Every Thursday AFL.com.au presents Inside Trading, with breaking news and the best analysis of the Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period covering contracts, re-signings, free agents, the NAB AFL Draft and industry insights.
GIANTS YOUNGSTER CONSIDERING MOVE
GREATER Western Sydney youngster Tanner Bruhn is considering a move back to Victoria after two seasons with the Giants.
Bruhn joined the Giants as their pick No.12 at the 2020 NAB AFL Draft and has played 11 games this season through the midfield and forward line.
He has had a two-year contract offer from the Giants but has so far delayed a decision on his future, with Victorian clubs aware the Geelong Falcons product is weighing up a return to his home state.
The Giants are keen to keep Bruhn, who also played 13 games in his debut season last year and had perhaps the best game of his career in round 13 with 24 disposals and two goals. However, he has so far put off a call.
The 20-year-old is the only top-15 pick from his draft class who has not yet re-signed beyond their initial standard two-year contract. – Callum Twomey
RUCKS AGAIN SET TO BE A FOCUS IN TRADE PERIOD
LUKE Jackson's big decision to stay at Melbourne or leave the reigning premiers will have a ripple effect on the ruck merry-go-round this off-season.
The Demons young gun is fielding significant interest from Fremantle and West Coast as well as from the Demons, who are desperate to keep the 20-year-old, who dominated in the ruck last week in Max Gawn's injury absence.
Whilst he is taking his time to make a call on his future, Jackson's value has only increased after also playing a central role in the club's breakthrough Grand Final win over the Western Bulldogs last year.
A decision to move west would likely bring Fremantle big man Lloyd Meek into trade discussions. Meek is contracted until the end of 2023 and has played five games this season as Sean Darcy's deputy.
There are also a number of other rucks who are being monitored by clubs as the annual exchange of big men heats up.
Sam Hayes is contracted for next year at Port Adelaide but is likely to be looked at by clubs after being in and out of the Power's mix in recent weeks, while Greater Western Sydney duo Matt Flynn and Kieren Briggs have attracted interest in the past while Braydon Preuss takes on the No.1 ruck mantle at the Giants.
Briggs is out of contract at the end of this season, but Flynn is signed to the Giants until the end of next year.
Tristan Xerri's re-signing at North Melbourne leaves unrestricted free agent Todd Goldstein with a decision to make on where he plays in 2023.
Last year five ruckman – Tom Campbell, Darcy Fort, Peter Ladhams, Jonathon Ceglar and Max Lynch – changed clubs during the trade and free agency window.
The value of picking off a secondary ruckman at a club to become a No.1 option has been seen many times over, with this year's All Australian contender Jarrod Witts a perfect example having been picked off by Gold Coast after starting his career at Collingwood. – Callum Twomey
RISING STAR NOMINEE YET TO EXTEND
PORT Adelaide will have the second half of the season to tie down gun youngster Lachie Jones, who celebrated Sunday's victory over Gold Coast with a NAB AFL Rising Star nomination this week.
It's understood the Power have kickstarted initial dialogue over extending Jones' contract with the club, though no agreement has yet been reached as the 20-year-old edges closer to the end of his initial deal at Alberton.
Behind midfielder Tanner Bruhn at Greater Western Sydney, Jones is the earliest pick from the 2020 NAB AFL Draft who is yet to extend his first contract with the club that recruited him.
A member of its Next Generation Academy program, Port Adelaide matched a bid from Collingwood at pick No.16 to secure Jones and have since moulded the solidly built defender into a crafty medium-sized forward.
He has played 12 of 14 games so far this season, and 18 overall at the club, enjoying a career-best outing against the Suns. He won 16 disposals, had eight score involvements, three goal assists and kicked one goal himself.
Port Adelaide is elsewhere expected to lose free agent Karl Amon, who has significant interest from Victoria, while the club also has decisions to make over the future of veterans Travis Boak, Robbie Gray and Steven Motlop. – Riley Beveridge
YOUNG DEE SET FOR NEW DEAL
FRESH from his recent AFL debut, Melbourne defender Daniel Turner is set to sign on with the Demons on a new deal.
Turner, who was selected by the club at last year's NAB AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft, is expected to sign a two-year extension that will tie him to the Dees until the end of 2024.
The tall defender broke through for his first senior game in round 13 in the Demons' loss to Collingwood in the Queen's Birthday clash.
He has been improving at VFL level across the season, with the Demons set to lock him in to bolster their group of key backs.
The intercept marker was overlooked at the 2020 national draft but his form with the Murray Bushrangers took the eye of the Demons at last year's mid-season intake. – Callum Twomey
DOGS DEFENDER HITS TRIGGER
IT HAS been a busy few weeks for Western Bulldogs list manager Sam Power with Tim English, Caleb Daniel and Bailey Dale all signing on the dotted line.
Bailey Smith and Josh Dunkley will now be the major focus in the closing stages of the season, but one name that can also be removed from the list is Alex Keath.
AFL.com.au understands the key defender has triggered an extension for next year.
The 30-year-old signed a three-year deal with an option for a fourth season when the Western Bulldogs beat St Kilda to lure him from Adelaide at the end of 2019.
Keath played his 50th game in red, white and blue when the Dogs defeated Hawthorn at Marvel Stadium last Friday night, after playing 30 games for the Crows.
The former first-class cricketer has proven to be a very astute buy, finishing sixth in the Charles Sutton Medal in 2020 and 2021, holding down a key defensive spot in a side bereft of options down there.
Aside from Smith and Dunkley, the Western Bulldogs also have Jason Johannisen, Josh Schache, Taylor Duryea, Mitch Wallis, Robbie McComb and Rhylee West among the players without deals for 2023. – Josh Gabelich
CLUBS AND AGENTS SET FOR TALKS
CLUBS and player agents will this week converge on the Gold Coast for the under-18 and under-16 championships.
But tracking the future talent will be only a part of the goings-on in Queensland, with the midyear national carnivals seen as an important stage of the player movement period as well.
Leading player management groups will be in force on the ground for the championships scouring the upcoming draft pools but the annual stint in the sun is also when clubs and agents will catch up to discuss out of contract players and potential trade options for later this year.
It is also viewed as a busy time in the trade and free agency space as players unsigned beyond this year start considering their futures elsewhere and agents get a clearer of idea of each club's off-season priorities.
Catch-ups and coffees between managers and list managers are expected throughout the several days on the Gold Coast, which is considered an unofficial starting point for more serious discussions around players.
Recruiting teams will also be on the ground, with the Allies to host Vic Country at the Gabba this Sunday before a triple-header of under-16s games on Monday and a double-header on Tuesday, all at Metricon Stadium. – Callum Twomey
