GREATER Western Sydney is confident a deal to send small forward Bobby Hill to Collingwood can be done quickly, avoiding the drawn-out negotiations of 12 months ago that saw him remain with the Giants in 2022.
Hill, who is out of contract, formalised his desire to join the Magpies once the club's season ended with preliminary final defeat, with the clubs now in talks to arrange a trade.
The Giants are expected to target a second-round pick in exchange for Hill, with GWS general manager of football Jason McCartney telling Continental Tyres AFL Trade Radio he was not expecting any trouble getting a deal done this year.
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"I've been talking to (Magpies football manager) Graham Wright for a week-and-a-half. That will be something that will be done I imagine pretty early in the Trade Period … Bobby will make his way to Collingwood," McCartney said.
Hill requested a trade to Essendon last year but was ultimately held to the final year of his contract after talks between the Giants and Bombers failed to produce an outcome.
The 22-year-old returned to the Giants and played 11 games this season but underwent surgery for testicular cancer at the start of June, returning to play the last game of the season with the Giants' VFL team.
"He's in a really good space and his health and wellbeing is a priority," McCartney said.
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"It has been a challenging year for him, but his health is really good."
The Giants are set to lose three midfielders in the upcoming Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period, including key players Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper, who have requested moves to Richmond.
McCartney said the Tigers understood negotiations were going to "take a little bit of work", particularly with Hopper still in contract at the Giants for one more season before becoming a free agent.
Tanner Bruhn is also set to leave the club after just his second season since being recruited with pick No.12 in the 2020 NAB AFL Draft.
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McCartney said it was "disappointing" to lose a player of Bruhn's potential so soon, highlighting the importance of making changes to the standard draftee contract, which expires after two seasons.
"Obviously it's disappointing. Tanner is a wonderful young man who invested heavily in our football club," McCartney said.
"He's played 30 games over the last two years, so there's probably not many from that compromised Draft and the COVID year who have played that many AFL games. That's the reality and we just have to work with it now.
"It looks like it's leaning that way with Geelong, so we'll sit down with (Cats list manager) Andrew Mackie and thrash out what we can get done there.
"Two years is really disappointing. There's been some conversations had for a while and I know the AFLPA has been involved, but I know our conversations are around that fact that those first few Draft picks, the standard contract needs to be longer. That's for sure."
