AND THEN there were three.
When the AFL released its much-anticipated list of free agents back in March, there were 81 players due to come out of contract and eligible for free agency for the first time in League history.
The names of Travis Cloke and Brendon Goddard immediately leapt off the page and speculation over their futures became an interesting sub-plot.
See the full list of free agents at your club
Goddard did walk and signed a four-year deal to play with Essendon next season. Cloke stayed with Collingwood, but only after a drama-filled process with enough sub-plots to make a movie.
Over the course of 2012, several players on the list quietly inked new deals to remain with their clubs. Others were obviously in the final years of their illustrious careers. Matthew Scarlett, Chance Bateman and Brad Green were free agents - at least in theory - but more likely than not would retire at season's end rather than play elsewhere.
Free agency explained
The start of the free agency period nearly three weeks ago yielded some immediate player movement. Chris Knights and Troy Chaplin became Tigers, Danyle Pearce a Fremantle Docker and Quinten Lynch a Magpie. Shannon Byrnes moved to Melbourne and Tom Murphy to Gold Coast. Brent Moloney became a Brisbane Lion.
Which leaves us with three free agents of note as the Gillette AFL Free Agency Period reaches its final 24 hours. Clinton Young (Hawthorn), Jordan Russell (Carlton) and Bret Thornton (Carlton) are still determining what they want to do next season.
Young holds the most currency. He fought back after three years of injury to re-establish himself in Hawthorn's best 22 and at his best is one of those 80-metre players, who carry the ball for two or three bounces then kick it long to the forward line.
Not that happy with Hawthorn's initial offer, Young shopped himself around. Collingwood was keen, so too were the Lions before choosing Moloney instead as the 'mature body' coach Michael Voss craved. Port Adelaide has also had a nibble. Hawthorn upped its offer and that's now where it sits. Chances are he remains a Hawk, unless Collingwood, who declared on Wednesday it was unlikely to be a factor in any more trades, changes its mind and makes one last play.
See the full list of player moves so far
Thornton's days at Carlton were numbered last year and he has been linked with Greater Western Sydney, who would offer him a lifeline - the minimum base salary and match payments. Russell also fell out of favour at Carlton and was thought a lock to join Port Adelaide. But the appointment of Ken Hinkley as coach of the Power - and perhaps tellingly, former Carlton assistant Alan Richardson as the director of coaching - changed all that and Russell might be waiting a bit longer to find himself a new club.
Young, Thornton and Russell are all unrestricted free agents. The free agency period closes at 5pm on Friday, after which the AFL will release the compensatory draft selections for the clubs who have lost free agents.
After that, deliberations will begin about the free agency process. Did it have the desired outcomes? Did enough players change teams? Were the compensatory picks about right? Should clubs have to wait until the end of free agency before receiving the compensation picks? Do we even need them? Is three weeks too short, too long or long enough?
There are already myriad views about all of these being thrashed out within football circles. Expect there to be a push to reduce the free agency period back to a fortnight or perhaps less and for the League to announce the compensation pick immediately after a club loses a free agent to another club.
You can follow AFL Media senior writer Ashley Browne on Twitter @afl_hashbrowne
