Every Thursday AFL.com.au presents Inside Trading, with breaking news and the best analysis of the AFL trade landscape covering contracts, re-signings, free agents, the AFL Draft and industry insights.
CLUBS SET SIGHTS ON YOUNG CAT
GEELONG youngster Max Holmes has become a target for rival clubs after his fantastic start to the year, despite the impressive midfielder still being contracted at the Cats for next season.
Holmes signed a two-year deal last July, taking him through to 2024, but it hasn't deterred clubs from asking the question as to whether he would consider a move later this season.
Collingwood is among a handful of teams that is understood to have enquired about Holmes when he came out of contract last year, but he ultimately elected to stay and re-sign at GMHBA Stadium.
Geelong would be determined to retain the 20-year-old, who – as well as being contracted – is highly regarded at the club and is viewed as a key long-term part of its future.
Holmes has been a midfield standout for the Cats this year in the absence of injured senior duo Patrick Dangerfield and Cam Guthrie, averaging 18.7 disposals per game and flourishing as a hard-running clearance winner.
He has played 43 games across three seasons for Chris Scott's side, having been recruited to the club as a first-round pick in 2020.
Holmes missed last season's premiership victory after he was withdrawn just hours before the Grand Final due to a hamstring issue. – Riley Beveridge
KANGAS COACH BEGINS COMEBACK
ALASTAIR Clarkson has begun his slow transition back into football, spending time in Queensland this week with North Melbourne's recruiting team at the national under-18s carnival.
Clarkson was spotted alongside Kangaroos recruiters Scott Clayton and Will Thursfield at Brighton Homes Arena on Sunday watching the Allies' big win over Vic Metro, having taken time away from the game to focus on his mental health recently.
North Melbourne announced last week that Clarkson would return over the next month, but would undertake a gradual integration back into coaching. The club said his initial focus would include game analysis, but wouldn't feature a match-day role.
The Kangaroos currently hold pick No.2 in this year's draft with Allies guns Jed Walter and Colby McKercher, as well as Vic Metro forward Nick Watson, likely to feature in their thinking should they elect to retain that selection.
Clarkson announced he would take time away from the game back in May as he focused on his mental and physical wellbeing, with Brett Ratten stepping in as the club's caretaker coach throughout that period. – Riley Beveridge
TIGERS' VFL HERO SET FOR NEW DEAL
RICHMOND'S Jacob Bauer has already kicked his second after-the-siren match-winner and been named for his AFL debut this week, but his experience at Punt Road is about to get better with the versatile youngster heading towards a new deal.
Bauer, a mid-season rookie pick last year having emerged as a standout at SANFL side North Adelaide, is uncontracted beyond this season but talks are set to begin imminently over an extension for 2024.
Bauer arrived at Richmond as a 192cm marking forward, but has since been switched behind the ball this season and has thrived to earn his AFL chance as a composed intercept defender.
He played his best VFL game in last week's victory over Brisbane, winning 24 disposals and 12 marks across half-back before being switched forward in the final quarter and kicking three goals.
His third was an after-the-siren match-winner, which was remarkably the second winning goal he'd kicked in the past four games having also gone forward to drill a dramatic after-the-siren major against the Giants last month. – Riley Beveridge
PIES YOUNGSTER INKS EXTENSION
COLLINGWOOD has locked away another key part of its future, with the Magpies signing first-year running defender Jakob Ryan to a two-year extension.
Ryan was already contracted for next year as part of his rookie deal, with the extension set to ensure his future with the club until at least 2026.
Recruited to Collingwood with pick No.28 in last year's national draft, the teenager is yet to make his AFL debut but has been pressing his case for senior football following an impressive stretch of form at reserves level.
The South Australian has averaged 20.3 disposals and 5.1 marks per game in the VFL, having arrived at Collingwood as a fancied recruit from SANFL side Glenelg last year.
As revealed by AFL.com.au's Inside Trading last month, the Pies are also in talks to extend former mid-season recruit John Noble to a multi-year extension while they have already signed their first selection from last year's draft – West Australian utility Ed Allan – through until to 2026. – Riley Beveridge
PORT TO REWARD VETERAN
TRENT McKenzie will be rewarded for another resurgence in 2023 with a new deal at Alberton.
The 31-year-old has been offered a one-year contract extension with the potential for another season if he reaches a trigger.
McKenzie has played an important role as an undersized key defender for Ken Hinkley this season, continuing to revive a career that was at the crossroads when he was delisted by Gold Coast.
The Western Jets product joined the Suns in 2009 as one of 12 underage priority access signings – he is the only one still in the AFL – and played 92 games across his first five seasons before Gold Coast cut him at the end of 2017 after 106 appearances.
After being signed by the Power as a delisted free agent ahead of 2018 at the insistence of Hinkley – who coached him at Carrara – McKenzie played only two senior games in his first two seasons and made around 30 SANFL appearances, but has now played 53 AFL games across six seasons in South Australia.
McKenzie’s new deal doesn't look like what it did during his peak at Gold Coast, but the most important thing is he will still be playing at the highest level for at least a 14th season. – Josh Gabelich
'GUARDRAILS' COMING FOR SALARY DUMPS
THE AFL will ponder putting provisions around clubs conducting 'salary dump' deals in coming seasons, with the League set to review whether it begins restricting the number of players being paid by rival clubs.
Clubs can currently agree to take on a portion of a player's salary in trade deals, with Gold Coast attaching the No.7 pick in last year's draft for Geelong to collect a hefty amount of Jack Bowes' heavily back-ended contract.
Melbourne duo Brodie Grundy and Lachie Hunter, as well as Fremantle's Jaeger O'Meara and Collingwood's Tom Mitchell, are others having parts of their salary – and some into the future – being paid for by former clubs.
While the AFL was more agreeable to 'salary dump' trades last year, the League's CEO elect Andrew Dillon told AFL.com.au's trade and draft show Gettable last week that it was considering restricting the number of players being paid by two clubs at once.
"I think we end up getting more and more sophisticated," Dillon said.
"Moving players on with clubs paying parts of their salary, I think that's part of the evolution and I think that will continue. But, at the same time as the regulator running the competition, it's something where we maybe want to put some guardrails around that as well. That might be something that's on the horizon, we look at how many players a club can have where someone else is contributing to the salary."
As revealed by AFL.com.au, the League is also set to consider implementing the trade mechanism of 'pick purchasing' that would allow clubs to exchange additional salary cap space for draft selections.
TRADE HUB All the latest player movement news
"Pick purchasing, it sounds to me when you think about it first, 'I'm not sure about it'. But then it's actually not that different to a club contributing to another player's salary," Dillon said.
"If you take that lens to it, I think you'd say it's not a bad idea and let's look at it a bit further. The next part is, do we need guardrails around it as well? If it was going to come in, it would come in with some restrictions or strictures around it." – Riley Beveridge
SUNS GUN ROCKETS UP DRAFT BOARDS
GOLD Coast Academy jet Jed Walter says he hasn't set himself a goal on how high he wants to get recruited this November, as the powerful key forward continues to surge up draft boards.
Walter continued his fantastic national under-18s carnival last Sunday, booting three goals in the first quarter and finishing with 15 disposals and five marks to help lay the foundations for the Allies' big win over Vic Metro.
Having kicked 3.5 from 17 disposals and nine marks against South Australia, then 3.2 from 18 disposals and eight marks against Western Australia, it continued a standout carnival for Walter.
The 195cm forward has impressed clubs with his aerial dominance and his elite defensive work at ground level, with many now viewing Walter alongside long-time pick No.1 favourite Harley Reid as one of the country's best junior prospects.
Gold Coast has first access to Walter – as well as ruckman and potential top-five selection Ethan Read, in addition to midfielder and first-round fancy Jake Rogers – as part of its Academy system.
However, speaking on AFL.com.au's trade and draft show Gettable this week, Walter said the Suns hadn't yet given any guarantees over his future and said he hasn't set himself the target of potentially being the No.1 selection.
"It's out of my hands," Walter said.
"I'll play the best footy I can and whatever happens on draft night will happen. I don't really think about it too much. I haven't set myself a goal on how high I want to go. Obviously, I'll just keep playing footy and then whatever happens will happen." – Riley Beveridge
CLUBS, MANAGERS FLY NORTH FOR TALKS
THE SURF of Broadbeach has transformed into the trade and draft capital this week, with clubs and player managers converging in Queensland as the underage national championships continue.
The annual under-16s carnival on the Gold Coast has traditionally been a hotbed for the player movement landscape, with the mid-year tournament giving clubs and agents a crucial chance to discuss trades and contracts in one central location.
As well as taking in the Allies' under-18s victory over Vic Metro on Sunday, clubs and agents have been scouting the best under-16s talent as a round-robin series featuring 10 games across five days takes place at Heritage Bank Stadium and Fankhauser Reserve.
DRAFT HUB Click here for the latest draft news
The carnival is viewed as the unofficial starting point of the trade period, with clubs and player managers using the Gold Coast trip to discuss out-of-contract players and gauge the off-season list priorities of every team.
A series of informal meetings and discreet coffee catch-ups have already been both undertaken and arranged throughout Gold Coast, as clubs begin to accelerate plans ahead of this October's trade period. – Riley Beveridge
BLUES ADD TO FOOTBALL STAFF
CARLTON has added Calder Cannons regional talent manager Matthew Burton to its football department.
After more than five years with the Coates Talent League club, Burton has started at Ikon Park as the Academy and AFLW Talent Acquisition Manager.
The Blues' Academy involves father-son, father-daughter, Indigenous and Next Generation Academy prospects.
Burton is the second talent manager from the Cannons to join the Blues in the past 12 months, following former Geelong premiership player Tom Lonergan, who is Carlton's development and talent manager.
Tanya Hetherington recently joined Sydney's AFLW program as an assistant coach after coaching Calder's under-18s girls program in the Coates Talent League. – Josh Gabelich
