Every Thursday AFL.com.au presents Inside Trading, with breaking news and the best analysis of the player movement landscape covering contracts, trades, free agents, the NAB AFL Draft and industry insights.

IMPROVED BOMBER EYES NEW DEAL

HE HAS been one of the most improved players at Essendon this season and defender Mason Redman looks set to be rewarded with a new deal.

Contract talks are underway between the Bombers and Redman's manager, Ben Williams from Players' Ink, for a new deal with the running half-back falling out of contract at the end of this season.

Redman, who is due to play his 50th career game next week when the Bombers return from their bye, has played every game this season and impressed out of defence.

The 23-year-old is averaging 18 disposals and nearly four rebound-50s a game, and has also pushed forward to kick four goals for the season.

Redman enjoyed a strong 2019 campaign, when he was named the club's most improved player, but he struggled for form in the hub last year and was omitted from the side.

A two-year contract extension would take Redman through to free agency at the end of 2023, with the tough rebounder joining the club as a second-round selection in 2015.

Fremantle was interested in Redman the last time he fell out of contract before he penned a two-year extension with the Bombers at the end of 2019. – Callum Twomey

SYDNEY SKIPPER IN NEGOTIATIONS

SYDNEY quietly re-signed one of its co-captains some time ago, but what about its other out-of-contract skipper?

While the Swans added an extra year to Josh Kennedy's deal beyond this season, as Inside Trading revealed in April, his co-captain Luke Parker remains unsigned as one of the leading unrestricted free agents in the competition.

Talks have started between the club and Parker's management on an extension for the 28-year-old, although with uncertainty surrounding the players' Collective Bargaining Agreement beyond 2022 and the COVID-19 impact of the salary cap after this season the parties aren't rushing to a new deal. photo

Parker has been terrific in the Swans' rise this season, sitting inside the top 20 in the AFL for total disposals (averaging 27 a game), 10th in the League for contested possessions and 14th for centre clearances.

Parker has been a mainstay of Sydney's line-up since featuring in its 2012 flag win, with the 2016 All-Australian resisting overtures to return home to Victoria when he signed a mega five-year deal in 2016.

Ten captains around the AFL began the season as out-of-contract free agents, with Parker one of the six (Joel Selwood, Scott Pendlebury, Jack Ziebell, Jarryn Geary and Patrick Cripps) who remain unsigned. – Callum Twomey

NORTH SET FOR ANOTHER KEY SIGNATURE

NORTH Melbourne is set to continue its re-signing spree, with gun first-year midfielder Tom Powell poised to join an exciting crop of young talent in committing his future to the rebuilding club.

It's understood the Kangaroos are in advanced talks with the 19-year-old's management regarding a fresh two-year deal, which would take the emerging onballer through to the end of the 2024 season.

Powell, recruited to North Melbourne with pick No.13 in last year's NAB AFL Draft, has instantly become an integral member of the team's developing engine room and has played in all 11 of the side's senior games so far this year.

His impressive maiden campaign is set to be rewarded with a new deal imminently, which would follow the two-year extensions signed by defender Ben McKay and last year's No.3 pick Will Phillips in recent days.

Powell is averaging 17.6 disposals through the season's first 11 games to firmly establish himself alongside Essendon starlet Nik Cox as one of the brightest first-year players in the League.

He is also seen as a key member of North Melbourne's long-term list rebuild alongside fellow 2020 draftees Phillips and Charlie Lazzaro, as well as the NAB AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft's recent No.1 selection Jacob Edwards. – Riley Beveridge

SUNS YOUNG GUN POISED TO RE-COMMIT

GOLD Coast has started talks to extend the contract of former No.11 draft pick Sam Flanders. 

The highly rated youngster is in the final season of his initial two-year draft contract with the club and was seen as a future target for clubs in his native Victoria. 

However, after Flanders had spent the first 18 months at the Suns assessing the club's direction, his management – Hemisphere Management – has entered into negotiations on a new deal. 

The 19-year-old midfielder played his best game for the Suns in his 13th AFL match before the bye – picking up 19 disposals in a win against Hawthorn. 

Talks on a fresh contract are expected to ramp up in coming weeks. 

Flanders is currently one of six players selected in the first round of the 2019 NAB AFL Draft who remain unsigned beyond this season. 

Sydney's Dylan Stephens (No.4), Geelong's Cooper Stephens (No.16), Carlton's Brodie Kemp (No.17) and Richmond's Thomson Dow (No.21) are out of contract, while Western Bulldogs livewire Cody Weightman (pick No.15) has done his future value no harm with a blistering month of form. – Mitch Cleary

GEELONG MISSES ON FATHER-SON GUN

NO CLUB has benefited from the father-son rule quite like Geelong, but the Cats' luck has evaded them this season.

Tom Brown, a versatile defender from the Murray Bushrangers who some recruiters view as a possible top-20 pick, is the son of former Cat Paul Brown.

However, Brown played 84 games for the Cats, just short of the 100-game mark needed to have his son be eligible to join the blue and white hoops. Brown played in Geelong's 1994-95 Grand Final losses and was known for his versatility before a serious knee injury cut short his career.

Brown's premature end will see the Cats miss out on his son, although his daughter Millie (Tom's sister) joined the club's AFLW side under the father-daughter rule at the 2019 NAB AFLW Draft. 

An ankle injury has sidelined Tom for several weeks and is likely to see him miss at least another handful of games, however his start to the season was eye-catching, including a strong performance for the Bushrangers in round three with 21 disposals and seven marks before finding 22 touches and five rebounds in round four. 

The 186cm and 77kg prospect also excelled at the NAB League testing earlier this season, finishing in the top 10 for the vertical jump, running jump and agility tests, with his speed also catching the eye.

"He's still another couple of weeks off resuming but he's had an outstanding start," Bushrangers talent manager Mick Wilson said.

"He came back in the pre-season as well as anyone and he really does look like an A-grader. He looks comfortable across half-back but he's shown he can play forward too. He's pretty versatile."

The Cats, who count Gary Ablett, Matthew Scarlett and Tom Hawkins among their father-son successes, won't get any priority call on Brown but do have access to Darby Scott (son of Robert) and Will Kilpatrick (son of Glenn) this season. – Callum Twomey

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