Rumour GFC 2025 Player Trading, Drafting FA, Rumours and Wish lists Pt 2

[Turbocat]

It will be interesting to see if Adelaide match it and offer him 3 to get him to stay (yes I know he's UFA but he would probably stay for 3). Because in isolation ROB is only worth 2 at best but they are in a window so I doubt they want to lose him unless they have a mature replacement. Ordinarily you'd think they would chase Draper but off the injury I'm not sure. Or is it Marshall they would target?

It's also weird for the blues because I think their window is closing and obrien is essentially an older version of the same player in pittonet who has 2 years on his deal anyway (no way can you play both together they are useless forwards). Or do they know pittonet is going somewhere?

As usual mature merry go round will see guys targeting other teams 3rd stringers.

He might be UFA … but why would the Blues mess with a FA and risk it tainting their comp? Im not sure how that balancing works …is Tdeks money so extraordinarily over the mark that ROB as a free agent would not affect it? Just seems silly to go anywhere near it .. They messed up Eddie Betts comp didnt they bringing in Daisy? So they probably trade for ROB?
Why not just run with Pittonet and bring in a younger ruck if they are going to trade?

The ruck Merrygoround is a fun ride.

 

[Strange Cat]

He might be UFA … but why would the Blues mess with a FA and risk it tainting their comp? Im not sure how that balancing works …is Tdeks money so extraordinarily over the mark that ROB as a free agent would not affect it? Just seems silly to go anywhere near it .. They messed up Eddie Betts comp didnt they bringing in Daisy? So they probably trade for ROB?
Why not just run with Pittonet and bring in a younger ruck if they are going to trade?

The ruck Merrygoround is a fun ride.

I’m strongly starting to see Scott’s point of view in not rating rucks so highly ..sure a star ruck are good to have but they don’t make or break a list imo.

 

[FishGutz]

Have a bit of an update on the state of play:

(And yes there’s going to be a lot of names)

Priority 1: Reid. Nothing changed here.

We are heavily into JUH’s ear and selling him on what we’ve done with Stengle and Smith. Smith is an ambassador of this himself and is close with JUH.

For what’s it worth I am confident in these deals.

If Reid bails on pushing to us or if West Coast refuse to come to the table we have back up plans.

Some people won’t like it but Oliver is still being considered but there’s so many moving parts for him to get to us. We would only go there if he’s cheap for assets and money.

The other is Rowell. Clubs still see him as someone who could leave. Will be a lot of competition for him.

My source insists we still speak to Bont’s management, doesn’t agree his relationship with Bailey will ruin our chances. Absolute long shot but he’s the same guy who was incessant about Oliver…

Rucks he said we like TDK the most. Marshall a lot. ROB not so much but could plug a hole. Along with Moyle. Sort of shrugged and said the club will sort it out. I brought up Jackson. Says Scott would love him but it would be about a 1% chance as things stand. And everything would have to go wrong for this to go right.

He insists Worpel isn’t a target as it stands.

And then we got onto Butters and Walsh and he said as he said months ago, we want a big named free agent in 2026 for free for once. Both of these in play heavily.

He gave me one left field that we speak to Charlie Curnow

35

Charlie Curnow

Age

28

Ht

194cm

Wt

94kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.3

3star

K

9.7

4star

HB

3.6

3star

M

5.3

5star

T

2.2

4star

G

1.3

5star

No current season stats available

D

10.8

3star

K

6.4

3star

HB

4.4

4star

M

3.2

4star

T

1.6

4star

G

0.8

4star

still and some in his inner circle say he regrets not taking out giant offer those years back. Doesn’t mean anything will happen on that front but it’s interesting to hear.

Don’t think I missed anybody but I feel like I’m forgetting a name we spoke about. If it comes to me I will revisit.

 

[Hamingja]

It will be interesting to see if Adelaide match it and offer him 3 to get him to stay (yes I know he's UFA but he would probably stay for 3). Because in isolation ROB is only worth 2 at best but they are in a window so I doubt they want to lose him unless they have a mature replacement. Ordinarily you'd think they would chase Draper but off the injury I'm not sure. Or is it Marshall they would target?

It's also weird for the blues because I think their window is closing and obrien is essentially an older version of the same player in pittonet who has 2 years on his deal anyway (no way can you play both together they are useless forwards). Or do they know pittonet is going somewhere?

As usual mature merry go round will see guys targeting other teams 3rd stringers.

A 3 year deal for ROB would be some mental list management. I suppose Carlton are the experts at that. Bet they are glad Hayward didn't take the 800k they were offering for him.

 

[standupand]

Have a bit of an update on the state of play:

(And yes there’s going to be a lot of names)

Priority 1: Reid. Nothing changed here.

We are heavily into JUH’s ear and selling him on what we’ve done with Stengle and Smith. Smith is an ambassador of this himself and is close with JUH.

For what’s it worth I am confident in these deals.

If Reid bails on pushing to us or if West Coast refuse to come to the table we have back up plans.

Some people won’t like it but Oliver is still being considered but there’s so many moving parts for him to get to us. We would only go there if he’s cheap for assets and money.

The other is Rowell. Clubs still see him as someone who could leave. Will be a lot of competition for him.

My source insists we still speak to Bont’s management, doesn’t agree his relationship with Bailey will ruin our chances. Absolute long shot but he’s the same guy who was incessant about Oliver…

Rucks he said we like TDK the most. Marshall a lot. ROB not so much but could plug a hole. Along with Moyle. Sort of shrugged and said the club will sort it out. I brought up Jackson. Says Scott would love him but it would be about a 1% chance as things stand. And everything would have to go wrong for this to go right.

He insists Worpel isn’t a target as it stands.

And then we got onto Butters and Walsh and he said as he said months ago, we want a big named free agent in 2026 for free for once. Both of these in play heavily.

He gave me one left field that we speak to Charlie Curnow still and some in his inner circle say he regrets not taking out giant offer those years back. Doesn’t mean anything will happen on that front but it’s interesting to hear.

Don’t think I missed anybody but I feel like I’m forgetting a name we spoke about. If it comes to me I will revisit.

Great info as always FishGutz.

When you say "back up plans" re Reid, is that other targets? or landing him next year when he's OOC?

 

[Hamingja]

I’m strongly starting to see Scott’s point of view in not rating rucks so highly ..sure a star ruck are good to have but they don’t make or break a list imo.

Would definitely prefer to pump the money & picks into midfielders. We are in a bit of tricky spot with Stanley probably in his last year and none of the young rucks we have invested in can even get on the park to play VFL. If we go deep and end up with ~pick 20 after academy picks I would still consider Marshall for that to tide us over for a few years, mostly so SDK can stay settled down back.

 

[FishGutz]

Great info as always FishGutz.

When you say "back up plans" re Reid, is that other targets? or landing him next year when he's OOC?

Nah back up plans is if we don’t land Reid this offseason. We won’t sit on our hands, we will make move for our second options.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

He might be UFA … but why would the Blues mess with a FA and risk it tainting their comp? Im not sure how that balancing works …is Tdeks money so extraordinarily over the mark that ROB as a free agent would not affect it? Just seems silly to go anywhere near it .. They messed up Eddie Betts comp didnt they bringing in Daisy? So they probably trade for ROB?
Why not just run with Pittonet and bring in a younger ruck if they are going to trade?

The ruck Merrygoround is a fun ride.

I assume they are going to trade a 3rd/4th rounder for Rob to avoid affecting the top 10 tdk compo.
But as I said it's weird bc rob and pittonet are both dinosaurs they can't play together and pittonet has 2 years to go. So unless he's getting traded somewhere I don't see why they want Rob it's a weird use of salary cap.

 

[Gazza Greatness]

Nah back up plans is if we don’t land Reid this offseason. We won’t sit on our hands, we will make move for our second options.

FishGutz: if that did happen and we nailed our 2nd or 3rd option given we couldn't get Harley in 2025, does that mean to say we are limited the following year (2026) to getting Harley Reid, or are we still a shot at Harley in 2026 even if we nail our 2nd or 3rd option this year.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Would definitely prefer to pump the money & picks into midfielders. We are in a bit of tricky spot with Stanley probably in his last year and none of the young rucks we have invested in can even get on the park to play VFL. If we go deep and end up with ~pick 20 after academy picks I would still consider Marshall for that to tide us over for a few years, mostly so SDK can stay settled down back.

Look if it was a choice between say pick 30ish in this draft and Marshall I'd do Marshall (much as I have reservations re his age) bc this draft is diluted. But Saints won't trade him for that and I wouldn't pay the top 15 pick they'd ask.

We don't need a star ruck but we will need some sort of cheap warm body bc Stanley will retire, Blitz is old and used elsewhere and Conway can't get on the park. I'd like to lever out someone with potential like ramsden but I'd settle for some cheap mature role player for a couple years (even pittonet would do if the trade was cheap enough) until we know if Edwards is legit or not.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Nah back up plans is if we don’t land Reid this offseason. We won’t sit on our hands, we will make move for our second options.

The issue is if we do that we won't have the currency if Reid wants to then come to Geelong next year (outside of trading someone like humphries etc). If Reid says he wants us now but wce won't trade I'd expect us to roll as many picks into 26 as we can to try and get it done then. You would target free agents like worpel and tdk and otherwise keep the picks to either get Reid next year or hopefully someone like butters. Juh is the exception here as any trade for him would come cheap so wouldn't rule us out of Reid the year after.

 

[standupand]

The issue is if we do that we won't have the currency if Reid wants to then come to Geelong next year (outside of trading someone like humphries etc). If Reid says he wants us now but wce won't trade I'd expect us to roll as many picks into 26 as we can to try and get it done then. You would target free agents like worpel and tdk and otherwise keep the picks to either get Reid next year or hopefully someone like butters. Juh is the exception here as any trade for him would come cheap so wouldn't rule us out of Reid the year after.

But if he's OOC then we have the whip hand right? Tell them they should have traded when we had the picks.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Have a bit of an update on the state of play:

(And yes there’s going to be a lot of names)

Priority 1: Reid. Nothing changed here.

We are heavily into JUH’s ear and selling him on what we’ve done with Stengle and Smith. Smith is an ambassador of this himself and is close with JUH.

For what’s it worth I am confident in these deals.

If Reid bails on pushing to us or if West Coast refuse to come to the table we have back up plans.

Some people won’t like it but Oliver is still being considered but there’s so many moving parts for him to get to us. We would only go there if he’s cheap for assets and money.

The other is Rowell. Clubs still see him as someone who could leave. Will be a lot of competition for him.

My source insists we still speak to Bont’s management, doesn’t agree his relationship with Bailey will ruin our chances. Absolute long shot but he’s the same guy who was incessant about Oliver…

Rucks he said we like TDK the most. Marshall a lot. ROB not so much but could plug a hole. Along with Moyle. Sort of shrugged and said the club will sort it out. I brought up Jackson. Says Scott would love him but it would be about a 1% chance as things stand. And everything would have to go wrong for this to go right.

He insists Worpel isn’t a target as it stands.

And then we got onto Butters and Walsh and he said as he said months ago, we want a big named free agent in 2026 for free for once. Both of these in play heavily.

He gave me one left field that we speak to Charlie Curnow still and some in his inner circle say he regrets not taking out giant offer those years back. Doesn’t mean anything will happen on that front but it’s interesting to hear.

Don’t think I missed anybody but I feel like I’m forgetting a name we spoke about. If it comes to me I will revisit.

All of that is interesting and I agree is probably mostly accurate.
On curnow I know people who know his family who say he does regret not coming. But the reality is he's there most marketable player and there's zero chance Carlton trade him contracted-theyd move tdk and mckay and even Walsh for him.

Marshall is interesting as you wouldn't trade a r1 for him if you're in for Reid. I'm not sure how Geelong think they would get him cheap and I doubt any Geelong player wants to be traded to the Saints. As much as Rob doesn't excite me he's free and might be a decent option for 2-3 years so we can keep our picks for Reid et al. I can't see tdk turning down 1.7 to take 1mil here. I'd love Moyle but with him contracted long term they won't do it.

I just don't see Oliver as moveable because of how big the contract is but if there was some way to get him to take a massive contract pay cut then I could see Geelong going for it.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

But if he's OOC then we have the whip hand right? Tell them they should have traded when we had the picks.

We do next year but the point is even ooc he will cost 2-3 r1s so if we trade too many picks this year then we won't have the currency for him next year unless we trade a player out. I don't think wce would agree to trade him to us this year they will back themselves to change his mind.

 

[standupand]

We do next year but the point is even ooc he will cost 2-3 r1s so if we trade too many picks this year then we won't have the currency for him next year unless we trade a player out. I don't think wce would agree to trade him to us this year they will back themselves to change his mind.

I know he's not a free agent in 26, but they can't exactly name their trade price either if he's ooc.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

I know he's not a free agent in 26, but they can't exactly name their trade price either if he's ooc.

That will be his price for what he is though.

 

[D BRIDGE]

I know he's not a free agent in 26, but they can't exactly name their trade price either if he's ooc.

I agree... If Reid wants to be a Cat and nothing else... WC will be best served trading him this year as they will get a better return.

 

[cats_09]

Look if it was a choice between say pick 30ish in this draft and Marshall I'd do Marshall (much as I have reservations re his age) bc this draft is diluted. But Saints won't trade him for that and I wouldn't pay the top 15 pick they'd ask.

We don't need a star ruck but we will need some sort of cheap warm body bc Stanley will retire, Blitz is old and used elsewhere and Conway can't get on the park. I'd like to lever out someone with potential like ramsden but I'd settle for some cheap mature role player for a couple years (even pittonet would do if the trade was cheap enough) until we know if Edwards is legit or not.

I was going to ask, could Pittonet be a cheap option if Carlton are going to turn their attention to O'Brien?

Pittonet signed a 4yr deal in May 2023 but has played only 24 senior games since that announcement - 9 in 2023, 14 last year and just 1 this year, out of a possible 51 games. Carlton may be open to trading him out of goodwill as it would seem clear they've moved on from him as anything other than a backup

Should be a cheaper option than Marshall, both in terms of contract & trade currency, allowing us to still have capital for use elsewhere

 

[cats_09]

I agree... If Reid wants to be a Cat and nothing else... WC will be best served trading him this year as they will get a better return.

Wasn't the same said about us and trading Kelly while he was still in contract versus waiting an additional 12 months when we apparently wouldn't have the same bargaining power?

I could see WCE holding Reid to his contract and playing hardball, so any offer this year would have to be somewhat in their favour

 

[standupand]

Wasn't the same said about us and trading Kelly while he was still in contract versus waiting an additional 12 months when we apparently wouldn't have the same bargaining power?

I could see WCE holding Reid to his contract and playing hardball, so any offer this year would have to be somewhat in their favour

If they were contending and Harley was a key piece in their tilt at a flag in 26, then I would put the odds in favour of them holding him to contract. But that's not the case. I can see us throwing a pretty good deal their way in terms of picks this year with the simple likelihood that we just won't have those picks to give up next year.

 

[Strange Cat]

Wasn't the same said about us and trading Kelly while he was still in contract versus waiting an additional 12 months when we apparently wouldn't have the same bargaining power?

I could see WCE holding Reid to his contract and playing hardball, so any offer this year would have to be somewhat in their favour

The big advantage is that Tassie is coming into the comp so the eagles may rather act on top picks now rather than wait down the track to use picks that are more diluted than before

Long shot I know but it’s worth considering that angle

 

[dudusmaximus]

I’m strongly starting to see Scott’s point of view in not rating rucks so highly ..sure a star ruck are good to have but they don’t make or break a list imo.

I think Ruck is a position you either have too many or too few (poaching and/or injuries). It’s like a pendulum that swings between “too many” and “too few”. Chris Scott is right in that hulking/uni-dimensional rucks are a deadweight for most of the game. Blitz and other similar "almost-rucks" (who are multi-dimensional) are probably more effective for the entire duration of the game.

How many goals has Blitz scored and saved, while Rucking? Blitz has taken the Ruck Evolution from Dinosaurs straight to Formula 1. Yes, prone to exaggerating!

 

[Pure_Ownage]

I was going to ask, could Pittonet be a cheap option if Carlton are going to turn their attention to O'Brien?

Pittonet signed a 4yr deal in May 2023 but has played only 24 senior games since that announcement - 9 in 2023, 14 last year and just 1 this year, out of a possible 51 games. Carlton may be open to trading him out of goodwill as it would seem clear they've moved on from him as anything other than a backup

Should be a cheaper option than Marshall, both in terms of contract & trade currency, allowing us to still have capital for use elsewhere

Yeah I had a similar thought. Depends on the $ he's on if it's big it's prohibitive but if he's on say 450k you would take the last 2 years of that if they traded him for pick 50ish. They would only do that (trade him and let tdk go) if they have another mature ruck as a confirmed in though. I think this is Stanley's last year so we need a ruck but I'd like it to be a cheap one so we keep our good picks for elite mids. A bridge ruck for 2-3 years to Edwards is ok. Assuming we can't lever a good up and comer like Moyle or ramsden out of their clubs then pittonet and rob are probably the 2 best cheap options. Followed by someone like soldo (although his durability worries me and I doubt his Mrs would move here) and ladhams but I doubt we would do ladhams with the off field issues whereas pittonet and Rob are model citizens.

 

[GFrost35]

On that basis the Dorks would be ideal for him. Hokball and that hype crap. He fits us but in the end it's up to the Club and him, innit?

Some commentators were wondering if Essendon with their draft picks might go for Reid and they asked Tom Morris what he thought and he said if Reid did leave he thought it would be to Hawthorn or Geelong.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

The big advantage is that Tassie is coming into the comp so the eagles may rather act on top picks now rather than wait down the track to use picks that are more diluted than before

Long shot I know but it’s worth considering that angle

It's possible but the reality is Reid is a franchise player. Like butters with Port you are very reluctant to trade them unless your hand is forced. So I expect them to wait until 2026 and try to talk him around.