Rumour GFC 2025 Player Trading, Drafting FA, Rumours and Wish lists Pt 3

[cats_09]

2025 AFL Draft and Trade Dates:​

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

 

[Turbocat]

The AFL helped create a monster.

Breakdown of spending to build the 23 on GF day

	Brisbane Lions	Geelong Cats
List DVI	30645	18431
Total DVI of the 23 selected	24774	11376
Average Age weighted by DVI	25.89	27.30
Players traded with a DVI cost	5	4
Traded	5915	5277
Average Age Traded weighted by DVI	30.78	32.49
Drafted	18859	6099
Players drafted with a DVI cost	16	8
Average Age Drafted weighted by DVI	24.35	22.81
Players recruited with 0 DVI cost	2	11

We're fighting against both age and resources. They spend three times as much at the draft (Under the new DVI weighting it is 4 times as much), their players with a high DVI cost are closer to their peak age.

Next year they're adding two free agents that resulted in the creation of a pick 2 and pick 21 and they're also getting another top 5 pick at the draft.

We got Worpel and 19

You can only hold back the water so long , putting one thumb in the wall might hold it for a while …but I suspect we are now living in below water line environment and we are looking a Hurricane and a flooded New Orleans situation… It might take till the Suns have multiple flags before there is a recognition that they have over cooked the bias.

 

[foxdog50]

If you mean Edwards he may get a game or two against Richmond/wce etc as a taste but thats it.
The ruck next year will be Stanley doing 6 or 8 games plus blicavs doing the bulk of it supported by sdk and neale.
If Edwards plays more than a couple of games it means blitz and sdk are both injured and we are stuffed.

I hate what I'm about to say. They will play sdk more in the ruck

 

[Aussie pie]

We just Delisted Mason Cox

46

Mason Cox

Age

34

Ht

211cm

Wt

110kg

Pos.

F/R

Career

Season

Last 5

D

8.7

2star

K

5.2

2star

HB

3.5

3star

M

4.0

4star

T

1.6

4star

G

1.2

4star

D

6.0

1star

K

3.0

1star

HB

3.0

2star

M

2.3

2star

T

0.3

1star

G

1.0

4star

D

9.0

3star

K

5.4

2star

HB

3.6

3star

M

2.6

3star

T

2.4

4star

G

1.8

5star

, would be a good mature backup for you guys until the young guns get fit and can play full time in the ruck. That way you can keep your structure and not have to keep playing others in the ruck. Worth a look for a season.
We screwed up as we now have no back up.

 

[TheWoodenSlug]

Cox, Goldstein, Random VFL player...are we expecting them to improve our side significantly over having Stanley, Blicavs or SDK in the ruck?

If not, what's the point? We already have limited spots available on the list.

 

[Cataholic]

We just Delisted Mason Cox, would be a good mature backup for you guys until the young guns get fit and can play full time in the ruck. That way you can keep your structure and not have to keep playing others in the ruck. Worth a look for a season.
We screwed up as we now have no back up.

Yeah, nah.

 

[Del216647]

We just Delisted Mason Cox, would be a good mature backup for you guys until the young guns get fit and can play full time in the ruck. That way you can keep your structure and not have to keep playing others in the ruck. Worth a look for a season.
We screwed up as we now have no back up.

Yeah, I wouldn't be shocked, particularly with Bucks coming in. I'm not against it given we can pick him up as a DFA and he'll cost next to nothing in terms of $$$.

 

[Generalissimo]

Cox, Goldstein, Random VFL player...are we expecting them to improve our side significantly over having Stanley, Blicavs or SDK in the ruck?

If not, what's the point? We already have limited spots available on the list.

Is anyone else we recruit in any other position on the field going to come right in and improve our side?

 

[Kobe Gryant]

Is anyone else we recruit in any other position on the field going to come right in and improve our side?

Probably not, but you're picking them up to be in our best side in 2-3 years. Our standard draft and development approach.

This might sound funny, but I'd be fine picking up Cox, Boyd, or whatever spud ruck is available under the guarantee we actually play them.

History shows though, we don't, and with good reason. So they just end up wasting a list spot that could go to a kid to develop.

In other words, it's pointless. Would rather try to find the next Humphries/Dempsey and risk finding a Hayball to do so.

 

[Footy_Fan2007]

Please no.

As much as I really don’t like him, I think we will pick him up. Especially now that bucks is on board too……

 

[TheWoodenSlug]

Is anyone else we recruit in any other position on the field going to come right in and improve our side?

Sorry, not sure I am understanding your question here because the answer seems very self-evident. Yes, I would think anyone we recruit would be with the expectation that they improve our side, otherwise why bother bringing them in?

Unless you're referring to drafees? In which case we would still expect (or more accurately, hope) that they will eventually improve our side, if not immediately.

Bringing in an old and/or sub-par ruckman on top of our existing old/sub-par ruckmen just doesn't make sense to me.

 

[Pollywaffle]

I like to forget a losing GF pretty quickly and have avoided reviewing the game or following too much of the narrative but I've seen a few people say since Clark was promising. Zac Bailey should have kicked 6 on him.

I was perplexed by that selection in such crucial games. He was useful, but as you pointed out any half decent forward would have been salivating at the prospect of lining up on him.

 

[Moral Decay]

No thats the best post I've read on the issue you are welcome to post here if youre that reasoned.
I agree with most of it.
I had 2 points one was that Lyon through his coaching career has loved 2 rucks and hes only really had 1 at St kilda because they had not decent 2nd so I expected him to push for 2 rucks (clearly Rowan doesnt want this hence asking for a trade but Ross does). And secondly st kilda are clearly trying to make finals the next 2 years in the hope that it will convince nwm to stay (and thats why they brought all these players in) and so they would rather have Marshall out of position than weaken the 22.

You are correct in that you need mids and we dont have them to offer its our weakest area. Clearly you wanted sdk but we were never going to trade him-apart from that we rate him long term he has to be the ruck solution by necessity (if we cant get a quality ruck another way) so we were never going to weaken the ruck stocks by trading him especially when blitz is 35. The only other player as an option would have been stengle but you tried last year and he said no. I think Mackie was honestly open to players but none wanted to go and culturally we wont force them (we wont do what Sydney did in terms of literally forcing guys out that wanted to stay to get curnow and I think it will end up being bad for them). So we didnt really have other options.

In the end I think both Geelong and St kilda did what was best for them. My criticism is more than while I think St kilda made the right calls they handled the communication very poorly.
Why not just tell Geelong (and tell rowan) weeks earlier that you weren't trading him why bother with this facade all trade week of a deal you weren't going to do? Clearly sos thought Geelong would get desperate and offer sdk but it was never happening.

The aleer deal is the same they clearly could have told the guy 6 weeks earlier when they were chasing silvagni so he had time to find another club (they cost him well over a million by not doing it). Gubby and SOS have a history of upsetting other clubs with these sort of tactics and its why a lot of clubs dont want to deal with them. They are lucky that the manager they made angry re aleer wasn't someone like Connors or their recruitment for the next few years would be stuffed. I think they will find that the way they've communicated with other clubs lately will cost them down the road.
Despite that wish you guys all the best for next year.

I agree with most of what you've written and my quibbles would be about emphasis. Your comments about communication though are spot on.

For both of us the great unknown is the spoken word, not just between club to club but also club to player and above all what both clubs and the player manager have said and their motives. Dylan Smith is Aleers' manager between him and GWS it's been acknowledged that the original deal was for a future third which changed and as soon as that happened the Saints walked. The 2026 second rounder was immediately used on Ryan with a third coming back. It may be that the Ryan deal was more important, but once it was done the pick didn't exist. It can be said that the Aleer deal was referred to the Saints board as it had become outside the parameters the board had agreed to for the trade period.

Without doubt it was a bad look for the Saints and they've been pilloried for it in the press.

It should be noted that the only other club to look at Aleer was Nth, (where I believe he failed a physical?), no one else came looking even WB. It does smell of oversell, a 2nd rounder for a player that no one else wants? Maybe the Connors group would have been more powerful to cross, but then maybe they wouldn't have changed the deal either.

We can all create narratives that fit our current bias, time will tell for all of us. Years ago Xerri nominated us and we wanted to trade a third Nth wanted a second the deal fell through and that was a bad mistake. He nominated us and we didn't get the deal done. Not a lot of noise about it just what happens in the trade period

Interestingly Simpkin didn't get done, Merrett didn't get done, Marshall didn't get done, no deal for Steven May, or Khamis, Ah Chee didn't get done. Geelong tried for Marshal and Curnow and didn't land either. Adelaide tried for Nasiah, Petracca, Draper, Flanders, Merrett and Ah Chee and none have got done. I don't see pages of outrage and invective against the clubs involved, their list managers. Anyone at Geelong slagging off Mackie, despite the obvious hole in the list? Same can be said for Justin Reid at Adelaide?

Compare the lack of noise about the above to the criticism that the Saints have got for over paying for JSOS, TDK and Flanders not paying enough respect to Steele, letting him go too cheap and the criticism over Aleer and frankly it's hard to take the criticism seriously. It should be said that Dylan Smith has controlled the narrative and he and Aleer have the most to lose.

 

[Pollywaffle]

As is Conway because he cannot get on the park. Journeymen are alright in a limited role see Darcy Fort.

AFL/VFL History shows quite a few ‘journeymen’ rucks that have done more than ok

 

[Kobe Gryant]

I agree with most of what you've written and my quibbles would be about emphasis. Your comments about communication though are spot on.

For both of us the great unknown is the spoken word, not just between club to club but also club to player and above all what both clubs and the player manager have said and their motives. Dylan Smith is Aleers' manager between him and GWS it's been acknowledged that the original deal was for a future third which changed and as soon as that happened the Saints walked. The 2026 second rounder was immediately used on Ryan with a third coming back. It may be that the Ryan deal was more important, but once it was done the pick didn't exist. It can be said that the Aleer deal was referred to the Saints board as it had become outside the parameters the board had agreed to for the trade period.

Without doubt it was a bad look for the Saints and they've been pilloried for it in the press.

It should be noted that the only other club to look at Aleer was Nth, (where I believe he failed a physical?), no one else came looking even WB. It does smell of oversell, a 2nd rounder for a player that no one else wants? Maybe the Connors group would have been more powerful to cross, but then maybe they wouldn't have changed the deal either.

We can all create narratives that fit our current bias, time will tell for all of us. Years ago Xerri nominated us and we wanted to trade a third Nth wanted a second the deal fell through and that was a bad mistake. He nominated us and we didn't get the deal done. Not a lot of noise about it just what happens in the trade period

Interestingly Simpkin didn't get done, Merrett didn't get done, Marshall didn't get done, no deal for Steven May, or Khamis, Ah Chee didn't get done. Geelong tried for Marshal and Curnow and didn't land either. Adelaide tried for Nasiah, Petracca, Draper, Flanders, Merrett and Ah Chee and none have got done. I don't see pages of outrage and invective against the clubs involved, their list managers. Anyone at Geelong slagging off Mackie, despite the obvious hole in the list? Same can be said for Justin Reid at Adelaide?

Compare the lack of noise about the above to the criticism that the Saints have got for over paying for JSOS, TDK and Flanders not paying enough respect to Steele, letting him go too cheap and the criticism over Aleer and frankly it's hard to take the criticism seriously. It should be said that Dylan Smith has controlled the narrative and he and Aleer have the most to lose.

People aren't slagging off Mackie because Geelong have runs on the board.

If Geelong fall down the ladder next year and the ruck is viewed as a huge weakness and reason for that, then rightly or wrongly, watch the media heat come thick and fast.

This isn't a criticism of you directly, but St Kilda supporters en masse are adopting the 'woe is me' position of their club. It doesn't help anything.

I guarantee you, if St Kilda were contending consistently, then the criticism wouldn't be there.

It's because you're not that the club is an easy target, and the media love a soft kill. That's all it's ever been, and that's on the club if they want to change it. It's not personal, or a bias towards Geelong, or anybody else.

We lost a GF, and we go from having the world's best culture a week prior, to a team full of campaigners a week later in the eyes of the media.

It's not a conspiracy, it's the easy target at the time. It's the same for everyone.

 

[Hinkley29]

Wiltshire and guthrie and bews are certain to go imo (makes room for 2 draft picks and mellor). Stevens is 50/50 and i think ted delists himself (or we do it) to try and ger chances at another club

We should delist Stevens before Bews

 

[Pure_Ownage]

We should delist Stevens before Bews

Maybe but age will come into it. Bews at his age wont be retained.

 

[Reg Hickey]

As a player, I think Mason Cox

46

Mason Cox

Age

34

Ht

211cm

Wt

110kg

Pos.

F/R

Career

Season

Last 5

D

8.7

2star

K

5.2

2star

HB

3.5

3star

M

4.0

4star

T

1.6

4star

G

1.2

4star

D

6.0

1star

K

3.0

1star

HB

3.0

2star

M

2.3

2star

T

0.3

1star

G

1.0

4star

D

9.0

3star

K

5.4

2star

HB

3.6

3star

M

2.6

3star

T

2.4

4star

G

1.8

5star

could be a good pick up for us. I don’t think he would be an upgrade on 2022 Stanley, but I suspect he would be on 2026 Stanley. And I’m sure he’s already texted Bucks to see if there’s an opportunity.

I would still hate it though.

 

[Generalissimo]

As I've said before, if we're going for a delisted mid 30s ruckman, I'd prefer Goldstein to Cox.

But if we do recruit Cox, I'll support him, hope he gets the best out of himself, and hope the club gets the best out of him.

 

[Mr Meow]

I wouldn't mind us picking up Goldstein and Cox, then running them as a mobile ruck duo for finals.

 

[foxdog50]

I hate what I'm about to say. They will play sdk more in the ruck

Your not supposed to like it TheWoodenSlug

 

[Pure_Ownage]

I agree with most of what you've written and my quibbles would be about emphasis. Your comments about communication though are spot on.

For both of us the great unknown is the spoken word, not just between club to club but also club to player and above all what both clubs and the player manager have said and their motives. Dylan Smith is Aleers' manager between him and GWS it's been acknowledged that the original deal was for a future third which changed and as soon as that happened the Saints walked. The 2026 second rounder was immediately used on Ryan with a third coming back. It may be that the Ryan deal was more important, but once it was done the pick didn't exist. It can be said that the Aleer deal was referred to the Saints board as it had become outside the parameters the board had agreed to for the trade period.

Without doubt it was a bad look for the Saints and they've been pilloried for it in the press.

It should be noted that the only other club to look at Aleer was Nth, (where I believe he failed a physical?), no one else came looking even WB. It does smell of oversell, a 2nd rounder for a player that no one else wants? Maybe the Connors group would have been more powerful to cross, but then maybe they wouldn't have changed the deal either.

We can all create narratives that fit our current bias, time will tell for all of us. Years ago Xerri nominated us and we wanted to trade a third Nth wanted a second the deal fell through and that was a bad mistake. He nominated us and we didn't get the deal done. Not a lot of noise about it just what happens in the trade period

Interestingly Simpkin didn't get done, Merrett didn't get done, Marshall didn't get done, no deal for Steven May, or Khamis, Ah Chee didn't get done. Geelong tried for Marshal and Curnow and didn't land either. Adelaide tried for Nasiah, Petracca, Draper, Flanders, Merrett and Ah Chee and none have got done. I don't see pages of outrage and invective against the clubs involved, their list managers. Anyone at Geelong slagging off Mackie, despite the obvious hole in the list? Same can be said for Justin Reid at Adelaide?

Compare the lack of noise about the above to the criticism that the Saints have got for over paying for JSOS, TDK and Flanders not paying enough respect to Steele, letting him go too cheap and the criticism over Aleer and frankly it's hard to take the criticism seriously. It should be said that Dylan Smith has controlled the narrative and he and Aleer have the most to lose.

I agree with what you have said generally about St kildas strategy but i disagree about aleer specifically just a few counter points:
-I don't buy the r2 argument for a couple of reasons. Firstly gws had cap pressure (as shown by the reduced money they had to give him) and they would have accepted say 2 x r3s which st kilda could have offered (they would have then flipped the pick for oliver).

-if youre st kilda and you want the player you either make a counter offer like that or you say to him and gws 'hey we cant offer more than a 3rd but if they wont take it we are still committed to you and will take you in the psd' (this is basically what adel are doing with ah chee).

-the 'its about the r2' is therefore pr spin (imo). More likely st kilds didnt think they were getting jsos (remember most people thought he was going to the dogs, I doubt it's a coincidence that they chased Wilkie only after jsos was gone) hence chasing aleer the previous 12 months. Once jsos decided to come they decided since they are paying him 800 to play chb they didnt want to pay aleer the same money as backup (which is fair enough but why not tell him straight away and dont string it out until trade week).

-my understanding is he didnt fail any medical he was in Spain with teammates so it was practically hard to do one. Now you could say if aleer was desperate he would have got straight on a plane to Australia to meet clubs and convince them but thats easier said than done in Europe (its not a 3hr flight).

-I think aleer is a bit overrated but I think at least one of wbd/nth/wce etc takes him if its 2 weeks earlier before he left and they can meet him in person and medicals etc. St kilda screwed him by telling him only after he had left aus and when it was too late.
I felt what smith said was unprofessional but I can understand why he got so upset because he knew with his client in Spain it would be too late to find him good money anywhere else and they got screwed by the timing.

As I said I think that communication could have been handled a lot better and I do find it suspicious that it was a low profile manager involved-i doubt they would have dated do it if it was Connors etc they would have followed through and made the trade work or psd.
Even if thats a pure coincidence and it isnt that the communication looks bad and I do think it will hurt st kilda with big managers like connors-he will be hesitant about sending ooc players there lest something like that happen again.

On the other bit I think generally clubs are trying to take power back and hold contracted players but I would argue clubs like essendon re merrett and petracca at Melbourne etc were all clearer about what they would and wouldn't do the deals for compared to st kilda with aleer.

 

[foxdog50]

Cox, Goldstein, Random VFL player...are we expecting them to improve our side significantly over having Stanley, Blicavs or SDK in the ruck?

If not, what's the point? We already have limited spots available on the list.

Let's find the diamond from the rough from the State League on our rookie spot

 

[Gee Class Loco]

If Ollie Henry has a huge summer, some may be surprised… he has talent.

I am not sure he has it in him... TBH.
90% of AFL lists have players with talent. talent alone only gets u so far in this day and age.
I thought this year was his time to shine if he had indeed more to offer.
After all he had his 4th preseason coming up, he had 70 games under his belt. He knew what was needed.
I thought when they tried him at HB during pre season, here we go.
Only for the pin to be pulled after enough was seen.
He has very little impact for mine. With or without the ball.
I had a line put through him after last year. That line still remains.
4me he'll be playing local GFL footy b4 we know it if that penny doesn't drop this summer.

 

[Kobe Gryant]

I wouldn't mind us picking up Goldstein and Cox, then running them as a mobile ruck duo for finals.

They gave dinner at 5.30 though, so we'll have to request day time finals.

Hopefully Hocking can do it.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Cox, Goldstein, Random VFL player...are we expecting them to improve our side significantly over having Stanley, Blicavs or SDK in the ruck?

If not, what's the point? We already have limited spots available on the list.

As I've said before, if we're going for a delisted mid 30s ruckman, I'd prefer Goldstein to Cox.

But if we do recruit Cox, I'll support him, hope he gets the best out of himself, and hope the club gets the best out of him.

I would prefer goldy as an SSP rookie and ruck coach but not sure if his family situation would support it.
Cox is meh but would be OK.

The other option is sdk in the ruck which might be better but if we do that we probably need through the draft to get a mature kpd in given the uncertainty re kolo and given we have no key backs in the vfl.