Tommy in the gun
THE AGE headlined its Thursday sports section with news that out-of-contract St Kilda Irishman Tommy Walsh is attracting interest from Melbourne, the Sydney Swans and Richmond.
The key position prospect is said to be keen to stay with the Saints if a deal can be reached.
The same story says that Walsh's teammate Tom Lynch, selected by St Kilda with pick 13 in the 2008 NAB AFL Draft, wants to be traded to Adelaide.
The report says Lynch could form part of a three-way deal that would see Crows ruckman Ivan Maric get his wish of a shift to Richmond.
Brock unloved
The Herald Sun's Jon Ralph reports that Carlton midfielder Brock McLean is in "football's no-man's-land", unwanted by the Blues and attracting no trade interest from rival clubs.
Ralph's story says McLean's $400,000-per-year contract is putting off potential suitors, and the former Melbourne player could be the highest-paid VFL player next season as he sees out the last year of his three-year deal in the Blues' reserves.
Crows get mini-draft pick, but who to choose?
The Age's Emma Quayle reports that Adelaide will give GWS its No.10 pick in this year's NAB AFL Draft, plus the compensation pick it received for losing Phil Davis, in exchange for pick two in Monday's 17 year-old mini-draft.
Quayle says that will net the Crows highly rated Victorian Brad Crouch.
But Michelangelo Rucci of The Advertiser reports that they may instead select local small forward Ben Kennedy to avoid the same 'go home factor' that saw Jack Gunston demand a trade to Hawthorn.
As part of the deal, Norwood teenager Luke Brown could be pre-listed by the Giants and sent to Adelaide, according to The Age.
Ebert deal close
The Advertiser and The Age both report that the West Coast Eagles and Port Adelaide are moving closer to a deal on Brad Ebert.
The Melbourne newspaper says the Power are considering offering up picks 28 and 33 in exchange for the homesick Eagles midfielder plus another pick.
The Advertiser says Adelaide could join Geelong in making a late play for Ebert by offering the No.24 pick it received from Hawthorn for Jack Gunston, but the youngster is set to continue his push for a trade to Port.
Also
The Age says Adelaide made inquiries to the Brisbane Lions about young South Australians Jack Redden and Jared Polec, but were quickly dismissed by the Lions.
The Herald Sun reports that the Crows have joined Port Adelaide in the hunt for Hawthorn ruckman Brent Renouf.
In the same report, it is said that the Hawks will try to secure pre-listed Box Hill defender Jarrad Boumann from GWS, with premiership player Rick Ladson linked to the Giants.
Gold Coast and Adelaide have asked Essendon about rookie-listed ruckman Josh Jenkins, according to The Age. The Bombers are said to be happy to trade the former Lake Boga player for the right price.
The Herald Sun says speculation that out-of-favour Carlton big man Setanta O'hAilpin could be headed to Essendon is false, while shopped-around Bombers Henry Slattery and Ricky Dyson have attracted little interest.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs.
No trades are official until paperwork has been accepted by the AFL and formally recognised after 2pm on Monday, October 17.
Follow our complete coverage of the 2011 AFL exchange period from October 10-17. Join the AFL trade conversation on Twitter: use #tradeweek in your tweets.
