List Mgmt. Contracts/Trade Thread - 2025 Edition Vol 3

[Keys]

Quick Links

• Draft thread
• Player contract status
• Draft prospect video highlights (thanks to noobermensch)

List Changes - 2025

Spoiler

In:

• Brandon Starcevich arrives at West Coast in a three team deal
• Tylar Young (Richmond) arrived at West Coast in exchange for Pick 38.
• Deven Robertson (Brisbane) has agreed to join West Coast and will be signed on to the rookie list after being delisted by Brisbane

Out:

• Oscar Allen joins Brisbane as a FA - West Coast receive Pick 2 as compensation
• Liam Ryan and a 2027 R3 pick has been traded to St Kilda for a 2026 R2 pick
• Campbell Chesser has been traded to Carlton for Pick 41
• Jayden Hunt announces retirement
• Jack Petruccelle, Callum Jamieson and Loch Rawlinson not offered new contracts
• Coen Livingstone joins the list of players not offered a new contract

Players Out of Contract - 2025 (0)

Spoiler

• Jamie Cripps and Malakai Champion seem to have been offered new contracts despite there being no official announcement. Means that all players out of contract for 2025 have been given new contracts despite or removed from the playing list

2025 Draft Order

Spoiler

Current Draft Picks:
Round 1: 1, 2, 13
Round 2: 34, 41
Round 3: 53, 58 (These picks are in excess of available list spots so will be forfeited if we don’t consolidate our 2025 picks up the order or trade some for future picks)

List Spots Available (39 of 48):
• Main list (33 of 38) - 5* (in: Starcevich, Young out: Allen, Ryan, Chesser, Hunt, Petruccelle, Jamieson)
• Cat A rookie list (5 of 8) - 3* (in: Robertson (pending), out: Rawlinson)
• Cat B rookie list (1 of 2) - 2 (out: Livingstone)

* Based on Dewar being upgraded after the maximum 3 years on the rookie list. Hutchinson may also have been upgraded but this isn’t confirmed - if it is we will have 4 main and 4 rookie list spots open

* Matthew Clarke has stated we have 5 main list spots

Matt Clarke wraps up the trade period - 6PR

 

[Keys]

Take the below with a grain of salt because it’s genuine tin foil hat areas, but something Mark Duffield said on his show this morning got me thinking

Responding to a text, and I’m paraphrasing here, he said the AFL would ensure Allen generated pick 2 as it was a more palatable way of getting West Coast a high draft pick rather than granting a high priority pick. He also (rightly) added that pick 2 for Allen is a pretty generous return - FA compensation formula notwithstanding

Nothing really new in that view but it was a bit of a light bulb moment for me. I’ve been a tad confused by Twomey continually linking a possible end of R1 priority pick that would need to traded to Starcevich in order to avoid us diluting the Allen compo. Given the circumstances that seems a high trade value for a player that all other things being equal wouldn’t get Brisbane any compensation because they’re bringing in Allen and Draper. So it’s always seemed an odd connection which I’ve posted about before

Leads me to my conspiracy theory

The contract being offered to Allen by Brisbane is maybe borderline Band 1 and not quite the slam dunk that has been assumed. Meanwhile, we’ve indicated that a high end priority pick has been part of our submission which, if given, would be met with considerable resistance from the Victorian clubs and media

The AFL’s solution then is to encourage Brisbane to make sure Allen’s contract reaches the threshold for Band 1. West Coast are then guaranteed the high draft pick (2) we want instead of the end of R1 pick we’d get if Allen’s contract wasn’t high enough

To smooth things over, the AFL gives West Coast an end of R1 priority pick with the stipulation it must be traded. That pick then conveniently lands with Brisbane in return for Starcevich after we are privately told that’s the price we need to pay in return for receiving pick 2

We get our high pick and Starcevich. Brisbane get a pick they’re not really entitled to for losing Starcevich. And the AFL get to say the FA compo formula spat out Band 1 and is unrelated to our draft assistance which was only a late R1 pick

So if/when we trade an end of R1 priority for Starcevich which is overs, maybe it’s because that’s the cost of ensuring we got pick 2. And maybe we get some Deven Robertson shaped steak knives along with it

Like I said, take it with a grain of salt but there’s some weird shit going on with the talk around the need to trade for Starcevich. And why we still haven’t heard anything on what our draft assistance will be despite the AFL commission discussing it yesterday

I posted the above last Tuesday

Yes, I was wrapped in tin foil but tonight’s developments have only reinforced my belief the AFL have orchestrated all this

Consider:

• Cal Twomey was reporting our draft assistance package last week as being up to 4 rookie list spots and an end of R1 priority pick that might need to be traded. As the week wore on he dropped the need to trade bit
• He wasn’t just close to being right, he was bang on when no other journalists were reporting anything
• When discussing the R1 priority pick he immediately linked it to a potential Starcevich trade to avoid diluting our Oscar Allen compensation and was unequivocal about it. There was no wriggle room that it was around the mark just an almost statement of fact it would happen like he knew. I’ve not known him to be so clear cut when discussing other potential trades
• One of our original requests was to remove the dilution of FA compensation when bringing in a Free Agent but this was denied
• The assistance packages given to North were both announced the day of the Brownlow. Ours wasn’t announced until the Tuesday after the GF - over a week later
• The main beneficiary of Brisbane receiving the end of R1 priority pick is Brisbane. Why would the AFL help Brisbane? I’m sure it’s coincidental that the former Brisbane CEO is now in charge of determining our assistance package. Remember that on his first day in his new job Swann said he didn’t believe we deserved any draft assistance/priority picks
• It was reported that West Coast contacted Brisbane the day of the GF to check on Starcevich’s health/condition. That’s pretty unusual to contact a rival club about a player who had yet to announce his intentions to seek a trade
• The end of R1 priority pick just happens to be the same pick as the likely Band 2 compensation Brisbane would receive for Starcevich had they not been bringing a FA

This was all sorted out last week between the clubs and the AFL but took until after the GF to be finalised - hence the delay in making the announcement

I’m giving Clarke a pass on this one. My fervent belief is that we were told the priority pick was conditional on it being traded to Brisbane and in return we’ll be guaranteed pick 2 for Oscar Allen

We get Starcevich without diluting our compensation and get a free pick to trade for him so effectively get him for free. Brisbane get some additional points to match the inevitable bid on Annable - expect they won’t ontrade the pick and it will ultimately vanish into thin air like it never existed. The AFL can point to them already giving us a priority pick if we seek any further help

Call it copium or whatever, IDGAF - this is the AFL orchestrating a result that suits them (and helps old mate look out for his former club)

 

[Barrybran]

The cheapest way to get talent remains through the draft. The trade system should be used to augment a broader list strategy that hinges on success in the draft. All trading of players into the club come with a premium and need to generate instant on field benefits in almost all cases.

Some glaring mistakes over the last decade.
1. Long contracts, over paying for existing "stars" contracts.
2. Target the wrong players. Fridge, uncompetitive or defective. (Witherden, Owies, SPS, Langdon, etc...)
3. Overpay for opposition players due to lack of creativity and clear forward planning. (Kelly & Baker trades).
4. Historically not moving on players at the point where they're most valuable. Again due to poor strategic planning and inaccurate assessment of our list and the direction of the game.

The recruitment of Starcevich, Robertson and Young are moves based on short term survival rather than building towards sustained success. The same applies to last year's draft and FA moves.

Pyke is in no position to talk about past list management mistakes until he drives a successful offseason.

This is a very myopic view of our list management. The club identified that we had a gulf of talent in the 25-30 age bracket and lacked leadership and went out and got Baker and Graham. Simultaneously, we brought in more kids through the draft. This off-season is much the same.

There are two complimentary goals - to improve competitiveness in the short term and to build the foundations for our next premiership side. So far, so good.

Our draft strategy is likely to change as early as 2026 as more players hit that 50-game barrier and competition for spots increases.

 

[eaglevision]

Maybe and I do love to melt, I still wear my bed wetters badge from last off season proudly but potentially there’s more to play here.

Maybe we get a 3rd back from the Lions to trade for Young, perhaps we exchange a few picks to help them with a few more points.

Let’s just see how it all unfolds.

Either way we’re brining in 3 best 22-25 players via trade and at least 2 top ten draft picks (hopefully 3).

I do like the glass half full approach. Sounds a little like if you inherited $1M from grandma Puma then blew 500k of it at the casino you’d still walk away happy with the remaining 500k.

Hopefully Twomey is wrong. Glass half full.

 

[FootyOutlier]

Chat GPT has told me this is West Coast Eagles potential moves.

Word out of Lathlain is that Matthew Clarke has locked in a two-part trade plan:


Step 1 — Starcevich deal

• West Coast give up: Priority Pick 19 (AFL assistance)
• Brisbane give up: Brendan Starcevich

Clarke reportedly told Eagles staff:

“You don’t risk free agency games — you lock it in and pay overs.”

Step 2 — Young deal

• West Coast give up: Picks 2 + 20
• Richmond give up: Tylar Young + Pick 4

The logic? Clarke is convinced Tylar Young is the defensive “rock” to carry West Coast through the next five years, and reckons sliding from Pick 2 to Pick 4 is “basically the same thing, with a ready-made general thrown in.”

 

[plays tall 1]

I posted the above last Tuesday

Yes, I was wrapped in tin foil but tonight’s developments have only reinforced my belief the AFL have orchestrated all this

Consider:

• Cal Twomey was reporting our draft assistance package last week as being up to 4 rookie list spots and an end of R1 priority pick that might need to be traded. As the week wore on he dropped the need to trade bit
• He wasn’t just close to being right, he was bang on when no other journalists were reporting anything
• When discussing the R1 priority pick he immediately linked it to a potential Starcevich trade to avoid diluting our Oscar Allen compensation and was unequivocal about it. There was no wriggle room that it was around the mark just an almost statement of fact it would happen like he knew. I’ve not known him to be so clear cut when discussing other potential trades
• One of our original requests was to remove the dilution of FA compensation when bringing in a Free Agent but this was denied
• The assistance packages given to North were both announced the day of the Brownlow. Ours wasn’t announced until the Tuesday after the GF - over a week later
• The main beneficiary of Brisbane receiving the end of R1 priority pick is Brisbane. Why would the AFL help Brisbane? I’m sure it’s coincidental that the former Brisbane CEO is now in charge of determining our assistance package. Remember that on his first day in his new job Swann said he didn’t believe we deserved any draft assistance/priority picks
• It was reported that West Coast contacted Brisbane the day of the GF to check on Starcevich’s health/condition. That’s pretty unusual to contact a rival club about a player who had yet to announce his intentions to seek a trade
• The end of R1 priority pick just happens to be the same pick as the likely Band 2 compensation Brisbane would receive for Starcevich had they not been bringing a FA

This was all sorted out last week between the clubs and the AFL but took until after the GF to be finalised - hence the delay in making the announcement

I’m giving Clarke a pass on this one. My fervent belief is that we were told the priority pick was conditional on it being traded to Brisbane and in return we’ll be guaranteed pick 2 for Oscar Allen

We get Starcevich without diluting our compensation and get a free pick to trade for him so effectively get him for free. Brisbane get some additional points to match the inevitable bid on Annable - expect they won’t ontrade the pick and it will ultimately vanish into thin air like it never existed. The AFL can point to them already giving us a priority pick if we seek any further help

Call it copium or whatever, IDGAF - this is the AFL orchestrating a result that suits them (and helps old mate look out for his former club)

On Duffield’s podcast, didn’t Pyke discuss the possibility of trading up using the priority pick?

 

[jatz14]

Bit over the top don't you think chief?

Can you show me where I denied his history is a concern?

When you implied he is in exactly the same situation as any other player.

 

[Broken_Chairs]

The end of R1 priority pick just happens to be the same pick as the likely Band 2 compensation Brisbane would receive for Starcevich had they not been bringing a FA

This was all sorted out last week between the clubs and the AFL but took until after the GF to be finalised - hence the delay in making the announcement

I’m giving Clarke a pass on this one. My fervent belief is that we were told the priority pick was conditional on it being traded to Brisbane and in return we’ll be guaranteed pick 2 for Oscar Allen

Few things:

• Brisbane finished 18th, so wouldn't their band 2 compo be immediately after their second round pick - Pick 36? End of first round would be their compo for band 1.
• If pick 19 was required to be used for Starcevich, then why wouldn't that condition be set (that it must be traded)?

 

[eaglevision]

Few things:

• Brisbane finished 18th, so wouldn't their band 2 compo be immediately after their second round pick - Pick 36? End of first round would be their compo for band 1.
• If pick 19 was required to be used for Starcevich, then why wouldn't that condition be set (that it must be traded)?

Band 1 compo is after 1R pick (19)
Band 2 compo is end of 1R (19)
Band 3 compo is after 2R pick (37)

In this case band 1 and band 2 compo would be the same pick (in isolation)

 

[Jeremy McLovin]

Few things:

• Brisbane finished 18th, so wouldn't their band 2 compo be immediately after their second round pick - Pick 36? End of first round would be their compo for band 1.
• If pick 19 was required to be used for Starcevich, then why wouldn't that condition be set (that it must be traded)?

Band 1 is immediately after first rounder, band 2 is end of first round. Admittedly very little difference for the premiers but band 1 is still ahead of other teams' band 2's, such as Draper, Silvagni, Worpel.

 

[maverick001]

He was concussed mid-2024, pre-season 2025 and then in Round 1 2025.

Brisbane gave him 3 months off just to be cautious. He could have come back earlier but we decided to be conservative - at that point we had Noah Answerth playing his role anyway.

He was hit in the Grand Final but did not get concussed. He passed the HIA and was completely fine after the match.

His concussion history isn’t great, but it’s also nowhere near as bad as many in the media are making it out to be. It is a concern but it’s not anywhere near as bad as somebody like Paddy McCartin, for example.

Also - to the person who keeps quoting his disposal numbers… he’s the best mid-size lockdown defender in the competition. Look at Dangerfield’s numbers on the weekend and that will show you his impact.

If it was 3 weeks to be conservative then maybe we wouldn’t be concerned, but 3 months is sure as hell concerning, conservative or not.
How is it you come to the conclusion his concussions issues aren’t as bad as the media makes out. 3 in <12 months is fact. What facts do you have to support your thesis
Also by saying that Lions weren’t concerned keeping him out of the side because you had Answerth playing his role doesn’t really jive with the idea of him being the best lock down mid size defender in league. Same with GF day, given the job he was doing on Danger, and that the game was still up for grabs at 3/4 time, surely he comes back in if there’s no concern
Reeks of a Brisbane cover up

 

[ThePuma #9]

I do like the glass half full approach. Sounds a little like if you inherited $1M from grandma Puma then blew 500k of it at the casino you’d still walk away happy with the remaining 500k.

Hopefully Twomey is wrong. Glass half full.

Haha I like the analogy but to give you one in return I’m more like the fat kid at prom who has asked all the girls for a dance, only for them all to say no, so now I’m sitting in the corner feeling sorry for myself and 3 girls, moderately good looking, ask me to dance.

At this point they’re all ****ing 10’s and I’m popping champagne like a pimp.

**** tomorrow, we partying tonight.

 

[Keys]

On Duffield’s podcast, didn’t Pyke discuss the possibility of trading up using the priority pick?

Just listened to it again

He said the Hawthorn pick and one of those picks to trade up in response to a question on whether they’d trade the priority pick for a player or use it in the draft - didn’t specifically say we’d use the priority pick to bundle up to move up the draft order but it could be interpreted that way

 

[Boohemian]

I posted the above last Tuesday

Yes, I was wrapped in tin foil but tonight’s developments have only reinforced my belief the AFL have orchestrated all this

Consider:

• Cal Twomey was reporting our draft assistance package last week as being up to 4 rookie list spots and an end of R1 priority pick that might need to be traded. As the week wore on he dropped the need to trade bit
• He wasn’t just close to being right, he was bang on when no other journalists were reporting anything
• When discussing the R1 priority pick he immediately linked it to a potential Starcevich trade to avoid diluting our Oscar Allen compensation and was unequivocal about it. There was no wriggle room that it was around the mark just an almost statement of fact it would happen like he knew. I’ve not known him to be so clear cut when discussing other potential trades
• One of our original requests was to remove the dilution of FA compensation when bringing in a Free Agent but this was denied
• The assistance packages given to North were both announced the day of the Brownlow. Ours wasn’t announced until the Tuesday after the GF - over a week later
• The main beneficiary of Brisbane receiving the end of R1 priority pick is Brisbane. Why would the AFL help Brisbane? I’m sure it’s coincidental that the former Brisbane CEO is now in charge of determining our assistance package. Remember that on his first day in his new job Swann said he didn’t believe we deserved any draft assistance/priority picks
• It was reported that West Coast contacted Brisbane the day of the GF to check on Starcevich’s health/condition. That’s pretty unusual to contact a rival club about a player who had yet to announce his intentions to seek a trade
• The end of R1 priority pick just happens to be the same pick as the likely Band 2 compensation Brisbane would receive for Starcevich had they not been bringing a FA

This was all sorted out last week between the clubs and the AFL but took until after the GF to be finalised - hence the delay in making the announcement

I’m giving Clarke a pass on this one. My fervent belief is that we were told the priority pick was conditional on it being traded to Brisbane and in return we’ll be guaranteed pick 2 for Oscar Allen

We get Starcevich without diluting our compensation and get a free pick to trade for him so effectively get him for free. Brisbane get some additional points to match the inevitable bid on Annable - expect they won’t ontrade the pick and it will ultimately vanish into thin air like it never existed. The AFL can point to them already giving us a priority pick if we seek any further help

Call it copium or whatever, IDGAF - this is the AFL orchestrating a result that suits them (and helps old mate look out for his former club)

This is definitely all within the realms of possibility. Another first round pick used towards Annables certainly helps diminish the criticism about the price paid by a premier to acquire a top five draft prospect for the second year in a row.

That said though - once the pick has been granted to us, what’s to stop us from reneging on the deal?

We’ve got the pick. Our licence is owned by the WAFC. What makes us obliged to follow through?

 

[Convocation]

How good is this thread!
Can’t wait to see what is to come when trades are completed

 

[Keys]

Few things:

• Brisbane finished 18th, so wouldn't their band 2 compo be immediately after their second round pick - Pick 36? End of first round would be their compo for band 1.
• If pick 19 was required to be used for Starcevich, then why wouldn't that condition be set (that it must be traded)?

Others have explained where the compensation lands

By saying we don’t have to trade the pick, the AFL get to say it was our choice to do so when it happens

 

[bzparkes]

Few things:

• Brisbane finished 18th,

Sorry to say but that was actually us

 

[Keys]

This is definitely all within the realms of possibility. Another first round pick used towards Annables certainly helps diminish the criticism about the price paid by a premier to acquire a top five draft prospect for the second year in a row.

That said though - once the pick has been granted to us, what’s to stop us from reneging on the deal?

We’ve got the pick. Our licence is owned by the WAFC. What makes us obliged to follow through?

What’s to stop us reneging on the deal?

Why might Brisbane not be lodging the FA paperwork for Allen tomorrow when he announced his intention to pursue his FA options over a month ago and was openly talking about joining Brisbane at the Brownlow

The Starcevich trade will go through and then the Allen deal will get lodged

 

[maverick001]

This all takes me back to last year when the news dropped we were about to trade 14 for Baker in straight swap.
At the same time as being in meltdown everyone convinced each other there must be more to it.
There wasn’t

 

[ThePuma #9]

What’s to stop us reneging on the deal?

Why might Brisbane not be lodging the FA paperwork for Allen tomorrow when he announced his intention to pursue his FA options over a month ago and was openly talking about joining Brisbane at the Brownlow

The Starcevich trade will go through and then the Allen deal will get lodged

Not that we will but we could play chicken with them.

They have till the 10th to lodge where as the trade period ends on the 15th.

I don’t think it will be a big deals. It’s in both clubs interests here to make it work for all parties.

 

[ThePuma #9]

This all takes me back to last year when the news dropped we were about to trade 14 for Baker in straight swap.
At the same time as being in meltdown everyone convinced each other there must be more to it.
There wasn’t

Well in fairness there was as we wanted more. No one could imagine Hawks would be such pricks and trade the pick from underneath us to try and strong arm us.

 

[Tugga27]

And you’ll keep defending everything the club does no matter how stupid or gullible it may be.

I haven't defend them champ.
I actually agreed with him.
It does piss me off.

Just don't need to be reminded 20 times per day.

 

[RustyShacklefordFalcon]

F*ck this thread is great. Open it up and think "How the f*ck has it smashed 6 pages in 2 hours?"

Read it and it's just melts, sprinkled with hysteria and served with side of bed-wetting and a large glass of pants-shitting about things that haven't even occurred yet.

Fantastic


View attachment 2444682

 

[Broken_Chairs]

Sorry to say but that was actually us

Haha I meant finished with 18th pick.

Also cheers everyone for the clarification re Band 2. Compo is a shitshow.

 

[Mr Q]

Who knows what the actual deal might end up being with Starcevich.

It might be Starcevich + F1 for 19 + F3 + No Annable bid, shoring up the Lions draft this year where they need points

Or they might have an iron in the fire for a mid-20s pick, and it's Starcevich + 26ish for 19.

Or it might just be 19 for Starcevich, and we don't care because we're not likely competitive during the Reign of the Lion.

 

[maverick001]

I know Starcevich is good and all, but can’t help but think we’re going about this the wrong way…..

Ginbey
Baker
Duggan (shit but we’ll keep playing him)
Allan
Hough
Starcevich
McCarthy
Not to mention Maric, Dewar and Greggo

That’s 7 mid or small size defenders plus the three others.
Maybe one of those 7 becomes a mid but even then the maths still doesn’t work.
Meanwhile our ruck and small forward stocks are dire, as our mids (harder to address though).
Watch us draft a Hbf in first round this year too.

*and just realised I’ve posted in the wrong thread

** Fixed - Keys