2026 Trade / FA Thread

[WanderingDude]

If only Bobby was available

I want Bobby back and playing great games for the pies. The path back must be committing to team schedule, team mates and the club. This involves repairing and building relationships and being professional. He has done it before and must do it for a period now. It’s reported that he has returned in better shape than expected. Beautiful. Now the next step.

 

[sr36]

Pickett just blew out a knee and Houndsome isn't worthy of a top 10 pick so I doubt either will be going in the top 20. Picking a tall just because you need one when better players are available is asinine recruiting.

Particularly when we also need mids, kpd and speed and skill.

You're drafting for 3+ years time when our team is going to have lost a fair few players. There isn't a player type we don't need.

We need an immediate KPF, but in terms of drafting time lines, it's a position where we have a couple of promising kids. That's what a drafted kpf will be - not a short term fix for a current hole.

 

[gouki88]

Pickett just blew out a knee and Houndsome isn't worthy of a top 10 pick so I doubt either will be going in the top 20. Picking a tall just because you need one when better players are available is asinine recruiting.

I agree entirely with your second sentence. Still think the two could factor in the top 10 though

 

[nickyds35]

We should only trade our 1st pick if we trade it for a young gun under 24 years old.

 

[Unknown Identity]

Unfortunately we have so many list gaps it's going to take 2-3 years to sort this mess out, and that's only if we nail our picks/trade periods while dealing with the Tassie compromised drafts.

I wish there was a simple fix but we have so many glaring issues to address.

King is a pipedream, but i wouldn't even both looking at a key forward until we can fix our issues up field.
Clearances, outside speed and some elite kicking would be lovely.

 

[#BallMagnet]

Pickett just blew out a knee and Houndsome isn't worthy of a top 10 pick so I doubt either will be going in the top 20. Picking a tall just because you need one when better players are available is asinine recruiting.

We've also got West, McCarthy and Buller on the list for that future key forward position.

 

[LuckyLee]

I struggle to see why Butters or King would come to us, despite badly wanting and needing both of them. They'll get similar dollars at other clubs which currently screen as more likely for sustained Finals success than us. Butters will likely end up at Hawks, Dogs or Cats and King, well, if I was him, I'd stay put at Gold Coast.

 

[gouki88]

I struggle to see why Butters or King would come to us, despite badly wanting and needing both of them. They'll get similar dollars at other clubs which current screen as more likely for sustained Finals success than us. Butters will likely end up at Dogs or Cats and King, well, if I was him, I'd stay put at Gold Coast.

There’s no way of knowing whether similar dollars is a correct assumption. We have a bucketload to throw around, so we could overpay like St Kilda have done (hopefully not on B graders…)

 

[LuckyLee]

There’s no way of knowing whether similar dollars is a correct assumption. We have a bucketload to throw around, so we could overpay like St Kilda have done (hopefully not on B graders…)

Beyond a certain point, a few hundred thousand extra becomes far less important than finals success.

If, for example, we offer Butters $2.1m per season and the Hawks offer him $1.8m, he's a rich man either way and, IMO, would pick the Hawks for what looks like much better chance of winning a Premiership or two.

 

[gouki88]

Beyond a certain point, a few hundred thousand extra becomes far less important than finals success.

If, for example, we offer Butters $2.1m per season and the Hawks offer him $1.8m, he's a rich man either way and, IMO, would pick the Hawks for what looks like much better chance of winning a Premiership or two.

You know this?

Does this logic apply to a 2x premiership player like Zac Bailey?

 

[Carlthetruth]

I struggle to see why Butters or King would come to us, despite badly wanting and needing both of them. They'll get similar dollars at other clubs which currently screen as more likely for sustained Finals success than us. Butters will likely end up at Hawks, Dogs or Cats and King, well, if I was him, I'd stay put at Gold Coast.

You struggle to see but 1.5/2 mil would open your eyes.

 

[Carlthetruth]

I agree entirely with your second sentence. Still think the two could factor in the top 10 though

Just an fyi, Pickett and Houndsome won't be featuring in the top 10.

 

[LuckyLee]

You know this?

Does this logic apply to a 2x premiership player like Zac Bailey?

Do you KNOW it to be wrong?

Geelong is the proof that many top players value sustained finals success above squeezing every last dollar out of a contract. They have repeatedly built and kept teams together who could easily have commanded bigger dollars elsewhere.

RE Zac Bailey - he already has two Premierships and perhaps a third by the time 2026 is done, so he may very well choose to chase maximum dollars now. Neither King nor Butters have won a Premiership, so I think that will factor into their thinking much more so than for Bailey.

(Personally, I don't think Zac Bailey will change our trajectory enough, so don't want to pay the price that he'll likely ask for. But I suspect that he'll actually be the FA that we do end up signing.)

 

[nickyds35]

I struggle to see why Butters or King would come to us, despite badly wanting and needing both of them. They'll get similar dollars at other clubs which currently screen as more likely for sustained Finals success than us. Butters will likely end up at Hawks, Dogs or Cats and King, well, if I was him, I'd stay put at Gold Coast.

I get we have holes in the list.. But if we get Butters, we have 2 of the best/most dynamic 5 midfielders in the game (for the next 8 years)... and I think that makes us very competative, irrespective of some of the other holes in our list.

I want King, but am also abit concerned. He is a low-possesion high damage player at Gold Coast atm, and gets a lot of open space to lead into. Considering our game plan, he is less likely to get this space going forward, so I am concerned we get a worse version of King if he comes accross. I could be wrong though.

An offseason along the lines of Butters (RFA), Butts (UFA) and 1-2 smart money-ballish trades, and hopefully a full suite of picks in the draft would be the ideal offseason for a team like us. Would allow us to remain competative, while rejuviating the list.

 

[#BallMagnet]

Unfortunately we have so many list gaps it's going to take 2-3 years to sort this mess out, and that's only if we nail our picks/trade periods while dealing with the Tassie compromised drafts.

I wish there was a simple fix but we have so many glaring issues to address.

King is a pipedream, but i wouldn't even both looking at a key forward until we can fix our issues up field.
Clearances, outside speed and some elite kicking would be lovely.

There's some solid young prospects this year for that outside transition game but have shown they can also adequately roll through the midfield. Solid ball users as well.
Mellody (WA) who might just be there at our 1st pick, and later we could maybe look at Croker (SA), Chapman (VM) Matthews (Allies) and Gale (WA) to bring depth to the wing position and support Steele and Hayes.

 

[LuckyLee]

You struggle to see but 1.5/2 mil would open your eyes.

I hope you're right! I doubt the difference between earning $15m or $16.5m makes much difference to someone like Butters, especially after tax.

A big chequebook didn't help us land Jeremy Cameron. And it didn't help us to land Tom Lynch. Supposedly we were front runners for both at various times in their negotiating periods.

Essendon and Carlton would surely have had plenty of cash to splash over recent years. Neither has been able to pull-off a course-altering recruitment coup.

 

[LuckyLee]

I get we have holes in the list.. But if we get Butters, we have 2 of the best/most dynamic 5 midfielders in the game (for the next 8 years)... and I think that makes us very competative, irrespective of some of the other holes in our list.

I want King, but am also abit concerned. He is a low-possesion high damage player at Gold Coast atm, and gets a lot of open space to lead into. Considering our game plan, he is less likely to get this space going forward, so I am concerned we get a worse version of King if he comes accross. I could be wrong though.

An offseason along the lines of Butters (RFA), Butts (UFA) and 1-2 smart money-ballish trades, and hopefully a full suite of picks in the draft would be the ideal offseason for a team like us. Would allow us to remain competative, while rejuviating the list.

I totally get your points and want Butters just as much as you do. But I think we have Buckley's chance (pun intended) of getting him because we are missing certain elements of the complete package that he'll be chasing.

Anyway, we're all speculating. Time will tell. Hopefully we've got some great Plan B ideas if Plan A doesn't work out.

 

[gouki88]

Do you KNOW it to be wrong?

Geelong is the proof that many top players value sustained finals success above squeezing every last dollar out of a contract. They have repeatedly built and kept teams together who could easily have commanded bigger dollars elsewhere.

RE Zac Bailey - he already has two Premierships and perhaps a third by the time 2026 is done, so he may very well choose to chase maximum dollars now. Neither King nor Butters have won a Premiership, so I think that will factor into their thinking much more so than for Bailey.

(Personally, I don't think Zac Bailey will change our trajectory enough, so don't want to pay the price that he'll likely ask for. But I suspect that he'll actually be the FA that we do end up signing.)

I’m not the one making the assertion

 

[nickyds35]

I totally get your points and want Butters just as much as you do. But I think we have Buckley's chance (pun intended) of getting him because we are missing certain elements of the complete package that he'll be chasing.

Anyway, we're all speculating. Time will tell. Hopefully we've got some great Plan B ideas if Plan A doesn't work out.

TBH you are probably right, we would need to provide better terms to get in on the race.

On a sidenote, I mentioned this last year but prob more relevant now. I bumbed into someone very close in the butters family around august last year. At that stage, only geelong and the western bulldogs had made serious approaches to Butters. I asked this person about Collingwood, he said they were attractive, but had yet to make a real play.

Bulldogs/Geelong are def at the front of the qeue for Butters, but considering the talent both those teams have on their list (especially bulldogs) our financial terms should trump either team if we wanted to.

 

[brockbruiser]

I wouldn't be bothering with Butters - Port will match him and it will cost us a fortune.

Zac Bailey

33

Zac Bailey

Age

26

Ht

181cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.7

3star

K

6.9

3star

HB

5.9

4star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.2

4star

CL

0.9

3star

D

12.9

3star

K

7.3

3star

HB

5.6

3star

M

3.9

4star

T

2.4

3star

CL

0.7

3star

D

13.4

4star

K

6.6

3star

HB

6.8

5star

M

3.2

4star

T

2.8

5star

CL

0.6

3star

is the target for mine - Brisbane won't be able to match the dollar offers given their list.

I'm not sure where King sits and whether the Suns are in a position to match big offers - but he's likely a different story. He's a need we've been calling out for a long time.

 

[gouki88]

I hope you're right! I doubt the difference between earning $15m or $16.5m makes much difference to someone like Butters, especially after tax.

A big chequebook didn't help us land Jeremy Cameron. And it didn't help us to land Tom Lynch. Supposedly we were front runners for both at various times in their negotiating periods.

Essendon and Carlton would surely have had plenty of cash to splash over recent years. Neither has been able to pull-off a course-altering recruitment coup.

Your maths is a bit confusing, but differences of millions of dollars is obviously significant

 

[footballsack35]

I wouldn't want to sign Butters on $2m+ when he only fills one of our holes and will be 26 when we sign him. Port is also certain to match which means we can say goodbye to all our draft capital over the next few years if we sign Butters. Butters would also go to a club who is in a win now mode (Dogs, Hawks, Cats) instead a club that is trying to rejuvenate their list by playing kids and has no promise of playing finals. It's a no for me.

Instead? Go after a few B-graders that will help us compete for finals and cost less than Butters combined (Butts, Walter etc) this will ultimately fill the holes in our list and boost key position stocks for a healthy age profile. Then we go to the draft and hopefully pick a top 10 talent who can play a significant role in our next flag push. Like others have suggested also go for a couple money ball trades that cost nothing. Ultimately, if we can do this, we fix our age profile while still being in finals contention for the next 5 years while Perryman, Schultz, Houston, JD7, IQ, Maynard, Bobby and Butts are still playing good footy.

Then hopefully, a few of our youngsters come along nicely (West, HH, Swadling, Anderson, Hayes, McCarthy and hopefully a top 10 talent this year and next etc...) This year say farewells to Pendles, Sidebottom and Howe. Then next year or even this year our youngsters push the likes of JDG, Lipinski, Crisp, Membrey and Mcstay out of the side.

 

[Mavs13]

I wouldn't be bothering with Butters - Port will match him and it will cost us a fortune.

Zac Bailey is the target for mine - Brisbane won't be able to match the dollar offers given their list.

I'm not sure where King sits and whether the Suns are in a position to match big offers - but he's likely a different story. He's a need we've been calling out for a long time.

Just a question. Is Zac Bailey a knob?
It seems like every time that he kicks a goal he goes up to his opponent and pushes him or says something to him.
If that's the case, he can go somewhere else.

 

[gouki88]

Just a question. Is Zac Bailey a knob?
It seems like every time that he kicks a goal he goes up to his opponent and pushes him or says something to him.
If that's the case, he can go somewhere else.

That question did make me laugh. I think it’s pretty typical of lots of forwards to behave like that though. Coxy was a serial offender, but Elliott likes to give oppo defenders grief if when they make mistakes too.

 

[BillyElliott]

Just a question. Is Zac Bailey a knob?
It seems like every time that he kicks a goal he goes up to his opponent and pushes him or says something to him.
If that's the case, he can go somewhere else.

I'd happily have him push opponents multiple times a game if it meant he kicked a goal.