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.
8. Angus Sheldrick
Considering Sydney's injury crisis to start 2025, Sheldrick's lack of game time is a worrying sign for the Swan's future.
Despite appearing in six of the first nine rounds this season, the midfielder has featured in the subs vest on all of those occasions, either starting as the sub or ending as the sub. The former first-round pick has impressed in these short stints however, averaging 10.5 disposals, 1.8 tackles and 1.5 clearances over the past month (averaging less than two quarters of game time during this span).
'Gus' has also shown his ability to hit the scoreboard in recent times, kicking a goal in each of his last four appearances, including the potential sealer in the Swans' Derby victory over GWS in Round 8.
This newfound scoreboard impact remarkably has the 'super sub' currently ranked inside the Swans' top 10 goalkickers for 2025. When actually able to play out full-length games, Sheldrick's body of work is impressive, with an average of 20.4 disposals, 4.2 tackles, 3.8 clearances, 3.6 marks and four inside 50s per game since the start of the 2023 season.
At only 21 years of age, Sheldrick still has plenty of time to solidify a place as a quality onballer somewhere in today's league.
