The 2019 AFL trade period was a long and exhausting process, but it finally wrapped up on Wednesday night. The deadline day itself saw numerous deals done including many featuring the teams that I’m about to mention as the winners of this year’s trade period.
Since I have started doing this caper a few years back, I’ve always done a ‘winners and losers’ piece in regard to the trade period, but this year, I’m just going to focus on the winners aspect. There’s a few reasons why I’m trimming it down this year, but time is a big factor at the moment as I don’t have a lot of it on my hands at the moment.
Maybe I will do a quick losers piece another day, but for now, let’s talk the big winners. I’ve identified six teams that I felt won out the most throughout the last couple of weeks.
St. Kilda
Well they’re the most obvious winner here so let’s get them out of the way first. Given that they had picks 6 and 59 and some later picks in this year’s draft, it was always going to be very difficult for the Saints to bring in five players from other clubs. But somehow, they managed to pull through and get all their men over to Moorabbin. Securing both Dougal Howard and Paddy Ryder from Port Adelaide, Bradley Hill from Fremantle, Zak Jones from Sydney and Dan Butler from Richmond.
Howard has had his very good games in defence throughout his time at Port and could seriously flourish into an elite key defender in the coming years. Ryder, entering the twilight of his career, will be the perfect mentor for emerging ruckman Rowan Marshall. Hill didn’t come cheap, costing them Blake Acres and several picks, but he is amongst the top wingmen in the league and gives St. Kilda some pace, which is something they desperately lack. Jones also has pace, but he also has a bit of mongrel about him and Butler will give the Saints an option up forward.
I see all five of these guys playing round one next year and I can see all five of them having a big influence on their season as they look to play Finals again. I wished they got something more for Jack Steven however. Pick 58 for a bloke that won four club best and fairest awards is a very disappointing return.
Fremantle
So St. Kilda had to give up a lot to get Brad Hill over from Fremantle. He was a contracted player so of course the Dockers were going to ask for that little bit more. In the end, they struck a goldmine in return – Pick 10, Pick 58, a future second-round pick and a future fourth-round pick. In addition, they also got a WA-boy in Blake Acres, who has the talent and the athleticism to be a best 22 player – I think he needs to stick to a role at Fremantle and hopefully new coach Justin Longmuir can give him one. He’s got good athleticism and can play – it’s all about finding that consistency.
So the fallout from that deal means that Fremantle get picks 7 and 10 for next month’s AFL Draft. In a draft that doesn’t run as deep as many others, that’s a huge tick for them. They’ll also have pick 22, so I think they’re in a good place for the Draft. They also lost Ed Langdon along with Hill and he has been a good contributor for them the past couple of years, but they get a guy in James Aish in return who is a good runner and had been a good contributor for the Pies for a few years.
Western Bulldogs
The Bulldogs got their men in Josh Bruce and Alex Keath – both of whom were linked to the Dogs for some time now. It would’ve been good if they got the deals done a bit earlier than the final two hours, but what’s done is done and they’ve got two players that will be valuable assets to the team in 2020. Bruce will ease the pressure from Josh Schache and Aaron Naughton as the key forwards as he is a presence up forward as well. He’s got superb marking hands and he is very reliable in front of goal.
Keath’s inclusion will be interesting, as they have been longing for a tall that can man the big forwards of the competition. He comes in with a fractured leg, so he faces a delayed start to the pre-season, but I’m confident he’ll find himself in the team sooner rather than later. He reads the play well, takes a good mark and often makes the right decisions. What’s made the acquisitions even better is that the Bulldogs didn’t have to offload their first-round pick, which stands at pick 13. They can head to the draft with an eye on the best available talent on the night.
Geelong
This was a big trade period for the Cats, who fell a game short of making the Grand Final. Tim Kelly – for the second straight year – requested a trade home to Western Australia. But this time, the Cats and the Eagles were able to come to a deal that saw Kelly go West. The Cats in return, got picks 14, 24 and a 2020 first-round pick from the Eagles. Meaning they will head into the draft with picks 14, 17 and 24, as well as two first-round picks for next year.
If the Cats’ recruiting guru Stephen Wells’ track record has any indication of how they will go in the Draft this year, it won’t be beyond them at all to land at least one steal with one of the three picks this year. They also picked up some players that will be handy additions whichever way you look at it. Jack Steven for pick 58 is next to nothing and I firmly believe he will get back to his best next year. Josh Jenkins is a strange addition, considering they have key forwards, but he does know where the goals are and he could play as the perfect foil to Tom Hawkins next year.
Hawthorn
The Hawks have often been very shrewd with their recruiting. They head into this year’s AFL Draft with a first-round pick for the first time since 2015, and they are in a pretty good spot at pick 11. They also have picks 30, 42, 54 and 63 along with some later ones, and their track record of getting good players at later picks has been exemplary in recent years. See James Worpel, Mitch Lewis and Harry Morrison as examples.
They brought in Sam Frost, who should be in their best 22 next year. Love the way he goes about it, but if he can clean up his disposal use, the Hawks have a good player on their hands. Getting a former number one draft pick in Jon Patton for virtually nothing is a big win for them as they need a big man up forward. If he can clear his injury issues and recapture form of a few years ago, he’ll be a bloody good get. Grant Birchall – as good of a career he’s had – won’t be missed as they have good running defensive options and Marc Pittonet perhaps damages their ruck stocks to a degree, but he wasn’t getting many games in the first place.
Melbourne
It’s a massive gamble for a side that finished only above the Gold Coast in 2019, but I like what Melbourne have added as they believe that the list is there to get back up there in 2020. To sum up how much they gave up this off-season, they gave up picks 22, 42, 61 and 79 in this year’s draft and gave up first-round, second-round and fourth-round picks in 2020. That’s high-risk, high-reward type stuff and I applaud the Demons for going all out.
They will enter the AFL draft with two picks in the top 10 – one at pick 3 and the other at pick 8 and despite the fact that they have no other draft picks to play with, this is a very good spot to be in for a side that will be hoping to rebound next year. They lose Sam Frost, who finished in the top 10 of their best and fairest and they also gave their first-round pick next year to North Melbourne. But they add some dash with Ed Langdon coming in from Fremantle and will slot in seamlessly on a wing. They also got some versatility in the form of former GWS player Adam Tomlinson, who should feature in Melbourne’s 22 frequently next year.