CARLTON will fight to keep Bryce Gibbs despite the star midfielder's request for a trade to Adelaide.
The news Gibbs wanted to move home to South Australia was the biggest bombshell of an action-packed opening day of the NAB AFL Trade Period that also saw fellow Blue Zach Tuohy and Tiger Brett Deledio request trades to Geelong, and Swan Tom Mitchell seek a move to Hawthorn.
Gibbs had been linked with the Crows in the lead-up to the trade period despite being contracted to Carlton until the end of 2019, but it was still a surprise when Adelaide list manager Justin Reid told reporters on Monday Gibbs had a "strong desire" to return home and play at West Lakes.
Click here to listen to NAB AFL Trade Radio from 8am AEDT
>> On the app? Tap the green headphones in the top right corner to tune in
Gibbs and his wife, Lauren, have a young son, Charlie, and it's understood the greater family support networks they have in Adelaide are a significant reason behind the Blue's requested move.
However, Carlton has not given up hope of convincing Gibbs to stay.
"While the club acknowledges the personal reasons behind Bryce's request, he is a contracted player and we intend to work through those matters with both him and his management," Carlton football chief Andrew McKay said in a statement.
There was better news for Carlton later on Monday with promising GWS midfielder/forward Jarrod Pickett expressing interest in a trade to Ikon Park despite being contracted with the Giants for 2017.
AFL.com.au understands Pickett was first raised by the Blues in negotiations over Giants tall Caleb Marchbank, who is also bound for Carlton in a deal that will likely involve the Blues sending pick No.5 to GWS.
The Blues and Giants have been in talks over a second player to accompany Marchbank to Carlton, with young key forward James Stewart raised as a possibility.
Pickett was recruited by the Giants with pick No.4 in the 2014 NAB AFL Draft and the Giants acted quickly to extend his contract for a third year in 2015 before he had made his debut.
• Key dates for the NAB AFL Trade Period
Out-of-contract Sydney Swans midfielder Mitchell had been widely expected to seek a trade to Hawthorn and confirmed his intentions on Monday.
The Hawks will also have their work cut out reaching a deal with the Swans for Mitchell, especially when they are still some way off completing a trade with Gold Coast for Jaeger O'Meara.
Suns football manager Marcus Ashcroft said on Monday six to eight Hawthorn players had been discussed as possible components of the O'Meara trade, which could also involve the Hawks' pick No.14.
Hawthorn would then have its 2017 first-round pick or the second-round pick it is expecting from Fremantle for Bradley Hill (which the Dockers should get when free agent Chris Mayne takes up a lucrative four-year deal at Collingwood) to use in, or as part of, the Mitchell deal.
Geelong will need to be creative if it wants to add Tuohy and Deledio to its list in 2017.
The Cats currently hold picks No.36 and No.40 in the NAB AFL Draft, and might be able to package the two picks together to entice Gold Coast to give them an early second-round pick.
The Suns could be open to such a trade because the combined points of picks No.36 and No.40 (931 points) is greater than each of the Gold Coast's picks No.22, No.23 and No.25, which would help them match rival bids for their academy players on draft night.
The Cats could then use one of those picks to trade for Deledio while any selections gained in the mooted trades of Shane Kersten and Nathan Vardy could be used to secure Tuohy.
However, the Cats' hopes of landing Deledio remain dependent on clearing cap space, and trading contracted midfielder Steve Motlop is still their best chance of creating that room.
Richmond has ruled out recruiting Motlop and AFL.com.au understands the level of interest in the talented 25-year-old, who kicked 38 goals this season, has been below what the Cats were hoping for.
Indicative draft order: What picks will your club take to the draft
Fremantle free agent Zac Clarke is understood to be wrestling with whether to play on at the Dockers or move to their cross-town rival West Coast, with the ruckman likely to make a decision in the next few days.
The Victorian has attracted interest from clubs in his home state but now looks set to remain in Western Australia.
Clarke, 26, is weighing up the ruck opportunities that exist for him at Fremantle over the next years compared with those at West Coast.
With Nic Naitanui set to miss most, if not all, of next season after undergoing a knee reconstruction and Scott Lycett under a fitness cloud following post-season surgery on his left posterior cruciate ligament, there could be plenty of opportunity in the Eagles' ruck division for Clarke next season.
However, in making his decision, Clarke will also consider how he will be placed in the Eagles' line-up when No.1 ruckman Naitanui returns in 2018.
Similarly, he knows that when Dockers great Aaron Sandilands eventually retires, possibly at the end of 2017, Freo's No.1 ruck role will be up for grabs.
Contracted Dockers midfielder Nick Suban seems more and more likely to play on at Fremantle next season.
There has been preliminary rival interest in the 26-year-old Victorian, but a team has yet to make a serious play for him.
Suban is set to become a free agent at the end of 2017.
• Who's on the move? Nick Bowen tracks 2016's free agents
Hayden Ballantyne’s future is now on hold until at least the end of this week while the Eagles prioritise their search for a ruckman.
Fremantle is growing confident Ballantyne will be happy to play out the last year of his contract with the club, rather than pursue a trade.
The 29-year-old’s manager Colin Young last month confirmed the goalsneak was open to a move to a club competing for a premiership, however on Monday Freo denied Ballantyne had requested a trade.
It is believed the clubs have held preliminary talks and the Dockers would accept the Eagles' third-round pick (currently No.50) in exchange for Ballantyne.
However, the Eagles have not been proactive in their pursuit of the small forward.
Meanwhile, the Dockers and Greater Western Sydney continued talks on Monday as a trade to send Cam McCarthy to Fremantle takes shape.
As AFL.com.au reported on Sunday, Fremantle is willing to move down the order in the first round to secure the young forward, trading its pick No.3 in exchange for the Giants' No.7 and a swap of later picks.
The Dockers need to secure more mid-range picks to complete deals for Geelong forward Kersten, Hawthorn midfielder Hill and potentially premiership Bulldog Joel Hamling, who they have confirmed their interest in.
