Wildcard trade move: Could Collingwood star Jordan De Goey be on the table?

Collingwood match-winner Jordan De Goey shapes as a wildcard trade possibility before the AFL trades deadline.

While De Goey has not been formally put on the trading block, Collingwood are believed to be open to discussing a trade for the power midfield forward at the right draft price.

The Magpies are aware of the need to regenerate the AFL’s oldest list and De Goey is one of their players with strong trade currency, according to a well-placed competition source, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivities of AFL trade period negotiations.

De Goey, who had an injury afflicted year but was pivotal in Collingwood’s round 24 victory over Melbourne and their upset of Adelaide in the qualifying final, is contracted for 2026 and 2027.

The emergence of De Goey’s name as a potential late trade came as Essendon captain Zach Merrett met with senior Bombers at the Hangar on Monday for long discussions over his future that were part peace deal, part discussion over the likelihood of Hawthorn conjuring a deal to satisfy the club.

The Essendon board has been firm in the fact Merrett will not be traded and that was discussed at the meeting with coach Brad Scott, list boss Matt Rosa and CEO Craig Vozzo.

The Hawks remain interested in acquiring a future first round pick from a third party – from a weaker club more likely to finish low on the ladder next year and thus return a higher pick – and offering to bundle it with their own picks this year and next to trade to Essendon for Merrett, according to two competition sources not authorised to speak publicly.

Although Hawthorn are willing to offer their first pick in this year’s draft, that selection is less attractive to Essendon given it’s a weaker draft and they already have five picks inside 25. Their pick next year, with Merrett in the side would be assumed to be very late in the first round.

Hawthorn midfielder Cam McKenzie will not be part of any trade offer, according to two club sources.

Gold Coast and Melbourne will meet Tuesday to discuss a Christian Petracca trade with the Suns’ picks seven and eight on the table and set to form the nucleus of a deal.

De Goey could be the type of player to interest Hawthorn should they resign themselves to being unable to secure Merrett and wanted to pivot to another high-end talent, or to interest Melbourne should they wish to involve a pick or picks from the Suns as part of a deal to bring in a player, taken three places behind Petracca in the same draft year, to play a similar role.

Meantime, Geelong rejected a Carlton bid to make rising star Connor O’Sullivan part of any deal to trade Charlie Curnow to the Cats as the two parties discussed trade scenarios last week.

The 20-year-old defender who was pick 11 in the 2023 national draft missed just one match for the Cats this season and was fifth in voting for the Rising Star award however the Cats were unwilling to consider trading him as the prospects of a Curnow becoming a Cat during this year’s trade period appear remote.

Geelong offered their first round selections for the next three seasons on Thursday for Curnow, but that was officially rejected by Carlton on Friday morning.

Curnow had a medical and toured the Swans’ facilities after flying to Sydney on Monday as the deadline approaches. He had met Swans coach Dean Cox in September as the club looks to find a package to satisfy the Blues.

Sydney’s Ollie Florent has been told by the Swans to explore his opportunities despite being contracted until 2029 and may end up at Carlton in a deal that could be separate from any bid to lure the contracted Curnow to the harbour city.

Geelong remained quiet on Monday with the club still hopeful of bringing St Kilda’s Rowan Marshall to the club to ensure they are no longer reliant on Rhys Stanley who has signed for 2026 after performing well in 2025.

Richmond traded key defender Tylar Young to West Coast for pick 38 with the Eagles signing the 26-year-old to a three-year deal. He is well known to West Coast coach Andrew McQualter, who was an assistant coach at Richmond, in Young’s first season.

Barring a late move from North Melbourne, the jilted 24-year-old Leek Aleer looks destined to return to the Giants on a multi-year deal after St Kilda left him at the trade altar last week in a shock move that blindsided everyone. Aleer remains in Europe where he is holidaying.

Port Adelaide added big-bodied midfielder Will Brodie to their list for the nominal price of selection 103 in this year’s draft.

The trade was necessary because Brodie had one year remaining on his deal so could not be delisted without the Dockers having to pay him out as they looked to create a second list spot and clear some salary cap space.

Gold Coast used pick nine to select Brodie in the 2017 national draft before trading him to Fremantle at the end of 2021. He had an excellent year with the Dockers in 2022 when new Port Adelaide coach Josh Carr was an assistant coach at Fremantle.