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.
7. Will Phillips
Failure to live up to the lofty expectations of a top-three draft pick has led to Will Phillips being somewhat underrated in today's game.
Despite never truly nailing down a consistent spot in North's best 22, Phillips has performed admirably for a young player, averaging 16.4 disposals, 4.6 tackles and 3.2 clearances across his last two campaigns.
Although not a major ball winner himself, Phillips is defensively solid through the guts and at high half forward, often applying good pressure around the contest and tagging dangerous opposition players out of the game.
His strong defensive actions were put on full display in his most recent outing, with the 22-year-old racking up the highest tackle count on the ground with nine.
Unfortunately for Phillips, with the elite young talent of Harry Sheezel, Finn O'Sullivan, Colby McKercher and George Wardlaw, as well as the quality of established players such as Luke Parker, Luke Davies-Uniacke, Jy Simpkin and Bailey Scott, his place in North's midfield doesn't appear all that assured in the near or long term, and may end up with him having to seek a new home this off-season.
