GREATER Western Sydney will look to trade up to get 'inside' of the bid for Academy prospect Tom Green as other clubs line up for the Giants' pair of first-round selections.
The Giants have pick 11 (tied to Essendon's finishing position) and their own first-round selection, which will be in the 15-18 range of their effort to make the preliminary final.
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They also have first access to Academy product Tom Green, with the midfield gun expected to attract a bid within around the top-five on draft night in November.
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It means if they get a selection in before a bid comes for Green, the Giants would be able to pick up another highly touted prospect without losing their draft points for the Canberra product if they remained later back in the first round.
Recruiting manager Adrian Caruso told this week's Road to the Draft podcast the Giants had discussed packaging the picks to move up the order.
They're ringing us. It sounds like these clubs with picks at the top want to get deals done so splitting their pick makes sense - Adrian Caruso
"We've had internal chats about the idea but it's really hard for us to have had these chats with other clubs because all along we've never known where the picks were going to exactly land," he said.
Allies captain Tom Green wins the toss during his team's clash with SA. Picture: AFL Photos
"It's easy to say, 'Yeah, we would love to move up', and if the opportunity presents then we would do that, but if it is 11 and 18, and then there's a priority pick [possibly given to Gold Coast] so it's 12 and 19, then how far up are you going to get?
"You might only get up to pick seven and that might not help us achieve what we want to achieve. It's been really hard to plan."
The majority of clubs expect the Suns to receive a priority pick at the top of the draft, with the AFL Commission to decide next week on their bid for draft assistance.
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Melbourne (currently with pick two), Adelaide (pick three) and St Kilda (pick five) are among the clubs who have been discussing trading down the order with multiple selections, although the Saints may have to keep pick five to land wantaway Fremantle speedster Bradley Hill.
Caruso said getting a selection ahead of the bid for Green, who was a standout for the Allies at the mid-year under-18 championships, is part of their planning.
Tom Green dances out of trouble during the Allies' clash with Vic Country. Picture: AFL Photos
"We'd like to explore it. But the important thing is not to think that we should sell everything to get in above the [bid]. The challenge will be the unknown of where the bid's going to come," he said.
The Giants will be hoping their aim to move up the draft is more successful than last year, when clubs inside the top-10 were reluctant to trade out of that area given the quality of the pool.
This year's draft is more even, with perhaps fewer obvious standards compared to 2018, which Caruso said was a factor in discussions.
"A big part of our strategy [last year] was, 'Let's try to trade up'. We had picks nine, 11 and 19 (before bidding) so we wanted to package those up and get in, but nobody in the top seven or eight was taking our calls," he said.
"This year it's different. They're ringing us. It sounds like these clubs with picks at the top want to get deals done so splitting their pick makes sense and I think it's also because of the evenness of that top end [of the draft to go for] two players rather than one."