GREATER Western Sydney should explore the idea of trading captain Stephen Coniglio, says former Giants' list manager Stephen Silvagni.

Speaking at the launch of this year's Continental Tyres AFL Trade Radio, Silvagni said Coniglio was being "wasted" at half-forward and a trade could potentially work out best for both player and club.

"Is he a chance to go back to Western Australia? Always a chance if you come from that state," Silvagni said.

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"When you see him not playing in the midfield, and that's where he's played his best football, and now he's playing as a small forward, it's probably a lot of money to pay a small forward and not be a really big goalkicker.

"He's almost wasted a little bit."

Silvagni was part of the Giants' team that drafted Coniglio with the second overall pick in the 2011 NAB AFL Draft and watched his development until going back to his former club Carlton in 2015.

Coniglio still has five years remaining on a seven-year deal and has battled with body and form in the past two years.

"He's the type of person who will back himself," Silvagni said.

"He's a ripping person, trains really really hard. He's respected.

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"It could be a decision that the club and he make together.

"In an ideal world if he was able to get back to his best football, they'd (GWS) want to keep him.

"If he's playing at the capacity he is at the minute, I think they'd like to see him move on."

Silvagni was also critical of Carlton's treatment of its young midfielders in recent years following news that Sam Petrevski-Seton has requested a trade home to Western Australia.

"I certainly think he's been played out of position.

"He was bought to the club as a midfielder-forward, he's been playing half-back the last 12-24 months.

"That doesn't help him.

"The difficult thing with him, and a number of their youngsters, is that when they've played well, they haven't been able to stay in there a long time.

"They tend to stay in the midfield a week or two, have an off game, and they're probably out of there.

"A lot of that might be to the mix of player on the list. We've seen it happen with Paddy Dow and (Will) Setterfield."

Silvagni showed surprise at the Blues' interest in Sydney's restricted free agent George Hewett, saying he was the type of player that could be developed within.

AFL Trade Radio begins on Monday, September 27. Footy fans can listen live and video stream Trade Radio on AFL.com.au and the AFL Live Official App from 7am–6pm each day until the Trade Period is complete on October 13, with a special deadline day coverage on the final day.

In 2020,  AFL Trade Radio broadcast 146 hours of both radio and video across AFL.com.au and the AFL Live Official App. It amassed over three million audio and video streams on AFL.com.au and the AFL Live Official App platforms across 13 days. Both visual and audio consumption saw huge uptake in 2020; consumers spent an average of 34 minutes streaming audio content while they spent an average of 23 minutes consuming video content.