TWO WEEKS down. Two weeks to go.

It was the players who urged the AFL to free up the mechanisms by which they could change clubs so, if you're from the school that believes that all this activity could be compressed into 72 hours, direct your ire towards them.

But you might be in the minority.

The Gillette AFL Free Agency Period, which commenced on October 1, and the trade period that started a week later have been good for football. The three-week period for each (as opposed to the one-week trade period of years past) has led to a fair amount of player movement to date with plenty more likely to come.

And despite hefty competition from other sports, it has dominated the media landscape.

The narrative hasn't just been about the player movement. The approach by clubs to the introduction of free agency has also evoked much discussion, and perhaps the Western Bulldogs have created the template with their bold move of champion defender Brian Lake to Hawthorn a year ahead of free agency.

As previously noted, it is a strategy borrowed unashamedly from European and American sport and it should lead to further player movement in the future as clubs weigh up whether to let players become free agents or offload them beforehand so that they can have a greater say in - and maximise - the compensation they receive for letting them leave.

Here's the state of play at your club.

ADELAIDE: The Kurt Tippett negotiations continue. It's a bit premature to call this a saga because it has only been one week. It still hinges on what the Swans are prepared to offer to the Crows in addition to their first pick, which appears a given. Jonathan Giles might cross from Greater Western Sydney to add to the club's big-man stocks.

BRISBANE LIONS: A mature body is what list manager Rob Kerr wanted and a mature body is what he got. OK, so it wasn't Kurt Tippett, but Brent Moloney will add hardness to the Lions midfield group and perhaps help them get better at clearances and contested possessions, which has been an issue. The Lions had been pitching for Hawk wingman Clinton Young, but he now seems likely to stay.

CARLTON: Content with their playing list, the Blues have largely sat on their hands over the last fortnight. If there was a race for Chris Dawes, the Blues would be a distant third. Brock McLean has signed a well-deserved new deal to remain with the club, while impressive rookie Tom Bell has also signed a new contract. According to the Blues, there were others bidding for his services.

COLLINGWOOD: The Pies will be hitting next month's NAB AFL National Draft hard after securing a first-round pick from West Coast in exchange for Sharrod Wellingham. On the surface, pick 17 seems an excellent return for the 24-year-old, a middleweight midfielder whose value may have been inflated because he played in the 2010 premiership side. Armed with pick 18 as well, they are relishing the draft and they should be on the receiving end of yet another relatively early selection once the deal for Dawes is complete. Paul Seedsman's two-year contract extension with the club was announced earlier in the week.

ESSENDON: The Bombers were out of the bidding for Josh Caddy pretty much from the time they committed to Joe Daniher as a father-son selection. The re-signings of David Myers and Leroy Jetta are a boost and now they await a decision from forward Scott Gumbleton, who despite interest from elsewhere, might stick with the club for another season. They remain in the hunt for West Coast midfielder Koby Stevens. The club is also awaiting word from David Hille about whether he will accept a new one-year deal.

FREMANTLE: Gumbleton is the object of Fremantle's attention, with Freo hoping the go-home factor comes into play. Defender Greg Broughton has been discussed in trade talks and there has been little public interest to date in defender Dylan Roberton, who wants to return to Victoria.

GEELONG: Josh Caddy arrives from the Gold Coast and will make a nice addition to the club's midfield stocks. He and Billie Smedts will end up as Geelong's compensatory picks for losing Gary Ablett to the Suns in 2011 and the Cats would have to be pleased with that outcome. Ruckman Hamish McIntosh shapes as a good chance to join the club; Jared Rivers perhaps not so much. Mitch Brown is attracting interest from elsewhere, but Tom Gillies, who wanted a trade to Hawthorn 12 months ago but was refused by the Cats, might now be delisted. How would he be feeling?

GOLD COAST: The training wheels are off for the Suns as they take an active role in trade discussions for the first time. Caddy is out the door with perhaps Josh Toy and possibly Mav Weller to follow. In comes unrestricted free agent defender Thomas Murphy from Hawthorn, who will add versatility and leadership to a side still short on both. Hopefully he plays all 22 games next year.

GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY: Established stars have made it clear they don't want to join the Giants through the various mechanisms that were made available, so what choice does the club have other than to stockpile the best kids? The first three picks at next month's draft will join the Giants, just like 11 of the first 14 picks last year did. It is a frightening amount of talent, but as the Suns have discovered with Caddy, the go-home factor will start in about 12 months' time. Ruckman Giles is unlikely to be with the club next year.

HAWTHORN: The Hawks like their best 22 and have added to that with the surprise - and swift - recruitment of Brian Lake from the Western Bulldogs, but there has been some movement among the depth players. Murphy is off to the Suns, while fellow defender Stephen Gilham has also been linked with a move to his former club Port Adelaide and to the Giants. Still no word on Young, who has a revised offer from Hawthorn on the table to weigh up against one from Collingwood and interest from the Power. Max Bailey's name was tossed around for a time, but he has re-signed with Hawthorn.

MELBOURNE: North Melbourne's Cameron Pedersen is still in the club's sights but the trade is unlikely to be done until later in the trade period. The Demons are still waiting on Dawes and the answer is likely to come this weekend. Whatever the outcome, the club has given Dawes its best shot. Melbourne's interest in Farren Ray is genuine but the negotiations with the Saints are not going to be simple. Negotiations for a new contract for unrestricted free agent Lynden Dunn are progressing well. Finally, with Moloney and Shannon Byrnes likely to cancel each other out in relation to compensation picks, the decision of Rivers to leave or not may determine what the Demons have to offer to attract players in the final week of the trade period.

NORTH MELBOURNE: Not a lot happening there. McIntosh remains in limbo, with a move to the Cats still likely over the next fortnight. Pedersen and Ben Warren to Melbourne also remain in the mix, but there doesn't appear to be much player traffic heading into the club.

PORT ADELAIDE: Defender Ben Jacobs wants out of Alberton and the Power are now looking at a deal to return him to Victoria. David Rodan and Jacob Surjan highlighted seven delistings on Friday, and Danyle Pearce and Troy Chaplin have left via free agency, with only Angus Monfries heading to the club. Port also confirmed some interest in picking up former Melbourne forward Liam Jurrah as a rookie in December.

RICHMOND: Chaplin and Chris Knights arrived early via free agency and that has been that as far as trade and free agency are concerned. Bigger is that while receiving an award at the Sport Australian Hall of Fame dinner on Thursday night, Richmond board member Malcolm Speed predicted back to back flags for the Tigers in 2014 and 2015. Before Tiger fans get too giddy, this is the same bloke who in about 1990, predicted that basketball would be the No.1 sport in the country by the turn of the century. How did that one go?

ST KILDA: The Saints are playing a waiting game to see what compensation they will receive for losing Brendon Goddard to the Bombers through free agency. It will likely be a first-round pick, but that won't be confirmed until the free agency period ends on October 19. Only then can the Saints get down to business and try to clinch the deal to bring defender Mitch Brown from West Coast and ruckman Tom Hickey from Gold Coast. No movement on the Jamie Cripps front, either. He still wants to return to Perth to join West Coast, but any such deal would be separate to that for Brown.

SYDNEY SWANS: The Swans and Crows are making some progress on the Tippett negotiations, but the prediction here is that it will take a few more days yet. Tony Armstrong was an interesting suggestion as a potential swap for Tippett, given that he only crossed from Adelaide to Sydney a year ago.

WEST COAST: The Eagles won't budge (at this stage) on Brown and have yet to field serious offers for midfielder Stevens. But they will be pleased to have brought Wellingham across from Collingwood in exchange for their first round draft pick. The deal appears about right in terms of value, with West Coast looking even more imposing through the midfield with the addition of the 2010 Collingwood wingman.

WESTERN BULLDOGS: After dealing Lake to the Hawks on Monday, the Dogs have spent the week contemplating whether to hold on to their six draft picks inside the first 50, or whether to dabble again in the trade market. They appeared to be in the race for Dawes, but Melbourne trumped them.

You can follow AFL Media senior writer Ashley Browne on twitter @afl_hashbrowne