Semi-final weekend is now in the rearview mirror, as the greatest three words in the football calendar approach: preliminary final weekend.
When the three remaining matches of the 2026 AFL season run their course, the AFL's true silly season will commence, but that's not to say pieces of the puzzle are not falling into place already.
The year's two most consequential free agents nominated their homes of the future, while Victorian veterans saw their names thrust into the spotlight once more.
That, and everything you might have missed in the player movement space this week, below...
Butters makes his call.
Zak Butters defied convention in failing to nominate the Geelong Cats as his preferred destination.
Geelong customarily get what they want, but the Cats were beaten to the punch by the Dogs, with Luke Beveridge's environment receiving the nomination as Butters' preferred free agency destination.
It's a huge boost for the club just over the Westgate, whose midfield already boasts the enviable magnets of modern great Marcus Bontempelli, and the league's best 'Robin' in Ed Richards.
The Bulldogs will now begin madly assembling trade packages to please Port Adelaide, such is Butters' 'restricted' status.
Bailey re-signs
Butters' fellow headline hogger, Brisbane Lion Zac Bailey, opted against exercising his free agency rights, instead signing a monster eight-year deal to remain in the River City.
Bailey shunned the eye-watering offer put to him by the Adelaide Crows, before scorning them on-field, too, with an inspired performance in Saturday's semi-final victory.
The Lions are eyeing a third flag in the next fortnight, and it would be tough to bet against him and his side, given his own personal performances in the last three AFL Grand Finals.
Tigers current and otherwise in the headlines
Premiership teammates Nathan Broad and Jayden Short found themselves in the headlines this week.
The latter is on Collingwood's radar, as they long to shore up their half-back stocks, while the former is being courted by the high-flying Fremantle Dockers upon returning to Western Australia to be closer to family.
Short's value at the trade table remains to be seen, with the Tigers understandably keen to continue building through the draft, though the loss of another veteran, flag-winning presence would be a tough pill to swallow for under-fire coach, Adem Yze.
Brownlow Medallist to see out contract.
Matthew Rowell will honour the final year of his contract with the Gold Coast Suns, turning his back on the pull of his Victorian home after a tumultuous year on the Glitter Strip.
The Western Bulldogs were viewed as a likely destination for Rowell, should they fail in their pursuit of Butters, but that's a contingency plan no longer necessary.
Richmond and Collingwood are among the clubs believed to be in the running for his services at the conclusion of his current deal.
AFL says "buyer beware"
The AFL have told clubs looking to procure the services of any of the banned Sydney Swans quintet that the availability of the players may not have been known until after the trade deadline.
That means clubs may trade for players who will be ineligible to suit up for them come Round 1, and beyond, in what would be a disastrous piece of list management for any offending clubs.
North Melbourne remain in the running for Nick Blakey's services, while St Kilda are also believed to have asked the question of him.
The Swans will, remarkably, host Fremantle in a preliminary final this Friday night.
Saint looks to trade candy stripes for navy hoops.
Veteran St Kilda ruckman Rowan Marshall has officially requested a trade, with Geelong looming as a likely destination, just one year removed from jostling for that same move.
The Saints appear more open to facilitating a move this time around, but in a club statement, St Kilda were at pains to say that any deal must be in the best interests of the storied club.
Marshall has played 177 games in 10 seasons at Moorabbin, notching 92 goals and 3879 hitouts along the way. He would fill a serious void at the Cats, with the club opting for makeshift ruckmen for many of the last 20 seasons.
Carlton's Amartey offer blows Sydney's out of the water
Carlton's offer to depth Sydney Swans forward Joel Amartey is worth up to $1 million more than Sydney's offer to keep their player, over the course of a five-year deal.
Amartey has maintained all along that his preference is to remain in the Harbour City, but it remains to be seen whether or not the lure of that much cheddar changes his tune.
The Blues are understandably keen to surround Harry McKay with more weapons up forward, after Charlie Curnow's Coleman-yielding defection this season left auxiliary pieces Mitch McGovern and Brodie Kemp as the Blues' second and third tall forwards.
