Notes and observations from a surprisingly breezy and active opening day of the 2022 AFL Trade Period.
Richmond secured Tim Taranto, Bobby Hill joined Collingwood and Jayden Hunt will play for the Eagles in 2023, with all the commentary breakdown below.
A busy opening day
It is not often that business gets done on the first day of trading, as the ‘shadow boxing’ takes place in the various corporate at Marvel Stadium, but Bobby Hill to Collingwood and Tim Taranto to Richmond more or less got done, to the surprise of nobody.
Those deals had been in the works for days, if not weeks. The Giants have plenty to get done in the next few days, so they took some inspiration from the late, great Footscray legend Charlie Sutton, who used to tell his players to “shop early”.
In his case it meant to hit the scoreboard early and get the fighting out of the way, but for the Giants, it literally means shopping, as they usher Hill and Taranto out the door – with Jacob Hopper and Tanner Bruhn likely to follow. Get those done and Jason McCartney and his team will know how much they have to spend on those coming in.
But what the Giants need to do is flatten their pay structure. They have outlaid massive sums to keep their stars at the club, but there is something seriously flawed when circumstances force them to lowball a player such as Taranto, who was their best and fairest in their 2019 Grand Final year.
Taranto loved playing for the Giants and was sad to leave, so this is a disappointing outcome.
What’s all the hype around Bowes?
With all the fuss over Jack Bowes, you would easily think he was on track to win a Brownlow Medal, or perhaps even two of them.
Instead he is a solid half-back/midfielder who is no longer a regular in the team that finished 12th on the ladder.
Of course, Bowes and his $800,000 contract are the set of steak knives that come with the seventh selection in the draft, which is what the Suns are also throwing in as part of the deal to free up their Total Player Payments so they can hold on to the players who are keeping Bowes out of the side.
Geelong and Hawthorn are reportedly neck and neck in the race to land Bowes… sorry, the coveted early 2022 national draft pick. It would be a huge tick for the new direction Sam Mitchell is charting for the Hawks if they can snare Bowes; they might have three picks inside the first 25 to take to a draft they again want to hit hard.
But who says no to Geelong? Given how smartly the Cats are going, they surely are the favourites to land his signature. Any club that can land a top 10 draft pick straight after winning a flag is managing the business of football very, very well.
The Cats also have their eyes on Jack Henry and Tanner Bruhn. Imagine if they can secure all three while basking in the glory of a just-won premiership? They might have to name the new grandstand after legendary recruiter Stephen Wells if they do.
Essendon has also confirmed an interest in Bowes.
Trade regrets
Wonder whether North and Hawthorn are feeling pangs of regret as they wheel and deal through this trade period?
This time last year, Adelaide dangled pick No.4 and two future first-rounders in front of the Kangaroos to move up to the head of the draft to grab presumptive No.1 pick and hometown boy Jason Horne-Francis. Richmond also offered up a host of picks and a player to try and tempt the Kangas.
But North would not budge and now considers the prospect of trading Horne-Francis to Port Adelaide, for a package that won’t be quite as bountiful.
Meanwhile, the Hawks won’t lose Jack Gunston as a departed free agent when he joins Brisbane later this week. The Lions and Hawks will concoct some sort of trade, so that Brisbane’s free agency compensation for losing Dan McStay to Collingwood won’t be affected.
But there has been interest in Gunston these last few years. The Hawks might have secured a first-round pick for him at the end of 2020 when clubs came calling after he was fresh off winning the best and fairest. They won’t get that now.
Good business from the Blues
Kane Cornes was busy being, well, Kane, when he attempted to cast doubt on the merits of Harry McKay signing a seven-year deal that will keep him at IKON Park until the end of 2030.
The Blues now have pretty much every key weapon signed up to long-term deals - Sam Walsh and Zac Williams until 2026, Patrick Cripps to 2027, Charlie Curnow to 2029 and now McKay to 2030.
They are the key pillars around which Michael Voss hopes to build the next premiership side and it makes all the sense in the world to lock them up for as long as possible and then to fill in around the edges as required to round out the best 22.
Melbourne has done the same with some of its stars.
The TPP for the next few years is still being negotiated, but after a period of two-year contract extensions, the certainty of the new TV rights agreement that underpins the financial health of the entire competition has allowed clubs to offer their best players longer deals with a greater degree of comfort and certainty.
It is good business.
Roles reversed?
Remember when West Coast was the powerhouse of West Australian football and Fremantle the minnow?
Fortunes have been reversed the last couple of years and not even the most diehard West Coast supporter would think their club is closer to winning a flag than Freo.
But if the Eagles believe they have a shot at snaring Luke Jackson from right under Fremantle’s nose, then watch this space.