GWS football director Jimmy Bartel refused to shoot down speculation that the club could look to offload Nick Haynes or Lachie Whitfield if a trade for Jacob Hopper with Richmond isn’t reached.
AFL Media’s Cal Twomey reported on Wednesday that the Giants, who are looking for salary cap relief, could look to trade Haynes or Whitfield, with both on hefty long-term contracts.
Whitfield is locked in at the club until the end of 2027, while Haynes signed a lucrative five-year deal in 2019.
“I understand people making those conclusions,” Bartel told Sportsday.
“The Hopper situation, if he goes in free agency (next year) the compensation pick will be pretty good as well and he’s still a very good player for the Giants if he’s playing there.
“There’s moving parts to this of course. Whether what Richmond is offering will satisfy (GWS list manager) Jason McCartney and Adam Kingsley will want to have a say now that he’s rolling the sleeves up as senior coach.
“It’s the hypothetical game we do – if the Hopper deal doesn’t come off, what else could be done?”
Matthew Lloyd wonders if a club out there would take on Haynes, given he could be on close to seven figures next season.
“12 months ago you’d say you’d jump all over Nick Haynes. I don’t think they helped him (this year), they played him at half-forward this year and he just lost his way as the team did,” Lloyd told AFL Trade Radio.
“He’s on significant money, the talk is close to $1 million that may be back ended. I think Lachie Whitfield would be more attractive at this point in time.”
Kane Cornes agreed, adding that Whitfield, like many at GWS, had a poor season.
“Whitfield is the one I’d be interested in. There would be clubs out there – I mean once again his year was ordinary by his standards, but previously he has had seasons where he looks like a top five player in the competition and has running power a lot of teams would love,” Cornes said.
“But of course it is a five-year deal for a player that probably hasn’t lived up to the contract he’s been signed for.”
A Channel 7 trade report suggested Toby Greene was “frustrated” at the Giants, but that there was no possibility of him being traded this year.
Bartel was blunt in his response when asked about the possibility of Greene being moved.
“No.”