The Brisbane Lions have five players seeking new clubs, with Billy Longer, Sam Docherty, Elliot Yeo, Jared Polec and Patrick Karnezis all requesting trades to their home states.
What the Lions receive in return for the talented group will shape their future as the club starts building under new coach Justin Leppitsch.
There is a stalemate developing in talks, however, with the Lions juggling several balls in the air and appearing to want to sign off on a number of deals simultaneously.
Click here to check all the action at the Gillette Trade Hub
St Kilda, Carlton and West Coast are unlikely to budge on their respective offers for Longer, Docherty and Yeo while Port Adelaide tries to beat Adelaide in securing a suitable deal for Polec.
It appears increasingly likely that acceptance of a trade sending Longer to St Kilda – his club of choice – will take time.
The Saints have offered their pick No.25 for the ruckman, who was a No.8 pick two years ago, but that is yet to be accepted.
The Lions are understood to be seeking pick No.18 from the Saints but St Kilda will not be handing over any of its three picks inside 20: now picks No.3, No.18 and No.19 after it secured Hawthorn's Lance Franklin compensation pick.
Port Adelaide, meanwhile, is trying to nut out a deal for Polec, but it is happy to play a waiting game to see what picks the Lions can yield through their other trades.
The Power's preferred deal would see them trade pick No.14 for Polec and an extra draft pick. They have baulked at that deal, however, when the extra pick is the Lions' No.29.
Another scenario that has been floated involves trading pick No.14 to a third club for two selections in the 20s, with the Power keeping one and the Lions receiving the other for Polec.
The Lions have not ruled out Adelaide either as the Crows' interest in Polec remains, even though Polec has expressed his preference to join Port Adelaide.
The two deals closest to completion are Yeo's move to West Coast and Docherty's trade to Carlton.
Yeo is expected to make his way to the Eagles in exchange for a second-round pick – No.28 or No.31 – in a deal that appears to have been agreed on by the clubs.
Docherty, meanwhile, is destined for the Blues in exchange for pick No.32 or No.33.
The reason these trades have not been completed could be so the Lions can avoid setting a low market value for their departing players and a standard for the Polec and Longer deals to follow.
Karnezis had been expected to make his way to Collingwood, but it emerged on Tuesday that North Melbourne is interested in the midfielder and is considering offering its third-round selection (No.47 overall).
The Magpies have two picks within the top 10 but their next selection is pick No.67.
Meanwhile the decision of Sydney Swans' youngster Jed Lamb to join Greater Western Sydney has created a dilemma for his former teammates, Andrejs Everitt and Tony Armstrong, who looked set to be squeezed out of the Swans in the wake of the Lance Franklin deal.
Several Victorian clubs were interested in Lamb but he decided on Sunday to remain in Sydney and join his former club's crosstown rival.
Everitt has attracted interest from the Giants but is in the process of considering several options, including remaining at the Swans. He is expected to make a decision late in the week.
Armstrong is touring Ireland and remains hopeful of joining Collingwood.
The Magpies, however, appear prepared to wait until the trade period ends before committing to Armstrong after its attempts to secure the 24-year-old as part of the Jesse White deal failed.
In other developments on Tuesday, Essendon landed Giants youngsters Kurt Aylett and Shaun Edwards in exchange for pick No.48.
As expected, North Melbourne defender Luke Delaney made his way to St Kilda in exchange for pick No.77 in a deal that appeared inevitable after Nick Dal Santo joined the Kangaroos as a free agent.
Dal Santo was unveiled by his new club at Aegis Park, while Dom Tyson, who joined Melbourne as part of a deal for pick No.2, also spoke for the first time since joining his new club.
Twitter: @AFL_Nathan
St Kilda, Carlton and West Coast are unlikely to budge on their respective offers for Longer, Docherty and Yeo while Port Adelaide tries to beat Adelaide in securing a suitable deal for Polec.
It appears increasingly likely that acceptance of a trade sending Longer to St Kilda – his club of choice – will take time.
The Saints have offered their pick No.25 for the ruckman, who was a No.8 pick two years ago, but that is yet to be accepted.
The Lions are understood to be seeking pick No.18 from the Saints but St Kilda will not be handing over any of its three picks inside 20: now picks No.3, No.18 and No.19 after it secured Hawthorn's Lance Franklin compensation pick.
Port Adelaide, meanwhile, is trying to nut out a deal for Polec, but it is happy to play a waiting game to see what picks the Lions can yield through their other trades.
The Power's preferred deal would see them trade pick No.14 for Polec and an extra draft pick. They have baulked at that deal, however, when the extra pick is the Lions' No.29.
Another scenario that has been floated involves trading pick No.14 to a third club for two selections in the 20s, with the Power keeping one and the Lions receiving the other for Polec.
The Lions have not ruled out Adelaide either as the Crows' interest in Polec remains, even though Polec has expressed his preference to join Port Adelaide.
The two deals closest to completion are Yeo's move to West Coast and Docherty's trade to Carlton.
Yeo is expected to make his way to the Eagles in exchange for a second-round pick – No.28 or No.31 – in a deal that appears to have been agreed on by the clubs.
Docherty, meanwhile, is destined for the Blues in exchange for pick No.32 or No.33.
The reason these trades have not been completed could be so the Lions can avoid setting a low market value for their departing players and a standard for the Polec and Longer deals to follow.
Karnezis had been expected to make his way to Collingwood, but it emerged on Tuesday that North Melbourne is interested in the midfielder and is considering offering its third-round selection (No.47 overall).
The Magpies have two picks within the top 10 but their next selection is pick No.67.
Meanwhile the decision of Sydney Swans' youngster Jed Lamb to join Greater Western Sydney has created a dilemma for his former teammates, Andrejs Everitt and Tony Armstrong, who looked set to be squeezed out of the Swans in the wake of the Lance Franklin deal.
Several Victorian clubs were interested in Lamb but he decided on Sunday to remain in Sydney and join his former club's crosstown rival.
Everitt has attracted interest from the Giants but is in the process of considering several options, including remaining at the Swans. He is expected to make a decision late in the week.
Armstrong is touring Ireland and remains hopeful of joining Collingwood.
The Magpies, however, appear prepared to wait until the trade period ends before committing to Armstrong after its attempts to secure the 24-year-old as part of the Jesse White deal failed.
In other developments on Tuesday, Essendon landed Giants youngsters Kurt Aylett and Shaun Edwards in exchange for pick No.48.
As expected, North Melbourne defender Luke Delaney made his way to St Kilda in exchange for pick No.77 in a deal that appeared inevitable after Nick Dal Santo joined the Kangaroos as a free agent.
Dal Santo was unveiled by his new club at Aegis Park, while Dom Tyson, who joined Melbourne as part of a deal for pick No.2, also spoke for the first time since joining his new club.
Twitter: @AFL_Nathan
