List Mgmt. 2025 Trade & List Management Thread

[giantroo]

Official FA Moves/Trades​

Spoiler

Player/Picks	Original Team	Receiving Team​	FA /Trade?
Tom De Koning	Carlton	St Kilda	RFA
Jack Silvagni	Carlton	St Kilda	UFA
Jacob Wehr	GWS	Port Adelaide	UFA
Sam Draper	Essendon	Brisbane	UFA
Oscar Allen	West Coast	Brisbane	RFA
Charlie Spargo	Melbourne	North Melbourne	UFA

Buku Khamis - requests a trade to Carlton
Wade Derksen - requests a trade to Melbourne
Liam Ryan

1

Liam Ryan

Age

29

Ht

181cm

Wt

76kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.3

3star

K

8.6

3star

HB

2.7

2star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.0

4star

G

1.3

5star

D

9.9

3star

K

8.0

3star

HB

1.9

1star

M

3.3

3star

T

1.6

3star

G

1.3

5star

D

11.4

3star

K

9.0

4star

HB

2.4

3star

M

3.8

4star

T

1.8

4star

G

1.6

5star

- requests a trade to St Kilda
Leek Aleer - requests a trade to St Kilda
Campbell Chesser - requests a trade to Carlton
Will Brodie

17

Will Brodie

Age

27

Ht

190cm

Wt

89kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

19.0

5star

K

8.2

3star

HB

10.8

5star

M

3.1

3star

T

4.9

5star

CL

4.1

5star

D

14.0

3star

K

4.0

1star

HB

10.0

5star

M

3.0

3star

T

1.0

2star

CL

3.0

4star

D

13.8

4star

K

7.4

3star

HB

6.4

4star

M

3.2

4star

T

5.4

5star

CL

2.8

5star

- requests a trade to Port Adelaide
Liam Reidy - requests a trade to Carlton
Sam Flanders - has requested a trade/explore options

 

[JGreezy]

Nothing more overrated than 'premiership experience'.

Premiership experience isn't just about the game itself. It's having played on successful sides and in multiple big games.

Our 32nd list spot can be used to roll the dice on another 19 year old with no experience and a weak body, or it can be a 25 year old, with 8 years of experience and has played in 9 finals.

 

[ohmygewd]

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/footys-free-agent-and-draft-disaster-where-to-now-and-how-do-we-make-it-fair/news-story/a0b5ae6ca63cfbc5d5fbd9deadd9242f

Spoiler

Footy’s free agent and draft disaster: Where to now and how do we make it fair?​

The AFL’s free agency system gives clubs over-inflated rewards for shopping established stars. It’s ruining an already-compromised AFL draft. Jon Ralph writes, this is how we fix it.
Jon Ralph

5 min read
August 29, 2025 - 5:00AM
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/...ory/a0b5ae6ca63cfbc5d5fbd9deadd9242f#comments

On face value the free agency developments of the week could be seen as an utter disaster for the AFL and its quest to equalise the competition.

Footy’s worst side West Coast forced to move its co-captain to the AFL premier Brisbane, using a free agency system that gives clubs ridiculously over-inflated rewards for shopping established stars.

Pick two as compensation for Oscar Allen when on the open market a club might hand over pick 25?

Where do we sign up?

And St Kilda forced to offer up nearly $14 million over eight seasons for Tom De Koning because the draft is so broken the club’s run of bottom-half ladder finishes hasn’t stocked its cupboard with elite talent.

The kicker?

Brisbane might secure not one, but two high-priced free agents in Allen and Draper in part because of a wildly unfair and inconsistent father-son system.

Instead of paying its midfield stars millions to win a flag it has father-sons Levi and Will Ashcroft and Jaspa Fletcher running around on minimum chips on AFL mandated deals.

No wonder they have enough salary cap savings that they can afford to offer Allen and Draper salaries that will likely have to top $850,000 if their current clubs are to secure band one compensation.

Gold Coast academy kids Zeke Uwland and Dylan Patterson and Brisbane’s academy mid Daniel Annable are all in contention for the top five of November’s draft.

So far, so very normal for an AFL based on the Orwellian ‘all things are equal’ principle.
But the events of the week also give the AFL a significant mandate for change.

New football boss Greg Swann might laugh at the timing given his Lions benefited so richly from the current system he will have to help dismantle.

The question is how the AFL do it without screwing over clubs like Carlton in the process, as the Blues await the arrival next November of freakish talent Cody Walker (son of Andrew).

The Herald Sun has already reported that the AFL has an appetite to tweak its free agency formula over summer so clubs do not get such outrageous returns when Allen or Ben McKay depart.

The Roos never even offered McKay a deal (North Melbourne ended up with pick four), while West Coast handed Allen several modest offers across the year but he never countered and those talks eventually broke down.

If the AFL changed its free agency compensation system so the very best return for a club with a departing free agent was pick 11 (after that year’s non-finalists) and only if the offer was seven figures a season, it would immediately make the system fairer.

Any free agents not on the top handful of AFL contracts would secure end-of-first-round compensation at best.

So Essendon would only secure pick 19 if Sam Draper departed, while the Eagles would be compelled to offer Allen a fairer deal so he didn’t eventually leave for an end-of-first-round pick.

Clubs like Carlton are now bracing for the AFL to exclude them from bidding in the first round of the 2026 draft for NGA and father-son talent.

It was only last year that clubs were allowed to again bid on players within the top 40 with NGA talent again to prioritise investment in indigenous and diverse talent, so it would be an almighty backflip.

But this year’s draft will be ridiculously compromised with 6-8 father-son, academy and NGA picks in the top 25 selections and compo picks for Tom De Koning, Jack Silvagni, Allen and potentially Draper set to dilute the draft even further.

Gold Coast’s view is that if the AFL bans them from matching bids in the first round of the draft, what is the point of investing $2m a year into trying to develop Queensland talent.

As football boss Wayne Campbell told Fox Footy’s telecast on Thursday: “We came out of last week’s meeting (with the AFL) being told this year would be the same for the 2025 draft. 2026 will be different but we don’t know what the differences will be.

“The balance is about development versus acquisition. You won’t develop unless you can acquire them. There is no incentive. Some would argue clubs can acquire them too easily but the northern academies work. We are developing talent and the rest of Australia isn’t doing as well on that front.

“You could argue that we have an advantage with academies but if you factor in all the other structural inequalities, it’s almost the only one.”

The AFL could ban clubs from bidding altogether on talent in the top five or 10 or 20 picks next year.

Surely the better solution is to have a decent crack at actually getting clubs to pay fair price before we go to the scorched earth model.

This year the AFL has reduced a 20 per cent discount for matched bids to 10 per cent and reduced the points value of draft picks past the top handful of picks, making stockpiling of late selections futile.

The issue is clubs rarely bid for rival talent exactly where they should be in the draft, so there is already a built-in discount.

If Brisbane is to finish top four this year then secure future 250-gamer Dan Annable in the top handful of draft picks, it should decimate the club’s entire draft hand for 2025 and require them to trade in a 2026 first-round pick.

It should be a vexing decision for a list management group, not a walk in the park.
Ditto with Carlton next year.

If Carlton is so desperate to secure the generational star it might have to trade out an established star to help elevate its mid-first round pick up the order to help acquire that top three pick it needs to match a bid.

Instead clubs scoffed at the AFL in recent years by trading out their future first-round picks when they had stars in coming drafts, so effortlessly could they match bids.

Carlton would feel it has been screwed over by the AFL if Brisbane was allowed to stockpile four elite young kids and take advantage of free agency rules then the moment its turn came, it was cut off at the knees.


Rivals would counter that they are about to get a top-10 compensation pick for Tom De Koning despite his lack of elite best-and-fairest finishes and secure father son Harry Dean and NGA talent Jack Ison this year.

But the AFL has options instead of just putting a hard-and-fast ban on bids in the first round of the draft.

It should tighten its bidding procedures even more next year.

Force clubs to pay a 20 per cent premium when they match a bid, not secure a discount for getting the rails run on star kids.

Require them to have a pick within three draft positions of any rival bid to get their player.
Mandate that clubs which finish in the top eight can only match one bid in any given year.
Ban the preliminary finalists from matching any bids.

There are myriad options that give the AFL the 2026 national draft – which has few northern states academy stars in prospect – another chance to fix the system without the doomsday scenario Blues fans fear.

"The issue is clubs rarely bid for rival talent exactly where they should be in the draft, so there is already a built-in discount."
That's the crux of the matter and unfortunately you cannot police whether clubs are colluding by not picking their talent early - if you don't pick player X, we won't pick your FS/NGA/Academy player y when it's our turn.
Nor do we know if highly touted players have bonus such as going 1 or top 10, top 10 etc that stops the team with the 1st pick forcing a bid ala Dacios - will WCE pick Uwland at 1 and then Rich pick Patterson at 4, then Annable at 5?

"Force clubs to pay a 20 per cent premium when they match a bid, not secure a discount for getting the rails run on star kids".
Absolutely, within the 1st round there should be a scale of a tax rather than discount:
1-5 = 20%
6-10=10%
11-18=5%
2nd Round = 2.5%
Have no points deficit = you don't have enough points within the allotted think time, bad luck.
It's great that Northern Academies are developing talent but in a competition that is all about equalisation, even with the current DVI, discounts make a mockery and hurts rebuilding teams.
This will also take the niceties of clubs of not wanting to force a bid as this is a mechanism for bottom teams to hurt higher team's draft hand should they want pursue a drafting the likes of Walter and Read in the top 10.

"Require them to have a pick within three draft positions of any rival bid to get their player."
Meh, DVI tax would take care of this.

"Mandate that clubs which finish in the top eight can only match one bid in any given year."
Idea is great but you won't get agreement and DVI tax would make it hard for a top 8 team to bid on 2 let alone, 3 players in the 1st round.

"Ban the preliminary finalists from matching any bids."
Too heavy handed imo, no need if you take discounts out and replace with a tax plus the reduced DVI points makes it harder to horde picks for points.

NBA has a similar function based on cap spending called the first and second apron.

It’s complicated, but essentially once you hit the second apron, you are extremely restricted in what you do with trades etc

You basically can only trade out, you can’t trade in. You can’t trade in additional picks, salary.


Can’t even trade one of your big contracts for multiple players on the same salary total.

It’s to prevent the large market teams (Lakers, Celtic, New York) etc dominating, as their salary cap is a soft cap, once you hit the first apron you start paying what’s called luxury tax in every $ above that cap. Once you start taking the piss, you essentially get extreme trade restrictions.

There could be a tweak based on that and ladder position.

I.E bottom clubs can spend a % of their cap on free agency.

Middle clubs can spend a % less

Top 4 can’t recruit via FA at all.

McGuire motioned a Luxury Tax years ago but the competition is not big enough and NBA teams are privately owned and usually operate as one team per state and l don't think he actually fully understands the ramifications of what a Luxury Tax can do to a club's finances - NBA teams are owned by billionaires. But yeah, in the NBA world a luxury tax is great to stop big market teams from buying out small market superstars as well as restrict free agent player movements that otherwise disadvantages smaller market teams.

AFLPA have made free agency too slanted to the player and l don't see AFL HQ giving the power to clubs to trade contracted players unless there is consent.

Salary dump - sure but the buying team should take the contract in full and not allowed to restructure or smoothen like the Cats did with Bowes. F3 for pick 7, it wouldn't happen if you exclude the top 8 from the first 10 picks?

I'd rather like to see a veteran salary cap plus vet max contract outside of the normal salary cap and only afforded to those sides in the bottom 3 or a 70% loss ratio. So, players like Darling, Parker and Corr (maybe LMac) are off the normal cap therefore alleviating room to chase higher priced free agents, take a salary dump or pay younger drafted stars to stay.

Dunno, free agency will work for us once be start looking like and becoming a top 8 side until then...were in the hands of this list management team.

 

[DocSholl]

Premiership experience isn't just about the game itself. It's having played on successful sides and in multiple big games.

Our 32nd list spot can be used to roll the dice on another 19 year old with no experience and a weak body, or it can be a 25 year old, with 8 years of experience and has played in 9 finals.

Didn't we bring in three players with premiership experience just 12 months ago? And list spots aren't infinite, we definitely don't have enough talent on the list to throw away the chance to draft someone.

 

[JGreezy]

Didn't we bring in three players with premiership experience just 12 months ago? And list spots aren't infinite, we definitely don't have enough talent on the list to throw away the chance to draft someone.

We have heaps of young players. We're the youngest side almost every week. We need more players who have won games.

 

[My Left Foote]

Premiership experience isn't just about the game itself. It's having played on successful sides and in multiple big games.

Our 32nd list spot can be used to roll the dice on another 19 year old with no experience and a weak body, or it can be a 25 year old, with 8 years of experience and has played in 9 finals.

I think this is the key here, we have a very young list and have made it quite clear we want players in that 23 - 26 age bracket which is very thin, especially considering 2 or 3 won’t be on our list next year.

So whilst Paul may not excite many posters, I suspect Spargo ticks a lot of boxes for the list management team. I suggest people come to terms with it.

 

[Snowy off the Tram]

Zac Fisher started up FWD and Carlton hoped he could fulfil the HLf-FWD role. Fishy botched that so Voss tried to play him off HBF to use Fishy's elite disposal skills. Went ok at that and got traded to us and has done F@*k all since he landed with us. Jury is well and truly out on Fisher.

No it’s not. It’s well and truly come back in and delivered its verdict: guilty … of being a prize spud.

 

[McKuursma]

Not particularly enthused by Spargo individually, and can't imagine it would contract prohibitive to managing our salary cap/re-signing cycle in the event of, but I suspect it reflects a recognition that we need to be more effective in our front half to protect our d50 until personnel/structure is sorted, which to my eye still looks two years away.

Philosophically, the addition of Spargo into the forward unit to me lifts the floor of our front half smalls in the event depth is drawn from. If we want to win using a first use/clearance dominant game plan by leveraging our midfield investment and build then forward half pressure needs to be a priority. This means building depth and a one out one in structure for the smalls to work within. Broadly, win the footy, win/halve the contest and trap it in front half for repeat entries/pressure. Let the back half build over 12-36mths and adjust the risk profile of ball movement as the d50 concrete settlles.

 

[Shinboner '07]

Big NO to Spargo. Are we trying to be the smallest team in the league? We don’t need more of these midget types

 

[Snowy off the Tram]

I’d actually prefer Shiel.

Spargo is appalling.

Fair go. He’s an upgrade on Konstanty.

 

[Zondor]

I think this is the key here, we have a very young list and have made it quite clear we want players in that 23 - 26 age bracket which is very thin, especially considering 2 or 3 won’t be on our list next year.

So whilst Paul may not excite many posters, I suspect Spargo ticks a lot of boxes for the list management team. I suggest people come to terms with it.

And what a hatchet job this List Management Team have done. The Ladder doesn’t lie. They can jam their boxes that they want ticked straight up their collective arses. :stern look

 

[Zondor]

Big NO to Spargo. Are we trying to be the smallest team in the league? We don’t need more of these midget types

Rawling is fixated by short people. It wouldn’t surprise me if we learnt that Rawling was a StKilda fan as a child. :stern look

 

[Midas]

He's a 25 year old premiership player who we are probably signing for depth and giving nothing up for. Not worth worrying about, even if it's true.

Temu Harley Reid in looks.

 

[zoomba23]

Zac Fisher appears to me to want to kick a goal of the year contender from deep in the pocket, running towards the boundary line, a big looping lefty across his body that swings back through the sticks post high while he lands, sliding on his chest almost into the fence, while at no time was there ever an opponent on his arse putting him under pressure.

Then doing a Tarzan call while fixated on the replay being shown on the big screen.


At least, that's how he looks to me.

I see you too have attended North Melbourne training in the last 12 months

 

[Midas]

You're talking about a list management team that traded pick 25 for Caleb Daniel, then traded pick 3 to get it back, and is now apparently trying to get back into the top 10 vis GC's pick

Really?

 

[bennymate]

Spargo?

Fold us.

 

[Arden]

Thoughts on Aaron Keating? Played in back to back flags, that’s twice the premiership experience. Is very mature too, will help with our age profile. May need to offer him four years to pry him away from Forty Winks but we have cap space.

 

[Jimmy's Hot Dogs]

Yeah bring back Shane Clayton while we’re at it

Who gives a **** if he won a flag - he’s a follower not a leader

If his sons are any good, I’d find one more game for him.

 

[archereleven]

Fair go. He’s an upgrade on Konstanty.

No he isn't.

 

[HTPunter]

Nothing more overrated than 'premiership experience'.

Joel Hamling should be targeted to be our full back at the logic of some in here.

Blind faith & crazy optimism in an off field department that has delivered yet another bottom 3 finish is just insanity to me. Yeah. We should be thrilled about Spargo, we just need to back Brady in, he’s done so well up to this point.

 

[HTPunter]

Big NO to Spargo. Are we trying to be the smallest team in the league? We don’t need more of these midget types

When other teams draft/pick up short people, they tend to go for the crazy fast, tenacious or crazy skilled types - Watson, Pickett, Daniels, Darcy Jones is tracking that way.

We go for Drury, Hrovat, Turner, Mahony and Spargo types…

Even Bedford is fast & tenacious but a type whose foot skills mean he isn’t locked into the GWS side as competition heats up for spots.

 

[BlueanWhiteKanga]

We'll soon be Nick Larkey

20

Nick Larkey

Age

27

Ht

198cm

Wt

96kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

8.5

2star

K

4.6

2star

HB

3.9

3star

M

3.3

3star

T

1.5

3star

G

1.4

5star

D

7.0

1star

K

4.0

1star

HB

3.0

2star

M

2.0

2star

T

1.0

2star

G

1.0

4star

D

8.8

3star

K

4.2

2star

HB

4.6

4star

M

3.2

4star

T

1.4

4star

G

0.8

4star

and the Seven Dwarves at this rate

 

[DunderHead]

We haven't worked out our small forward situation yet.

Spargo will cost nothing in draft capital. He can run all day and has good disposal. He's ready to go day one.

He probably won't work out but has shown more than any of the small forwards we currently have on our list. He gets a two year deal - a fresh start and we get another small to add to our depth.

This guy is a free shot at the stumps. Will simply cost us a list spot. We have the cap space.

 

[The Talent Scout]

Cool the jets!

Few of you will need medication come trade week when Brady and co hit full speed….plenty on here will go ape shit!

Hey prodigalson I agree with the first bit, but the second bit I don't think that will be the case, for starters we won't be trading in that many and also we wont be delisting that many, we have delisted four at the moment, now if we don't keep our rookie list spots that is two spots taken, if we trade in say two players then that is another two list spots and if say we draft three players, two youngsters we really liked and redraft a player we delisted with the promise that we will pick him up then that is three.

All in total that is seven list spots would need to be available in that scenario, at the moment if we went that way then three more players will need to be delisted between now and the trade and free agency period. I think everythings going to be okay!

 

[zoomba23]

We haven't worked out our small forward situation yet.

Spargo will cost nothing in draft capital. He can run all day and has good disposal. He's ready to go day one.

He probably won't work out but has shown more than any of the small forwards we currently have on our list. He gets a two year deal - a fresh start and we get another small to add to our depth.

This guy is a free shot at the stumps. Will simply cost us a list spot. We have the cap space.

Fitting username sir

 

[Makeshift Park]

Didn't we bring in three players with premiership experience just 12 months ago? And list spots aren't infinite, we definitely don't have enough talent on the list to throw away the chance to draft someone.

He’s a free agent and we only have three picks inside the first three rounds, so it’s not like acquiring Spargo cost us draft talent.