COLLINGWOOD has won the race for Dan Houston, with a mega trade involving three clubs and five players completed on Tuesday afternoon less than 24 hours after it seemingly fell through.
AFL.com.au's Cal Twomey broke the news on Tuesday afternoon and the deal was ticked off by the AFL later in the evening.
The complicated deal will see Houston land at the Magpies from Port Adelaide, John Noble move from the Pies to Gold Coast and Suns pair Jack Lukosius and Rory Atkins land at the Power along with Joe Richards from Collingwood.
The Power has also landed Gold Coast's prized No.13 draft pick as part of the deal.
Houston and Lukosius have both signed six-year deals at their respective clubs, Noble has joined the Suns on a four-year contract while Richards and Atkins have signed deals of three years and one year respectively at the Power.
The deal is almost identical to the one that emerged on Monday evening before Port declined the proposal. The updated deal sees the Power get an extra third-round pick, currently No.50, from the Suns.
The mega trade in detail
Port Adelaide
Receives: Jack Lukosius, Joe Richards, Rory Atkins, picks 13, 29, 36 and 50
Gives up: Dan Houston, picks 39 and 58, 2025 first-round pick
Collingwood
Receives: Dan Houston, pick 58
Gives up: John Noble, Joe Richards, 2025 first-round pick, pick 36
Gold Coast
Receives: John Noble, pick 39, 2025 first-round pick from Coll, 2025 first-round pick from PA
Gives up: Jack Lukosius, Rory Atkins, picks 13, 29 and 50
Atkins emerged on Monday as the unlikely circuit breaker in the deal after negotiations between the three clubs stalled last week.
The 29-year-old, who was contracted at the Suns for 2025, played just three senior games in 2024 in Damien Hardwick's first year in charge.
TRADE TRACKER Every move as they happen
INDICATIVE DRAFT ORDER Your club's picks as they stand
He returns to South Australia having played 101 games for Adelaide between 2015 and 2019.
Lukosius, Richards and Noble have all landed at their preferred clubs, while Houston had wanted a move back to a Victorian club for personal reasons, with North Melbourne and Carlton also showing some interest before the Magpies got the deal done.
