Essendon great Matthew Lloyd has listed his top five shrewd recruits of the 2020 trade period.
Lloyd has revisited last year’s trade period and selected the five steals that have flourished at their new homes.
“I thought I’d look back on last year’s trade period and the five winners in terms of not having to give up much, but they’ve improved their list,” Lloyd told AFL Trade Radio’s The Early Trade.
“I just want to go back and revisit some deals where you go, ‘what a steal that was’ but not giving up much.”
See Lloyd’s top five steals of the 2020 trade periods below:
5. Tom Hickey (Sydney)
“He was brilliant for Sydney this year.
“He was the No.1 ruckman, and they gave away not much at all.
“Sydney got Hickey, pick 34 and 60 and in return West Coast got pick 58, 62, a future second-rounder and a future third.
“They pretty much got him for free.”
4. Nick Hind (Essendon)
“Essendon got Hind and pick 77 and the Saints got pick 67 and 74.
“You’d say he nearly had a better season than Adam Saad. A massive win and shows what you can potentially do in this area.”
3. Adam Treloar (Western Bulldogs)
“Adam Treloar was probably in the best three for his club on Grand Final day.
“They pretty much got him for a future second-rounder.
“The Doggies got Treloar, pick 26, 33 and 42 and the Pies got pick 14 and a future second-rounder.”
2. Aliir Aliir (Port Adelaide)
“He could’ve easily been No.1.
“Aliir Aliir went for a future second-rounder, and he was an All-Australian centre half-back.
“What a great deal that was for Port Adelaide Football Club. An outstanding recruit.”
1. Ben Brown (Melbourne)
“I’ve got Ben Brown at No.1 because he’s a premiership player.
“He played 13 games for Melbourne this year - they were 11 wins, one draw and one loss.
“He made a real difference to them.
“Melbourne got Ben Brown, pick 28 and a future fourth-rounder, North Melbourne got pick 26, 33 and a future fourth-rounder.
“He goes from the bottom team to being a premiership key forward.”