2026. Hailing from Darley (a small town in western Victoria about an hour from the suburbs of Melbourne), Butters is eager to spend more time at home while advancing his football career.

Connor Budarick (a utility for Gold Coast), has also been associated with the Lions, though it remains uncertain who is leading the pursuit for his services. Out of contract, Deven Robertson has also been connected to the Eagles in recent years. “Next year, Adam Saad is eager to play, but he is unlikely to do so with Carlton.”

“Collingwood is definitely in contention for Lachie Neale (and their competitors anticipate that they will ultimately propose a three-year contract. However), this week, it became evident that she would be presented another agreement at the Vixens,” Ralph noted. “There’s a lot of buzz surrounding him, and inquiries are being made at other clubs. Lewis has information indicating that English, who turns 29 in August, is now under live trade observation. This season, setbacks involving his knee and concussions have limited him to nine games for the 8-6 Dogs. On Fox Footy’s On the Couch on Monday night, Lewis expressed surprise if English remains at Whitten Oval in 2027, noting that rival teams are eyeing the star ruckman.” Additionally, Collingwood is making progress towards securing Lachie Neale with an appealing front-loaded offer.

But that seems highly unlikely, so there’s clearly a lot of water to go under the bridge still. On Sunday it emerged another Bomber (Jordan Ridley), is keen to move north due to Queensland links and frustration with how the club has handled his body. And the Lions are no different as their stars consider lucrative offers at rival clubs, with Brandon Starcevich and Callum Ah Chee both weighing up their options. And after missing out on Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera — could the Crows increase their offer to Ah Chee? Draper is from South Australia and would be the perfect long-term ruck for the Crows in a period they’re primed to contend for flags.

Although Adelaide might pursue the 20-year-old this off-season — it would be shocking if the club did not extend another contract to him. Liam Reidy (the club’s only player without a contract for next year), has requested a trade to Carlton, a move likely to happen in the upcoming weeks. Even though he is contracted until the end of 2026, Henry Hustwaite of Hawthorn remains a player that would fit well within the Bombers’ setup… A player similar to Will Setterfield might be worth consideration (and since he is out-of-contract), he would not require significant trade capital.