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

 

[txbyhull]

if we get half way through next season and Grego still isn’t playing in the guts of the beagles every week I’ll be devo

 

[Elite Pete]

if we get half way through next season and Grego still isn’t playing in the guts of the beagles every week I’ll be devo

I think he will be playing as a defender at both levels next year. They clearly changed the way he was used during the season and even stuck with it was only Gross as the midfielder in the WAFL in the 2nd half of the season.

 

[txbyhull]

I think he will be playing as a defender at both levels next year. They clearly changed the way he was used during the season and even stuck with it was only Gross as the midfielder in the WAFL in the 2nd half of the season.

Yeah I find it to be quite a shame. Could really use Grego’s hard work and defensive application in the middle

 

[Elite Pete]

Yeah I find it to be quite a shame. Could really use Grego’s hard work and defensive application in the middle

Definitely looked a class above in some of his games in the WAFL when playing in the middle.

Also don’t think he looked out of place in the backline in his afl game.

Could play a decent amount of afl next year, will be interesting to see how Duncan and Mini shape that back line. Hard to fit them all in, I thought Duursma was certain to start off the hbf but he might play forward depending how this off season shapes.

 

[txbyhull]

Definitely looked a class above in some of his games in the WAFL when playing in the middle.

Also don’t think he looked out of place in the backline in his afl game.

Could play a decent amount of afl next year, will be interesting to see how Duncan and Mini shape that back line. Hard to fit them all in, I thought Duursma was certain to start of the hbf but he might play forward depending how this off season shapes.

Definitely. Think the rugby export factor does wonders for his readiness to the speed in the contest in terms of tackling, tracking, and stopping his man. Think he could play every game next season in the middle of the Beagles. A midfield rotation down there of Bo, Grego, Long, Gross, Banfield, etc.

Starts to show a little something

 

[chaddy22]

Clarke provides Trade Period update

The Eagles will be active in the Trade Period which runs until Wednesday, October 15

www.westcoasteagles.com.au

West Coast’s Head of List Management and Recruiting Matt Clarke spoke to Trade Radio and provided an update on the Eagles’ player movement activity.

Guess the own club doesnt know what our own employees do. Its bzparkes who decides what they do

The
@WestCoastEagles
have informed all of their NGA prospects they will be nominated without guarantee. Recruiting boss Duane Massey this morning met with Tylah Williams, Koby Evans and Wes Walley. The Eagles intend to take them but won’t be obliged.
@9NewsPerth

@FootyonNine

 

[juice568]

if we get half way through next season and Grego still isn’t playing in the guts of the beagles every week I’ll be devo

Hes never going to make it as an afl midfielder. You need a grade talent like harley and duursma.

 

[Elite Pete]

Definitely. Think the rugby export factor does wonders for his readiness to the speed in the contest in terms of tackling, tracking, and stopping his man. Think he could play every game next season in the middle of the Beagles. A midfield rotation down there of Bo, Grego, Long, Gross, Banfield, etc.

Starts to show a little something

Yeah maybe sounds like Macrae will be in that mix too.

Not long until we get those training off-season reports and who is training where.

Bo, McCarthy, Duursma*, Duggan, Baker, Yeo, Hough, Maric, Grego all a chance to be playing as that modern day attacking half back flanker.

Baker more likely forward and pinch hitting in the middle imo.

Duggan back pocket or wing maybe.

 

[Elite Pete]

Hes never going to make it as an afl midfielder. You need a grade talent like harley and duursma.

He could maybe be the Atkins type but would likely need a few more preseason before he’s ready for midfield minutes.

 

[WCErevival]

If we were to sign Dev tomorrow during the DFA window, does he need to go on the main list?

 

[txbyhull]

If we were to sign Dev tomorrow during the DFA window, does he need to go on the main list?

Yes

 

[AsterixTheGaul]

We have 38 players contracted for 2026 and beyond, so courtesy of our expanded rookie list we have 10 places to fill - 5 on the main list, 4 Cat A rookie places and 1 Cat B opening

We currently hold picks 1,2,13,34,41,53 and 58 but can only take the same number of picks into the draft as we have list spots, so unless we trade a pick(s) prior to the November 7 deadline we will lose picks 53 and 58. It’s possible that picks 34 and 41 are traded to advance pick 13 further up the draft order or for a future pick(s) so watch this space in the coming days

We also have pick 1 in the Rookie Draft followed by 19,37 if necessary (they won’t be) plus pick 1 in the PSD that we could use to select Callum Ah Chee but won’t.

How will we round out our playing list for 2026?

Main list (5 places)
• Pick 1
• Pick 2
• Pick 13

That’s the easy part as we’ve clearly stated our intention to use three R1 picks, albeit we could split pick 2 and/or improve the position of pick 13. In any case we’ll use 3 picks into the top 13

But then it gets complicated as the last two spots could be filled by any of the following:

• Pick 34
• Pick 41
• Tylah Williams (Matched bid)
• Charlie Banfield (Matched bid)
• Koby Evans (Matched bid)

It’s possible that a bid for Williams could come late in R1 which would be a pick in the early 20s. If that happens we will need to match the points value of the pick less a discount of 84 points - it’s hard to know for certain since picks 34 and 41 will move around a bit due to matching of bids on other players but it’s probable those two picks combined would hold enough value to match a bid from the early 20s onwards. A bid would need to be within 3 spots of wherever pick 34 ends up for that pick to have enough value to match without using pick 41. Obviously if a bid doesn’t come before our 4th pick (34) we could use that selection and still be able to match a subsequent bid using pick 41

Once the draft hits pick 37, a bid can be matched with the next available pick provided there’s a vacant list spot available. I think it’s fair to assume any bid for Banfield or Evans comes after this point and may not eventuate at all

So the 4th spot will be either Williams or pick 34 if we either don’t match a bid or one doesn’t come. Whether we match a bid depends on where our recruiters rank Williams in comparison to who might still be on the board at our next pick - there’s some handy types going around that range in mock drafts so matching a bid, whilst achievable, is far from guaranteed

We would still then have a 5th live pick which could be used on another player or passed/traded out whilst we wait for a potential bid on either Williams (if no bid before 34), Banfield or Evans. Again, that decision would be based on the club’s rankings of who is still available in comparison to those 3 players

Once that 5th pick is used, we would not be able to match an any bid on (and therefore lose) whoever is remaining from Banfield, Evans or Williams - it would be at least 1 and possibly 2 we’d be unable to match. Suspect the club is happy to roll the dice on a bid not coming for Evans but the decision to not create a 6th list opening means we could lose one of Williams/Banfield if there’s no bid before 34 on Williams and we use that pick instead

If we don’t match an early bid for Williams and a bid doesn’t come for either Banfield or Evans there’s a possibility we don’t fill that 5th spot on draft night

Rookie list (4 places)
• Robertson is locked in for one spot
• Another DFA/SSP signing like Macrae by way of example only

Would leave two spots to be filled by any of the following:

• Evans (if he gets through the main draft without a bid)
• Banfield (if he gets through the main draft without a bid)
• Pick 1 of the Rookie Draft
• Another DFA/SSP signing

Cat B list (1 place)
• Notionally this spot will be filled by Wes Walley who is unlikely to attract a bid in the main draft. However, if Evans gets through without a bid he can be added to the Cat B list and a decision would then need to be made whether to add both Walley and Evans. This would necessitate moving Champion to the Cat A list and using up one of those last two rookie list spots mentioned above

In conclusion, we are essentially committed to filling 4 of the 10 spots with our 3x R1 picks and Dev Robertson. If we were to then add Banfield and all 3 NGA players, it would still leave two other open spots - at least one of which will be another DFA. The other could be a 4th draft pick if that comes before there’s a bid on Williams or alternatively pick 1 in the Rookie Draft.

If we miss one or both of Banfield/Evans we will be turning to the Rookie draft and/or another signing from the DFA discard pile to fill the spot they’d have otherwise taken.

Best case scenario they both end up on our list, but if they don’t we’re choosing from the undrafted or delisted instead which would be the cost of not shifting Cripps to the rookie list - people can make up their own mind on how significant that is

1) Pick 1 - will be Duursma
2) Pick 2 - probably CDT
3) Pick 13 - ???
4) Pick 34 or Williams - there will probably be a bid before 34 but not sure we match
5) Banfield/Evans - matched bid
6) Evans/Banfield- assuming the other doesn’t attract a bid
7) Robertson
8) Macrae
9) RD Pick 1 - ???
10) Walley or DFA (both if we miss on Evans or Banfield)

I’d like something done with 34+41 pre draft. Preferably bundling up Ora’s a Future

We will lose 53+58 as we can only take 5 points bearing picks into the draft and once the 3xQld Dean and other academy bids arrive, 53+58 will deliver decent points for any FS or NGA matching

 

[stallon]

He did play majority half back in the WAFL as well. They had no issue throwing Gross and Grego in the middle early for the Beagles.

They might not be set for where they see him playing and it also might change but all indications early are it’s as a defender in the WAFL and AFL.

Remembering his interrupted start the to the year, I dont think its that much of a surprise.

In terms of getting everybody games, Gross and Grego in the middle with Allan off half back seemed to make the most sense.
Allan was the most likely to be able to genuinely impact, and half back was the most likely spot to be able to throw a first year player into considering the make up of our midfield was already so young.
Gross was clearly a bit of a liability in the middle when he got a chance, and Grego didnt get a chance until gifted a game at the end of the year.

We needed somebody to play midfield in the WAFL anyway, Gross and Grego were just the 2 best fits.

Im maintaining that we played Allan at half back mainly to get him into the side, until I see something more concrete.

Where he trains this off-season will be a better indication imo(at least for our short term intentions for him), interesting to see how the young mids are shuffled if we add multiple mids in the first round and 2-3 inside mid rookies

 

[stallon]

Hes never going to make it as an afl midfielder. You need a grade talent like harley and duursma.

You need a couple of role players that can roll through the middle too, not every midfielder has to be a star.

 

[Bacchus]

Thing is, he is undersized, struggles to kick over a jam tin and ist a good shot at goals. He isn’t going to take over head marks so he needs the crumbing smarts which he didn’t seem to have. His only chance is as a proper midfielder and he is way down the order pecking order there…

It’s ok to give him a mulligan from his injury in 25 but if he doesn’t show significant, not just a speck here and there, he is prime delisting fodder

Disagree about his kicking.

 

[Goroyals22]

Disagree about his kicking.

Which part? This season he had a 30% scoring accuracy off a 52% kicking efficiency.. his scoring accuracy had been 25% and 28% in his first two years and he hasn’t kicked at better than 60% kicking efficiency in his three seasons.. doesn’t scream elite ball user

 

[uptheWC]

You can argue about the relative attributes of player but it's a consensus opinion that Banfield had a very strong championships. His production would have been a lot higher than both Barker or LeRay if he was playing for South Australia.

In a perfect world WA's midfield should have been led by Evans, Banfield and Farrow. Instead it was lead by Rodriguez, Kelly and Swaddling.

Rodriguez was WA’s best performed player at the champs, what makes you think Evans or Banfield would’ve been better through the middle? Swadling didn’t even get centre bounces and was forced to play off a hff, but still contributed and made AA. Farrow had a good champs off half back but when played as a mid didn’t look all that great. Kelly was also solid albeit nothing too special.

 

[SAweagle]

If he was to push Cripps, Owees, Brockman out of the forward line with superior work rate, defensive pressure or goal kicking them thats a huge win for us and as a likeable kid I'd be thrilled for him to upgrade on any of those 3.

But realistically, his debut season was promising because as a rookie he had zero expectation on him, attracted no mind from the opposition, and was allowed to basically just go out and play to his strengths in circumstances where we couldn't of fielded a 22 without him in it due to the worse injury list in history.

The knee injury didn't help him, but he's small he's slow he doesn't have any x-factor at all and for him to be an elite small forward in this competition, or part of an elite midfield rotation, would be incredible. He's got good vision and is clever[ish] in traffic, thats about it. McWalter didn't back him in this year when he did play ok [at about 90% the capacity of Cripps or Owee's while they were injured] so that doesn't bode well.

We still have all of Cripps, Owee's, Brockman, Champion, Hutchinson, Dewar who will look to get games forward ahead of him, that Newton kid. Then Duursma will need a spot. Bo Allen doesn't have a spot either from last years first round tickets. We may draft Dovaston or Williams or both. We may end up with a Robey or Grlj or Sharp who might actually play half forward well in their apprenticeship where Tom Gross couldn't. Baker isn't needed down back anymore. Duggan and Cole aren't really either. Graham will likely be pushed out of the middle if Yeo is fit, Hewett might get less mid minutes. Thats about half of the 22 or more who can probably make a stronger claim on his spot.

So logically, it would astonish me if he plays a game. But, I understand very little of how match committee arrives at their decisions so go Longy I guess.

Agree with your assertions, painfully, as i love what triers like Longy bring to a team. That raw enthusiasm and genuine love for the contest is not always present in youngsters and Noah has that.

Its a...long shot but i hope Noah can get super fit and find a place in Minis team in 2026.

 

[Wooshaaaa]

Rodriguez was WA’s best performed player at the champs, what makes you think Evans or Banfield would’ve been better through the middle? Swadling didn’t even get centre bounces and was forced to play off a hff, but still contributed and made AA. Farrow had a good champs off half back but when played as a mid didn’t look all that great. Kelly was also solid albeit nothing too special.

His point is, had Evans farrow and Banfield been prioritised in the midfield the best performer at the champs would likely have been very different, which is the extension of the point made earlier than that, that the coach wasn't great at selection.

 

[Proeagle]

Yeah maybe sounds like Macrae will be in that mix too.

Not long until we get those training off-season reports and who is training where.

Bo, McCarthy, Duursma*, Duggan, Baker, Yeo, Hough, Maric, Grego all a chance to be playing as that modern day attacking half back flanker.

Baker more likely forward and pinch hitting in the middle imo.

Duggan back pocket or wing maybe

Duggan is a major issue. Wouldn't be in my team at all. But he will be in, so the only positions he isn't a complete liability are loose man in defence, fwd pocket or bench. He gets slaughtered by wingman and most small fowards due to his slow pace. And has never shown enough in the middle.
If the team has an Owies type foward, that is an ok match up for him.

 

[AsterixTheGaul]

Duggan is a major issue. Wouldn't be in my team at all. But he will be in, so the only positions he isn't a complete liability are loose man in defence, fwd pocket or bench. He gets slaughtered by wingman and most small fowards due to his slow pace. And has never shown enough in the middle.
If the team has an Owies type foward, that is an ok match up for him.

I suggest an Owies match up means Duggan is playing WAFL

 

[Lia]

Long had a promising debut season in 2023 then had 2024 wrecked by the knee injury, since returning has not looked his best.

At his best he is a clever user of the footy who finds space easily and works hard both ways. If he could pop up for a couple goals a game and be able to go through the midfield rotation he would be best 22 easily. Very popular with teammates and fans alike he deserves another crack.

Thing is, he is undersized, struggles to kick over a jam tin and ist a good shot at goals. He isn’t going to take over head marks so he needs the crumbing smarts which he didn’t seem to have. His only chance is as a proper midfielder and he is way down the order pecking order there…

It’s ok to give him a mulligan from his injury in 25 but if he doesn’t show significant, not just a speck here and there, he is prime delisting fodder

Agree with both of these posts, he has some great attributes, but he needs to be able to play further up the ground and into the middle if he is to make it in my opinion. Career will die as a pure small forward.

 

[JoshWoodenSpoon]

Never understood the jam tin thing with Long. He's small but always surprised me with the hoof he's able to give it with, even with little time when turning on the wing to kick long to advantage. One of those ones where the perceived attribute doesn't match with actual output. Agree he has other shortcomings in size and speed and is vulnerable if he has another year like this one.

 

[FKASC]

How big’s the jam tin though? 201 or 204 mm?

 

[uptheWC]

His point is, had Evans farrow and Banfield been prioritised in the midfield the best performer at the champs would likely have been very different, which is the extension of the point made earlier than that, that the coach wasn't great at selection.

Rodriguez and Swadling had clearly had clearly shown they deserved to play in the middle based on colts output. That being said, the selection had its flaws including with Swadling being played of a hff