News 2020 Trade News Compendium

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Midweek moneyball: Dyson Heppell’s plea to Adam Saad plus latest AFL trade and contract news (Jon Ralph, Jon Anderson, Jay Clark and Glenn McFarlane, Herald Sun, 06/10)

Essendon players are increasingly pessimistic about the chances of Daniher remaining at the football club.

Daniher is finishing off a camping trip with good mate James Stewart from Birdsville to Mount Isa and is aware the club is keen for him to make a decision so it can get on with planning for 2021.

He has told teammates he is still “50-50” about his future but given he remains non-committal only weeks before the free agency period many believe he will now leave.

The view from teammates is that he has had a full year to consider his position and still hasn’t committed getting his body right, so a decision to break ties seems inevitable.

Brisbane is in the amazing position of having half a foot in the Grand Final with strong hopes of securing free agent Daniher, Nakia Cockatoo on the way from Geelong and two first-round picks given they secured Port Adelaide’s selection this year.
 
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Daniher nominates the Lions as his new home (Sam McClure, The Age, 07/10)

Joe Daniher has selected the Brisbane Lions as the club he wishes to play for in 2021.

Sources close to Daniher have confirmed to The Age that the star Essendon forward has made his decision on his future, with the Lions his preferred destination.

Daniher is a restricted free agent, meaning the Bombers have the ability to match any offer for him.
 
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Statement: Joe Daniher (Essendon, 07/10)

Essendon Football Club can confirm Joe Daniher has informed the club that he wishes to explore his free agency options.

General manager of list and recruiting Adrian Dodoro said the 26-year-old cited a change in lifestyle as the reason behind his desire to pursue free agency.

“We put forward a contract offer to Joe, but he has expressed his strong desire to live away from Melbourne,” Dodoro said.

“We understand that free agency is part of our industry and he has a right to explore his options.”
 
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Bombers may match Lions' offer to Daniher (Sam McClure, The Age, 07/10)

Any incentives in the deal Brisbane Lions put to Joe Daniher will not count towards the compensation Essendon will receive, making it more likely the Bombers will match the Lions' offer for the restricted free agent to force a trade.

The AFL has confirmed to The Age that only "guaranteed money" will be considered when the league computes what a club shall be given as compensation for a departing free agent.

Sources close to the Daniher deal believe the Lions are planning to offer Daniher a base rate of less than what he's earning in his final year at Essendon - more than $700,000 - due to his recent injury history.

That deal, however, could increase depending on how many games Daniher plays and how many goals he kicks.

The Lions may consider changing their offer to avoid having to negotiate a trade with the Bombers.

Daniher and his representatives began telling people on Wednesday morning that he wanted to play for Brisbane in 2021.

The best deal Essendon could hope for via free-agency compensation would be a first-round pick (pick seven). But even that would only happen if the Lions were willing to offer Daniher a long-term deal at significant money.

The key forward has been seriously affected by injury over recent seasons. Since the start of 2018 he has played 15 games for Essendon, with four this year.

For this reason, Brisbane may be more cautious with what they're willing to offer Daniher financially. It could be a heavily incentive-based contract, with games played and goals kicked built into the deal.
 
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Club Statement: Joe Daniher (Brisbane, 07/10)

The Brisbane Lions are excited that Joe Daniher has nominated our Club as his preferred new home for season 2021 and beyond.

The Club will work its way through the process of Free Agency with the AFL during the Free Agency trade period.

As a Club our number one priority at the moment is our finals campaign and focusing on our preparation toward this.
 
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Expect Essendon to play hardball with Brisbane Lions over the Joe Daniher deal (Sam Landsberger, Herald Sun, 07/10)

It is understood Essendon offered the brilliant goalkicker a four-year contract, which he rejected.

The Lions’ offer is understood to be heavily incentivised, with Daniher’s earning capacity to skyrocket if he can get his troublesome body right and play most matches.

Daniher has managed just 15 games since his 2017 All-Australian and best-and-fairest-winning 65-goal season.

The base salary of Brisbane’s offer is expected to be around $650,000.

The AFL confirmed to the Herald Sun that it would only take into account the guaranteed money, as well as Daniher’s age, when determining Essendon’s compensation pick.

The structure of Brisbane’s offer could drop the compensation from a first-round selection (No. 7) to an end-of-first-round selection (No. 20).

Essendon has the right to match Brisbane’s offer — because Daniher is a restricted free agent — and force Brisbane to strike a trade, which it will certainly do if it suspects it will only receive No. 20.

The most logical solution would be for Brisbane to ensure its contract offer was fat enough to deliver Essendon pick No. 7 as free agency compensation and avoid having to give anything up in a trade.

Port Adelaide signed Lion Tom Rockliff on a base salary of $600,000 per season in 2017, but Brisbane only received an end-of-first-round compensation pick.

But Rockliff was 27 at the time, whereas Daniher is a year younger at 26.

AFL integrity officer David Grossman must sign off on the contract, as he does for all deals.
 
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How the Dons could get nothing for Daniher (Jon Ralph, The Australian, 09/10)

Brisbane has made clear it is not prepared to trade for free agent Joe Daniher, adamant it will walk away and retain its two first-round picks if Essendon threatens to match its offer.

Essendon would ideally secure pick seven as free agency compensation to smooth his path north but the Lions’ incentivised offer for Daniher is likely to fall short of that first-round return.

It could mean Essendon receives only end-of-first-round compensation, and would consider matching the bid and try to retain Daniher for the second straight season.

But Essendon would then potentially lose Daniher for nothing if it matched a free agency bid because he could then walk into the pre-season draft, where Sydney has the third overall pick.

Sydney remained interested in Daniher despite losing out to the Lions and would snap up Daniher in a heartbeat.

He requested a trade to Sydney last year and despite their low-profile approach this year they continued to pitch to Daniher for his services.

It means the Dons will have to consider whether an end-of-first-round selection for Daniher is better than nothing.

The Lions brilliant injury management has seen them turn around the careers of Grant Birchall and Lincoln McCarthy, with Geelong’s Nakia Cockatoo and Daniher their next restoration projects.

Yet the Lions will have to play a delicate game of brinkmanship to secure Daniher as a free agent given Essendon’s determination to get maximum value from his loss.

The Herald Sun reported this week only guaranteed money in a contract is used to assess the free agency compensation for a departing player.

In an ideal world the Dons would secure pick seven for Daniher and move on.

But the closest parallel is the end-of-first-round compensation handed to Brisbane when Tom Rockliff signed a four-year deal on around $650,000-$700,000 a season.

Daniher’s deal will not be dissimilar in guaranteed money, meaning it is hard to see how it would be worthy of first-round compensation immediately after Essendon’s No. 6 selection.

Daniher has told some friends he would like to play more ruck at Brisbane given it frees him up to get up the ground.

But Brisbane recruited him as a key forward who they believe can play alongside Eric Hipwood and Dan McStay.

The Herald Sun understands Brisbane coach Chris Fagan has spoken to his key forwards to assure them he wants Daniher to play alongside them, not because of him.

Brisbane customarily plays two rucks in Stef Martin and Oscar McInerney, so potentially something would have to give instead of playing five key talls in the ruck and attack.

But Fagan continues to reassure his forwards they are all required in his system in 2021.
 
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Trade Period state of play: Who's going, who's undecided (Mitch Cleary, AFL.com.au, 12/10)

JOE DANIHER

The lure of Brisbane's medical team and anonymity in Queensland has driven the restricted free agent to the Lions. It remains unknown as to the exact length of the deal, which will prove a key factor in determining the free agency compensation the Bombers are offered. If it's five years at a healthy pay packet, the Bombers will likely be rewarded with a pick immediately after their first selection (currently No.6). However, anything less and it could be an end-of-first-round pick which may force them to match the Lions' offer and force a trade. As it sits, Brisbane currently has two first-round picks.

NAKIA COCKATOO

Brisbane took a chance on injury-plagued Geelong forward Lincoln McCarthy and turned his career around. Now they look like doing the same with his former teammate. The pair have the same manager, with Cockatoo well aware of Brisbane's exemplary medical history.

ALEX WITHERDEN

After 44 of a possible 46 games across 2018-2019, the 22-year-old has managed just six this year. The arrival of Grant Birchall and Callum Ah Chee and emergence of Brandon Starcevich have forced Witherden out of Chris Fagan's best side and it has the Lions open to outside offers. The Victorian has two years to run on his contract.
 
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Sam Edmund's Trade Update on Witherden, Narkle, Crouch, Cameron and More (Sam Edmund, SEN, 13/10)

Alex Witherden (Brisbane)

“He’s obviously gettable for the right suitor,” he said.

“Brisbane would very much entertain a trade if the right deal presented itself, but I don’t have a home for him at the moment.”

Charlie Constable, Nakia Cockatoo and Quinton Narkle (Geelong)

“There are a couple of fringe (Geelong players) that could be at new homes next year,” he said.

Charlie Constable is one of those, Nakia Cockatoo has been linked to Brisbane and someone like Quinton Narkle who we hear that he wants to move up and live around the Melbourne metropolitan area.
 
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Surly Boy

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"Sam on Alex Witherden:

Not a straightforward move given the contract.

...his papers were stamped in last years final series due to some of his performances."
 
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Early Daniher Discussions Far from Smooth between Bombers and Lions (Sammy Edmund, SEN, 15/10)

Essendon and Brisbane have met over Joe Daniher’s move to the Lions.

Despite Daniher being a restricted free agent, Lions list manager Dom Ambrogio and Bombers counterpart Adrian Dodoro have sat down for talks via Zoom on the wantaway forward.

Heavyweight player manager Tom Petroro, general manager of TLA, is also active and has held his own separate talks with Ambrogio and Dodoro – two of the fiercest negotiators in the industry.

But the early discussions between the Lions and Essendon have been far from smooth.

While Dodoro made headlines for his ambitious list of trade targets at Carlton in exchange for Adam Saad, sources said a similar collection of bold targets were put across the Lions’ desk despite Daniher’s restricted free agency status.

While the negotiations aren’t exactly flying along and Daniher’s shift from Essendon looms as a struggle for the second time in 12 months, both sides are taking comfort from the fact the lines of communication are, at least, open.

Complexity envelopes Daniher’s protracted move because Essendon and Brisbane are finding it hard to agree on the injury-plagued forward’s worth.

Do you value him at his peak? His wretched last three seasons? Even in his four games this year there was a wild difference between his eye-catching return in Round 14 and his other performances.

Essendon, Brisbane - and even Daniher himself - have to establish what his value is and that is the touchpoint.

The Lions contract offer for Daniher of $3 million over five years is widely rumoured. Insiders believe that would most likely equate to an end of first round compensation pick, at best, for the Bombers. The Dons want more.

The Lions will have pick 18 if they win the premiership. That also isn’t satisfying Essendon at this stage.

It all goes into the mix to help explain why the Lions are entertaining a trade to get Daniher to the Gabba.

Dodoro and Essendon can match the Lions deal, while the Lions might want flexibility in the way their Daniher contract is structured, whether it be back-ended, front-ended or incentive based.

Acquiring Daniher as a restricted free agent means the money is set for the life of the contract.

For now, it’s shadow boxing. But when the clock starts ticking, will the gloves come off?
 
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Sam Edmund's update on Isaac Smith and Jeremy Cameron plus the latest on Joe Daniher (Sam Edmund, SEN, 15/10)

“Watch this space on Joe Daniher fair to say,” he said.

“This might go the distance, the awkward nature of it is how do the two parties (in Essendon and Brisbane) come to a decision on what he’s worth.

“As a restricted free agent, it adds another layer of complexity and this could go so many different ways.

“The ball is in Brisbane’s court at the moment – they have picks 18 and 19 in the draft it looks like and Essendon aren’t going to accept those picks, so they have to do something better.

“Assume of course that their contract offer isn’t enough to trigger a first round free agency pick, I don’t think it will be and then if it doesn’t and Essendon don’t have that offer yet, we’re going to have an issue.”
 
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Johnny Bananas

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Knocked out Lions confirm they are ‘very keen’ to add Bombers gun for flag tilt
Matt Balmer, Fox Sports, 18/10

“We are obviously pretty keen to get Joe Daniher to our club,” Fagan revealed post-game.

“We think he can help. We are already in the business of improving for next year, so we won‘t let the grass grow under our feet.”
 
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What Essendon want for Joe Daniher (Sam Edmund, SEN, 20/10)

ESSENDON will demand a top 10 pick before they grant Joe Daniher clear passage to Brisbane.

The Bombers are also set to pursue a “sweetener” in the form of a later draft pick or a pick swap in any Daniher exchange.

And the club is determined to match the Lions’ offer for restricted free agent Daniher if that Lions contract only gives them an end of first round pick, or worse, as compensation.

Essendon’s first pick in the national draft is six, meaning the best result they can hope for under the AFL’s compensation formula for losing Daniher is pick seven.

The key forward earlier this month exercised his free agency rights to nominate Brisbane as his club of choice, marking the second time in 12 months that he has tried to leave Essendon.

Essendon has consistently showed its intent to keep Daniher, 26, confident he can recapture his peak form and believing he can do that for a long time yet.

The two clubs have held early talks over what a Daniher move would like, with a trade scenario still possible.

The Lions have picks 16 and 17 in next month’s draft.

Essendon is yet to be told what Brisbane’s contract is for Daniher, despite reports of a five-year deal worth around $600,000 a season.

Brandon Ellis last year left Richmond for Gold Coast as a restricted free agent on those exact terms. Ellis is only seven months older than Daniher and the Tigers received a second-round compensation pick – No.39 overall.

When Tom Rockliff departed Brisbane for Port Adelaide at the end of 2017 at age 27 on a four-year contract worth around $650,000, the Lions received an end-of-first-round compensation pick.

The added layer of complexity when it comes to Daniher is how Essendon and Brisbane find common ground on what the injury-plagued forward is worth.

Do they value him at his peak? His wretched last three seasons? Even in his four games this year there was a wild difference between his eye-catching return in Round 14 and his other performances.

But as things stand, the Lions would need to offer a substantial contract to trigger the first-round compensation pick (No.7) the Bombers will demand, or work a trade.

The ball is in the Lions’ court.
 
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Trades state of play: The verdict on AFL’s biggest fish and where they will land (Max Laughton, Fox Sports, 20/10)

Joe Daniher (Free agent)

It feels like this will be a lot easier than last year. Daniher wants to join Brisbane, partially thanks to their medical team - which he has a prior connection to - and now it’s about the size of the deal on offer. If it’s big enough, Essendon would receive a first-round compensation pick, which would fall at Pick 7. That might be good enough to let the key forward walk, though the Bombers have reportedly asked about some gun players as well. If the compo comes in as an end-of-first-round pick, a trade would be very likely, especially since Brisbane has two end-of-first-round picks - 16 and 17 - in its pocket to trade away. In a sense, all parties might prefer a larger contract offer because the situation would be simpler, though the Lions have done well not to overpay players in their recent list build. How does this sound: Brisbane uses its two first-rounders to get a top 10 pick and throws in a future pick swap?
 
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Sam Edmund's Trade Update on Dunkley, Witherden, Caldwell and More (Sam Edmund, SEN, 21/10)

Alex Witherden (Brisbane)

“The Lions might find it hard to find rival interest,” he said on SEN’s Whateley.

“That is a pretty healthy deal he’s still on at Brisbane, whether other clubs are willing to absorb that remains to be seen.”
 
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Trade Period state of play: Your club's targets, who's on the table (AFL.com.au, 26/10)

BRISBANE

Who they're after
: Essendon restricted free agent Joe Daniher has already indicated he's keen to join the Lions. They're also interested in injury-plagued Cat Nakia Cockatoo and don't be surprised if there's another midfielder on the radar we're not aware of yet.

Who's on the table: Young utility Cedric Cox has sought a trade back to his home state of Western Australia, and while there's no official word, other clubs believe half-back Alex Witherden is gettable. Witherden still has two years left on his contract.

Who's in limbo: Veterans Stefan Martin, Grant Birchall and Ryan Lester are all out of contract. Martin and Birchall are weighing up their future, although the latter played enough games in 2020 to trigger a clause for a further season if he wants to play on. Utility Mitch Hinge is also without a deal.

Who's already gone: Jacob Allison, Allen Christensen, Matt Eagles, Corey Lyons, Sam Skinner, Toby Wooller

Dream trade period: The priority is to get Daniher, Cockatoo and another classy midfielder/forward through the door, even at the expense of future picks. – Michael Whiting
 
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Who’s in, who’s out and which clubs are under the pump? AFL trades preview (David Zita and Matt Balmer, Fox Sports, 26/10)

BRISBANE

Who they’re targeting


The Lions went one better in 2020 after reaching the Preliminary Final, but were defeated by a red-hot Geelong. Essendon tall Joe Daniher has nominated the club, with coach Chris Fagan a huge fan of the injury-prone forward. He will form a damaging combination alongside Eric Hipwood and Dan McStay if he can remain available for selection, with the Lions struggling in front of goal this year. Zippy Cat Nakia Cockatoo also is likely to join after battling injuries since being taken with a top 10 pick by the club.

Who might leave

The Lions appear to be settled with their side, but utility Cedric Cox wants to be traded to Western Australia for family reasons. Cox was a bolter during his draft year of 2016 after playing local football in country Victoria. The Eagles have shown some interest in him.

Draft picks

16, 17, 38, 64, 80, 88

Verdict

Daniher’s signing will be a big boost for the club if their medical team can get him back to his best after a number of horror years for the tall. Brisbane certainly will be at the pointy end of the ladder and if they get their goalkicking right, they’ll win more games than 2020.
 
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Geelong now faces a massive off-season with the club set to be a major player during the AFL trade period (Nick Wade and Jon Ralph, Herald Sun, 26/10)

Geelong is resigned to the fact injury-prone No. 10 draft pick Cockatoo will leave, and Brisbane is prepared to offer up a pick – perhaps a late second-rounder or early third-rounder.

Brisbane is aware it has now plucked Lincoln McCarthy and Cockatoo away from the Cats so will not want to insult them over a trade deal.
 
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Inside Trading: Free agents in limbo, Dons' first-round pick snag (Mitch Cleary, Callum Twomey, Nathan Schmook and Riley Beveridge, AFL.com.au, 26/10)

Brisbane's No.1 ruckman Stefan Martin also falls into unrestricted free agency and is yet to receive an offer from the Lions for next season.

However, the soon-to-be 34-year-old has opened dialogue with the club over the prospect of extending his career and is still most likely to stay.

AFL.com.au reported last week Brisbane defender Grant Birchall had triggered a contract for next season that he was putting the finishing touches on.

The free agency period opens on Friday as Brisbane prepares to land Daniher, who has exercised his free agency rights to head there.

The Bombers can match the offer and then push it to a trade deal, but the Lions are focused on securing him as a free agent.
 
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AFL Trade Radio (On Joe Daniher): "We haven't had that indication (that the Bombers will match). We will lodge the paperwork and from there it's something they Bombers will decide"

- David Noble

AFL Trade Radio: "Our head of medical was at Essendon while Joe was there in 2015 and 2016... he has an understanding and has worked with Joe. From our information we have with Joe, we think we can get him on the paddock"

- David Noble

AFL Trade Radio: "Alex (Witherden) is contracted. We think healthy internal competition (for spots) is a good thing. We don't make any apologies for having internal competition. There needs to be competition for all positions in our team"

- David Noble

AFL Trade Radio: "He loves it up here and at this stage we expect him to be here"

- David Noble re: Alex Witherden

AFL Trade Radio: "We certainly have an interest in Nakia (Cockatoo). If he chose to come here, there's a number of different roles he can play for us"

- David Noble

AFL Trade Radio: "We are proactive, that's the way we try to play it. We have had ongoing conversations with their managers"

- David Noble on Cam Rayner and Hugh McCluggage, who are both out of contract next year

AFL Trade Radio: "We are in a real flux with TPP and the list numbers. Unfortunately Stef (Martin) fits in that one. We would like to give him more clarity. We just don't know what it looks like with list numbers. It's not a great place to be in, because we really value Stef"

- David Noble

AFL Trade Radio (on Stef): "We'd like to keep him, but we aren't sure if that list size number will allow us to do that"

- David Noble

AFL Trade Radio: "It's not in our strategy, as we have gone for the tall (Daniher). We have been proactive in re contracting players, so our cap is elsewhere. Adam wouldn't be an option"

- David Noble re: Adam Treloar

AFL Trade Radio: "Grant (Birchall) has hit his trigger so he has indicated he will go around again"

- David Noble
 
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‘Adam wouldn’t be an option’: Brisbane Lions rule out play for Adam Treloar (Ben Waterworth, Fox Sports, 27/10)

Brisbane football boss David Noble has emphatically declared Collingwood star Adam Treloar “wouldn’t be an option” for the club to recruit this trade period.

But asked if the Lions would sound out Treloar should he make the move to Queensland, Noble told AFL Trade Radio: “No.”

Noble said the club had committed to recruiting key forward Joe Daniher, who’s told the Bombers he wishes to exercise his free agency rights and join the Lions, and that it would be tough to fit Treloar into the club’s list and total player payments (TPP) structures.

“There’s probably three things. One, your strategy overall, you’ve got to be clear that if it fits into your strategy going forward, well that’s your first tick. The second tick is you’ve got to have a spot on the list and third you’ve got to be able to have some capacity in your TPP,” Noble said.

“If I go back to the first one, it’s probably not in our strategy at this point in time. We’ve gone for the tall (Daniher).

“List spots … we’re struggling to understand what that looks like. And TPP, we’ve been pretty proactive in re-contracting a lot of our players already, therefore our cap is probably maneuvered around in a few other bits and in areas of the moment that wouldn’t allow us to probably to do that.

“So for us, Adam wouldn’t be an option.”
 
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Lions GM Comments on Treloar, Daniher, Cockatoo, Witherden, Mccluggage and More (SEN, 27/10)

Brisbane General Manager of Football David Noble has provided an update on a number of players heading into the trade period.

Noble gave answers on Adam Treloar and his potential move to Queensland, their targeting of Joe Daniher and Nakia Cockatoo, the futures of Stefan Martin, Alex Witherden, Hugh McCluggage and Cam Rayner.

Read his responses below.

Adam Treloar

“No (we’re not interested) on the basis that … there’s three things, one, strategy overall, you’ve got to be clear that if it fits into your strategy overall that’s your first tick,” Noble told AFL Trade Radio.

“The second tick is you’ve got to have a spot on the list and the third is you’ve got to have some capacity in your total player payments.

“If I go back to the first one, it’s probably not in our strategy at this point in time. We’ve gone for the tall (in Joe Daniher).

“List spots, we’re struggling to understand what that looks like and TPP, we’ve been pretty proactive in re-contracting a lot of our players already and so our cap is probably positioned around a few other areas at the moment that wouldn’t allow us to do that.

“For us, Adam wouldn’t be an option.”

Joe Daniher


“We’re hopeful that we’ll be able to lodge the paperwork and he comes to us in that free agency mechanism straight away,” Noble said.

“We’ve probably played two rucks in the last couple of years and we’ve seen a lot of games where we have three talls, so we’re keen to add Joe into our forward end with Eric Hipwood and Dan McStay and see if those three can really fit.

“They all play a slightly different role. Eric and Dan can be the lead up guys … Joe is a bit more of that stay at home, create havoc down there and go into the ruck.

“That allows us to think if we can go in with one ruck and an additional tall.”

Alex Witherden

“Alex is contracted. We had a good exit meeting with him last week and he understands the level of competition that’s in that position,” Noble said.

“Healthy internal competition is good, it helps drive players to improve. Alex understands that there is competition in and around that, with Brandon Starcevich this year, Noah Answerth is another one.

“We don’t make any apologies for having that internal competition and one of the big pushes that’s allowed us to have success is our development team and the way our NEAFL guys have been able to perform.

“Witherden loves it up here. He understands where that sits. We’ve only just had our exit meetings last week so they’re pretty quick, you only have 10 or 15 minutes, but at this stage we expect him to be here.”

Nakia Cockatoo


“I don’t know if we’ve spoken to Geelong a lot about Nakia. We certainly have an interest in him and have flagged that with his management, that will obviously play out in the next week or two,” Noble said.

“If he chose to come here, we see him having an option of playing a few different roles for us.”

Hugh McCluggage and Cam Rayner

“I’d like to get a lifetime contract for them if I could. We’re certainly proactive, that’s the way we’ve tried to play it.”

“It’d be fair to say we’ve had ongoing conversations with both of their managers in that space.

“It doesn’t mean there’s anything looming in the next week or two, but we would love to extend those guys and we’re certainly having those conversations with their managers now.”

Stefan Martin

“Like of all us, we’re in a real flux with the Total Player Payments and the list numbers and Stefan fits into that one,” Noble said.

“He’s helped us through some really tough periods. We would like to have more clarity for ourselves and to give him a better indication.

“He’s a player we’ve got interest in, we just don’t know about the list numbers unfortunately.”
 
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