AFL
2 months ago
“Better than Melbourne”: Clarry’s potshot at the Demons
By SEN
Presented by
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.
6:34 Oliver’s cheeky swipe at Melbourne
Clayton Oliver has taken a cheeky swipe at Melbourne after touring GWS’ facilities on Tuesday.
The midfielder was told last week to assess his options by the Demons, with Melbourne that keen to get him off their books that they’ve told rival clubs they’re willing to pay near half of the $7 million they owe him over the next five years.
Having already done a medical with GWS and with a Collingwood meeting ahead, Oliver was typically cheeky when quizzed by a Seven News reporter in Western Sydney today.
Reporter: “Are the Giants a good fit, do you think? Do you like the facilities?”
Oliver: “I love the facilities (at GWS).”
Reporter: “You’re also meeting the Pies some time up here, what do you like about them?”
Oliver: “What do I like about them? I like them better than Melbourne, that’s for sure.”
Reporter: “How frustrating was it to be told to look elsewhere by the Demons.”
Oliver: “Frustrating? No, it’s the business, isn’t it?"
Oliver is set to meet with the Magpies in the coming days, Collingwood list boss Justin Leppitsch confirmed on AFL Trade Radio.
5:02 Lions and Eagles agree to Starcevich trade after Freo help
The Brandon Starcevich trade from Brisbane to West Coast has been agreed, subject to AFL approval, reports SEN's Sam Edmund.
It involves a third club and a range of pick swaps revolving around Brisbane getting pick 16 and West Coast getting Starcevich.
Cal Twomey added that Fremantle is the third club, who have stepped in to unlock the deal with draft picks involved.
3:44 - Adelaide set to target Bulldogs' youngster
The Adelaide Crows are continuing their search for midfield stocks, with reports stating that the club have asked the question of Bulldogs youngster Ryley Sanders.
The 20-yer-old midfielder, taken with Pick 6 in the 2023 National Draft, featured 21 times for the Bulldogs this season, managing to find a role despite the Dogs' stacked midfield.
According to AFL Trade Radio's Cal Twomey, the Crows have asked the question of the youngster, with hopes of adding depth to their engine room ahead of 2026.
2:42 - Trade approved as Sun secures move to Sydney
Malcolm Rosas Jnr is officially a Swan, with Sydney and the Suns agreeing on a deal that sends the Sun south in exchange for favourable picks.
Within the deal, the Suns will receive Picks 51 and 69, while Rosas Jnr, alongside Pick 62, head to Sydney in what shapes as the second official trade of the 2025 Trade Period.
1:03pm - Essendon to facilitate trade up the draft
Essendon's list manager Matt Rosa joined Trade Radio, talking all things Zach Merrett, Brayden Fiorini and their upcoming draft plans.
Zach Merrett – nothing’s changed?
“Nothing has changed in that space. We’ve been really clear on how important Zach is to us. He had another super season this year, capping it off with his sixth Crichton Medal. He’s super valuable to our football club, so nothing has changed there.
“We are aware that Zach is in a hurry. He is the ultimate competitor, he wants to win, and he wants to win now. Zach has been very clear; his management have been very clear that he believes in the direction that the club is on. He really believes in the young talent that we’ve got coming through, but as we know, he is the ultimate competitor. We will continue discussions with Zach. The relationship is really good, and Brad (Scott) and ‘Welshy’ (Andrew Welsh, club president) primarily are continuing those conversations.”
On Brayden Fiorini
“It’s great that Brayden has nominated Essendon as his preferred destination. When we looked at Brayden, we saw a clear role for him on the wing. It was a specific target that we were after, but it’s the total package with Brayden.
“He has great leadership qualities, high end character and great footy IQ. It’s exciting that he’s nominated us, and now we’ll work with Gold Coast to facilitate a fair trade.
“It will need to be a trade, so we will hopefully catch up with Gold Coast over the next couple of days and work through that one. Hopefully it’s pretty straightforward and we can settle that one quickly.”
Are you comfortable with your ruck stocks?
“We are comfortable. We thought Nick (Bryan) started the year really well. We’re bullish he’ll be back in the early stages of next season.
“We brought Lachie Blakiston in through the mid-season draft – unfortunately with our injuries, Lachie had to go and play as a key back which… it was great to see how quickly he adapted to that role but he had never played key back in his life.
“If you saw his last quarter against the Gold Coast Suns in the last game, he played in the ruck and showed his athleticism, and that’s his natural position. As a 27-year-old, he was the best state league ruckman getting around, and we think he’s got capabilities also.
“Vigo (Visentini), who we got a glimpse of this year… another big summer into Vigo and we think he will jump again. We’re quite comfortable with where we sit, knowing we’ve also got Peter Wright there as back-up if needed.”
You’ve now got Picks 4, 5, 20, 26 and 29 – how aggressive can you be with those draft picks?
“We are really excited about the hand that we have, because it provides us with flexibility to get to work. We’ll continue working on if we can get up the draft order, options of moving to next year as well.
“We are certainly really comfortable with the players that will be there at the pointy end of the draft. In ranking order of priority, the number one priority will be to try to get up in this draft if we can. We will explore all options.”
Will you try for Pick 1?
“We’ve let West Coast and Richmond know that we would be keen to explore moving up. Those discussions haven’t progressed too far, so we will continue working through that. If we feel there can be a win-win, and that does result in us moving up, then we will look at that.”
Does Zane Duursma remain an option?
“It looks unlikely. We do like his talent, but we understand that they’ve invested a lot in him and he is under contract. We don’t expect anything to happen there, but naturally with the connection to our football club with Xavier, there’s been a bit of noise around that. We expect him to stay at North Melbourne.”
11:55 - Sam Flanders to become a Saint
Wantaway Sun Sam Flanders is set to join St Kilda, with the two sides agreeing on a deal that could be formatted as early as today.
As reported by Trade Radio’s Cal Twomey, the Gold Coast Suns have accepted an offer from St Kilda that will see Pick 7 heading north, with Flanders set to join the influx of fresh faces at Moorabbin in the coming days.
11:40am - Lions and Crows apart in valuation of Ah Chee
The Brisbane Lions and Adelaide Crows are somewhat apart in their valuation of Callum Ah Chee.
AFL Media’s Cal Twomey says a deal for the back-to-back Lions premiership player might not get done until very late in the piece.
“Yesterday I spoke to both Justin Reid (Crows) and Dom Ambrogio (Lions) and asking the value of Cal Ah Chee was met with different answers,” Twomey said on SEN Breakfast.
“Adelaide immediately said their first pick (15) is off the table as part of this deal. Brisbane sort of laughed at that and said they’d clearly be wanting to be around that range.
“At the moment Adelaide’s picks don’t really match up. They’ve got 15 and 47. For me he’s somewhere in the 20s.
“He’s 28, he’s not a free agent, he’s going to Adelaide on a five-year deal. A two-time premiership player.
“He was a Crows fan growing up and a big fan of Andrew McLeod. I think he’d be good for them, he’s been very good for the Lions over the past couple of years.
“I reckon that deal, given he’s out of contract, there’s that element to it, and I reckon that will be one of the last deals to get done.”
11:10am - Carlton and Freo complete first trade
The first trade of the 2025 AFL Trade Period is complete.
AFL Media's Riley Beveridge is reporting that Liam Reidy has joined Carlton from Fremantle with multiple draft picks changing hands.
9:55 - Adelaide withdraw interest in Clayton Oliver
Adelaide are officially out of the Clayton Oliver race.
As reported by Tom Morris, the Crows were initially interested in acquiring the ousted Demon, looking to bolster their midfield to back up their minor premiership.
However, having done their due diligence in exploring the deal, Morris has reported that the club has revoked any interest.
GWS and Collingwood lead the charge in the Oliver sweepstakes.
8:30am - Swans list boss on Curnow pursuit
Sydney list boss Chris Keane has commented on the club’s interest in Carlton’s Charlie Curnow.
The Swans are looking to get a deal done over the course of the next week but Keane is acutely aware that the Blues won’t be giving the dual Coleman Medallist up cheaply.
“We do have an interest in bringing Charlie to the footy club,” Keane said on AFL Trade Radio.
“We acknowledged that he’s contracted and there’s some complexities that lie within so we’ve got a bit to work though and we’ll use the next week or so to do that.”
Why do the Swans hold appeal to Curnow?
“You might need to ask Charlie that to get a bit more insight into it.
“From my perspective I think the location and probably the football club itself is appealing. That’s something that has been communicated through his management and we feel like we’ve got a really strong list that’s up and coming. We feel like we can challenge and contend in finals for the next little while.”
What is the club’s level of confidence in pulling this off?
“Give his contracted status and any combination of options from a trade point of view - a lot of our players are contracted and happy in Sydney.
“So that makes it difficult at times to navigate. At the same time our view is we’ll put forward some options that we think make sense for both parties.
“At the end of the day it’s up to Carlton to determine if it’s good enough.”
How much are you willing to give?
“We need to do what’s best for our footy club. We also understand that we have to provide something that satisfies them as well.
“We understand we’ve got to come to the party but we also need it to be mutually beneficial for both parties for it to go through.”
