Merrett trade will only happen if Bombers board says so; Blues reject Curnow move; Roos’ asking price for skipper revealed

Any trade that would see Zach Merrett join Hawthorn will have to be approved by the Essendon board, who have taken a strong stance on the potential defection of their six-time best and fairest winner.

The development came on a day that saw Carlton officially reject Geelong’s offer of three first-round picks for superstar forward Charlie Curnow, Brody Mihocek cross from Collingwood to Melbourne for a swap of late picks, and North Melbourne emerge as a potential suitor for snubbed Giants defender Leek Aleer.

While the Bombers’ football department could approve of a deal with Hawthorn, the trade would still need board approval, according to a senior club source speaking anonymously. This veto power is in an environment in which Essendon’s hierarchy, headed by new president and former player Andrew Welsh, have been heavily involved in the Merrett situation.

That the board headed by Welsh, and which includes his friend and 2000 premiership hero Dean Solomon, has a right of veto over a Merrett deal adds to the high stakes involved, placing pressure on Hawthorn to come up with a deal that can satisfy Essendon, from the top down.

During this trade period, there have been no meaningful discussions between Hawthorn and Essendon over Merrett, according to sources from both clubs. Merrett has not yet formally requested a trade at the time of writing, but has made plain his wish to join Hawthorn ever since he met with the club’s senior coach Sam Mitchell in September.

Welsh, who played 162 games for the Bombers before a successful property development career, met with Merrett shortly before taking over the presidency from David Barham.

The view of both clubs is that the trade talks could begin early next week, but the Bombers are holding firm with their line that they will not be trading Merrett – privately noting that their skipper has met with rival clubs, such as Collingwood and Carlton, in the past.

Hawthorn have indicated that they would trade their first draft pick, currently No.9, which it acquired from Carlton, but there has been no clear signal of which players would be on the table. Merrett’s manager, Tom Petroro, also may need to find a player from a third club to broker a deal, but is well-placed to broker a deal, given he also handles Mitchell.

Carlton reject Geelong’s offer for Curnow

Carlton have rejected Geelong’s offer of three first-round picks for Curnow as Sydney midfielder James Rowbottom appears as good as certain to stay in the red and the white, all but ruling him out of any potential deal to send the Blues spearhead to the Swans.

Cats football boss Andrew Mackie said this year’s grand finalists remain intent on acquiring both Curnow and St Kilda ruckman Rowan Marshall, despite their initial offers being rebuffed by the Saints and the Blues.

Mackie said classy forward Gryan Miers, or any other Cat, would not be involved in a trade for Curnow.

“We love the players we have,” Mackie told AFL Trade Radio. “We have a cohesive, united group who want to go one better than they did this year. All signs are really positive, post the grand final. We couldn’t ask for a better group to got to work every day and get better.”

Blues football boss Chris Davies said the Cats’ offer, effectively three picks in the 20s, was not enough.

“We value him far more than what some other people are suggesting around the competition he’s worth,” Davies said.

The Rowbottom camp set the record straight on Friday, making it clear to this masthead that any trade noise about the 25-year-old – who is holidaying in Italy – was not coming from them.

He is contracted until the end of the 2028 season, but has been linked with a move to Gold Coast, where his younger sister Charlie is a star for the Suns’ AFLW team.

However, an industry source told this masthead on the condition of anonymity that Rowbottom would only be an option for Gold Coast if the high-profile Christian Petracca deal fell through.

The Blues have addressed their need for speed by securing Ben Ainsworth and Campbell Chesser in exchange for later picks in the draft.

Ainsworth arrives at Ikon Park from Gold Coast after a three-club deal at the cost of small forward Corey Durdin, who is heading home to South Australia to play for Port Adelaide, and the Blues’ 2026 second-round pick.

The Suns received pick 29 in this year’s draft from the Power, who have given Carlton pick 67.

Ainsworth is a speedy small forward who has averaged just on a goal per game in the past four seasons. His departure clears some cash in Gold Coast’s salary cap as they continue negotiations with Melbourne for champion midfielder Petracca.

Chesser crosses to Carlton from West Coast for pick 41, a selection that had been shaping as an option to help the Blues secure another target, the Western Buldogs’ Buku Khamis.

Khamis fell out of favour late in the year, but is contracted for next season, and played 31 games across the past two years, so the Dogs are keen for a decent return.

Chesser, pick No.14 in the 2021 draft, had ankle surgery at the start of this year, but played career-best football in the final month, averaging 17 disposals in a strong finish.

Pies may need two first-rounders for Simpkin

Collingwood may need to trade two first-round picks to acquire North Melbourne captain Jy Simpkin.

This masthead revealed on Thursday night that the Magpies were interested in Simpkin, who is contracted until 2029, but has privately aired his grievances about being pushed onto a wing late in the season.

North Melbourne’s strong stance on what they would accept as a fair trade is based on them not wanting him to leave. The Roos do not have any salary cap issues, so there is no benefit to them in clearing further space.

North list boss Brady Rawlings has made it clear that Luke Davies-Uniacke, Harry Sheezel and George Wardlaw were the Roos’ preferred centre-bounce midfielders.

Rawlings confirmed on AFL Trade Radio on Friday that there was interest in Simpkin, but that the dual club champion had not requested a trade.

“He’s obviously a very good player, so that’s no surprise [that he has interest] when he’s been open to wanting to go and have a bit of a look and see if there is anything out there,” Rawlings said.

“There has been some interest, but there’s been no trade request. There’s been no formal offer or anything like that, in terms of the trade.

“So, the way we see it, while it’s still in that position, he’s a North Melbourne player and will continue to be.”

Collingwood inquired about Melbourne onballer Clayton Oliver before he requested a trade to the Giants on Thursday night, so they are in the market for a midfield upgrade.

Seven different Pies went through the centre bounce this year, but only Nick Daicos (19), Ned Long (16) and Jordan De Goey (11) averaged double-digit attendances.

They have not offered Tom Mitchell a contract for 2026, and a source familiar with his situation told this masthead it was still unclear whether a rival club might sign him.

Simpkin, who is holidaying in Europe, has not requested a trade – but it would take a strong return for them to budge.

The Pies’ best selection this year is pick 39, so if their interest in Simpkin blossoms into a trade request, they may need to use a 2026 or 2027 first-rounder, and/or trade for one.

Simpkin has played 173 games for North and averaged 22 disposals across 21 matches this year, including a season-high 33 in the last round.

A possible new suitor emerges for Giant

North Melbourne have emerged as potential suitors for Leek Aleer, a day after St Kilda reneged on their interest in the out-of-contract GWS defender.

The Saints were engaged in negotiations with the Giants about Aleer, who had requested a trade to Moorabbin after being offered a four-year deal worth north of $700,000 annually, but abruptly withdrew on Thursday.

Aleer, who is holidaying in Barcelona, woke up to the shock development and was understandably “livid” and “shattered”.

Big-spending St Kilda’s about-turn became the talk of the industry, with Kangaroos list boss Brady Rawlings revealing his surprise on AFL Trade Radio on Friday.

“We’ve discussed [Aleer] as a club, [as in] ‘Is it something that we would consider?’, and we’re still doing the work on that,” Rawlings said.

“It was one that’s obviously caught quite a fair few clubs by surprise. We’ve followed Leek since he played at Central District in the SANFL, and followed his career at the Giants, and we’ve always admired him as a player.

“But given he was committed to St Kilda, we hadn’t really thought too much of it. Now that that’s changed; I’m sure there are a few clubs that are probably considering him.”

Nigel Baldwin and Dylan Smith, of Centimeter Perfect Global, represent Aleer and are frantically trying to find him a new home after the shock development with the Saints.

The likes of Western Bulldogs and West Coast ruled themselves out on Friday from pursuing Aleer, who played 13 of the last 14 games this year for GWS for a career total of 25.

Giants football boss Jason McCartney also indicated they would welcome Aleer back, but they have a list-spot crunch that could complicate matters.

AFL clubs can have between 36 and 38 players on their primary list, and GWS are already at 35 before trading for Melbourne midfielder Clayton Oliver or potentially re-signing Aleer.

The challenge for the Giants is they must make at least three national draft selections, so Oliver’s arrival – at minimum – would mean something has to give.

GWS previously told utility Conor Stone, who is contracted for next season, that they may delist him with the plan of redrafting him as a rookie, two sources familiar with that discussion told this masthead on the condition of anonymity.

Stone, 23, re-signed for two seasons in October last year after Essendon expressed interest in him at the time.

But one of those sources said the 20-gamer would be at the Giants next season despite the opportunity for an opposition club to swoop in and take him if he is delisted.

GWS may need to delist Stone and a second player if Aleer re-signs, unless they traded a player or two out, potentially in the Oliver deal.

Stalemate in Ah Chee deal

The Brisbane Lions and Adelaide are at loggerheads over a deal that would send dual Lions premiership player Callum Ah Chee to the Crows.

The Lions want Adelaide’s pick 16 and are unlikely to accept Adelaide’s offer of a future second-round pick.

Minor premiers this year, the Crows are likely finalists next season, which would mean their second-round selection in 2026 would likely be in the early 30s once father-son and academy picks are factored in.

Crows list boss Justin Reid said the club would not give up their first pick this year for Ah Chee.

“Pick 16 or [a] future first is not something that will be part of that discussion,” Reid told AFL Trade Radio. “A future second has been on the table from the early days. That’s something that’s been sitting there.”

Ah Chee is very much a required player at Brisbane, where he played important roles in each of their past two grand final victories.

“We love him, we’d love to retain him, we think he plays a really important role,” Lions list manager Dom Ambrogio said. “If it was our situation to dictate, he’d certainly stay at the Brisbane Lions.”

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