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.
DOCKERS WINGMAN INKS NEW DEAL
FREMANTLE has seen off rival interest to secure versatile midfielder James Aish on a new three-year deal through to the end of 2025.
Aish, who was out of contract, had attracted interest from up to four clubs after several impressive performances but agreed to remain with the Dockers this week.
The 26-year-old received an improved offer after lengthy negotiations having played 18 games in his third season with Freo in a mix of wing, midfield and run-with roles.
He is an important signing for the club as it enters its first finals series since 2015 with several players still out of contract.
The former Collingwood and Brisbane midfielder, who can also play in defence, is one of only nine Dockers with finals experience, having played in the Magpies' 2018 Grand Final.
Swingman Griffin Logue has not made a decision on his future, while there is significant work still to do to trump the rival offers that have come for wingman Blake Acres. The club remains in talks with the 26-year-old's management.
Forward Sam Sturt is among those yet to be offered a contract for 2023, with defender Nathan Wilson also in limbo and reliant on a list spot being available to secure a new deal. – Nathan Schmook
SWANS IN TALKS TO EXTEND DEFENDER
PADDY McCartin is in talks for a contract extension at Sydney after his brilliant comeback season in the AFL.
The gun key defender's one-year deal at the Swans expires at the end of this season but the club is in discussions with McCartin on a new deal.
McCartin has been one of the success stories of the competition this year, returning to the game after being delisted by St Kilda at the end of 2019 following a run of concussion issues.
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The Swans grabbed him in the pre-season supplemental selection period ahead of this season and he has become a mainstay in the premiership contender's backline alongside younger brother Tom, proving to be a vital cog with his intercept marking.
Because McCartin was delisted by St Kilda, he qualifies as an unrestricted free agent this year due to previously being delisted through his career. The 26-year-old, who has missed only one game this season, is keen to remain at the Swans.
McCartin was the No.1 draft pick at the 2014 NAB AFL Draft and played 35 games for the Saints. He has been, alongside Geelong's Tyson Stengle, one of the bang-for-buck recruits of the year across the AFL. – Callum Twomey
TIGER CUB PRIMED FOR EXTENSION
RICHMOND is set to reward youngster Jack Ross with a fresh two-year deal.
It's understood Ross is headed towards an extension with the Tigers after a strong finish to the season, which culminated in a decisive performance against Essendon on Saturday night.
Ross had 21 disposals and 14 score involvements, along with one goal and two goal assists, to put the 21-year-old right in the frame to retain his place ahead of next Thursday's elimination final against Brisbane.
The big-bodied midfielder, who was recruited to the club with pick No.43 four years ago, was coming towards the end of his contract with Richmond but a deal to secure his future until at least 2024 is now considered imminent.
The Tigers still have decisions to make on the futures of veteran pair Trent Cotchin and Jack Riewoldt, while former top-20 pick Riley Collier-Dawkins is also uncontracted at season's end. – Riley Beveridge
BROWN BROTHERS WITHOUT DEALS
COLLINGWOOD father-son pair Callum and Tyler Brown are yet to receive contract offers as clubs keep the brothers on their radar.
The sons of 1990 premiership player and former Collingwood skipper Gavin Brown are both out of contract this year and have not been presented deals as yet for 2023.
Callum Brown has played six games this season after being a constant in the Magpies' side the past three years, while younger brother Tyler has played 11 games but several as a medical substitute.
Callum's form in the VFL, where he has spent time in the back half, has caught the attention of rival clubs while Tyler's athleticism and height has seen him produce some exciting moments at AFL level in his 27 appearances at the level.
The Pies look set to have a busy off-season, with Lion Dan McStay set to arrive through free agency and Bobby Hill expected to request a trade to the club from Greater Western Sydney.
Brodie Grundy has met rival clubs with his future at Collingwood in doubt, while restricted free agent Jordan De Goey is also out of contract. Ollie Henry, a first-round pick in 2020, is without a deal for next year as well. – Callum Twomey
DEMONS DEFENDER SET FOR NEW DEAL
MELBOURNE defender Joel Smith is closing in on a new deal with the Demons.
The out-of-contract backman was unlucky to miss out on last year's premiership win for the Demons but is on track for what will likely be a two-year contract extension.
It would take Smith through to the end of 2024 at the Demons, with clubs around the competition securing their key defenders with a shortage in the League.
Smith, 26, has played five games this season after three last year, having come into the Demons side for round 22 and playing in the qualifying final win over Brisbane.
However, a hamstring injury at training ahead of the Demons' preliminary final win over Geelong saw him miss that win and then sit out their historic Grand Final victory over the Western Bulldogs.
The athletic tall missed two months with a foot injury suffered against Hawthorn in round seven earlier this year. – Callum Twomey
SUNS LIST SIZES UNCERTAIN
HOW many players Gold Coast will be able to have on its list next year remains unclear as the Suns come to the end of their AFL concession package.
The Suns were given a range of assistance measures in 2019 after a run of poor results, including the No.1 priority pick that year, as well as extra early picks in 2019, 2020 and the 2021 drafts.
They also had the ability to pre-list Academy players without matching bids over that period as well as extending their playing list, with Gold Coast currently having 48 players on its list – 38 senior-listed players, nine rookies and one category B rookie.
The extended nine-player rookie list is part of the list concessions, with clubs around the competition waiting for list sizes for next year to be decided by the AFL before making calls on some players in contract limbo.
There is a view within clubs that the likely result is list sizes will stay the same although the ongoing collective bargaining agreement discussions will likely certify that once completed.
Meanwhile, one of the Suns' rookies this year, Levi Casboult, is set to be rewarded for an impressive first season on the Gold Coast with a contract for 2023.
The 32-year-old was provided an AFL lifeline via last year's NAB AFL Rookie Draft to provide the Suns with some security in attack.
But after Ben King tore his ACL in February, the former Carlton key forward forced his way into Stuart Dew's round one team and never left.
Casboult played 21 games – the second-most of his career – and kicked a career-high 35 goals, hitting the scoreboard in all but four appearances.
The Victorian combined with Mabior Chol to provide Gold Coast with two key targets in attack, with the pair finishing with 79 majors for the season.
With King expected to be available for round one, Casboult might not play every week next year in his 14th AFL season but he has proven to be very reliable at the level. – Callum Twomey, Josh Gabelich
GEELONG FATHER-SON ON RADAR
OSCA Riccardi, the son of former Geelong star Peter, is on the radar as a potential father-son pick-up for the Cats this year.
Riccardi, who turned 18 this week, has had some eye-catching moments this season with the Geelong Falcons in the NAB League, where he has averaged 14 disposals and three marks.
He also recently played a VFL game for the Cats as well, where he had 13 disposals and kicked a goal against Sandringham's VFL side. He has been invited to test at the Victorian state draft Combine in October, where he will be able to show his athletic wares.
Riccardi, unlike his father who played 288 games and kicked 286 goals as a midfielder for the Cats, is a right-footer, with his father's famous left-foot kicking a crucial part of the strong Geelong sides of the 1990s.
Geelong has three father-sons on its list at the moment – Tom Hawkins (2006 draftee), Jed Bews (2011) and Sam Simpson (2016). – Callum Twomey
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BOOM EXPECTED FOR PLAYER MOVEMENT
CLUBS are expecting a spike in movement this off-season after last year's quiet trade period.
The record number of players to move via trade and free agency in any particular window is 44, set in both 2015 and 2018. But that number dipped to just 20 last year due to uncertainty around salary cap and list spots in the wake of COVID-19.
However, the post-free agency average is 33.9 players moving per window and several list and player managers surveyed by AFL.com.au believe figures this season will rise to something similar again this year.
Karl Amon has already told Port Adelaide of his intentions to move via free agency this October, with AFL.com.au's Inside Trading revealing in May Hawthorn's interest in the wingman, while other free agents including Lance Franklin and Jordan De Goey haven't resolved their futures. Dan McStay is headed to Collingwood as an unrestricted free agent.
Izak Rankine has requested a trade to Adelaide, while fellow uncontracted guns like Luke Jackson, Josh Dunkley, Tim Taranto, Cam Zurhaar and Griffin Logue are surveying the market and contracted players like Brodie Grundy and Jacob Hopper are also seen as gettable.
Records were set in 2015 when 44 players moved (40 via trade and four via free agency), headlined by Patrick Dangerfield going to Geelong and Charlie Dixon, Adam Treloar and Jake Carlisle all moving clubs.
That number was matched in 2018 (39 via trade and five via free agency), with Tom Lynch, Dayne Beams, Dan Hannebery, Steven May, Lachie Neale, Dylan Shiel and Chad Wingard among a host of star players to find new homes. – Riley Beveridge
PIES RECRUITING BOSS KEEN TO TRADE MID-YEAR PICKS
COLLINGWOOD has had a run of mid-season rookie draft successes and Magpies recruiting manager Derek Hine is in favour of adding the ability to trade mid-year selections to the landscape.
The AFL is looking at whether to allow clubs to trade mid-season picks using end-of-year selections.
It would have a two-fold effect of allowing clubs to push up the draft board to try and target a specific player and also see clubs who do not want to use their mid-season selection trade it out and get a bonus for the draft in November.
The Magpies have been winners out of the mid-season draft since it was reintroduced by the AFL in 2019, with John Noble (2019), Ash Johnson and Aiden Begg (2021) and Josh Carmichael (2022) joining the club via mid-season intakes.
Hine said clubs swapping picks mid-year would add another element to the mid-season draft.
"Absolutely, I'd love it. And I think if you spoke to most clubs they would all be on the same page," Hine told the Road to the Draft podcast.
"In our case, Josh Carmichael we were really fortunate for him to get through to us but we ranked him really highly so if the opportunity presented itself to get forward we certainly would have tried to take it.
"If you're able to do that and the levers are there to pull, then I've got no doubt us and more clubs would be in agreeance with that." – Callum Twomey