FOUR open strands remain from one of the biggest live trades ever seen in the AFL.
AFL.com.au has delved into the detail of the Carlton and Adelaide trade that was the shock of the 2018 NAB AFL Draft and constructed the Liam Stocker deal 'family tree'.
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Its links are spread across the country between seven different clubs, featuring 11 different players, with its web involving six separate trades so far, all the while with Academy and father-son prospects also tangled up in the results.
When the Blues and Crows delivered the knockout surprise of last year's draft, they couldn't have expected it would still be delivering … and promising more action, too.
How did the deal evolve?
It all started with a relatively simple trade.
Carlton jumped the queue to get Stocker, swapping 2019 first-round selections with Adelaide in exchange to get back into the 2018 draft and secure the Sandringham Dragons midfielder. But from there, it gets far more complex.
Let's start with Adelaide's side of the trade.
The selection it received from Carlton as part of the Stocker deal finished at pick No.4. However, from there, that moved to Greater Western Sydney as part of a pre-draft trade that the Giants constructed to leapfrog an Academy bid on Tom Green.
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The Crows moved back two spots to pick No.6, also getting a 2020 first-round pick from the Giants, as part of the deal.
With pick No.4, the Giants took Lachie Ash. With pick No.6, the Crows took Fischer McAsey. The future first-round draft pick also involved in the deal is one of four selections stemming from the Stocker 'family tree' that remains open heading into next year.
Carlton's side of the trade is even more convoluted.
After taking Stocker with pick No.19 last year, all eyes were on where Adelaide's pick would land. It ultimately finished at pick No.9.
On the clock with that selection, the Blues bid on Dockers Academy prospect Liam Henry and Giants Academy prospect Green – tying both of those youngsters into the 'family tree'.
From there, the club then traded what became pick No.11 to Gold Coast for two more selections later in the draft order (picks No.17 and 22). The Suns picked Sam Flanders, while the Blues took Brodie Kemp with the first of their pair of selections.
Think that's complicated enough? Now it gets really tricky.
Carlton then moved pick No.22 alongside pick No.55 to Port Adelaide, moving higher up the order to pick No.20 in an effort to jump the queue and snare Sam Philp.
But the Power didn't stay at pick No.22, either. Ahead of the second night of the draft, they traded that selection and a 2020 fourth-round pick to the Lions for pick No.23 and 2020 second-round pick.
Brisbane claimed the draft's biggest slider, Deven Robertson, as a result of that trade, while Port Adelaide recruited Dylan Williams with the very next pick. All of a sudden, both were brought into the Stocker 'family tree'.
The future picks involved in that deal subsequently become the second and third of four open links to the Stocker trade, heading into season 2020.
So, where does the fourth open link come from?
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Well, the pick No.55 that Port Adelaide received from Carlton on the opening night of the draft was later moved to Fremantle – alongside pick No.52 – in exchange for pick No.66 and a 2020 second-round selection.
The Dockers used picks No.52 and 55 to lessen the deficit it would face having matched an earlier bid on Henry, while the Power used pick No.66 to help match a bid on their own father-son prospect in Jackson Mead.
It made Mead the 11th, but certainly not the final player, to be tied into the Stocker 'family tree'.
With four links to the trade still open heading into 2020, the deal will continue to grow more strands well into next year – and perhaps even much, much further beyond that.
Who are the players with ties to the deal?
Liam Stocker (Carlton)
Lachie Ash (Greater Western Sydney)
Fischer McAsey (Adelaide)
Liam Henry (Fremantle)
Tom Green (Greater Western Sydney)
Sam Flanders (Gold Coast)
Brodie Kemp (Carlton)
Sam Philp (Carlton)
Deven Robertson (Brisbane)
Dylan Williams (Port Adelaide)
Jackson Mead (Port Adelaide)
What's still left to come?
Adelaide 2020 first-round pick (tied to Greater Western Sydney)
Port Adelaide 2020 second-round pick (tied to Collingwood)
Port Adelaide 2020 second-round pick (tied to Fremantle)
Brisbane 2020 fourth-round pick (tied to Greater Western Sydney)
And another thing…
There are other moving pieces to the complicated Stocker 'family tree'.
The 2020 second-round pick that Port Adelaide received from Brisbane as part of the deal that landed the Lions pick No.22 – where they snared Robertson – came from Collingwood.
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That was courtesy of a pick-swap completed during the Telstra AFL Trade Period.
However, in this instance, it is not considered part of the 'family tree' as it was a deal that was initially made without ties to the Stocker trade.
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It's a similar situation for the 2020 fourth-round pick Brisbane received from Port Adelaide as part of that same trade – which originally came from Greater Western Sydney.
