Three players and a fistful of picks: Four-club deal poised to unlock trades

A four club trade is poised to send Demon Judd McVee to Fremantle, see Lions free agent Brandon Starcevich traded to West Coast and complete Eagles captain Oscar Allen’s move to Brisbane.

Fremantle joined discussions between Brisbane and West Coast on Tuesday, and helped unlock negotiations between the clubs over a deal for Starcevich to join the Eagles as a trade rather than moving as a free agent. That deal would enable the Eagles’ free agent captain Allen to join the Lions without affecting the AFL compensation pick they would get for losing their full forward.

Given the size of the contract he was offered by Brisbane, the wooden spooners West Coast will get pick two as compensation for losing Allen as a free agent to the new premiers. The Eagles would not receive that level of compensation if they brought in Starcevich as a free agent, because the level of compensation pick a club receives is based on the net flow of free agents in and out of the club.

Thus, West Coast and Brisbane both wanted to trade for one of the players who was switching between the clubs. With the Eagles receiving pick two, they had the greater incentive to trade for Starcevich.

With Fremantle trying to secure a suitable pick to satisfy Melbourne for out-of-contract defender Judd McVee, the Dockers joined discussions between the Eagles and Lions on Tuesday. The inclusion of the Dockers in the talks added the range of extra draft picks that helped grease the wheels for a four club trade.

The Lions, Dockers and Eagles have agreed in principle to an exchange of a large number of late first-round and early second-round draft picks.

Brisbane will give up picks 19, 52 and Starcevich to West Coast and get picks 16, 22, 44 and 50 back from the Eagles.

The Eagles net Starcevich, 19 and 52 while giving up 16, 22, 44 and 50. The Eagles then pass on picks 19 and 23 to Fremantle and get picks 12 and 33 in return.

The net result will see the Dockers with an early second-round pick – 23 – to pass on to Melbourne for McVee.

The Dockers wanted to get involved in the trading because pick 12 was too much to give up for McVee. Now, they have brought in a pick in selection 23 that is closer to McVee’s trade value, while still leaving them with a pick at the start of the second round.

In essence, the Dockers’ deal with Melbourne becomes a standalone trade between the two clubs, but it is contingent on the Dockers receiving that pick from the dealing with the Eagles and Lions.

All the picks involved will move back at least one place by virtue of the whole deal, because the Eagles will get an extra pick after their first selection in the draft as compensation for Allen’s free agency move to Brisbane.

Suns knock back Dees’ play for Humphrey

Jon Pierik

Meanwhile, on Tuesday Gold Coast and Melbourne met over contracted Demons Norm Smith Medallist Christian Petracca who has asked for a trade to the Suns. Melbourne, as expected, asked for dynamic young forward midfielder Bailey Humphrey in any exchange.

The Suns have stuck to their position that they will not trade the contracted Humphrey.

The clubs will meet further to explore other trade options.

The Bombers are set to meet with the Suns over Brayden Fiorini who is a free agent but the Bombers are keen to do a late trade for Fiorini as they are set to lose Sam Draper as a free agent to Brisbane. Like the Eagles, they do not want to jeopardise their free agency compensation for losing Draper by bringing Fiorini in as a free agent.

The Bombers and senior coach Brad Scott have also long been interested in Suns small forward Ben Ainsworth, who toured The Hanger when he was a free agent before eventually re-signing with Gold Coast.

The Suns are now open to a trade for Ainsworth with the Bombers interested in having a conversation with the player who was pick four in the 2016 national draft.

Earlier on Tuesday a deal was completed for another Gold Coast player, fringe small forward Malcolm Rosas jnr to join the Swans. The Suns received picks 51 and 69, while the Swans received Rosas and pick 62 from the Suns.

A rookie draft selection in 2019, Rosas played 49 games for the Suns, booting 46 goals, but managed only 11 senior games since Damien Hardwick’s arrival as senior coach at the start of last year.

Fremantle ruckman Liam Reidy arrived at Carlton for a minor shuffle of picks - the Blues received Reidy, picks 53 and 71, while the Dockers received picks 50 and 68.

Reidy was starved of opportunity at Fremantle, where he played behind Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson.

The Blues had a vacancy to fill with Tom De Koning heading to St Kilda. Reidy will now battle Marc Pittonet and Hudson O’Keeffe to be the Blues’ frontline ruckman.

“A true competitor, we see a lot of promise in Liam. His form in the WAFL in recent years has really caught our eye, with his athleticism and ability to cover the ground a standout,” Blues list manager Nick Austin said.

“We see him being a significant addition to our ruck group alongside Marc Pittonet and Hudson O’Keeffe.

“We can’t wait to see Liam get to work in the pre-season and are excited to see what he can do at Ikon Park next year.“

Reidy spent three years in the west, after being recruited from Frankston in the 2022 rookie draft. He played 52 games in the WAFL during his time at the Dockers, and was a member of Peel Thunder’s 2024 premiership.

Get daily updates on all the AFL trade period action. Sign up for our Real Footy newsletter.