How the trade period has impacted your AFL team's draft plans

The conclusion of the AFL Trade Period has turned the industry's attention to the AFL Draft, which will take place from November 19. While the big names such as Charlie Curnow have dominated headlines, many clubs improved their draft hand either by increasing the number of points they have to match a bid for tied talent, or advanced their place in the order. Below is a club-by-club breakdown of how each club is positioned a month out from the AFL Draft. Adelaide Draft hand: 16, 48, 55, 64, 73, 75, 93, 111 = 1026 points The Crows have a steady draft hand, and will likely enter night one at a time where there is the opportunity to take a South Australian if they choose to look local. The only tied prospect they may take is defender Mitch Stevens, the son of Mark from the Gippsland Power, who tested well at the Victorian State Combine, but he would be a later or rookie selection, so it would be a simple enough transaction if the club wanted to pursue it. Brisbane Draft hand: 17, 23, 44, 51, 59, 68, 79, 97, 115 = 1756 points Brisbane's chief goal at the draft must be to secure Academy midfielder Dan Annable, who looks ready for AFL next year. The Lions entered the AFL Trade Period with Pick 20, worth 757 points, and exited with Picks 17 and 23, which combined are worth 1532 points, so the club significantly increased the points it has available and, with its current hand, will have the capability to match a bid that comes at Pick 5 or later. A bid may also come for pressure forward Tyan Prindable or ruck Isaac Waller at some stage in the third round, which the Lions would be able to match. Picks from 55 or later in the AFL Draft don't require a club to have points to match a bid. http://gty.im/2209984960 Carlton Draft hand: 9, 11, 43, 54, 67, 72, 87, 105 = 2758 points Father-son defender Harry Dean is all but certain to nominate the Blues ahead of the draft, and Carlton will have no problems matching a bid. Mathematicall,y they could match a bid regardless of where it comes, including Pick 1 – but the bid is expected in the second half of the top 10, which would enable them to retain Pick 11 and pick up Dean. Considering the Blues will also have 2024 top five pick Jagga Smith available to return next year, and has two first rounders in next year and 2027's AFL Draft following the departure of Charlie Curnow – the club has a great chance to use this period to build a generation. Collingwood Draft hand: 39, 45, 56, 61, 77, 95, 113 = 407 points As it stands, Collingwood is right on the edge of having the points necessary to match a bid for Next Generation Academy key forward Zac McCarthy. McCarthy is projected as a talent in the 25-40 region of the AFL Draft pool and the Pies are on the edge of being able to match a bid. Mathematically, as it stands, they would only be able to match a bid at Pick 34 or later - but their picks will become higher once Academy and father-son picks are absorbed, so they should be able to make it work with their current assets. Live trading on draft night will enable them to get creative if need be, and as well as the above picks for this year's draft, the club has a first, second and two fourth-round picks in next year's draft, and a first, second, third and fourth round pick in 2027 it could use to increase its capital. The club announced ahead of trade period it would not match a bid at the National Draft for Tom McGuane – son of premiership Pie Mick – while if a bid came for Jai Saxena it would be after Pick 54. http://gty.im/2239280032 Essendon Draft hand: 5, 6, 21, 27, 30, 83, 101 = 5162 points Essendon has 5162 points following the trade period, but that comes down to 1708 points when Picks 5 and 6 are excluded, with both set to be used by the Bombers before bids for Academy players Adam Sweid and Hussien El Achkar. There have also been murmurings that the Bombers could package up five and six to move up the draft order as they seek to secure Willem Duursma. Even if both Sweid and El Achkar go higher than where they are projected – and remember a bid typically comes later, not earlier for club-tied talent – the Bombers are well stocked to comfortably match a bid for both players, and should even be able to hold onto one of their picks in the 20s to either use on a player or as a sweetener in a Duursma trade, so are placed strongly overall. http://gty.im/2224851731 Fremantle Draft hand: 20, 47, 69, 90, 103, 108 = 875 points The only Fremantle-linked player set to attract a bid which could require points from the Dockers to match is left-footer Toby Whan. He is still more likely to be bid on after Pick 54, but if he is bid on earlier, the Dockers' Pick 47 could be used to match a bid and, while unlikely to be needed, the club has all of its selections in the 2026 and 2027 drafts available if they wanted and needed to manoeuvre a live pick swap. Geelong: Draft hand: 19, 40, 60, 78, 96, 99, 114 = 1034 points Geelong's main tied prospect to consider is Jesse Mellor, a medium forward part of the Next Generation Academy, but a bid is unlikely to come for him before Pick 54, which will enable the Cats to match it, while also bringing in other talent. Gold Coast Draft hand: 15, 18, 24, 28, 29, 36, 52, 92, 110 = 3773 points With 3773 points, Gold Coast could match bids for Zeke Uwland and Dylan Patterson at Picks 3 and 4, so they will be relying on West Coast not to put a bid on either of the pair with the Eagles' top two selections. If West Coast did place a bid at Pick 2, the Suns would, with their current hand, only be able to secure both players if a bid for the second Academy player didn't come until Pick 6 or later. Both are projected as top five talents. The club will, however, almost certainly need to do some live pick swapping if it is to secure any of Beau Addinsall, Jai Murray or Koby Coulson. All three are projected as late first or second-round talents and the Suns' current points will likely be largely absorbed by matching bids for Uwland and Patterson. The club has three second-round, two third-round and two fourth-round picks across the next two drafts to try to appeal to clubs if it wants to get some picks to match later bids – but will also be conscious of the continual stream of talent coming through the Academy and therefore danger of compromising future draft hands. http://gty.im/2194811064 GWS Draft hand: 12, 35, 91, 109 = 1478 points It's unlikely that GWS will have an Academy prospect bid on, so they will be able to take the talent that it best sees fit with its two picks. Hawthorn Draft hand: 10, 22, 62, 76, 94, 112 = 1962 points Hawthorn does not have any players it will need to match a bid on. A potential watch could be on whether they get involved in a live trade involving a future pick late in the draft with a club desperate to get a surprise player left on the board, which could help the Hawks get enough points to secure Cooper Hodge next season if the son of premiership captain Luke, also in Brisbane's Academy, nominates the Hawks. Melbourne Draft hand: 7, 8, 37, 66, 71, 84, 102 = 3283 points The Dees have had two first-round picks for each of the past two counts and have two for each of 2025, 2026 and 2027 at this stage. In a period of great change, both on and off the field, the club simply must nail this period. North Melbourne Draft hand: 25, 26, 46, 57, 82, 100 = 1285 points The Kangaroos memorably traded their first-round pick for this year on draft night in 2024 to secure Matt Whitlock. The club doesn't have any tied prospects this season who will attract bids, but has Sam Harris, the son of Daniel, in next year's draft, who had a solid bottom-aged campaign for Calder Cannons. Port Adelaide Draft hand: 49, 85 = 86 points It's set to be a quiet draft for Port Adelaide, but they will make plenty more noise in the next two seasons, with star 2026 prospect Dougie Cochrane a potential tied prospect before Zemes Pilot, Louis Salopek and Tevita Rodan in 2027. Richmond Draft hand: 3, 4, 38, 81 = 4417 points Not much change for the Tigers, who will have two more top-five selections after their six first-rounders last year as they continue to build out a young core. The addition of Patrick Retschko was a shrewd one, with the club monitoring him last season but not having a selection later in the draft to take him with. Retschko is a no-risk pickup who only last year captained the likes of Murphy Reid at Caulfield Grammar and is coming off a promising VFL campaign for Geelong. http://gty.im/2236655433 St Kilda Draft hand: 50, 65, 86, 104 = 71 points St Kilda will have priority access to Next Generation Academy prospect Kye Fincher, but as it stands, will not be able to match a bid for him. Viewed as a prospect on the precipice of the top 30, Fincher has pieced together an impressive year for Sandringham and Vic Metro, but with a competition-low 71 points, will not be able to match a bid. The club has two firsts, a second, four thirds and four fourth-round selections across the next two drafts if it wants to pick swap to match a bid. http://gty.im/2224850560 Sydney Draft hand: 31, 32, 42, 63, 88, 106 = 1036 points Max King, Lachy Carmichael and Harry Kyle are viewed by many as all being talents in the second half of the first round, but with their current hand of 1036 points, Sydney will need to either do some pick swapping or prioritise accordingly. Hypothetically, the Swans would be able to match a bid for Max King at about Pick 20, but would then be unable to match another pick unless it came at about Pick 35 or later. If a bid for King didn't come until Pick 26 – or the Swans bypass King and then a bid for Kyle or Carmichael at Pick 26 – and then there was another bid at Pick 30, Sydney would be able to match both of those. In short, as it stands, best case scenario is that Sydney will be able to get two of the aforementioned prospects, not all three. The Swans have their 2026 second-rounder, two third-rounders and a fourth rounder, as well as two seconds, a third and a fourth in 2027 if it wants to do some pick swapping. Sydney also has Noah Chamberlain, who could receive a bid but there's a likelihood that bid will come after Pick 54, so the Swans won't need any points to match it. http://gty.im/2239280475 West Coast Eagles Draft hand: 1, 2, 13, 34, 41, 53, 58, 80, 98 = 7169 points With NGA trio Tylah Williams, Koby Evans and Wes Walley, and father-son prospect Charlie Banfield, the Eagles have some prospects with promise, but a combination of form and injury means none are expected to attract particularly high bids. It will enable West Coast to bring some bona fide top end talent and get some locals, with their extra four rookie spots potentially helping them elevate more Academy players into the AFL. Western Bulldogs Draft hand: 14, 33, 70, 74, 89, 107 = 1406 points A prodigiously talented former Pick 1 being traded to Gold Coast for just Pick 74 will be a bitter pill to swallow in some ways, but a fresh start for Jamarra Ugle-Hagan was clearly the optimal outcome for both parties. The Dogs will have Will Darcy, brother of Sam and son of Luke, in thier plans as a likely late draft recruit.

How the trade period has impacted your AFL team’s draft plans

A club-by-club breakdown of how your team’s draft plans might take shape.

Richmond

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		P	W	L	PTS	%
1	ADEL	23	18	5	72	139.3
2	GEEL	23	17	6	68	141.5
3	BL	23	16	6	66	114.2
4	COLL	23	16	7	64	122.4
5	GWS	23	16	7	64	115.3
6	FRE	23	16	7	64	109
7	GC	23	15	8	60	124.9
8	HAW	23	15	8	60	120.9