List Mgmt. Contracts/Trade/Draft Thread - 2025 Edition Vol 2

[Keys]

Quick links

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

Harley Reid extends to 2028

Spoiler

List Changes - 2025

Spoiler

• Oscar Allen advises intention to explore Free Agency
• Jayden Hunt announces retirement
• Jack Petruccelle
  21

  Jack Petruccelle

  Age

  26

  Ht

  188cm

  Wt

  83kg

  Pos.

  Fwd

  Career

  Season

  Last 5

  D

  9.2

  2star

  K

  6.2

  2star

  HB

  3.0

  3star

  M

  3.0

  3star

  T

  1.8

  4star

  G

  1.0

  4star

  D

  6.7

  1star

  K

  4.0

  1star

  HB

  2.7

  2star

  M

  1.7

  2star

  T

  1.3

  2star

  G

  0.7

  4star

  D

  7.8

  2star

  K

  4.6

  2star

  HB

  3.2

  3star

  M

  2.8

  3star

  T

  1.6

  4star

  G

  0.6

  3star

  , Callum Jamieson and Loch Rawlinson not offered new contracts
• Liam Ryan has requested a trade to St Kilda but is contracted for 2026
• Campbell Chesser (uncontracted) has requested a trade to Carlton
• List would be 37 (31 main, 4 rookie, 2 Cat B)

Players out of Contract 2025 (5)

Spoiler

• Oscar Allen (19/3/99) - Signed a 3 year extension (2023-25) on an existing contract due to expire 2022 in May 2021
• Campbell Chesser (27/4/03) - Signed a 2 year extension (2024-25) on an existing contract due to expire 2023 in May 2022
• Jamie Cripps (23/4/92) - Signed a 2 year extension (2024-25) in August 2023
• (R-B) Coen Livingstone (25/5/05) - Signed a 1 year extension (2025) in September 2024
• (R-B) Malakai Champion (17/5/06) - Automatic 1 year contract (2025) when added as a Cat B Rookie in November 2024

Provisional 2025 Draft order

Spoiler

Key Offseason Dates

Spoiler

Fri Oct 3 - Fri Oct 10: 2025 Free Agency Period
Mon Oct 6 - Wed Oct 15: 2025 AFL Trade Period
Wed Nov 19 - Thu Nov 20: 2025 AFL Draft

 

[Turky909]

15 years ago, Clubs were messing around and taking outside players, leaving the likes of Cripps and Danger on the table at pick 10/11/12. Then when Dusty bashed down the door at #3 or whatever he was, and with Danger and Cripps, they sort of realised that these type of players enable teams to win games of footy. Now the game has changed, and guys like Gulden and Bailey Smith are killing it, they think the tide has turned. But it's a false dawn. You can't just stick Errol Gulden into a shit team and think they're going to be good. Muscle first. Get the cream later.

Hard to argue with that

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

CDT feels like a risk worth taking if we can snag pick 6 from Gold Coast. If we don’t snag that pick it’s pure incompetence from Matt Clarke and a sackable offence

 

[The_Reaper]

CDT feels like a risk worth taking if we can snag pick 6 from Gold Coast. If we don’t snag that pick it’s pure incompetence from Matt Clarke and a sackable offence

Isn't Massey in charge of drafting?

 

[Dark Sharks]

GET UP.

ITS HANDOUT DAY

 

[flamingEMBERS]

Look this post actually comes across lamer than your original one.

Fully down for throwing around the word peaheart when it comes to the fantasy element of us schlubs on bigfooty criticising players on-field - Petch is a peaheart, Rioli is fat, Long is slow and Duggan can't kick and I'm happy throwing that out even though I'd probably go in less hard and am far fatter, slower and a worse kick etc etc. Schache really did come across like that on the field, yeah.

But doing it in response to a mental health context and then doubling down and saying he shouldn't keep trying to pursue his career, really? Mental health isn't this red light green light thing where you suddenly realise your light is red and you go sit yourself in the corner for however many years. Often takes years to figure out, more years to really know how to deal with and wildly fluctuating during that time. Continuing to pursue your dream in the face of all this uncertainty I'd say like FatPizza is the opposite of peahearted - especially with way more scrutiny and publicity than people having similar struggles in other fields.

Also 99% of professional treatment/treatment plans specifically target getting more involved and comfortable with your goals/pursuits even if they trigger your symptoms - behavioural activation for depression, graded exposure for anxiety/panic etc etc. Not sure what he was dealing with specifically but regardless good professional help would be aimed towards helping him do what he wanted to be doing with his life (presumably playing AFL) to the best of his abilities/confidence, not putting him in a box somewhere out of the way.

Doesn't always succeed but I'm not really sure what you expect of young guys in this situation - just seppuku their careers the second they're struggling with something for the sake of nobility to the sport?

Nah. It’s a peaheart if it’s homesickness related.

 

[eaglevision]

Hey eaglevision, that's fair enough, yeah FOS looks a beauty, I wouldn't trade him for pick 1, we probably need a good defender like Xavier Taylor or even Jacob Farrow, Alastair does like good kicking skills so Josh Lindsay of a half back flank would be logical, also a developing key forward would be on the list, think we are going to have two or three picks in this draft after we lose our two rookie spots so the question becomes do we trade up for either Gold Coasts pick 6 which would require our 21 & 22 and a future second or future third or one of the Bombers picks after they finish the trade period will have some enticing picks.

If you trade Simpkin to the Bombers for a teens pick you’ll be in the race with us and the Bombers for pick 6, although I suspect they will want to move some capital into next year’s draft.

 

[WCE777]

GET UP.

ITS HANDOUT DAY

Looking forward to testing the vAFL fairness BS meter and getting somewhere in between what we asked for and what NM got.
My thoughts are pick 19 and 3 rookie spots for 2 years, end.

 

[briztoon]

Nah. It’s a peaheart if it’s homesickness related.

You need to reread my reply to your first post. “Way more serious” than homesickness.

If you can’t work out what I mean from that, I don’t know what else to say, because I’m not going to spell it out on a public forum.

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

Ah cool Briztoon is back, just what the offseason needed

 

[Happy Mastenator]

Some serious overrating of Simpkin on this thread. Would not want even if given to us for free.

He wouldn't be an upgrade on Graham, and would just take development time away from the kids.

 

[Bleedblueandgold]

Ah cool Briztoon is back, just what the offseason needed

And now we have a Norf bloke repeatedly trying to sell us Simpkin.

 

[groga]

I doubt Simpkin would leave vic or would be interested in going to a team in a rebuild.

 

[Broken_Chairs]

No to Simpkin - if we're getting an older mid, it'd want someone from a successful club who can show our kids what it takes to win at the top level.

 

[Hasselhough]

Well in that instant I think we would ask for a first round pick probably anywhere between 6 & 12, of course there would be other picks going back and forth OR a player talent wise that plays a position of need, now lets play Gods advocate for a little bit, just say he doesn't care where he goes as long as he gets to play as a centre square midfielder, West Coast, Essendon, Sydney , Adelaide and St Kilda have the same problem whether they like it or not, the question then becomes what are they going to do about it?

Very true that you can't trade players wherever you like but at the moment its all hypothetical and as I've said, unless someone bites the bullet and says lets do it, he stays.

Pick between 6 -12 for simpkin

 

[Dark Sharks]

Some serious overrating of Simpkin on this thread. Would not want even if given to us for free.

He wouldn't be an upgrade on Graham, and would just take development time away from the kids.

I'd take Simpkin over Starcevich by the length of Dean's Cox.

One's a damaging half forward midfielder, albeit with a small peen...

The other is a limited lockdown defender who thinks he can play midfield because he did it for a month in U18's.



Simpkin, even playing fourth banana at Norf this this season would be ranked:

1st for Score Involvements
2nd for Contested Posessions (behind Baker)
2nd for Disposals (behind McCarthy)
2nd for Clearances (marginally behind Harley)
3rd for Goal assists
4th for Metres gained
5th for tackles
5th for ranking points
7th for total goals (12)

At West Coast in 2025.

Anyone who thinks he wouldn't instantly improve our team is in denial. He's 27 this year. Got another 4 seasons in him easy.

 

[bzparkes]

One's a damaging half forward midfielder,

Oh he's that alright. Just like Duggan and Cole are very damaging for us...

 

[Dark Sharks]

Oh he's that alright. Just like Duggan and Cole are very damaging for us...

I mean he kicked 12 goals for the year, which basically as much as Harley and clearly better than any other mids on our list.

These do be the facts, not imaginary "But he's awesome, i seen it" opinions like everyone seems to carry with Starcevich.

 

[Peptide Pig]

West Coast need an experienced midfielder, Baker & Graham aren't playing as full time mids, just because we've made the decision to give our younger lads more time in the middle doesn't mean if you got Jy that he would be spending all his time on a half back flank or half forward flank. While both of them may have stints in the engine room at times they are not midfielders.

Spot on. WC absolutely need at least another experienced mid. Anyone on here saying that Simpkin wouldn’t be a great addition for us either hasn’t watched him play or are still watching 2006 and 2018 replays, delusional to the fact that our current midfield outside of Harley is a disgrace.

I would’ve liked to add 2-3 experienced mids. Ideally Flanders/Davies/Erasmus/Sheldrick type. Even would’ve settled for a cheap accumulator like Fiorini/Brodie. A veteran with leadership and high standards like Cripps/Neale/Steele/Petracca would’ve been handy too. Simpkin isn’t near the standard of that last category and coming from a poorly performed team doesn’t help. But he goes hard and as an inside mid can rack it up and dish it out to the more dynamic types.

His contract would be no problem for us and we have picks, albeit I couldn’t see many teams wanting to give up more than a teens pick for him. He’s clearly an inside mid so as much as he may be a good bloke etc, he’s wasted on a wing for what he is being paid and wouldn’t do his confidence wonders as the captain being stuck behind a bunch of kids in the midfield when he’s still got plenty of years to go.

WC have the opposite problem to NM, we are short on mids but have a surplus of KPFs. Maybe Jack or Bailey Williams would be involved in a trade. Will Phillips was linked to WC at some point but I’m not sure he’s shown enough for even us to consider with lots of similar standard guys knocking around the state leagues.

Beggars can’t be choosers so we will see who is willing to accept some extra cash and midfield time to move across the country to a one win team.

 

[Ruben Grubarb]

West Coast need an experienced midfielder, Baker & Graham aren't playing as full time mids, just because we've made the decision to give our younger lads more time in the middle doesn't mean if you got Jy that he would be spending all his time on a half back flank or half forward flank. While both of them may have stints in the engine room at times they are not midfielders.

Simpkin is the same player - B+ grade. Baker and Graham have done well for us. But if you keep bring B+ players in, you end up with a B+ team.

Question: Jy was in the midfield for North with LDU, Sheezel, Powell, Wardlaw. How many games did they win?

Harley and Hewitt are no far from being full time mids. Yeo can run through there if fit. I don't know how much value Simpkin provides. He's very Baker like in that he puts his body on the line and gives 100%. But like Baker, he's B+.

 

[Barrybran]

I'd take Simpkin over Starcevich by the length of Dean's Cox.

One's a damaging half forward midfielder, albeit with a small peen...

The other is a limited lockdown defender who thinks he can play midfield because he did it for a month in U18's.



Simpkin, even playing fourth banana at Norf this this season would be ranked:

1st for Score Involvements
2nd for Contested Posessions (behind Baker)
2nd for Disposals (behind McCarthy)
2nd for Clearances (marginally behind Harley)
3rd for Goal assists
4th for Metres gained
5th for tackles
5th for ranking points
7th for total goals (12)

At West Coast in 2025.

Anyone who thinks he wouldn't instantly improve our team is in denial. He's 27 this year. Got another 4 seasons in him easy.

Pretty much this. Simpkin would add more to our side than Starcevich would simply based on needs.

 

[EagleMan87]

Interesting write-up on Swadling by Reading the Play as part of their top 50 ratings; seems like someone we should absolutely be taking a punt on. Also, looking at some of the other players in that list (Dovaston, Barker, Taylor), it seems this draft isn't as bad as everyone keeps saying.

#26: Sam Swadling:

Position: Midfielder
Height: 187cm
Club: Western Australia / West Perth
Draft Range: 20-40

Sam Swadling’s top-age season has been somewhat unconventional. In a Western Australia side that struggled to gain traction, his midfield minutes were curiously limited, and much of the external discussion around his game has centred on his kicking consistency.

However, when assessed on his strengths, Swadling remains a highly appealing prospect. He is a big-bodied, powerful on-baller with strong running capacity and a natural instinct for winning the ball. While his foot skills have drawn some scrutiny, they are serviceable for an inside midfielder — and his handballing, vision and creativity in congestion are genuine weapons.

When deployed in his natural midfield role, Swadling consistently racks up high disposal numbers. His combination of size, reach and work rate allows him to cover ground and accumulate possessions at a rate few others in the draft pool can match.

For clubs seeking a powerful, high-possession midfielder with the ability to drive transition and progress the game, Swadling presents as a compelling option — particularly as the draft moves into the latter stages of the first round.

2025 Draft Power Rankings: #21 – #30

We move into the 21 to 30 range of the 2025 AFL Draft Power Rankings — a part of the board where genuine top-end talent still exists and selections begin to carry real strategic weight. This sectio…

readingtheplay.wordpress.com

 

[Goomba1973]

Dons getting band one for draper means having three picks before it. They'll take him.

They'll get the hawks pick 8 for Merritt as well.

 

[Barrybran]

Simpkin is the same player - B+ grade. Baker and Graham have done well for us. But if you keep bring B+ players in, you end up with a B+ team.

Question: Jy was in the midfield for North with LDU, Sheezel, Powell, Wardlaw. How many games did they win?

Harley and Hewitt are no far from being full time mids. Yeo can run through there if fit. I don't know how much value Simpkin provides. He's very Baker like in that he puts his body on the line and gives 100%. But like Baker, he's B+.

Bringing in senior bodies is a temporary thing. We've got a lot of talented kids through the door with more to come but they are just that - kids. They need time to develop their bodies and games. Not everyone that comes through the door is going to be Harley Reid, yet even Harley is assuming more responsibility than Daicos or Sheezel did in their first two years.

 

[KERRPOW]

GET UP.

ITS HANDOUT DAY

 

[Goomba1973]

Just get the feeling Freo will bid on Banfield early enough in spite of us getting pick 2 compo

then we bundle together some second rounders and keep our hawks pick