The 2009 AFL Silly Season is now done & dusted. It's been the busiest trade week in well over a decade, with 23 players changing clubs. This has largely come about as a result of the lack of talent available in the 2009 National Draft - which is probably the weakest in a decade. Have to say that I'm pretty chuffed with my predictive skills - I was predicting as far back as March that this would be an epic trade week with an estimated 20 players changing clubs. Turns out I wasn't too far off the mark.
First some general comments, then I'll review the trade activity of each of the clubs.
Most of the trades were of the spud for spud or spud for late pick variety. Most of these players were going to be delisted anyway, if they didn't find homes at a new club. The draft talent runs out at about pick #30-35 (with the genuine talent running out at pick #6), so anything later than this is pretty much worthless. Clubs were more than happy to take a chance on re-cycling dud players with late picks, given that the alternatives available in the draft are even worse. They're all hoping that they can do a St Kilda (Farren Ray, Sean Dempster, Zac Dawson) rather than a Richmond (who have spent 2 years trying to polish the **** that is Jordan McMahon).
That said, there have been a number of quality players who have found new homes - most ended up at their preferred destination. Naturally, these trades generally involved higher draft picks (most involving first rounders).
Port & Hawthorn both managed to make fools of themselves during negotiations for the Burgoyne trade.
Port started the week by asking for pick #9 + Jordan Lewis. They were always going to get pick #9 + ????, but there was never any chance that the ???? would be Lewis - Lewis is 3 years younger and a better player than Burgoyne anyway. The whole idea was laughable and just made the Port team look like idiots (which they mostly are). Trust Port to try and trade a BMW for a Rolls Royce. In the end they got pick #9 + pick #16, but gave up their 2nd, 3rd & 4th round selections - probably a fair result.
Hawthorn made an even bigger mess of things with the whole Campbell Brown controversy. They gave Port the option of pick #9 + Brown, which Port eagerly accepted. However, the Hawks had two problems - firstly, they hadn't asked Brown if he wanted to go to Port (he didn't); secondly, they didn't count on the massive backlash from the fans. Brown bleeds brown & gold. He's one of the most popular players at the club and rightly so - he's Hawthorn's equivalent of Glen Archer. As a result of the backlash from the fans, the Hawthorn president (Jeff Kennett) got on the radio and publicly squashed the trade suggestion. He went on to state that "no premiership player would be traded". His lunacy & lies were revealed for all to see when premiership player Mark Williams was traded the very next day (to Essendon in order to make the Burgoyne trade happen). Once a politician, always a politician - and you know when a pollie is lying, their lips are moving.
The biggest distraction of the week was the Fevola trade. In the end he went to the Lions, who will now have one of the most potent forward lines ever assembled - Brown, Bradshaw & Fevola. Rumour has it that Carlton were given an ultimatum by the AFL - get Fevola out of Melbourne, or face having him deregistered. That's how serious his Brownlow antics were - the media reports have barely scratched the surface of what went on that night.
Adelaide
Did not trade
Picks: 13, 29, 45, 61, 77, 99, 103
Adelaide were the only club who were not involved in any trades at all. They're a happy team at present, with nobody wanting to escape to greener pastures. That - and the fact that our delisting garbage (Gill, Gallman) is so bad that nobody else is interested.
There were only two rumours about Adelaide all week. Jonathon Griffin was apparently put on the table, for the asking price of a 2nd round draft pick. Nobody took them up on the offer - and I can't say I blame them, given his disappointing performances in 2009. In turn, the Crows were reportedly interested in a relative unknown player, who remains anonymous (though BigFooty wisdom named Carlton's rookie Sam Jacobs). This trade collapsed before it ever began, when they mystery player's club got wind of it and increased their offer to ensure the player stayed put.
Expect Adelaide to only take 2 or 3 players in the ND this year - picks 61+ will almost certainly not be used.
Brisbane
IN: Brent Staker, Amon Buchanan, Andrew Raines, Xavier Clarke, Brendan Fevola
OUT: Bradd Dalziell, Lachlan Henderson
Picks: 27, 47, 76, 92, 108
For the most part Brisbane went shopping for bargains at the Reject Shop. They picked up spud after spud after spud during the first 3 days, in the most obvious attempt at draft dodging ever seen. By Thursday afternoon there were jokes being made about Voss & his trading obsession. Then things got serious..
Brisbane were the first (and only) team to express any interest in Fevola. Their first offer was Daniel Bradshaw & Michael Rischitelli, which left most Carlton supporters underwhelmed to say the least. That deal fell through when Rischitelli refused to be traded to the Blues. Eventually though, a new deal was struck, which saw Fevola moving north, Lachlan Henderson moving south and an exchange of draft picks.
Brisbane have sold the farm in an attempt to win the flag in 2010 or 2011. After that, they're in diabolically deep shit. Right now, they have Black & Power in the midfield, with an awesome forward line of Brown, Bradshaw & Fevola. They deserve to be one of the premiership favourites - and they'd be outright favourites if the rest of the midfield were anywhere as good as the lead pair. However, Black, Brown, Bradshaw & Power probably only have 2-3 years left - and The Virus isn't far behind. They just traded away the best of their young KPPs, the player who was supposed to replace Brown and/or Bradshaw. When their veterans retire, there is now no succession plan. Voss has gambled on the short term, at the risk of severely damaging their long term future.
Carlton
IN: Brock McLean, Lachlan Henderson
OUT: Brendan Fevola
Picks: 12, 43, 59, 75, 91, 107
Carlton & Melbourne were the first to announce a trade "in principle", but it took a couple of days for it to eventuate. The delay prompted lots of whinging about the Blues reneging on the deal, but eventually the deal went through exactly as originally stated. Carlton became the first of the draft dodgers, opting out of the first round in return for a proven player.
The blues then sat back and waited for the offers to roll in for Fevola. They waited, and waited, and waited. So desperate were they to offload him that they even offered to pay half his salary to any club willing to give them a fair deal. They would have offloaded him for an unfair deal - but the other club would have had to pay his entire salary (which is reported to be $800,000 in 2011). Eventually Brisbane came to the table, with the Bradshaw/Rischitelli offer (which fell through). The rumours kept flying that he'd end up at Sydney - rumours which refused to die no matter how many times it was categorically denied by Paul Roos. With Brisbane the only viable suitor, a trade was finally done on Friday morning.
Carlton are the big losers from trade week. They made the finals in 2009 on the back of 80 goals from Fevola and the 3 superstar midfielders. Brock McLean is a direct replacement for Nick Stevens (expected to retire due to a neck injury), so the midfield essentially remains as is. Is anyone game to predict how they'll kick more than 5 goals per game next year, without Fevola as a forward target?
Collingwood
IN: Darren Jolly
Picks: 30, 62, 78, 94, 110
Having finally given up on the overgrown hack known as Josh Fraser, the pies finally traded for a decent ruckman - Darren Jolly. I rate him the 3rd best in the league, behind Cox & Sandilands - with an honourable mention going to Hille when not injured. He didn't come cheaply though - they coughed up their 1st & 3rd picks (12 & 46 overall), leaving them with just one selection inside the top 50.
The Pies were battling hard to get a trade done for Luke Ball on Friday, but it failed to eventuate. With only pick 30 to offer - and a refusal to hand over anything remotely resembling a usable player - they really didn't have any bargaining power.
The Pies definitely improve their list with the addition of Jolly and giving up picks in this draft is no great loss. It will be interesting to see how many rookies they upgrade this year - and hence how many draft picks they are actually forced to use in the ND.
Essendon
IN: Mark Williams
OUT: Andrew Lovett
Picks: 10, 24, 26, 33, 74, 89, 90, 106
I must confess to being a little underwhelmed at Essendon's trade efforts. They lost a skilled & fast player in Lovett, albeit one who is the ultimate downhill skier who goes missing whenever the heat is on. They replaced him with an enigmatic forward who has dodgy knees. At least they picked up a few draft picks for their troubles - but you all know how little value I place on draft picks this year.
With Lucas & Lloyd both retired, they probably needed to trade for a decent KPP forward. Sadly, Williams was the best on offer. Having lost one of their better midfielders and both of their key forwards, I'm predicting that 2010 will be a tough year for Bombers fans.
Footscray
IN: Barry Hall
Picks: 15, 31, 63, 79, 95, 111
It's no big secret that the dogs were chasing Hall, hoping that he'd be the missing link they needed - allowing them to win their second premiership. The price they paid was their 3rd round selection, #57 overall - and I don't think anyone would regard that as excessive. Sydney wanted their 2nd rounder, they only wanted to give up their 4th, so both clubs compromised and the deal was done with a minimum of fuss.
My biggest concern is the fact that they've reportedly signed him to a 2-year deal. How many other 33 year old players get 2 year deals? Not many, because it's a seriously dumb idea. The risks of a player flaming out at that age are just too high to justify a multi-year deal. Oh well, that's Footscray's problem, not mine.
Fremantle
OUT: Brett Peake, Marcus Drum
Picks: 4, 20, 36, 48, 49, 52, 68, 84, 100
For Freo it was just a matter of taking out the garbage. Peake & Drum would have been delisted had they not been traded, so to get picks in the high 40s for both was a bonus. Other than that, it was a fairly quiet trade week for the boys from the west - a far cry from 2008, when the Warnock trade was all everyone had to talk about.
Geelong
IN: Marcus Drum
OUT: Shane Mumford
Picks: 17, 28, 40, 42, 56, 65, 81, 97, 113
Not much of a trade week for Cats fans either. For some unknown reason they traded for Freo's trash in Drum - presumably they reasoned that a proven AFL flop is likely to be a better prospect than any player available in the late 40s in this draft. I'm not going to say that they're wrong. At least they will have the option of delisting Drum in 12 months time - contracts for first time draftees last for a minimum of 2 years.
Mumford's departure was more or less driven by the salary cap. Sydney offered him a $1M/4-year deal, which the Cats simply couldn't match. As a result, they traded him for a 2nd round draft pick. A fair result all round.
I'm still mystified as to why they opted to join the Burgoyne deal. They picked up 3 lower draft picks, in return for pick #33. None of these draft picks were on-traded in later deals, so I can only assume that they're planning on doing a large cleanout of their list this year (using at least 5 draft selections). Just why they'd do that in a weak draft year is entirely beyond me.
Hawthorn
IN: Josh Gibson, Shaun Burgoyne
OUT: Mark Williams, Josh Kennedy, Ben McGlynn
Picks: 39, 46, 57, 58, 69, 70, 73, 105
The Hawks were the first ones out of the gates, getting the Gibson deal done in the first half hour of trading. The problem was that they traded away their 2nd & 3rd round picks, leaving them short of options for the Burgoyne trade - a problem compounded when not one single player from their entire list was prepared to move to Alberton.
I've already discussed the farcical Campbell Brown saga, so I won't repeat myself any further. Eventually the deal was done - easily the most complicated deal of trade week, it involved 4 clubs, 3 players and no less than 8 draft picks changing hands.
There's no doubt that Burger Jnr is a decent player and will make Hawthorn a stronger team. Gibson on the other hand, just adds to their list of 3rd tall defenders - they still lack some genuine class back there, assuming that Croad continues to struggle with injury.
Hawthorn's biggest problem is that they've traded themselves out of the top 30 in the draft. There's going to be precious little but dregs left over before they even get to take their first pick.
Melbourne
OUT: Brock McLean
Picks: 1, 2, 11, 18, 34, 50, 66, 82, 98
The Demons did their trading before trade week even commenced, announcing the McLean deal while draft camp was still running. The deal was a fair one, offloading McLean for pick #11. Thereafter they just sat back and observed the comings and goings.
If any team is well placed to take advantage of this draft it's Melbourne. There are only 5 or 6 players of true quality, and Melbourne get to choose the best 2 of them. They have 2 more selections inside the top 20 and a 5th right on the borderline of where the talent runs out at #34. Good luck to them, I think they're going to need it.
North Melbourne
OUT: Josh Gibson
Picks: 5, 21, 25, 37, 41, 53, 85, 101
North were another team who got in & out quickly, with the minimum of fuss. They only did one deal and the paperwork was done within half an hour of trade week being declared open. And that is all she wrote.
The Gibson trade was reasonably fair, with little in the way of controversy being created. They have a number of defenders able to fill the gap created by the trade, so I don't expect his departure to hurt the Roos in any way.
North now have 5 selections inside the first 3 rounds, with 3 of those inside the all important top 30.
Port Adelaide
IN: Jay Schulz, Jay Nash
OUT: Shaun Burgoyne, Mitch Farmer
Picks: 8, 9, 16, 88, 104
The biggest problem facing Port all week was the fact that nobody, but nobody, wanted to be traded to them. They managed to acquire just 2 new recruits - both of whom had little in the way of alternatives. Had they not accepted the trade they would have found themselves delisted and their AFL careers at an end. Port are a rabble. Their playing list is anything but unified, their coach is a certifiable lunatic and the club's board lacks the balls to do anything about it - having failed to sack Choco when they had the chance earlier this year. It's no surprise that not one single player from Hawthorn would volunteer to be part of the Burgoyne trade. One Melbourne journalist stated that being traded to Port was "about as appealing as a two week holiday in Afghanistan" - nobody could possibly say that he's wrong.
Given that nobody wants to play for them, they were forced to go down the path of obtaining draft picks. This led to the ultra-complicated Burgoyne deal. In the end they traded Burger Jnr for 2x first round picks - but gave up almost every other pick they had in the top 100 in the process. It's fairly safe to say that Port's draft will end at #16, long before several other clubs get to take their first selection.
The only other trade they did was a swap of Farmer for Schultz, plus a late round draft pick sweetener. This is the very definition of a nil-all draw.
Port will take three selections at the ND - picks 8, 9 & 16. Even in a draft as woeful as this one, they should be able to obtain something of value.
Richmond
IN: Mitch Farmer
OUT: Andrew Raines, Jay Schultz
Picks: 3, 19, 35, 44, 51, 67, 72, 83, 99
Richmond's trading was merely a case of throwing out the trash. They discarded the unwanted Schultz & Raines, picking up Port's unwanted Farmer in return. They also picked up a couple of late draft picks along the way. Not a lot to report really.
Richmond are about to commence their 29th ground-up rebuild since their last flag, in 1980. I'm not sure how many of those picks they will actually use, but I'd bet on at least 6 or 7. The bad news is that only 2 (maybe 3) will be taken before the talent runs out.
St Kilda
IN: Andrew Lovett, Brett Peake
OUT: Xavier Clarke
Picks: 32, 60, 64, 80, 96, 112
St Kilda currently have a very powerful team and they appear to have bolstered it further by the addition of Lovett, who should give them some much needed pace. Losing Clarke & gaining Peake is neither here nor there, it's merely trash management.
The Saints have a good list right now and are well placed to dodge the draft. Not sure what their rookies are like, but if they can upgrade 1 or 2 they may be able to all but avoid the nightmare that is the 2009 ND.
Sydney
IN: Mark Seaby, Shane Mumford, Josh Kennedy, Ben McGlynn
OUT: Amon Buchanan, Barry Hall, Darren Jolly
Picks: 6, 14, 38, 54, 86, 102
The Swans (along with the Lions) are the big winners of trade week. They've added 4 new players to their list - and I wouldn't describe any of them as complete spuds (though Seaby isn't exactly a superstar). They've also managed to improve their draft position by gaining a 2nd first round draft selection (#14 overall).
What this cost them is a player who hasn't performed in 2 years (Buchanan), a player who needs to spend a year or two in a psychiatric ward (Hall) and a very good ruckman (Jolly). The impact of Jolly's departure is minimised by the recruitment of not one, but two ruckmen to replace him.
Congratulations must go to Paul Roos. Every one of these trades were achieved with the maximum degree of professionalism and the minimum degree of fuss. He knew the players' worth and got the job done every time. Well done!
West Coast
IN: Bradd Dalziell
OUT: Brent Staker, Mark Seaby
Picks: 7, 22, 23, 55, 71, 87, 103
Staker for Dalziell was essentially a spud swap. Seaby's departure was always going to happen, after he requested a trade in 2008 but the Weagle management put the kybosh on it. In both cases they achieved a fair deal, so Weagles fans should be reasonably happy with the outcome.
The Weagles find themselves with 3 selections inside the all important top-30, including back-to-back picks at 22 & 23. It's hard to see them going any deeper in the draft than this.
First some general comments, then I'll review the trade activity of each of the clubs.
Most of the trades were of the spud for spud or spud for late pick variety. Most of these players were going to be delisted anyway, if they didn't find homes at a new club. The draft talent runs out at about pick #30-35 (with the genuine talent running out at pick #6), so anything later than this is pretty much worthless. Clubs were more than happy to take a chance on re-cycling dud players with late picks, given that the alternatives available in the draft are even worse. They're all hoping that they can do a St Kilda (Farren Ray, Sean Dempster, Zac Dawson) rather than a Richmond (who have spent 2 years trying to polish the **** that is Jordan McMahon).
That said, there have been a number of quality players who have found new homes - most ended up at their preferred destination. Naturally, these trades generally involved higher draft picks (most involving first rounders).
Port & Hawthorn both managed to make fools of themselves during negotiations for the Burgoyne trade.
Port started the week by asking for pick #9 + Jordan Lewis. They were always going to get pick #9 + ????, but there was never any chance that the ???? would be Lewis - Lewis is 3 years younger and a better player than Burgoyne anyway. The whole idea was laughable and just made the Port team look like idiots (which they mostly are). Trust Port to try and trade a BMW for a Rolls Royce. In the end they got pick #9 + pick #16, but gave up their 2nd, 3rd & 4th round selections - probably a fair result.
Hawthorn made an even bigger mess of things with the whole Campbell Brown controversy. They gave Port the option of pick #9 + Brown, which Port eagerly accepted. However, the Hawks had two problems - firstly, they hadn't asked Brown if he wanted to go to Port (he didn't); secondly, they didn't count on the massive backlash from the fans. Brown bleeds brown & gold. He's one of the most popular players at the club and rightly so - he's Hawthorn's equivalent of Glen Archer. As a result of the backlash from the fans, the Hawthorn president (Jeff Kennett) got on the radio and publicly squashed the trade suggestion. He went on to state that "no premiership player would be traded". His lunacy & lies were revealed for all to see when premiership player Mark Williams was traded the very next day (to Essendon in order to make the Burgoyne trade happen). Once a politician, always a politician - and you know when a pollie is lying, their lips are moving.
The biggest distraction of the week was the Fevola trade. In the end he went to the Lions, who will now have one of the most potent forward lines ever assembled - Brown, Bradshaw & Fevola. Rumour has it that Carlton were given an ultimatum by the AFL - get Fevola out of Melbourne, or face having him deregistered. That's how serious his Brownlow antics were - the media reports have barely scratched the surface of what went on that night.
Adelaide
Did not trade
Picks: 13, 29, 45, 61, 77, 99, 103
Adelaide were the only club who were not involved in any trades at all. They're a happy team at present, with nobody wanting to escape to greener pastures. That - and the fact that our delisting garbage (Gill, Gallman) is so bad that nobody else is interested.
There were only two rumours about Adelaide all week. Jonathon Griffin was apparently put on the table, for the asking price of a 2nd round draft pick. Nobody took them up on the offer - and I can't say I blame them, given his disappointing performances in 2009. In turn, the Crows were reportedly interested in a relative unknown player, who remains anonymous (though BigFooty wisdom named Carlton's rookie Sam Jacobs). This trade collapsed before it ever began, when they mystery player's club got wind of it and increased their offer to ensure the player stayed put.
Expect Adelaide to only take 2 or 3 players in the ND this year - picks 61+ will almost certainly not be used.
Brisbane
IN: Brent Staker, Amon Buchanan, Andrew Raines, Xavier Clarke, Brendan Fevola
OUT: Bradd Dalziell, Lachlan Henderson
Picks: 27, 47, 76, 92, 108
For the most part Brisbane went shopping for bargains at the Reject Shop. They picked up spud after spud after spud during the first 3 days, in the most obvious attempt at draft dodging ever seen. By Thursday afternoon there were jokes being made about Voss & his trading obsession. Then things got serious..
Brisbane were the first (and only) team to express any interest in Fevola. Their first offer was Daniel Bradshaw & Michael Rischitelli, which left most Carlton supporters underwhelmed to say the least. That deal fell through when Rischitelli refused to be traded to the Blues. Eventually though, a new deal was struck, which saw Fevola moving north, Lachlan Henderson moving south and an exchange of draft picks.
Brisbane have sold the farm in an attempt to win the flag in 2010 or 2011. After that, they're in diabolically deep shit. Right now, they have Black & Power in the midfield, with an awesome forward line of Brown, Bradshaw & Fevola. They deserve to be one of the premiership favourites - and they'd be outright favourites if the rest of the midfield were anywhere as good as the lead pair. However, Black, Brown, Bradshaw & Power probably only have 2-3 years left - and The Virus isn't far behind. They just traded away the best of their young KPPs, the player who was supposed to replace Brown and/or Bradshaw. When their veterans retire, there is now no succession plan. Voss has gambled on the short term, at the risk of severely damaging their long term future.
Carlton
IN: Brock McLean, Lachlan Henderson
OUT: Brendan Fevola
Picks: 12, 43, 59, 75, 91, 107
Carlton & Melbourne were the first to announce a trade "in principle", but it took a couple of days for it to eventuate. The delay prompted lots of whinging about the Blues reneging on the deal, but eventually the deal went through exactly as originally stated. Carlton became the first of the draft dodgers, opting out of the first round in return for a proven player.
The blues then sat back and waited for the offers to roll in for Fevola. They waited, and waited, and waited. So desperate were they to offload him that they even offered to pay half his salary to any club willing to give them a fair deal. They would have offloaded him for an unfair deal - but the other club would have had to pay his entire salary (which is reported to be $800,000 in 2011). Eventually Brisbane came to the table, with the Bradshaw/Rischitelli offer (which fell through). The rumours kept flying that he'd end up at Sydney - rumours which refused to die no matter how many times it was categorically denied by Paul Roos. With Brisbane the only viable suitor, a trade was finally done on Friday morning.
Carlton are the big losers from trade week. They made the finals in 2009 on the back of 80 goals from Fevola and the 3 superstar midfielders. Brock McLean is a direct replacement for Nick Stevens (expected to retire due to a neck injury), so the midfield essentially remains as is. Is anyone game to predict how they'll kick more than 5 goals per game next year, without Fevola as a forward target?
Collingwood
IN: Darren Jolly
Picks: 30, 62, 78, 94, 110
Having finally given up on the overgrown hack known as Josh Fraser, the pies finally traded for a decent ruckman - Darren Jolly. I rate him the 3rd best in the league, behind Cox & Sandilands - with an honourable mention going to Hille when not injured. He didn't come cheaply though - they coughed up their 1st & 3rd picks (12 & 46 overall), leaving them with just one selection inside the top 50.
The Pies were battling hard to get a trade done for Luke Ball on Friday, but it failed to eventuate. With only pick 30 to offer - and a refusal to hand over anything remotely resembling a usable player - they really didn't have any bargaining power.
The Pies definitely improve their list with the addition of Jolly and giving up picks in this draft is no great loss. It will be interesting to see how many rookies they upgrade this year - and hence how many draft picks they are actually forced to use in the ND.
Essendon
IN: Mark Williams
OUT: Andrew Lovett
Picks: 10, 24, 26, 33, 74, 89, 90, 106
I must confess to being a little underwhelmed at Essendon's trade efforts. They lost a skilled & fast player in Lovett, albeit one who is the ultimate downhill skier who goes missing whenever the heat is on. They replaced him with an enigmatic forward who has dodgy knees. At least they picked up a few draft picks for their troubles - but you all know how little value I place on draft picks this year.
With Lucas & Lloyd both retired, they probably needed to trade for a decent KPP forward. Sadly, Williams was the best on offer. Having lost one of their better midfielders and both of their key forwards, I'm predicting that 2010 will be a tough year for Bombers fans.
Footscray
IN: Barry Hall
Picks: 15, 31, 63, 79, 95, 111
It's no big secret that the dogs were chasing Hall, hoping that he'd be the missing link they needed - allowing them to win their second premiership. The price they paid was their 3rd round selection, #57 overall - and I don't think anyone would regard that as excessive. Sydney wanted their 2nd rounder, they only wanted to give up their 4th, so both clubs compromised and the deal was done with a minimum of fuss.
My biggest concern is the fact that they've reportedly signed him to a 2-year deal. How many other 33 year old players get 2 year deals? Not many, because it's a seriously dumb idea. The risks of a player flaming out at that age are just too high to justify a multi-year deal. Oh well, that's Footscray's problem, not mine.
Fremantle
OUT: Brett Peake, Marcus Drum
Picks: 4, 20, 36, 48, 49, 52, 68, 84, 100
For Freo it was just a matter of taking out the garbage. Peake & Drum would have been delisted had they not been traded, so to get picks in the high 40s for both was a bonus. Other than that, it was a fairly quiet trade week for the boys from the west - a far cry from 2008, when the Warnock trade was all everyone had to talk about.
Geelong
IN: Marcus Drum
OUT: Shane Mumford
Picks: 17, 28, 40, 42, 56, 65, 81, 97, 113
Not much of a trade week for Cats fans either. For some unknown reason they traded for Freo's trash in Drum - presumably they reasoned that a proven AFL flop is likely to be a better prospect than any player available in the late 40s in this draft. I'm not going to say that they're wrong. At least they will have the option of delisting Drum in 12 months time - contracts for first time draftees last for a minimum of 2 years.
Mumford's departure was more or less driven by the salary cap. Sydney offered him a $1M/4-year deal, which the Cats simply couldn't match. As a result, they traded him for a 2nd round draft pick. A fair result all round.
I'm still mystified as to why they opted to join the Burgoyne deal. They picked up 3 lower draft picks, in return for pick #33. None of these draft picks were on-traded in later deals, so I can only assume that they're planning on doing a large cleanout of their list this year (using at least 5 draft selections). Just why they'd do that in a weak draft year is entirely beyond me.
Hawthorn
IN: Josh Gibson, Shaun Burgoyne
OUT: Mark Williams, Josh Kennedy, Ben McGlynn
Picks: 39, 46, 57, 58, 69, 70, 73, 105
The Hawks were the first ones out of the gates, getting the Gibson deal done in the first half hour of trading. The problem was that they traded away their 2nd & 3rd round picks, leaving them short of options for the Burgoyne trade - a problem compounded when not one single player from their entire list was prepared to move to Alberton.
I've already discussed the farcical Campbell Brown saga, so I won't repeat myself any further. Eventually the deal was done - easily the most complicated deal of trade week, it involved 4 clubs, 3 players and no less than 8 draft picks changing hands.
There's no doubt that Burger Jnr is a decent player and will make Hawthorn a stronger team. Gibson on the other hand, just adds to their list of 3rd tall defenders - they still lack some genuine class back there, assuming that Croad continues to struggle with injury.
Hawthorn's biggest problem is that they've traded themselves out of the top 30 in the draft. There's going to be precious little but dregs left over before they even get to take their first pick.
Melbourne
OUT: Brock McLean
Picks: 1, 2, 11, 18, 34, 50, 66, 82, 98
The Demons did their trading before trade week even commenced, announcing the McLean deal while draft camp was still running. The deal was a fair one, offloading McLean for pick #11. Thereafter they just sat back and observed the comings and goings.
If any team is well placed to take advantage of this draft it's Melbourne. There are only 5 or 6 players of true quality, and Melbourne get to choose the best 2 of them. They have 2 more selections inside the top 20 and a 5th right on the borderline of where the talent runs out at #34. Good luck to them, I think they're going to need it.
North Melbourne
OUT: Josh Gibson
Picks: 5, 21, 25, 37, 41, 53, 85, 101
North were another team who got in & out quickly, with the minimum of fuss. They only did one deal and the paperwork was done within half an hour of trade week being declared open. And that is all she wrote.
The Gibson trade was reasonably fair, with little in the way of controversy being created. They have a number of defenders able to fill the gap created by the trade, so I don't expect his departure to hurt the Roos in any way.
North now have 5 selections inside the first 3 rounds, with 3 of those inside the all important top 30.
Port Adelaide
IN: Jay Schulz, Jay Nash
OUT: Shaun Burgoyne, Mitch Farmer
Picks: 8, 9, 16, 88, 104
The biggest problem facing Port all week was the fact that nobody, but nobody, wanted to be traded to them. They managed to acquire just 2 new recruits - both of whom had little in the way of alternatives. Had they not accepted the trade they would have found themselves delisted and their AFL careers at an end. Port are a rabble. Their playing list is anything but unified, their coach is a certifiable lunatic and the club's board lacks the balls to do anything about it - having failed to sack Choco when they had the chance earlier this year. It's no surprise that not one single player from Hawthorn would volunteer to be part of the Burgoyne trade. One Melbourne journalist stated that being traded to Port was "about as appealing as a two week holiday in Afghanistan" - nobody could possibly say that he's wrong.
Given that nobody wants to play for them, they were forced to go down the path of obtaining draft picks. This led to the ultra-complicated Burgoyne deal. In the end they traded Burger Jnr for 2x first round picks - but gave up almost every other pick they had in the top 100 in the process. It's fairly safe to say that Port's draft will end at #16, long before several other clubs get to take their first selection.
The only other trade they did was a swap of Farmer for Schultz, plus a late round draft pick sweetener. This is the very definition of a nil-all draw.
Port will take three selections at the ND - picks 8, 9 & 16. Even in a draft as woeful as this one, they should be able to obtain something of value.
Richmond
IN: Mitch Farmer
OUT: Andrew Raines, Jay Schultz
Picks: 3, 19, 35, 44, 51, 67, 72, 83, 99
Richmond's trading was merely a case of throwing out the trash. They discarded the unwanted Schultz & Raines, picking up Port's unwanted Farmer in return. They also picked up a couple of late draft picks along the way. Not a lot to report really.
Richmond are about to commence their 29th ground-up rebuild since their last flag, in 1980. I'm not sure how many of those picks they will actually use, but I'd bet on at least 6 or 7. The bad news is that only 2 (maybe 3) will be taken before the talent runs out.
St Kilda
IN: Andrew Lovett, Brett Peake
OUT: Xavier Clarke
Picks: 32, 60, 64, 80, 96, 112
St Kilda currently have a very powerful team and they appear to have bolstered it further by the addition of Lovett, who should give them some much needed pace. Losing Clarke & gaining Peake is neither here nor there, it's merely trash management.
The Saints have a good list right now and are well placed to dodge the draft. Not sure what their rookies are like, but if they can upgrade 1 or 2 they may be able to all but avoid the nightmare that is the 2009 ND.
Sydney
IN: Mark Seaby, Shane Mumford, Josh Kennedy, Ben McGlynn
OUT: Amon Buchanan, Barry Hall, Darren Jolly
Picks: 6, 14, 38, 54, 86, 102
The Swans (along with the Lions) are the big winners of trade week. They've added 4 new players to their list - and I wouldn't describe any of them as complete spuds (though Seaby isn't exactly a superstar). They've also managed to improve their draft position by gaining a 2nd first round draft selection (#14 overall).
What this cost them is a player who hasn't performed in 2 years (Buchanan), a player who needs to spend a year or two in a psychiatric ward (Hall) and a very good ruckman (Jolly). The impact of Jolly's departure is minimised by the recruitment of not one, but two ruckmen to replace him.
Congratulations must go to Paul Roos. Every one of these trades were achieved with the maximum degree of professionalism and the minimum degree of fuss. He knew the players' worth and got the job done every time. Well done!
West Coast
IN: Bradd Dalziell
OUT: Brent Staker, Mark Seaby
Picks: 7, 22, 23, 55, 71, 87, 103
Staker for Dalziell was essentially a spud swap. Seaby's departure was always going to happen, after he requested a trade in 2008 but the Weagle management put the kybosh on it. In both cases they achieved a fair deal, so Weagles fans should be reasonably happy with the outcome.
The Weagles find themselves with 3 selections inside the all important top-30, including back-to-back picks at 22 & 23. It's hard to see them going any deeper in the draft than this.
