Trade wrap: Free agent chooses Dons over Port and Suns

The 2025 AFL trade period is here and there is plenty to talk about.

AFL Trade Radio is up and running and hitting the airwaves every day.

Follow us live throughout the trade period and we will bring you all the breaking news.

5:35 The huge salary Suns will have to pay Petracca

Melbourne are steadfast that they won't pay any of Christian Petracca's contract should he be traded to a rival club, reports SEN's Tom Morris.

Morris revealed the huge sum that Petracca is set to receive over the next four years, which is at least $1.3 million a season.

While the Dees will pay more than half of Clayton Oliver's salary should he be traded, they won't be doing the same for Petracca.

15:02 Free agent chooses Dons over Port and Suns

Brayden Fiorini has chosen to join Essendon as an unrestricted free agent.

Fiorini’s manager Liam Pickering from Bravo Sports Management confirmed the news on AFL Trade Radio, with the Gold Coast wingman choosing the Dons over offers from Port Adelaide and the Suns.

Pickering explained why the 28-year-old chose the Bombers, with a pull home to the Northern suburbs of Melbourne a big factor.

“He’s going to play for the Bombers,” Pickering confirmed.

“I caught up with him this morning, we've told the Bombers, we've told the Suns and I've let Port know.

“So yep, he’s going to play for Essendon if they can get a trade done, which hopefully they’ll be able to do.

“It was a pretty compelling offer to him to stay, but it was down to Essendon and Port.

“I think the lack of family support in Adelaide, I mean he liked the meeting with Port, but Essendon’s a good fit.

“He’s a northern suburbs boy, he gets back to Melbourne, there’s a specific role for him to play, which is on the wing.

“They've been chasing him hard, as had Port, but like Essendon have been really keen to get him.”

Fiorini has signed a four-year deal with the Bombers.

Justin Leppitsch outlines Collingwood's trade plans

Collingwood list manager Justin Leppitsch joined Trade Radio to speak on the Pies' plans over the 2025 trade period.

Does the club have interest in Clayton Oliver?

“We’re just going through our due diligence on that one. Obviously, it came in late last week, bordering on the weekend. We got the call from his management, and thought we’d definitely do the work. It’s a position of need for us, so on face value it’s a good thing to look into. We’ll probably know in the next couple of days whether we are going to progress with that."

Have you spoken to him yet?

"No, we haven’t spoken to him. He’s obviously up in Sydney at the moment too. We’ll get through the first parts and if we want to get to a meeting I might have to get on a plane."

What does a trade look like?

“We haven’t gone down that pathway yet. We had a brief chat with Melbourne about what a deal could look like, it’s somewhat similar to what was reported. We just want to get through the first parts. Is he good for Collingwood and vice versa.”

How early do you want to get the deal done with the Swans for Jack Buller?

"In about 15 minutes if I could. All the players sit there nervously and just want to get their deals doen. We’ve all got lots of things to do. Hopefully early, but you never know."

Is a trade likely for Brody Mihocek?

“It is a possibility. (Charlie) Spargo (leaving) gives them a really good pick. We’ll decide whether we want to go down that path or not.”

Have you identified Buller as the Mihocek replacement?

"I wouldn’t put that much pressure on him. Brody is such a wonderful player. What he does really well, he competes hard in the air and at ground level and pressures. He plays like a Collingwood player.”

Are you in the race for Bailey Humphrey?

“Is there a race? We haven’t met with him. We met with him last year but not this year. He’s a Gold Coast player, they’re adamant that they are not going to trade him. We will respect the wishes of the club that’s got the player. If that changes, great, but if not, it is what it is.”

Is it a no for Steven May?

"Yes it is (a no), unfortunately. We went through the work and got to the end point of that one. We unfortunately said to Steven, he’s a good fella and I wish him well.”

Bobby Hill – where does it sit?

"We just signed him for five years, so obviously we love him., nothing’s changed from our end or Bobby’s end. It’s unfortunate that the things he went through off the field affected his on-field - we think we got a handle on it now.”

Is it a wait-and-see on Mason Cox’s contract?

“Yeah, it is unfortunately.”

The club has not nominated father-son prospect Tom McGuane, where does that sit?

“We couldn’t commit to him in the draft. There is obviously still potential for rookie or another club. He tested so well at the combine, so credit to him - he put his head down and has worked hard. That’s where it sits right now.”

2:07pm - Suns list boss' update on several potential deals

Gold Coast list boss Craig Cameron has commented on several players that are being spoken about in trade circles when it comes to the Suns.

Arguably the biggest name this AFL Trade Period is that of Christian Petracca who has named the Suns as his club of choice as he attempts to get out of his Melbourne contract.

Petracca also spoke to Adelaide but sided with the Suns after meeting with senior coach Damien Hardwick and high performance manager Alex Rigby.

“We’ve had only preliminary discussions with Melbourne. We spoke to (list boss) Tim Lamb, obviously those will happen more over the next couple of days,” Cameron said on AFL Trade Radio.

“At the moment they’ve only been opening chats.”

AFL Media’s Cal Twomey asked: How did the Suns win Petracca over?

“I think coming to a club that he views as on the rise. Damien was very clear on the role that he could play within our team. I think that made a massive difference. Understanding he fits into the midfield and can play forward,” Cameron added.

“And also the role that Alex Rigby, our high performance manager, played in talking to him about what the back half of his career could look like, I think that played a big role.”

The machinations of a potential Petracca trade were then discussed.

Do the Suns accept Pick 7 from St Kilda for Sam Flanders? And does that pick become part of Petracca dealings?

“We’ll work through with St Kilda over the next couple of days. We’re getting to a position we’re comfortable with. There’s a few things for us to iron out,” said Cameron.

“I’m not really going to do the Christian negotiation publicly. I think the right thing to do is talk to Melbourne about that.”

The Suns have also met with troubled Western Bulldogs forward Jamarra Ugle-Hagan.

Cameron says more talks will take place as the Suns ascertain whether or not to pursue the former no.1 draft pick.

“We’re moving forward in terms of further conversations with him,” he said.

“He hasn’t done a medical with our footy club as yet. So there’s a number of things we need to investigate.

“In the back end of the week we’re more likely to have a position.”

Why is the club considering Ugle-Hagan after such a tumultuous year off the field?

Cameron says the Suns are “not blind” to the fact that Ugle-Hagan has had his fair share of issues.

“We’re considering it because he’s obviously a phenomenal talent. We think that if he gets back to a point where he can play anywhere near that form that he can play a role for us in our forward half,” Cameron said.

“He has great forward craft and IQ. We think he can also play with our key position players because we think he can play different a role to that.

“But having said that he’s got to make a commitment to get himself right to play football and we’re not blind to that.”

Another intriguing situation is that contracted Sun Bailey Humphrey was seen in public meeting with Melbourne coach Steven King and assistant Nathan Jones on Friday.

Cameron as asked: Have the Suns spoken to Humphrey?

“Damien has and we’ve made it really clear that we’re not trading him.”

Does the club think Humphrey wants to move?

“That’s a difficult question. The answer is I don’t think so, I think he likes our club, but we all saw things on Friday that made us scratch our head.

“But we’re not trading him regardless.”

Brayden Fiorini - have you heard from him?

"No, I expect that will happen today."

Ben Ainsworth - are you open to letting him move?

"It would have to be a good deal for us. Ben is a valued member of our footy club.

"He is contracted and it's really early stages in all of this. We are not uncomfortable that he has explored, but we're also comfortable with keeping Ben."

1:35pm Dees receive second-round compo for free agent

Charlie Spargo is officially a North Melbourne player after his unrestricted free agency paperwork was approved.

The Dees receive an end of second round compensation pick (currently No.41) in the Draft.

1:30pm - Dockers confident in securing Judd McVee

Fremantle list boss David Walls spoke on Trade Radio about their plans to recruit Judd McVee.

“He’s one we’d like to get done.

“We’ve started chats with Melbourne, but still pretty early. We’ll catch up with them again this afternoon here.”

Where does he fit?

“We know he can defend, … but we also think he’s got a lot of run and creativity to his game as well which we’d like to see him up the ground a little bit further. We think he can really help and compliment our ball movement out of the back half.”

Will picks 12 and 33 be involved?

“We’re going to be open to a lot of different scenarios. Obviously there’s a fair bit to play out.

“But we’ll look to move some picks around and try and find a compromise where both parties are happy.”

Discussions around Liam Reidy and Will Brodie?

“We respect both guys. We understand their position.

“We’ll look to facilitate a trade for both those guys. It should be pretty straightforward.”

Is Sean Darcy involved in this trade period?

“Absolutely not. No discussions had and we see Sean and Luke (Jackson) continuing their ruck combination together.”

1:20pm - Tigers outline trade and draft plans

Richmond recruiting and list boss Blair Hartley spoke on the club’s plans this trade and draft period.

“Through our trades last year we’ve been able to find ourselves at the front of the draft this year,” Hartley told AFL Trade Radio.

“That’s probably our priority at the moment to really bury ourselves into the draft.”

On Tylar Young’s likely shift to West Coast

“We’re disappointed to lose Tylar. He’s a fantastic person and a Richmond person. He’s worked so hard to get back from his ACL.

“We’ve had preliminary discussions with West Coast so far and that will work through, we’ve still got a long time to go.”

On missing out on Malcolm Rosas Jnr and the hunt for a small forward

“We feel like we’re pretty strong in the small forward area with Taj Hotton, Seth Campbell, Rhyan Mansell and Maurcie Rioli Jnr.

“We were more just looking for speed. We were disappointed to lose Malcolm but we’re pretty comfortable with what we’ve got as well.”

On this year’s daft pool

“It’s heavily compromised. We find ourselves in the position with Picks 2 and 3, to be able to get in before some of those Academy picks and get ourselves a good look at the draft.”

On father-son prospect Louis Kellaway

“Louis is a great young man. We’re lucky to have him aligned to us. We’ve just got to work through what’s next with Louis.

“A lot of pressure can go on the young man. We’ve been in discussions with the family and Louis himself and his manager Ben Williams. We’ll continue to do so over the next little bit.”

12:58pm - How will the Eagles land Brandon Starcevich?

Two-time premiership Lion Brandon Starcevich has nominated the Eagles as his next club, however West Coast will have to complete a trade with Brisbane to acquire the WA-born talent.

Speaking with Trade Radoi, Eagles' list boss Matt Clarke revealed their plans surrounding a potential deal.

“We’ll have some more dialogue with Brisbane," Clarke said.

"We started that over the weekend, so a little bit more to play out, but we’re really excited that he’s committed to the club, and we will work hard to get that deal done.”

Is Pick 23 on the table for that deal?

“There’s a number of options that we will look at. Potentially around there, and some other things we can do as well. The Lions are probably looking towards what they can bring in to get their other boys in, so if we can help in that way, we will.”

Pick 16?

“We think it’s a really valuable pick. We put a lot of work in last year in getting that in, so at this stage it’s going to stay with us.”

12:53pm - Sydney's position on Charlie Curnow

Sydney's recruiting analyst Chris Keane joined Trade Radio to discuss their stance on Charlie Curnow.

Curnow has expressed interest in joining the Swans, with Keane revealing where conversations stand between he and the Blues.

“Clearly, we’ve got some interest in Charlie joining the footy club, but we are also respectful of the fact that he is contracted for another four years," Keane said.

"We will have those conversations with Carlton at the right time and do that privately.”

What level of chat have you had with the Blues so far?

“It’s been pretty brief, but I suppose we’re pretty early. There’s a bit of water to go under the bridge, and we’ll work through that over the next week and a half.”

How do you get a deal done without disrupting what you’re building yourselves?

“It’s a good question. We’ll put forward what we believe is a suitable offer at the right time. We’ll be having those conversations behind closed doors. Whenever you’re dealing with a trade, you’re trying to look at what your opposition might want, trying to satisfy them as well as us. We will work through that as best as we can.”

How clear do you have to be on where Geelong stand with Curnow as well?

“I can appreciate that, but from our point of view we’re just looking at what we can do and how we can acquire the players. If it comes to that, we’ll just put our best foot forward and see if he’s good enough.”

Have any players put their hands up, willing to be a part of a potential trade?

“No, not at all, as of yet. That’s the complex part of this – all of our players are contracted and happy to be at Sydney.”

12:47 - Where do the Dogs stand on Jamarra Ugle-Hagan?

Michael Regan, the Western Bulldogs' head of player acquisition, has confirmed that while talks have occurred with Gold Coast, Jamarra is yet to officially launch a request to join the Suns.

Jamarra Ugle-Hagan – how quickly do you expect him to be moving on?

“At this point, we haven’t had an official request come through from Jamarra. We will wait for that to come, but at the moment he is a Western Bulldogs player and we will continue to support him.”

Could that be tied into a move for Connor Budarick?

“First off, we’re really excited that Connor has made the choice to join the Western Bulldogs. Until we get the request from Jamarra, we will be working through the Connor situation from Gold Coast, and we’ll take it from there.”

12:39 - Port Adelaide eliminate any chance of a Butters trade

Port Adelaide list manager Jason Cripps has categorically confirmed that the superstar midfielder Zak Butters will not be leaving the club.

With a year remaining on his deal and interest throughout Victoria, Port Adelaide remain adamant that they will not entertain any deals involving Butters, as they look to retain their three-time best and fairest long-term.

“If you know Zak Butters really well, he is a very loyal person," Cripps told Trade Radio.

"He is really happy at the club; he is 100 per cent committed to being at Port Adelaide. Our focus going forward is doing our absolute best to keeping Zak at the club long-term. We want Zak to be at the football club for the next 10 years. There will be no ‘watch this space’ with Zak Butters over the next 10 days, I can assure our members and supporters of that.”

So if a club comes through with the biggest deal, that won’t change?

“That won’t change. Our sole focus and intention at the right time will be to retain Zak long-term at our footy club.”

12:34 - Unrestricted free agent lands at Port

Jacob Wehr is officially a Port Adelaide player after choosing to sign with the club as an unrestricted free agent.

The 27-year-old played 39 games for GWS including 14 this season.

12:33 - Dees list manager on Oliver, Petracca

Melbourne list manager Tim Lamb has opened up on the club's overhaul, speaking on the potential departures of Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca and Judd McVee.

What is the reason behind so much change at the football club?

“We’ve already had a lot of change, it’s really exciting," Lamb told Trade Radio.

"Obviously, we’ve got Steven King, our new coach, Paul Guerra, our new CEO, an incoming president and an exciting young list. We are really looking forward to the future.”

Clayton Oliver – where does it sit?

“We had a really honest chat with Clayton, where King outlined how he saw our midfield moving forward, how we wanted the midfield to operate and where he saw Clayton fitting in with that. Obviously, there’s been a bit of interest in Clayton from rival clubs so we will see how that plays out.”

Are you prepared to financially contribute to the remaining five years of his deal?

“We’re not going to talk about any details of what a deal would look like on any of our players at the moment.”

Will Petracca get to the Suns?

“That’s up to Christian and the Suns. We’ve had a really honest conversation with Christian, where he expressed a desire for a fresh start. We have been really open with Christian that he is a contracted superstar of our club, and the likely outcome is that he comes back to us. If there is a deal that we think is in the best interest of the club, then that is something we will look at.”

Is Pick 7 a good starting point?

“If someone wants to come and get one of our best players, then it’s up to them to come up with a deal that will satisfy us.”

Bailey Humphrey – do you want him at Melbourne?

“We’ve had a long-term interest in Bailey, but Gold Coast have been quite clear that Bailey is a contracted player, and they won’t be moving him, and we respect that. I’m not going to deny that we spoke to him, everyone has seen the photo.”

Judd McVee – where are the talks placed with the Dockers?

“Preliminary at the moment. We’re disappointed with that one; we’ve been trying to re-contract Judd since the middle of last year. We will wait and see. We’ve had a couple of quick chats with Freo about that, and we will work through that over a couple of days.”

Brody Mihocek – what’s the appeal in the premiership Pie?

“The youngest area of our list is our key forwards. We’ve got real talent there, so they really need some experience to help them. Brody is an unbelievable player, he’s a terrific human, he trains hard, the learnings that he’ll give our young key forwards we think will accelerate their development.”

12:25pm - Brisbane gives update ahead of busy trade period

Brisbane Lions list manager Dom Ambrogio joined Trade Radio to discuss Brisbane’s movements ahead of the trade period.

How much awareness did you have that Oscar McInerney was considering retirement as you chased Sam Draper over recent months?

“We had a level of awareness (that McInerney was going to retire). It wasn’t high, we weren’t sure what Oscar was going to do.

“But we knew he was struggling with his back and we knew that we needed to get some support in that area.”

What about Oscar Allen?

“We’ve got a little bit to work through with the West Coast Eagles with regards to how the trade will work, obviously with Brandon (Starcevich) involved and we’ll get through that and figure out our next steps from there.”

Is Brisbane chasing pick 16 for Brandon Starcevich?

“We haven’t completely firmed up exactly what we’re looking for, but we’re looking for the best deal we can get.”

What’s he worth in a trade?

“A lot.”

You’ve had offers for him, how has his decision-making process been?

“He said he was always going to take his time to work through the free agency process and get an understanding of where he sat and where his value sat.

“We’ve had a multitude of different offers in front of Brandon for a long time, I think it was probably this time last year we opened negotiations with him. He’s taken his time and at the end of the day, I think he has decided that geography for him was king and he wanted to be back in Western Australia.”

What’s Callum Ah Chee’s value?

“His value is really high. He’s a two-time premiership player. He’s played six years at our footy club.

“We really do think he is very valuable, so we’ll work through that with the Crows and I’m sure we’ll come to a conclusion that’s mutually beneficial.”

Will Deven Robertson be involved in the Starcevich trade?

“I don’t know what that looks like yet. West Coast have their own considerations there. He clearly wants to go there.

“We’ll figure that out as the week unfolds.”

Where do things sit with Zac Bailey?

“If you want a guarantee, the Brisbane Lions will do everything they can to get Zac Bailey tied up.”

How do you deal with it with such big offers coming his way?

“We’re in uncharted territory with this sort of stuff. There’s clearly been a seismic shift in the way contracts are done, but we think what we’re trying to build at the Lions is a group that want to stay together, obviously everyone has got to take a bit less, we’ve already had players doing that and that attitude needs to continue.

“We’re hopeful we’ll lean on that a little bit, but at the same time we need to look after these guys and compensate them what they’re worth.”

What about Will Ashcroft?

“We’re confident that both of the Ashcroft boys will have long futures at the Brisbane Lions and we’ll get that sorted in due course.”

12:23 North Melbourne ready to lock in Spargo

North Melbourne head of football talent Brady Rawlings joined Trade Radio as the Roos prepare to secure Charlie Spargo.

When does the Charlie Spargo deal get done?

“We’ll do that one this afternoon.

“We’re excited about bringing Charlie in, obviously there’s a bit of family background there, but we’ve been keeping tracks on him for a long time.”

Are you still looking at key defenders?

“We did look at Jai Serong as more of a hybrid defender.

“In terms of our key defenders, we are going to back them in.”

Do you expect Jy Simpkin to stay?

“Definitely. He’s clearly our captain.

“He’s got another four years in his contract. I can’t see why he won’t be at our club.”

Have other clubs asked about him?

“No, nothing at this stage. Hopefully it stays the same.”

How have conversations gone with him?

“We obviously have chats with our players at the end of the year … and Jy is no different.

“There’s no bad blood here at all.”

Will Zane Duursma stay?

“100%. We haven’t had any requests from Zane’s management for a trade. Not expecting to either."

What do you do with your picks?

“We’ve discussed a few options with those picks. At this stage, the price to get up is probably a bit too much.

“We weigh up what we could get at those picks and what we could potentially get if it came up.”

12:20 - Hawks list manager confirms position on Merrett

Hawthorn list manager Mark McKenzie has revealed their position on stars Zach Merrett and Bailey Humphrey.

Has Zach Merrett officially requested a trade to the Hawks?

“No he hasn’t. Externally, there’s been a little bit of talk on Zach’s position. Obviously, there’s been some interest from us, but no trade request.”

Do you want him?

“We’ve got some interest there, definitely. We have shown from our football club that there is the interest to get better, and we will do that through any scenarios, whether that’s trade, free agency or the draft. Always in the market for high quality players.”

Has he reaffirmed to the footy club that he is keen to join you?

“I won’t go into the background discussions at this point in time, but he is an Essendon player. He is contracted, they’ve got their position and he hasn’t requested a trade. That’s where it sits.”

Will you throw any offers at Essendon to see if that changes?

“We’re dealing with hypotheticals a little bit here. Out interest is there, they haven’t been any discussions with Essendon at this point in time and that’s where it sits.”

Have you met with Bailey Humphrey?

“We’re not going to go into details as to whether we have or haven’t, but we are in the market for having a look at those high-quality players, especially those that can rotate through the midfield. We will continue to ask the question and do our due diligence.”

Is he gettable? “Again, Gold Coast have their position – similar to Essendon’s. What we will do is our due diligence when we hear a name come up. He is a contracted player, and obviously they’ve put up that he hasn’t had a trade request, and that’s where it sits.”

12:11 - St Kilda's trade plans

St Kilda's head of talent Graeme Allan joined Trade Radio to reveal their plans for trade period, outlining thier stance on incoming stars, Pick 7 and Rowan Marshall.

What was the plan behind this big trade period?

“We’ve been to the draft over the last four years. We’ve brought in a lot of good young kids. Now, we think it’s time to fill out all the holes we’ve got, and with Nas signing, it gave us the opportunity to go fishing, and have a look at what’s out there. Hopefully now we’ll have a balance list.”

Tom De Koning and Silvagni

“I think Tom is an elite ruckman, particularly with the new rule coming in – he is a jumper. We rate Tom really highly, in the top level of ruckman. Jack, we really rate Jack. His analytic have him right up there as an A+ backman.”

Leek Aleer and Liam Ryan?

“Haven’t spoken with West Coast at all yet. I’ve had a chat to Adrian (GWS). We’ll get it done.”

Is Pick 7 on the table for Sam Flanders?

“Yep, it is. He’s an elite player. Pretty simple.”

Are you open to doing a deal with Geelong on Rowan Marshall?

“We’ll see what happens there. We haven’t spoken with the Cats yet.”

Jack Steele, free to explore his trade options. Why did you come to that decision?

“That’s a good question and it is above my paygrade. That’s a match committee decision.”

Trade value on Jack?

“We don’t know yet, we haven’t spoken to anyone. Jack is a great young fella, known him since he was 18 at the Giants. We will do the best by Jack and by the footy club, whatever happens.”

12:00 - Andrew Mackie speaks on Charlie Curnow

Geelong list boss Andrew Mackie has lifted the lid on the club's stance on both Charlie Curnow and Rowan Marshall

“He’s (Curnow) a star player so whenever they’re available potentially, you have a look at them," Mackie told Trade Radio.

"The next bit is quite challenging, he has 4 years to go on a contract so we have work to do if we want to explore it but were under no illusions that he’s a wanted man at Carlton, we understand the game, but we will see if we can make something happen."

Curnow and Rowan Marshall - can you get both done?

“It’ll be hard work, but we will see how we go with the Rowan one. Once again, he is contracted. As we sit here, it’s going to be hard work to get both done. They’re two quality players, but it will be hard we know how the system works and there is plenty of work to do.

Has the club spoken to Charlie?

There has been a conversation with his management, but there is plenty of work to do.”

Any offers to the Blues?

“Not at that stage. It’s pretty early on, and they have been clear that he is contracted player.”

What’s the value on Rowan Marshall?

“We will have a conversation with them (St Kilda). They have a bit going on and we will follow up and get a read on the situation. He has two years to go, they’re never easy ones, they’re complex. Our intention is to try and bring Rowan in.”

Any interest in Clayton Oliver?

“We managed to get James Worpel in as a free agent which is great for us to get some midfielder depth, so we are excited by that. It means Clayton is something we looked at last year but not this time around. He is an inside ball (Worpel) we think a player like James will compliment inside. We will have the summer to work through his role.”

11:51 - Giants confirm serious interest in Clayton Oliver

GWS head of talent Adrian Caruso has confirmed the club's interest in acquiring Demon Clayton Oliver.

The club met with Oliver last week ahead of the official trade period, and believe the star midfielder will come to a decision in the coming days.

“We’re still working through it," Caruso told Trade Radio.

"There is no doubt given that we were on the front foot, trying to organise a meeting for Friday, that there is a level of interest on our end. Clayton has got a fair bit to work through himself and we’re in the same boat."

Have you got a sense on where he’s looking?

“Not yet. It’s still very fresh for him. It’s happened quickly, and obviously it was great that he was in Sydney because we could piggyback off that. I think it’s early, he’s still working through those options, and it’ll play out over the next few days, I’m sure.”

Is midfield priority number one?

“I think if there was a priority, it would be midfield. We’re still confident in the list that we’ve got, and the young midfield that we’ve got. We feel like we’ve got flexibility on our list that if Clayton doesn’t come in, we have options to roll through there. We feel like the midfield is good enough, but when you have the chance to bring in a quality player, you have to have a look at it.”

11:42 - Carlton's stance on Charlie Curnow

Carlton list boss Chris Davies has once again confirmed that the Blues will not be entertaining a trade for Charlie Curnow.

Speaking with AFL Trade Radio, Davies touched on Curnow, the incoming players and the club's remaining trade plans.

Charlie Curnow is the big talking point – where does it sit?

“We’ve been really clear as a club over the last period of time about Charlie – four years to go on a deal, we really want him to see that through, and that’s what we expect to end this trade period with.”

Have you had any firm offers?

“No, we haven’t, and it’s a really uncomfortable situation for Charlie to be in. The message we want to make sure that he hears is that he’s a really valuable member of our club, and we really want him to see that deal through.”

Have you got to the bottom of why he wants the move?

“The last 12 months has been a big period of time for Charlie. Without knowing the specifics, clearly he has had some body issues that he’s had to deal with, and the season clearly didn’t go the way the club wanted it to. Far better for him to answer those questions.”

Is there any deal that you would accept?

“I don’t think that there’s any value in going through hypotheticals other than to say that the clear aspect here is that we want Charlie to be a Carlton player into the future.”

Draft hand?

“It gives Nick (Austin) some real flexibility. The great thing during a great period is to have as much flexibility as you possibly can. We’ve got some players that want to come to us that will help us from a depth perspective. We certainly believe they will help our team performances as well.”

Buku Khamis, Liam Reidy and Campbell Chesser?

“It’s a great thing that those guys do want to come. It says that the club is a destination for players who want to end up with us. That standpoint is clear that we think that there are deals that can get done. Ultimately, some of those will rely on the other club wanting to do the deal, but we believe that we can end up with those three players at the end of this trade period.”

Elijah Hollands told to explore his options, has there been any interest?

"For right now, that's where Elijah is at. He is exploring those options. Even though the trade period feels like it's gone on for two weeks already, there's still 10 days left. I'm sure there will be discussions about Elijah in the future, and if he doesn't end up at a new club, then we'll have to assess what we think Elijah's future is from there."

11:30am - Essendon remain steadfast on "required player" Merrett

Essendon’s head of recruiting, Matt Rosa, says the club remains steadfast in its position on captain Zach Merrett.

“It’s been an interesting period, obviously a lot has been spoken about with Zach and where that sits,” Rosa said on AFL Trade Radio.

“It was great to see him win his sixth Crichton Medal last week. He’s a champion of our football club. We’ve been really clear that he’s a required player.

“He’s been gathering information. As we know he stated that there’s some frustrations, but we’ve been really clear that we’re keen to work through that and he’s a required player at our football club.”

__Has Merrett officially requested a trade? __

“No, he hasn’t.”

__Would the club be open to any offer? Or is it a blank no to Merrett moving? __

“No. Again, we’ve been really clear on our position. We won’t be entertaining moving Zach.”

Any discussions with Hawthorn? Have the Hawks put forward any offers?

“No, there’s been no contact made with Hawthorn. Nothing will change.

“If contact does come we’re really clear that he’s a required player and he’s a champion at our football club.”

Rosa also commented on Gold Coast’s Brayden Fiorini who has been linked to the Bombers.

“Brayden is a player that we’ve shown interest in,” Rosa said.

“Through this period we’ll be looking to hopefully gain some players that are role-specific. We’re always looking to acquire A-grade talent as well.

“Yeah, Brayden is a player that we have interest in. We think he played a really important role on the wing for the Suns this year. High-end character and leadership as well.”

Does the club have interested in North youngster Zane Duursma?

“There’s no doubt we like his talent, but he’s a contracted player so we don’t expect anything to happen there.”

Is there any interest in St Kilda’s Jack Steele?

“We’ll explore all avenues to see how we can strengthen our list. He’s a player we’ve admired from afar given the way he goes about it.

“Not too much has evolved in that space yet. We’ll get to work over the next 10 days and see how we go.”

11:29am - Hawthorn meets with Humphrey

Sam Edmund is reporting that Hawthorn has met with Gold Coast's Bailey Humphrey.

11:28 - Crows list manager on Christian Petracca

Adelaide list manager Justin Reid has confirmed that the Crows are ruling out any trade for Demon Christian Petracca.

Petracca met with the Demons a week before trade period's official opening, however opted to nominate the Gold Coast Suns as his next home.

Speaking with Trade Radio, Reid confirmed that the Crows are no longer interested in a trade for the superstar.

“We took the phone call there," Reid said.

"A quality player like that, you certainly have some interest. There’s a reality to trade week, and what that might look like. We understand that at the moment, we have Pick 14 that might end up being Pick 16.

"We’re very strong 25 and under, so we’re very keen to add some stability to the list at the moment. We moved on pretty quickly.”

Reid also spoke on Callum Ah Chee, who nominated Adelaide as his club of choice.

“Great to have Cal nominate the club. We still need to work through what that trade looks like. He’s been a great servant for Brisbane, and he will certainly add some flexibility to the list.”

10:33 - Carlton early contenders for contracted Sun

The Blues have emerged as potential suitors for exploring Sun Ben Ainsworth.

Despite having three years left on a contract with Gold Coast, Ainsworth has reportedly shown a keen interest in a move away from the club, with a return to Victoria on the cards within the ongoing Trade Period.

As reported by Sam Edmund, Carlton are keeping a keen eye on the 27-year-old.

"Carlton is among the clubs with some interest in Gold Coast's Ben Ainsworth," Edmund said.

"The Suns goalkicker is on the market, despite having three years remaining on a contract.

"And the Blues have emerged as one of the early contenders for Ainsworth’s signature, eager to add runners and finishers to their list."

10:12am - Suns forward set for Swans trade

Malcolm Rosas Jnr is set to join the Sydney Swans as early as today.

Sam Edmund is reporting that the Gold Coast forward will make the move to the Harbour City in exchange for a later pick in the draft.

"All signs point to the Sydney Swans trade for Malcolm Rosas Jr happening today - day one of the trade period," Edmund wrote.

"It looks like the Swans will send a third-round pick to the Gold Coast, while the two clubs will agree on some back-end pick swaps.

"Rosas had interest from Richmond and Sydney throughout the year before he last week nominated the Swans.

"The 24-year-old had fallen out of favour under Damien Hardwick."

9:45 - The trade request that could get nasty

The writing may have been on the wall at St Kilda regarding Rowan Marshall’s trade request.

The club’s long-serving ruckman asked to leave Moorabbin and join the Cats ahead of the 2025 Trade Period, in what Kane Cornes believes is the most obvious exit of the post-season.

Coming off another strong year for the Saints, Marshall’s desired exit comes as St Kilda continue to overhaul their list and having already signed ruckman Tom De Koning on a monster deal, Marshall’s request comes as a surprise to few.

"That was always going to happen, wasn't it?” Cornes told The Early Trade.

“The most obvious trade request this offseason came from Rowan Marshall. The minute you're going to pay $1.65 (million) for Tom De Koning, (Marshall) was always going to be out the door. I don't think club would be shocked by that.

“What you can get for him at his age (29), Geelong are going to want to do this pretty cheaply I would have thought. This is another one that could get a little nasty.

“St Kilda have spoken a big game about this, about being aggressive but also holding their players to their contracts.

“So, we’ll see how nasty they want to get with all of this - to a club in the past, in Geelong, who have done a pretty good job of getting players out of other clubs for not much.”

8:44 - Collingwood emerge as contenders for ousted Dee

Collingwood have emerged as contenders to land Demons midfielder Clayton Oliver.

The premiership star of 2021 was told by Melbourne late last week to find a new club, as the Demons look to hit reset under new coach Steven King.

Having met with the Giants last week, AFL Media's Cal Twomey has reported that the Magpies are in the market for Oliver, who would take up a crucial role as an inside mid for the Preliminary Finalists.

With the AFL's Trade Period officially open, Oliver will be exploring his options before landing on a club in the coming weeks.