THE MEGA deal has been approved.
Involving Port Adelaide, West Coast, North Melbourne and Greater Western Sydney, the talks on a four-way trade quickly ramped up on Monday to revive one of footy's biggest ever deals.
It will see Jason Horne-Francis and Junior Rioli get their wish and join Port Adelaide, North Melbourne have picks No.2 and 3 in the draft as well as a future first-rounder, West Coast split its pick to hold the No.8 and 12 selections and the Giants rise up the board to take the No.1 pick.
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It will give the Giants first crack at Vic Country key forward Aaron Cadman, who is favoured now to head to GWS after their move up the board.
A suite of other selections for this year's draft as well as next year's have also been included after the deal was green-lit.
The details of the trade were reported by AFL.com.au on Monday afternoon and confirmed by the League later in the evening.
Horne-Francis has joined Port on a six-year deal until the end of 2028, while Rioli has signed a four-year deal.
AFL.com.au on Sunday revealed details of the mega trade that was blocked by the League over the weekend due to its rules on future picks, but the clubs got to work on Monday on a variation of the deal.
It saw the Giants' future second-round selection (tied to Collingwood via the Bobby Hill trade) become a crucial part of the reworked deal.
Under the new offering, that pick winds up with Port Adelaide, as will the 2023 third-round selection (tied to Fremantle but from North Melbourne).
It then allowed the Power to send their future first-round pick to North Melbourne as well as their future second and third-round selections to the Eagles.
The Giants will get back picks in the third round of this year's draft from Port Adelaide.
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The previous iteration of the deal was knocked back by the AFL as there is no provision within the rules to allow Port Adelaide to trade both its future first and second-round picks.
"Jason is a highly talented player who we know will complement our developing and exciting midfield group," Port Adelaide list manager Jason Cripps said.
"He is competitive and aggressive, and we like his power and explosiveness as well as his ability to go forward and hit the scoreboard.
"Once Jason indicated a desire to be traded to our club, we explored a range of options to satisfy North Melbourne and ensure he would be a Port Adelaide player in 2023, and we are thrilled to welcome him to Alberton."
North Melbourne list boss Brady Rawlings described the deal as a "great result" for the Kangaroos.
"Having two picks inside the first three selections in a draft where we really rate the first three players is a great result for the club," said North's list boss Brady Rawlings.
"The two picks in the 40s will probably come in a few places after a couple of father-son bids so we've got some flexibility there, too.
"We also think there’s some top-end quality in next year's draft pool so that extra first-round selection from Port Adelaide gives us a really strong hand looking ahead.
"In all, today sets us up well for the next couple of trade and draft periods."
Despite giving up two first-round picks in the deal, the Giants still have a strong draft hand this year, headlined by the acquisition of the No.1 pick from North.
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"This is an exciting day for Giants fans, and we're thrilled to secure the first pick in the upcoming Draft," said GWS's GM of footy, Jason McCartney.
"Given the strength of our draft hands across both this year and next, it was a no-brainer for us to make a play to have access to choose the best available talent at this year's Draft.
"We're looking forward to adding to our strong core of players under new coach Adam Kingsley to return to the continued success we've had in the past."
MEGA DEAL DETAILS
NORTH MELBOURNE
Trade out: Jason Horne-Francis, pick No.1, 2023 third-round pick (tied to Fremantle)
Trade in: Picks No.2, 3, 40, 43, 2023 future first-round pick (tied to Port Adelaide)
PORT ADELAIDE
Trade out: Picks No.8, 43, 53, 57, 2023 first-round pick, 2023 second-round pick, 2023 third-round pick
Trade in: Jason Horne-Francis, Junior Rioli, 2023 second-round pick (tied to Collingwood), 2023 future third-round pick (tied to Fremantle)
WEST COAST
Trade out: Junior Rioli, picks No.2, 40
Trade in: Picks No.8, 12, 2023 second-round pick (tied to Port Adelaide), 2023 third-round pick (tied to Port Adelaide)
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY
Trade out: Picks No.3, 12, 2023 second-round pick (tied to Collingwood)
Trade in: Pick No.1, 53, 57
