The trade period is often a market where clubs can secure big fish or cheap bargains.
With a lot of noise centred around the futures of the bigger names in the league (Bontempelli, Rowell, Allen, De Koning, Wanganeen-Milera, Maynard, etc) we thought we'd take a look at some of the more under the radar out of contract players that may be sought after this offseason.
Here are nine underrated players who find themselves without contracts for 2026 that could fetch interest on the open market.
3. Marcus Windhager
Playing 52 games across his first three seasons at AFL level, 21-year-old Marcus Windhager is one of the most experienced players amongst peers his age.
The former Sandringham Dragon has an innate ability to shut down the opposing team's best midfielders and would be a useful addition for teams looking for a more defensively-minded midfielder.
He has also shown good improvement in regards to his own ball-winning ability and hurt factor, increasing his averages year on year in disposals (career high 20.2 per game in 2025) and score involvements (career high four per game in 2025).
With most of St Kilda's off-season efforts directed towards re-signing Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and luring the likes of Tom De Koning, Leek Aleer and Miles Bergman, it will be an interesting watch to see how Windhager's contract situation unfolds throughout the rest of the season.
