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

 

[Pure_Ownage]

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.

He certainly has the talent but im not sure if he has the confidence/mental ability. We shall see.

 

[Pollywaffle]

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

Bews is only 31

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Bews is only 31

Yes and hes depth. At his age you need to be in the 23 (unless you are a specific ruck backup) or you are likely getting delisted if its a choice between you and a younger player.

 

[Lana]

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

In the grand final sprint, with one on the others shoulders

 

[Kobe Gryant]

Bews is only 31

I agree with Pure_Ownage tbh.

Instead of us all getting into debates about Stevens vs Bews vs Guthrie vs Clohesy, how about we just get rid of all of them?

I love Bewsy, and think there is probably still a place for him with our lack of a lockdown small - but if they're not going to pick him regularly (and they haven't since '23) then it's pointless.

Guthrie goes without saying, and Stevens, Wiltshire, and Clohesy just don't have it IMO, and probably never will.

George is just unlucky he was born 15 years too late, whereas the other two are never going to be more than depth in any era.

 

[FootyLad0]

Mitch may well be all these things, however 3 games in the VFL in 24 and 7 last year, he’s got a long way to go to be at AFL standard.

Even the most optimistic surely sees him still building this year with a seniors debut highly unlikely.

Scotty said he was on track to debut 2025.

Why would he now be even less likely in 2026?

 

[Moral Decay]

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.

It may that you are right.

The problem for both of us is that we weren't in the room or rooms. Even then I've known plenty that have had an argument that both have completely different recall of. Realistically there's plenty of players that move clubs on far less notice. In the end I'm a Saints supporter and until the evidence changes as opposed to supposition, I'll give them a chop out, you of course are entitled to your opinion. It doesn't make either of us right though, and I'm not trying to be right just trying to understand not condemn what has happened.

I will say this about managers and players that have played the Saints for years. Fyfe, Kelly, Dusty. Merrett all used the club to pump their price to their own club with never any intention in moving clubs, even Stengle has admitted that he was only ever after a bump. Do the players and managers ever take responsibility for the outcome. Do Nas, Windy and Wilkie have to look at themselves over their greed for Aleer missing out or Steele going to Melbourne?

The nasty Saints narrative is just tiresome and ultimately only part of the truth, other clubs, players and player managers all have their parts to play. Because this is a Geelong board I absolutely will not talk about the things I've heard about the Cattery. Suffice to say that every club has behaved poorly, every club has players that have questionable behaviours that have been smoothed over by the club.

You may be right the Saints may well have got it wrong, in the end how bad that is can only be relevant to how everyone else in the industry behaves. from my experience just for example Jelly Kelly told both Nth and Saints that he was coming, to the point at Nth that Brad Scott who had quit was talked into a new contract because Kelly was coming. Which has directly contributed to the current Nth mess.

We are all adults and need to accept responsibility, starting with ourself. Leek and his manager are the starting point, if the Saints wanted out, they were given the opportunity and they took it.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

I agree with Pure_Ownage tbh.

Instead of us all getting into debates about Stevens vs Bews vs Guthrie vs Clohesy, how about we just get rid of all of them?

I love Bewsy, and think there is probably still a place for him with our lack of a lockdown small - but if they're not going to pick him regularly (and they haven't since '23) then it's pointless.

Guthrie goes without saying, and Stevens, Wiltshire, and Clohesy just don't have it IMO, and probably never will.

George is just unlucky he was born 15 years too late, whereas the other two are never going to be more than depth in any era.

I agree. I personally think bews should have been in the GF but if we aren't picking him at his age he shouldn't be on the list.
Guthrie body cooked.
Wiltshire not good enough.
I think clohesy is decent depth but he's not kicking anyone out of the 23 and he's better off trying to get more chances at another club.
I agree George doesnt fit the modern game although hes a ripper kid.
Ultimately maybe one of them survives 12 months as we gradually turn over the list but none will be on it long term.

 

[Tandy]

Wouldn't mind 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

for a couple of years

 

[Spearman]

To see Cox in hoops acting like a pork chop after kicking a 6 would be card microwavingly cringey.

 

[Jhye Clark 13]

Like Curnow, it may come down to assets. We may not have enough and he may have to come up with another solution.

Until he’s wearing our polo, I’ll gladly wait till then.

We will have more than enough

 

[thegerman]

Scotty said he was on track to debut 2025.

Why would he now be even less likely in 2026?

Injuries. Both last and this year. As I stated, only 3 games in his first year, 7 or 8 this year. Highly optimistic to expect him to jump to AFL level and be injury free within one preseason.

 

[thegerman]

We will have more than enough

We’ve definitely got the cash to offer, but do we have enough to satisfy Port. They will definitely match. There’s no doubt in that.

Taking our first round this year helps. We should be able to offer 3 first round at the very least. Unsure if that will be enough though.

 

[Commando]

After we missed on Marshall I did write - I can't believe I'm saying this- look at Cox
Need a guy to halve a contest at least and let our smalls get to work

Not ideal but worth a call

 

[Mr Meow]

We’ve definitely got the cash to offer, but do we have enough to satisfy Port. They will definitely match. There’s no doubt in that.

Taking our first round this year helps. We should be able to offer 3 first round at the very least. Unsure if that will be enough though.

3x 1sts and a player or 2nd(s).

It'll be a record breaking trade for a RFA but he is still a RFA.

 

[Kobe Gryant]

After we missed on Marshall I did write - I can't believe I'm saying this- look at Cox
Need a guy to halve a contest at least and let our smalls get to work

Not ideal but worth a call

Is he really the number 1 ruck we need though?

If we're getting Cox, we won't be playing him in the forward line, at least not regularly. In essence, he'd be playing ahead of Stanley as the #1 ruck.

We'd essentially be asking him to play a role he's never actually played for more than a few games at AFL level.

For all of his natural advantages, he's never averaged more than 17 hitouts in a season. For reference, the corpse of Stanley averages 25.

I don't hate the idea, but we have to know what we're getting ourselves into.

 

[Mr Meow]

Is he really the number 1 ruck we need though?

If we're getting Cox, we won't be playing him in the forward line, at least not regularly. In essence, he'd be playing ahead of Stanley as the #1 ruck.

We'd essentially be asking him to play a role he's never actually played for more than a few games at AFL level.

For all of his natural advantages, he's never averaged more than 17 hitouts in a season. For reference, the corpse of Stanley averages 25.

I don't hate the idea, but we have to know what we're getting ourselves into.

I would've thought that's apparent. We're getting ourselves into big Cox.

 

[Kobe Gryant]

I would've thought that's apparent. We're getting ourselves into big Cox.

He'll add some girth to the team for sure, and he'll give us a deep threat that should stiffen us up.

I just worry about him in cold weather. He can put in some real flaccid performances that leave a bit to be desired.

Alright, I'm done.

 

[thegerman]

3x 1sts and a player or 2nd(s).

It'll be a record breaking trade for a RFA but he is still a RFA.

The only good part of this is he’s out of contract. So Port loses some of the whip.

 

[Mr Meow]

The only good part of this is he’s out of contract. So Port loses some of the whip.

If he was in contract, forget about it. They'd ask for 3x top-5 picks (pick 1 part of it), an A grade youngster and some pretty hefty steak knives/supplementary picks at the very least.

 

[Kobe Gryant]

The only good part of this is he’s out of contract. So Port loses some of the whip.

I know we're a bit gunshy after the last couple weeks, but this is the reality.

He's OOC. It doesn't mean we get to offer nothing, but as long as you're in the ballpark of a respectable offer (3-4 firsts) then they're going to take it eventually. It'll get done.

The Marshall and Curnow examples are outliers because they truly did have us over a barrel, and could ask for ridiculous overs with no consequence.

 

[Phill Hendo]

Come on down

He would be hard to love, even in hoops.

 

[foxdog50]

He would be hard to love, even in hoops.

Me personally id pick others before him. But if he was on our rookie spot for 12 months, as a back up for 12 months, i wouldn't be against it

 

[Phill Hendo]

I think the list squeeze makes Jeb an almost certain delist. He would have played more games this year if he was in the plan. I would like to see Ted Clohesy tried as a small defender but the fact that he has not been tried there already probably makes it unlikely. I definitely want him in hoops next year. Still think he makes it.

I believe George Steven's game against Richmond gets him another year. I expect to see him 5 kg lighter and as determied as ever next year. This is true of Ted aswell. Put that desparate streak into Ollie Henry and he is a multiple AA.

I very much doubt that Scott will pick up a Ruck from the people who are available now. It's just not him. I don't understand why we kept Rhys. Unfortunately we are not winning finals relying on Rhys. Toby lookings increasingly unlikely and Edwards isnt ready.

So its SDK with Blitz next year. I understand we tried but I see this as unfair to SDK who is a quality key defender. Maybe the altered Ruck rules help a bit.

 

[year of the cat]

You’d assume that the club will announce a few further list changes very soon. Duncan is out but Worpel in for his spot.

Only Retschko and Ivisic off the rookie list at this stage. More changes are needed.

Wiltshire almost certainly appears he will be delisted. Stevens will either be re-signed on a one year deal or delisted and re-rookied. C.Guthrie has to go. Bews, Matofai-Forbes and Hoffman perhaps vulnerable.

I’d assume in a weak draft we’d only use 2 or 3 picks at the most. Appears that Mellor will be one pick. I’d be taking Holmes - looks like a late developer similar to his brother.

With our first pick Oskar Taylor looks a decent option as a running defender to replace Bews.