Geelong is keen to trade for Gold Coast utility Jack Bowes for two key reasons, according to AFL Media’s Cal Twomey.
Reports over recent days have indicated the Suns are willing to trade Bowes and pick 7 to another club willing to take on his back-ended salary, with Bowes owed a significant amount over the next two years.
Geelong is well known as great managers of the salary cap and the Cats are believed to have space to bring on players this off-season.
The 24-year-old endured an injury-interrupted five-game season in 2022, but Twomey says that’s far from an accurate representation of his talent.
“There’s a lot of clubs interested,” Twomey told AFL Trade Radio’s Trade Exchange.
“I think there’s a recency bias that’s maybe a little bit against Jack Bowes because he didn’t play too much footy this year with the shoulder injury and he came back a little bit underdone, but he’s a good player.
“I like what he can do across half back, through the midfield, he’s a top 10 pick for a reason six years ago and a really quality character.
“St Kilda has had interest, Geelong certainly has interest, Hawthorn has interest as well.”
But as Twomey notes, the Cats’ interest likely isn’t solely on Bowes.
Jhye Clark is a 2022 draft hopeful out of the Geelong Falcons and has averaged 25.4 disposals and 4.7 marks per game in the NAB League competition this year and could prop up an ageing midfield.
In Twomey’s August phantom draft guide he rated Clark as the sixth-best player available in the 2022 draft, meaning there’s every chance Geelong could snare him at pick 7.
“Clubs are looking at (the trade) not just in terms of what Jack Bowes can do for us, but what we can do with pick 7 as well, and that’s where I think the Cats are an interesting one,” Twomey continued.
“They haven't had a foot at the front of the draft that early for some time and pick 7 could really nestle them in and see them have a real crack at Jhye Clark.
“Jhye Clark’s a Geelong Falcon, a star on the rise, been compared a lot to the Joel Selwood of this draft class and actually spent some time being mentored by Selwood this season in a leadership capacity.
“He trained with the Cats earlier this year, he’s very, very Geelong and he’d be perfect and he’s right around that part of the draft.
“I think if Geelong are looking at this one and they are, one eye would be on Bowes and the other on Jhye Clark and how they can get both of them.”
Twomey is also confident the Cats can balance the books on the Bowes’ side of the trade.
“Clearly there’s going to have to be a restructure of the contract which is between 1.6 and 1.7 million remaining over those two years, but there can be a restructuring of that,” he added.
The Cats are also strongly favoured to land Tanner Bruhn and Ollie Henry in trades this off-season, meaning they could have an extra four first-round picks on their books after winning the 2022 premiership.