List Mgmt. Contract, Trade and Draft Discussions - 2024 Edition

[Keys]

Quick links:
Player contract status
Draft prospect video highlights (thanks to noobermensch)
AFL retirements and delistings

---

Latest news and rumours:

• Tom Barrass officially requests trade to Hawthorn
  • Duffield: Eagles want two first round picks - "It may have to be in this year’s draft rather than a future pick."
  • Morris: Josh Battle is set to join Barrass at Hawthorn in 2025 - Ralph: Unclear if Hawks will pay enough for Band 1

• Kysaiah Pickett interested in a trade
  • "Club and management are confident they can work through his concerns"
  • Daniels: Pickett’s preference is Fremantle. Fremantle are keen, but Bolton the priority. Getting both “not impossible”. West Coast “an option if things get complicated.”

• Jai Culley, Coen Livingstone, Loch Rawlinson in line for one-year deals (The West)
  
  
• Liam Baker and Shai Bolton
  29

  Shai Bolton

  Age

  25

  Ht

  176cm

  Wt

  77kg

  Pos.

  M/F

  Career

  Season

  Last 5

  D

  12.3

  3star

  K

  6.9

  3star

  HB

  5.4

  4star

  M

  2.8

  3star

  T

  2.9

  4star

  CL

  1.4

  4star

  D

  12.7

  3star

  K

  9.2

  4star

  HB

  3.5

  2star

  M

  3.0

  3star

  T

  2.7

  4star

  CL

  1.8

  4star

  D

  9.2

  3star

  K

  4.6

  2star

  HB

  4.6

  4star

  M

  2.0

  3star

  T

  2.6

  4star

  CL

  0.0

  1star

  officially request trades to WA
  • Daniels: Bolton is Fremantle’s priority

 

[Monocle]

Really well said on Smillie very much agree.
He is also a terrible fit with our current mid set up, would make us too big and slow
Draper, FOS, Lindsay fit WCE better as mids all are smaller agile mids with great kicking ability.

Lalor is the wild card still think he can end up being the best player in this draft

Agree he would be a very tempting pick up for us, if Draper is gone.
Shame we haven't got to see more of Sam this year.

I think he and Harley would be a very effective one - two tandem team, both have real grunt, HR better on the outside and has more flare, but SL is harder than a cats head and wins most one on one contests in close. SL would take a lot of the heat and opposition heavy attention, away from HR.

If we did end up acquiring another first for Tom B, getting Lalor and then a more polished mid like Lindsay, would be a sensational addition to our midfield group, going forward.

Then next pick, taking Kayle Gerreyn with our second rounder and I would be a very happy camper.

An inside bull midfielder.
A balanced mid with good foot skills.
Then a young KPP that can play either end ( reckon he plays CHB at the next level ).

 

[Mutineer]

For all the talk of English getting smashed in the ruck dogs were +3 in the clearances .

It was the 9 goals from 27 shots that killed the doggies

Ummm 6 of the Crows goals came from Centre square bounces...

Crows won that stat 14 - 11

6 of the Dogs points btw were rushed I'm sure Bevo sais in his presser..

 

[BartBart]

Heading into half time, English with 6 hitouts, ROB with 33

I saw he finished with 16 hitouts.

 

[Tugga27]

From the Herald Sun

BULLDOGS’ MILLION-DOLLAR QUESTION

This was not a good day for a man vying for a bumper contract extension. Tim English was belted in the ruck by Adelaide’s Reilly O’Brien 55 hit-outs to 16 on Sunday night as the Western Bulldogs botched their chance to sew up a finals spot.

Instead, if the Dogs topple North Melbourne as expected this weekend, it will come down to knocking off GWS Giants in Ballarat for a top-eight berth on Sunday in Round 24.

Good thing Dogs’ fans are used to wild rides as the club’s recent rough run in South Australia continued notching up their fifth-straight defeat across the border with the loss to the Crows. It left the door ajar for Carlton and Essendon to sneak in to finals, and it would be an all-out disaster if the Dogs lost to North this weekend after going down to West Coast late last year. And 9.18 was an horrific performance in front of the sticks.

English booted a goal late but he had a poor one as he weighs up his future, including a free agency offer from West Coast. The Dogs were one of the hottest teams in the league after a strong month toppling Sydney, Melbourne and Geelong, but they hit the skids against the Crows, pulling the handbrake at the wrong time of the year.

Adelaide spoiled the September party and will head into the Showdown desperate to cause an upset. The results mean that in Round 24 if the Dogs beat GWS, Carlton will know exactly how much they need to beat St Kilda by at 3.20pm on Sunday to make the eight and leapfrog the Dogs. What a dream result for the AFL as we get set for a dramatic finish.

 

[mitchzz]

There was so much anticipation and expectation of what Finn would produce coming into his top age season, but up to now he's struggle through a series of set backs and never really come close to resembling the footballer of last year and years prior. He again started slowly here in the first quarter, but when he started dancing in the second quarter, showing some of the tricks he can pull out of his bag, things that few other footballers can match, there was a palpable sense of relief and excitement among watchers that finally the real Finn O'Sullivan might be about to stand up. There are still reasons why you might not choose to take him at pick 1, but at least we've again started to see why you just might.

I will say that he is a smooth mover. Super classy

 

[Hoskin300]

If Smillie is no flight risk I think hed be a good fit.
Ginbey moving to half back opens up another spot for a big contested inside mid. If he can be something remotely like Patrick Cripps thatd be a huge win.

I dont think we need a Draper type necessarily, once we start winning more clearances and get better at holding the ball the possession numbers will rise.
If we could have Reid, Smillie and Hall for example all averaging mid 20s touches in 3 years time as our 3 top mids thatd be completely fine.

Very optimistic hall will be in that three based on what we have seen.

 

[bzparkes]

Very optimistic hall will be in that three based on what we have seen.

Yep, half a season injured and 2 games(subbed on/off) is enough to make a decision about an 18yo

 

[Hoskin300]

Yep, half a season injured and 2 games(subbed on/off) is enough to make a decision about an 18yo

Hall may be a solid AFL contributor. the chances of him being a high quality inside mid is slim at best. Doesn’t mean we don’t persist.

 

[bzparkes]

Hall may be a solid AFL contributor. the chances of him being a high quality inside mid is slim at best. Doesn’t mean we don’t persist.

Maybe give him mor than 1 injury-interrupted season.

 

[Hoskin300]

Maybe give him mor than 1 injury-interrupted season.

Where on earth did I say we shouldn’t? He will be on our list for minimum three years. It’s just pretty obvious he isn’t an A grade talent.

 

[BartBart]

What are people's thoughts on Barrass post-season?

Serious move or just jockeying for a contract renegotiation or media making it up?

Being under contract surely club's will have to pay overs.

(Sorry if already discussed)

 

[stallon]

Very optimistic hall will be in that three based on what we have seen.

Its an example. Hes played 2 half games on a wing.

 

[TerryFilk]

What are people's thoughts on Barrass post-season?

Serious move or just jockeying for a contract renegotiation or media making it up?

Being under contract surely club's will have to pay overs.

(Sorry if already discussed)

I personally think it’s clear that he and his management were initially trying to get the club to cave and offer a longer and bigger deal, but I also think for the last couple weeks he has been prepared to leave, there wouldn’t be this much smoke if that wasn’t the case. It’s gone past just being a leverage play now imo.

I am hoping we’re smart enough to not cave into his demands, it makes zero sense for us to extend him.

 

[stallon]

Hall may be a solid AFL contributor. the chances of him being a high quality inside mid is slim at best. Doesn’t mean we don’t persist.

He doesnt have to be high quality. He just needs to be decent.

We have Reid, whoever we get this year, Hewett, and any other recruits who may be high quality.

No midfield has 4-5 high quality players

 

[bzparkes]

Where on earth did I say we shouldn’t? He will be on our list for minimum three years. It’s just pretty obvious he isn’t an A grade talent.

Nothing's obvious.

Stop going off half-cocked.

 

[archiemoses]

Hawks making finals now, Barrass pick probably 12-15

They'll have to include a future first as well now.

 

[BartBart]

Hawks making finals now, Barrass pick probably 12-15

Before it goes backwards on draft night.

 

[WCE_phil]

Smith is 1cm shorter than O'Sullivan and Hotton, the same height as Gross, 1cm taller than Reid and Draper, 2cm taller than Ashcroft and 3cm taller than Lombard.
I get that 181cm may not be particularly tall, however, compared to his cohort (save for Smillie and Langford) they are all about the same height and the same concern must be levelled at them as well.

Smith hasn't grown at all, is a January birthday, has finished school and is preparing essentially as an AFL player and has a very slim frame.

He is slippery inside and has good hands but against guys who are as fast and slippery as well as the increased speed at AFL level his kicking will be a straight liability and I don't think the rest of his game stacks up.

Now genuinely if we could see FOS play HB for a couple of weeks I could personally make a decision on him. He has all the tools, some amazing skill, a penetrating kick, great overhead for his height and has had injuries but there just seems to be something missing. I want to see the ball coming at him.

Ashcroft is a lesser verison of his older brother imo.

They may not have the best careers but on pure talent I have Lombard, Lalor, Langford, Kako and Berry as my most talented players in the pool. They all have weaknesses and 2 are club tied but from what I've seen this year and last they all have something truly special about their games that screams they could be a superstar. They have high ceilings but could just as easily be busts.

In regards to talent I think the safest pick is Draper. He gets the ball, uses it well, has speed, can play inside and out and runs exceptionally both ways.

(not involved in the draft at all this year)

 

[HoneyBadger35]

They'll have to include a future first as well now.

Would love the Hawks F1. Think I’m in the minority here at thinking they’re due a huge step backwards next year, before righting the ship and going well in 2026. See: Freo 22-23-24.

They were a training session for the start of the year and I think most teams switched focus, and by the time they were worth paying attention to they’d very quietly been building a good style for themselves. Their list isn’t full of talent, but the game plan is clicking beautifully and momentum/confidence is a hell of a drug. Their first rounders haven’t exactly smashed it (they’ve replaced that output by acquiring talent late in the draft or cheap on the market, but there’s a ceiling on some of these blokes long term). Give oppo coaches an offseason, and I think they could be very unremarkable next year.

I think the Hawks F1 is a lot more likely to be top six of the draft than they are to finish top six on the ladder.

Barrass + F2 for 12ish (to be pushed back) and an F1, cheers.

 

[maverick001]

There was so much anticipation and expectation of what Finn would produce coming into his top age season, but up to now he's struggle through a series of set backs and never really come close to resembling the footballer of last year and years prior. He again started slowly here in the first quarter, but when he started dancing in the second quarter, showing some of the tricks he can pull out of his bag, things that few other footballers can match, there was a palpable sense of relief and excitement among watchers that finally the real Finn O'Sullivan might be about to stand up. There are still reasons why you might not choose to take him at pick 1, but at least we've again started to see why you just might.

Does look very good with ball in hand
12 disposals is low but if he was at HFF all day that's not an easy position to rack them up in, esp for a guy who is 18 and playing his first game

 

[ep2018]

I understand Barrass has three or so years to go on his contract so we have all the power, however I think many will be disappointed by what Hawthorn offer us for him. It will be a straight swap for their first rounder at the very best you'd think, barring a decent finals run. Reckon we end up keeping him.

 

[TerryFilk]

I understand Barrass has three or so years to go on his contract so we have all the power, however I think many will be disappointed by what Hawthorn offer us for him. It will be a straight swap for their first rounder at the very best you'd think, barring a decent finals run. Reckon we end up keeping him.

I think they’ll hand over their first and the Pies 2nd with little hesitation. They wouldn’t be going this hard at him if they weren’t prepared to satisfy us. We’ve likely already had talks.

 

[ep2018]

I think they’ll hand over their first and the Pies 2nd with little hesitation. They wouldn’t be going this hard at him if they weren’t prepared to satisfy us. We’ve likely already had talks.

How could any team justify paying a first and second rounder for a bloke with a bad back whose 29.

You'd think teams would be looking at how poorly the Tim Kelly trade went for us.

 

[HoneyBadger35]

How could any team justify paying a first and second rounder for a bloke with a bad back whose 29.

You'd think teams would be looking at how poorly the Tim Kelly trade went for us.

Their interest indicates that they’re keen for a reason, so they can’t also pretend he’s a lame duck. For the bad back talk, he’s played every game bar three this year: one suspension, two concussion.

He has an eternity to run on his deal.

There’s other interested parties who can seemingly reliably offer finals footy in Victoria.

I’m not saying we’ll walk away smug as hell and have set ourselves up for life, but the Hawks surely can’t expect pick 12-15, pushed back to 16-20 or whatever, gets it done while also championing their interest so clearly, for a contracted and very much required home grown talent.

 

[3agles87]

How could any team justify paying a first and second rounder for a bloke with a bad back whose 29.

You'd think teams would be looking at how poorly the Tim Kelly trade went for us.

Commentary around Barrass’ value suggests you are an outlier here.

If Hawthorn (or any other team) has assessed that Barrass could be the difference between a premiership or not, they will pay up.

Whether or not they have accurately assessed the state of their list is another matter, but fear of failure seems a silly reason for not including a mid second rounder if that is the difference in getting an elite talent like Barrass in.

Plus, there are potentially multiple clubs vying for his services. If Barrass says, but I want to go Hawthorn, then we can just hold him to his contract if the price isn’t right or force him to a club willing to give us a better deal and noting Barrass would also be getting more money and a longer deal regardless.