IF THE Dockers' NAB AFL Trade Period finishes no better than it's started, they will at least claim one prize – the award for the most difficult club to deal with. 

Just ask Brisbane, which is waiting to see if Fremantle will back down on its refusal to trade contracted midfield star Lachie Neale.

When Brisbane and Fremantle were talking, the Lions had pick No.5 on the table – a gilt-edged selection the Dockers could have used to help snare Melbourne spearhead Jesse Hogan or invest in a 2018 draft laden with top-end talent – but the Dockers counter-claimed for two first-round picks. 

Melbourne put Fremantle offside when it opened the Hogan discussions by demanding picks No.5 (via Brisbane) and No.6.

However, it's understood the Demons subsequently retreated from that ambit claim and would have accepted pick No.6 and a second-round selection for Hogan.

That seemed a reasonable price.

Especially when Hogan, 23, is the power forward the Dockers have long been seeking with the same zeal as the crusade knights pursued the Holy Grail.  

But the Dockers put the Demons' noses out of joint when they traded pick No.6 to Port Adelaide as part of a pick swap that netted them selections 11, 23, 30 and 49. 

They then purported on Friday afternoon to pull out of the Hogan talks altogether, saying in a statement that they could not meet Melbourne's asking price. 

Melbourne responded with a statement of its own, saying it now expected Hogan to return to fulfill his contract in 2019.

With five days remaining before the trade deadline expires at 8.30pm AEDT next Wednesday, we suspect both parties will at some point stop posturing and get back to the trade table.  

But if one side has to give ground to reopen the talks, it should be Fremantle.

Although Melbourne is banking on securing Gold Coast full-back Steven May via the return it gets for Hogan, the Dockers have the most to lose. 

Yes, trading for GWS tall Rory Lobb would help address their need for more marking power in attack – incidentally those talks are proceeding at a snail's pace too – but Hogan is the player around whom they can base their attack for the next seven or eight years.

That's why the Dockers have been circling him for so long.  

And that's why it would be disastrous if they let him go when he's finally gettable just because they want a 'win' rather than a 'win-win'.  

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Scully and Patton the latest Giants on trade table

Greater Western Sydney knew it faced an unprecedented player exodus this Trade Period as it (a) moved to ease a significant salary cap squeeze and (b) positioned itself to re-sign stars such as Josh Kelly, Stephen Coniglio and Nick Haynes before they come out of contract at the end of 2019. 

The scale of that likely exodus expanded on Friday when it emerged Tom Scully was set to be traded to Hawthorn and Jonathon Patton, according to rival clubs, had also been put on the table.

It seems unlikely Patton, who is recovering from his third knee reconstruction, will move, but Scully is all but certain to join Rory Lobb (Fremantle), Dylan Shiel (Essendon) and Will Setterfield (Carlton) in departing Spotless Stadium.

New St Kilda list manager James Gallagher told Macquarie Sports Radio the Saints had tried to enter the Scully race, but his manager, Mark Kleiman of TLA Australia, had told them he would only consider clubs who were closer to contending for premierships. 

It's understood other clubs tried to contact Kleiman on Friday but their calls went unanswered, while Essendon, which had been linked with Scully for much of this year, bowed out of the running when Shiel committed to moving to Tullamarine.

Some also hold concerns over the ankle Scully broke in the Giants' round two win over Collingwood at the MCG, an injury serious enough to sideline him for the rest of 2018. 

Those concerns dissuaded some Victorian clubs from pursuing Scully and should ensure Hawthorn won't have to part with anything more than its second-round pick, No.35 overall, to secure the midfielder, who was contracted at GWS for another three years. 

However, the Hawks no doubt will back their renowned medical team to get one of the game's hardest-running midfielders back to full fitness.

If they can do that, Hawthorn will have snared this year's biggest trade bargain.

TRADE TRACKER See every move as it happens

Burton's USA D-Day

Port Adelaide will put Ryan Burton through a weekend medical test in Las Vegas before committing to a formal offer for the Hawks playmaker. 

Thrown on the trade table by Hawthorn as part of its offer to the Power for Chad Wingard, Burton must now consider the opportunity to move home to South Australia before the weekend is over.

The 21-year-old is understood to have been shocked by the call he received this week that he would be put up as part of the transaction for Wingard, however, he can opt to remain at the Hawks should he wish.

Should Burton depart, the Hawks' half-back options will include James Sicily, Blake Hardwick, Grant Birchall and potentially their Gold Coast trade target Jack Scrimshaw. 

The Power have identified Burton as the key to releasing Wingard, informing him he would be used in a variety of roles if he moves to Alberton. 

He remains contracted at the Hawks until the end of 2020 after re-signing a three-year deal in July last year.

On Friday, the Power ruled out making moves for any other Hawks, including Kieran Lovell and Tim O'Brien.  

INDICATIVE DRAFT ORDER Your club's picks

Clock ticking for Langdon

Collingwood Grand Final star Tom Langdon continues to mull over long-term offers from Sydney and Fremantle. 

Langdon toured the Swans' facilities this week and is understood to have done the same at the Dockers, with both clubs offering longer contracts than what the Pies currently have on the table.

Holidaying with brother Ed in Africa, the 24-year-old defender is set to decide on his destination of choice on Saturday or Sunday.

Langdon only received a formal extension offer from the Pies on the Tuesday after the Grand Final, with the Pies having earlier prioritised big-money plays for Gold Coast's Tom Lynch and Steven May, while also keeping a close eye on Dayne Beams' flagged interest to return. 

After transacting for Dan Hannebery on Friday, the Swans hold picks 26, 33, 38, 39 and 40, with a combination slated for Langdon and the others required to match a bid for Academy prospect Nick Blakey.

The Dockers, who are also attempting to do a deal for Greater Western Sydney ruckman Rory Lobb, have a draft hand that consists of picks 11, 23, 30 and 49.

WHO'S LEAVING YOUR CLUB? All the latest retirements and delistings

In other news:

• Collingwood appears set to acquire versatile Western Bulldogs tall Jordan Roughead in a trade. Roughead was a restricted free agent but the Magpies will now have to broker a deal with the Bulldogs given the Free Agency Period closed at 5pm AEDT on Friday.
• GWS is understood to have sought that pick No.11 be included in the proposed Rory Lobb trade to Fremantle, but its negotiations with the Dockers are proceeding slowly. The Dockers also have picks 23 and 30, with the Giants focused on acquiring picks rather than players as they look to ease salary cap pressure.
• Brisbane's talks with the Western Bulldogs about contracted defender Marcus Adams are at a preliminary stage. It's understood the Bulldogs are seeking a pick in the 20s, but Lions' second draft selection does not fall until No.32 while they could instead look to use one of their next two picks, 41 and 44.
• Fringe Hawks Tim O'Brien and Kieran Lovell won't be part of any trade that sends Port Adelaide forward Chad Wingard to Hawthorn. Reports on Friday said the Hawks pair had undergone medicals at Alberton on Friday, but Hawthorn did not raise their names in its talks with Port, while the Power is not interested in pursuing either player.
• North Melbourne remains confident of securing midfielder Aaron Hall in a trade with Gold Coast next week, most likely in exchange for a later pick.
• Dean Kent's shift to St Kilda on a three-year deal was finalised, Melbourne receiving pick 65 in return for the half-forward/midfielder.
• Dom Tyson's move to his third AFL club became official, the former Giant moving from Melbourne to North Melbourne as part of a deal that sent Braydon Preuss to AAMI Park.
• St Kilda landed Swan Dan Hannebery and pick 28, while parting with a second-round pick in each of the next two drafts.
• Carlton secured former No.5 draft pick Will Setterfield and pick 71 in exchange for a future second-round pick and pick 43, the selection it received from Geelong for mature-age forward Nathan Kreuger.
• Blues list boss Stephen Silvagni said he would wait to assess "verbal offers" for the club's prized No.1 pick before committing to taking the selection to the draft.
• Geelong confirmed two-year extensions for ruckmen Rhys Stanley and Ryan Abbott, while re-signing rookies Sam Simpson (two years) and Jamaine Jones (one year)