Inside your AFL club’s 2025 Trade and Free Agency moves: Every player, draft pick, and analysis

There were plenty of surprises during the 2025 trade and free agency period as 34 players found new homes. Some big names will don new colours next year, while some will return to their club with their tails between their legs. But who won the trade period? Who lost? We take you through EVERY club... TRADE HUB: ALL THE LATEST TRADE MOVES AND NEWS TRADE DEADLINE DAY: READ EVERYTHING AS IT HAPPENED ON THE FRANTIC WEDNESDAY TRADE TRACKER: RECAP EVERY PICK AND MOVE DRAFT ORDER: YOUR CLUB'S PICK FOR THE 2025 NATIONAL DRAFT Adelaide The Crows were inactive for much of the 2025 trade period, snaring Finnbar Maley from the Kangaroos in a late twist on deadline day. Maley is a solid addition to their key forward mix, which dominated in 2025, but ultimately does not move the needle toward a premiership tilt significantly. Callum Ah Chee's likely addition through the draft will undoubtedly be the boost Adelaide is looking for in 2026, and the fact that they will now essentially get him for free could be viewed as a win. Time will tell if their lack of movement elsewhere will come back to bite them; however, several teams inside the top eight have made upgrades to their playing list. GRADE: D+ Ins: Finnbar Maley (North Melbourne) Outs: N/A 2025 AFL Draft picks: 16, 48, 55, 64, 73, 75, 93, 111 Brisbane For a club fresh off back-to-back premierships, this off-season could not have gone better for the Lions. They upgraded their relatively weak ruck stocks with one of the competition's more versatile big men in Sam Draper and bolstered their already impressive forward line with Oscar Allen, who, when healthy, is capable of kicking 50-plus majors in a season. Not only that, but they've acquired enough points to bid for Academy prospect and projected top-five selection Dan Annable in the National Draft next month. The departure of Brandon Starcevich (and Ah Chee's likely exit) will hardly put a dent into Brisbane's three-peat hopes. GRADE: A Ins: Sam Draper (Essendon), Oscar Allen (West Coast) Outs: Brandon Starcevich (West Coast) 2025 AFL Draft picks: 17, 23, 44, 51, 59, 68, 79, 97, 115 Carlton Carlton's off-season was highly anticipated to be devastating and potentially set back their 2026 ambitions instantly. Star ruck Tom De Koning and key defender Jack Silvagni departed swiftly, and trade talks for superstar Charlie Curnow ramped up quickly. However, the Blues recovered strongly, holding their nerve in tense trade talks for their superstar key forward Charlie Curnow and, by calling Sydney's bluff with Ollie Florent, ultimately received a return package that is widely viewed as ideal for the club's next steps. They recovered some ground in their ruck stocks by adding unwanted Docker Liam Reidy and improved their midfield depth with Campbell Chesser and Ben Ainsworth. While significant talent was lost overall, Carlton has rebounded about as strongly as they could have from a dire situation and is set up for another strong draft haul. GRADE: B Ins: Liam Reidy (Fremantle), Campbell Chesser (West Coast), Ben Ainsworth (Gold Coast), Will Hayward (Sydney), Oliver Florent (Sydney) Outs: Jack Silvagni (St Kilda), Tom De Koning (St Kilda), Corey Durdin (Port Adelaide), Charlie Curnow (Sydney) 2025 AFL Draft picks: 9, 11, 43, 54, 67, 72, 87, 105 Collingwood The Pies were extremely quiet compared to the previous three seasons, despite their desire to improve their list. They welcomed exciting prospect Jack Buller from Sydney, but lost club cult-figure Brody Mihocek in the process. Collingwood failed to win Clayton Oliver over GWS, and couldn't broker a trade for Jy Simpkin, even though they tabled two separate offers. GRADE: C- Ins: Jack Buller (Sydney) Outs: Brody Mihocek (Melbourne) 2025 AFL Draft picks: 39, 45, 56, 61, 77, 95, 113 Essendon Essendon will be raring to prove that their hot start to the 2025 season, which was ultimately scuffed due to the club's major injury crisis, was not a fluke as they opted to hold onto captain Zach Merrett, despite his pleas to leave the club, who may be on the verge of a rebuild. Sam Draper's departure hurts Essendon's chances to jump up the ladder, depleting their tall stocks significantly, though recruit Brayden Fiorini offers an element of class to the midfield mix around Zach Merrett that it currently lacks. However, should the Bombers fall into the basement of the AFL again in 2026, the decision to ignore the offer of three first-round selections for a 30-year-old will look heinous in comparison to what could have been the start of a new era. GRADE: B Ins: Brayden Fiorini (Gold Coast) Outs: Sam Draper (Brisbane) 2025 AFL Draft picks: 5, 6, 21, 27, 30, 83, 101 Fremantle The Dockers will be happy with their trade period after securing Judd McVee from Melbourne. A former rookie who has quickly turned into a damaging defender, who will pair nicely with Jordan Clark. Will Brodie and Liam Reidy were deemed surplus to requirements, and they helped facilitate a trade for the pair of them to their preferred destinations. GRADE: B+ Ins: Judd McVee (Melbourne) Outs: Liam Reidy (Carlton), Will Brodie (Port Adelaide) 2025 AFL Draft picks: 20, 47, 69, 90, 103, 108 Geelong Typically, the kings of trade periods, the Cats couldn't land their big fish targets in 2025, despite a formal trade request from Rowan Marshall that St Kilda were unwilling to grant. The lack of depth in their ruck stocks will continue to be a concern for Geelong, but in reality, the club didn't need to change much for 2026 as their young crop of stars will continue to develop, and have proven their ability to excel on the biggest of stages. Furthermore, the addition of James Worpel points to how this off-season can be viewed as a win, as his inside midfield skills will certainly be a boost for the 2025 Grand Finalists in one of their few areas of weakness, also allowing Patrick Dangerfield to boast his forward 50 skills more often to help extend his storied AFL career. GRADE: C+ Ins: James Worpel (Hawthorn) Outs: Patrick Retschko (Richmond) 2025 AFL Draft picks: 19, 40, 60, 78, 96, 99, 114 Gold Coast It could be understandable to view Gold Coast's off-season as a mixed bag of emotions. Several contracted players departed or attempted to depart and it's not wrong to suggest many of them are well within the Suns' best 23. However, landing Christian Petracca, one of the game's premier midfielders and a proven winner, is a sensational result for a club building into its most successful era in history. Petracca's versatility as a mid-forward strengthens the top end of this core even further, fresh off a year where two players in that midfield mix - Matthew Rowell and Noah Anderson - were recognised as two of the game's most impactful players. The forward line got scarier too. Barometer Bailey Humprey was held to his contract and is likely to take another leap in 2026, while there's belief Jamarra Ugle-Hagan will take full advantage of his fresh start out of Victoria. Time will tell, but it's a low-risk, high-reward move from the Suns that, considering what else they accumulated this trade period, could reap them the reward of a premiership in 11 months time. GRADE: A+ Ins: Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (Western Bulldogs), Christian Petracca (Melbourne) Outs: Malcolm Rosas Jr (Sydney), Sam Flanders (St Kilda), Ben Ainsworth (Carlton), Brayden Fiorini (Essendon), Connor Budarick (Western Bulldogs) 2025 AFL Draft picks: 15, 18, 24, 28, 29, 36, 52, 92, 110 GWS The Giants are perhaps the biggest winners of the off-season after landing Clayton Oliver for a mere third-round pick, while also not having to take on half of his monster salary. Oliver bolsters GWS' clearance game and overall midfield depth, which has lagged behind other contenders in recent seasons. Moreover, the Giants were able to maintain their defensive depth this offseason after St Kilda shockingly backflipped on Leek Aleer despite reportedly wooing the young defender to Moorabbin for at least 18 months. With this context, the departure of Jacob Wehr is insignificant. The Giants look set up for another premiership tilt, should their controversial mix of players stay locked in on footy under Adam Kingsley. GRADE: A+ Ins: Clayton Oliver (Melbourne) Outs: Jacob Wehr (Port Adelaide) 2025 AFL Draft picks: 12, 35, 91, 109 Hawthorn The Hawks would be disappointed with their offseason to date, having missed out on Zach Merrett. The negotiations between the arch-rivals failed to reach an agreement, ultimately leaving Hawthorn worse off than when they lost the preliminary final to Geelong. The departure of James Worpel further stings the blow of missing Merrett, and would hope Cam Mackenzie and Josh Ward can fill the void. Jai Serong was an impressive depth option, but couldn't bypass a host of experienced stars in defence, which was the same narrative for Changkuoth Jiath. GRADE: D- Ins: N/A Outs: James Worpel (Geelong), Changkuoth Jiath (Melbourne), Jai Serong (Sydney) 2025 AFL Draft picks: 10, 22, 62, 76, 94, 112 Melbourne When looking at their departures on paper, it would be understandable that Demons fans would be pulling their hair out. But entering a new era under Steven King, the club farewelled three premiership players, and landed a raft of picks that will be used to accelerate the club's rebuild. The addition of Jack Steele will help formulate a culture that has seemingly been absent at Melbourne, as will Brody Mihocek. Changkuoth Jiath should expect more consistent senior minutes, while Max Heath has shown enough at the top level. GRADE: B Ins: Max Heath (St Kilda), Brody Mihocek (Collingwood), Changkuoth Jiath (Hawthorn), Jack Steele (St Kilda) Outs: Charlie Spargo (North Melbourne), Judd McVee (Fremantle), Christian Petracca (Gold Coast), Clayton Oliver (GWS) 2025 AFL Draft picks: 7, 8, 37, 66, 71, 84, 102 North Melbourne No movement from North Melbourne, which is disappointing, given their desire to see vast improvement after another bottom-three finish. The inclusion of Charlie Spargo won't move the needle, but it adds to the mix of struggling small forwards, aside from Paul Curtis. Finnbar Maley's exit was a shock to say the least, but is no harm, no foul. The club still doesn't have a first-round pick, but it has time before the National Draft to move up the order, which it should desperately aim to do. GRADE: D Ins: Charlie Spargo (Melbourne) Outs: Finnbar Maley (Adelaide) 2025 AFL Draft picks: 25, 26, 46, 57, 82, 100 Port Adelaide Three value additions were made by the Power and the trio could all expect to feature in most, if not all, of Port Adelaide's AFL fixtures next season. Wehr looms as the best signing of the three, starved of opportunity at the Giants despite showing plenty of promise in his first few campaigns in the league. Wehr averaged close to career-best figures after being reselected as a rookie before the 2025 season, averaging 13.4 disposals and 2.5 rebound 50s per game as a winger. Durdin and Brodie both add depth to their respective positions, but Brodie could shape as the steal of the off-season if he find his form from 2022, where he averaged over 26 disposals and five clearances per game. Surrounded by the elite midfield talents of Zak Butters, Connor Rozee and Jason Horne-Francis, there's a good chance he could be a senior side regular again, having not featured at AFL level since 2023. GRADE: B Ins: Jacob Wehr (GWS), Corey Durdin (Carlton), Will Brodie (Fremantle) Outs: N/A 2025 AFL Draft picks: 49, 85 Richmond There was not much movement at Tigerland as the club looks toward the draft, which for the club in the midst of a major rebuild is not necessarily a bad thing. They added Patrick Retschko from Geelong for essentially a throwaway draft pick, which is a fair deal considering the 19-year-old midfielder is yet to receive AFL opportunity at Kardinia Park. However, at VFL level, Retschko has looked more than serviceable, collecting 20-plus disposals on 12 occasions this year, suggesting that a senior opportunity may be well deserved next season. GRADE: C+ Ins: Patrick Retschko (Geelong) Outs: Tylar Young (West Coast) 2025 AFL Draft picks: 3, 4, 38, 81 St Kilda Regardless of how one views St Kilda's brazen approach to the 2025 free agency and trade period, the fact of the matter is this club's list is significantly better than it was 12 months ago. The tandem of Tom De Koning and Rowan Marshall in the ruck is obviously something the club is banking on to excel, and their midfield class has added another layer with the signing of Sam Flanders. The Saints aren't afraid to hurt anyone's feelings either, shipping off Jack Steele cheaply after his nine-year tenure with the club, five of those as captain, and backflipping on Leek Aleer right as he was set to pen a sizable contract at Moorabbin. Will the bold approach pay off, though? That's the question that looms for the Saints in 2026, as this core has immense pressure to take a significant leap in 2026. GRADE: B+ Ins: Jack Silvagni (Carlton), Tom De Koning (Carlton), Sam Flanders (Gold Coast), Liam Ryan (West Coast) Outs: Max Heath (Melbourne), Jack Steele (Melbourne) 2025 AFL Draft picks: 50, 65, 86, 104 Sydney The Swans have instantly launched themselves back into premiership favouritism after landing superstar Charlie Curnow. The return package was a hefty price to pay, and they lost two solid midfielders in the process, but provided their trio of stars remain healthy in Errol Gulden, Chad Warner and Isaac Heeney, this will be a club no one will want to play next year. In addition to Curnow, the Swans add depth to both their forward group with Malcolm Rosas Jnr and defence with Jai Serong. Rosas' addition in particular addresses the lack of crumbing help Tom Papley faced last year and shapes as one of the more underrated pickups this trade period. GRADE: A Ins: Malcolm Rosas Jr (Gold Coast), Jai Serong (Hawthorn), Charlie Curnow (Carlton) Outs: Oliver Florent (Carlton), Will Hayward (Carlton), Jack Buller (Collingwood) 2025 AFL Draft picks: 31, 32, 42, 63, 88, 106 West Coast The Eagles bring in highly talented mid-sized defender Brandon Starcevich, fresh off two premierships with the Lions, while Tylar Young will also help bolster the backline. Starcevich presents as a quality defensive option that has experience contributing to a winning brand of football and would offer a lethal kick from defensive 50 that would create transition opportunities. The departures of Oscar Allen and Liam Ryan sting, but with a stacked draft haul to come, which includes the top two picks as well as Pick 13, the Eagles will recover with youth and continue their rebuild - perhaps with more than one win in the books in 2026. GRADE: B Ins: Brandon Starcevich (Brisbane), Tylar Young (West Coast) Outs: Oscar Allen (Brisbane), Liam Ryan (St Kilda), Campbell Chesser (Carlton) 2025 AFL Draft picks: 1, 2, 13, 34, 41, 53, 58, 80, 98 Western Bulldogs The Bulldogs add some defensive depth with the addition of Connor Budarick, who will return to his familiar role in the back half at Footscray, but their failure to land any key defender of substance could hurt them again in 2026. Losing Jamarra Ugle-Hagan is unfortunate considering his proven ability to kick close to two goals a game at his best, but the midfield and forwards group proved that attacking football is the least of this club's concerns. It's understandable why they neglected signing Steven May, but time will tell if making a play for the soon-to-be 34-year-old was a short-term fix they failed to recognise. GRADE: C Ins: Connor Budarick (Gold Coast) Outs: Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (Gold Coast) 2025 AFL Draft picks: 14, 33, 70, 74, 89, 107

			P	W	L	PTS	%
1		CARL	0	0	0	0	0
2		ESS	0	0	0	0	0
3		WB	0	0	0	0	0
4		GEEL	0	0	0	0	0
5		ADEL	0	0	0	0	0
6		MELB	0	0	0	0	0
7		FRE	0	0	0	0	0
8		WCE	0	0	0	0	0
9		GWS	0	0	0	0	0
10		HAW	0	0	0	0	0

Inside your AFL club’s 2025 Trade and Free Agency moves: Every player, draft pick, and analysis

We assess and analyse every club’s 2025 trade and free agency period…

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