AN INCREDIBLE 11-club, 12-player deal has blown open the AFLW Trade Period.
AFL.com.au can exclusively reveal that the seismic deal, which all clubs agreed to at 1.30pm AEDT on Wednesday – around half an hour before the deadline – features 11 different teams, 12 players and 24 picks being swapped.
The clubs involved are Adelaide, Brisbane, Collingwood, Essendon, Fremantle, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Port Adelaide, Richmond, West Coast and the Western Bulldogs, with the remarkable trade lodged and approved by the AFL just before 2pm AEDT.
With stalemates gripping trades negotiations across the competition, the 11-club trade somehow managed to unlock all of the remaining deals throughout the League and got 12 players to their new homes.
It saw Fremantle land former No.1 pick Gabby Newton as well as Ash Brazill, Essendon finally secure premiership-winning midfielder Maddi Gay, and Richmond land prized recruit Montana McKinnon.
The Dogs also managed to snare Lauren Ahrens, Jasmyn Smith and Analea McKee, Katie Lynch and Charlotte Wilson lobbed at Gold Coast, Kirsty Lamb headed to Port Adelaide, Lily Johnson went to Melbourne and Mikayla Hyde signed at Collingwood.
A total of 24 draft picks – including nine that feature in the first round of next Monday night's AFLW draft – also moved hands, with 36 components being tossed around between the 11 clubs within the biggest deal football has seen.
The trade, which was mooted speculatively among clubs on Wednesday night, began to gather steam on Thursday morning as a handful of teams sought to solve the trade logjams that had unfolded across the last week.
The Bulldogs had been the first club to reach out to rivals regarding the possibility of a multi-club trade, though its size ballooned across Thursday morning as teams began to acknowledge its potential to unlock every remaining deal.
It's understood clubs were kept mostly in the dark on what the other teams would receive as part of the trade, and instead agreed to the deal on the basis of what they would get individually.
That was because of a lingering feeling that some clubs had been pulling out of smaller multi-team trades due to being unhappy that another side was getting 'more' from the same deal, frustratingly halting other moves from happening elsewhere.
Brisbane was the final side to approve the trade and had been seen by the other 10 clubs involved as being the sticking point in negotiations, given it would ultimately trade out pick No.12 for later selections as part of the discussions.
However, in the knowledge it would have Northern Academy players to match bids on ahead of next Monday night's AFLW draft, Brisbane eventually accepted the proposal and the League's officials gave the deal the green light shortly after.
The trade will see the Bulldogs begin next Monday night's draft with picks No.1, 4, 6 and 11 as the club looks to kickstart its youth-led rebuild under a new coach in 2024 after its disappointing 1-9 campaign last season.
It also saw Melbourne land pick No.12 – the Dees had been adamant throughout that it wanted a first-round selection for Gay – which will complement the No.5 selection they got for Eliza West and Casey Sherriff's departures earlier in the window.
Adelaide and Richmond also reached a resolution over McKinnon's move to Punt Road, with the two clubs previously being unable to find a middle ground in negotiations during protracted talks.
Super Mega Trade
Adelaide
In: Picks 22, 26 and 33
Out: Montana McKinnon, Picks 18, 37 and 40
Brisbane
In: Picks 21, 31 and 46
Out: Analea McKee, Pick 12
Collingwood
In: Mikayla Hyde, Pick 29
Out: Ash Brazill, Pick 31
Essendon
In: Maddi Gay, Picks 19 and 37
Out: Picks 13 and 33
Fremantle
In: Ash Brazill, Gabby Newton, Pick 61
Out: Mikayla Hyde, Picks 6, 46 and 51
Gold Coast
In: Katie Lynch, Charlotte Wilson, Pick 44
Out: Lauren Ahrens, Jasmyn Smith, Picks 14 and 38
Melbourne
In: Lily Johnson, Picks 12, 23 and 40
Out: Maddi Gay, Charlotte Wilson, Picks 19, 26 and 56
Port Adelaide
In: Kirsty Lamb, Picks 18, 24 and 56
Out: Lily Johnson, Picks 4, 21 and 44
Richmond
In: Montana McKinnon, Pick 13
Out: Picks 11 and 29
West Coast
In: Picks 14 and 38
Out: Picks 23 and 24
Western Bulldogs
In: Lauren Ahrens, Jasmyn Smith, Analea McKee, Picks 4, 6, 11 and 51
Out: Gabby Newton, Katie Lynch, Kirsty Lamb, Picks 22 and 61
