St Kilda ruckman Rowan Marshall did not attend the club's best and fairest event on Monday night as he pushes for a trade to Geelong for the second straight year.
Marshall was held to his contract for the 2026 season, with the Saints wanting to pair him with incoming free agent Tom De Koning.
Despite some success with the dual rucks, the 30-year-old's frustrations continued to grow, culminating in his absence from the Trevor Barker Award evening.
“He's requested a trade to Geelong, and I think both parties are wanting to get that done,” St Kilda captain Callum Wilkie said on Channel Seven.
“It's obviously up to him why he didn't come; he's a great mate of mine, and we just want what's best for him and these nights can be a lot.”
Defender Jack Silvagni also weighed in on Marshall's absence and his future.
“I was a little bit disappointed because I was looking forward to having a beer with Row; he's one of my good mates. I've become very close with him over the last year,'' Silvagni told Channel 9.
“Sad to see him go if a trade eventuates. I'm sure the club will do what's best for the club and that'll take care of itself.”
Marshall's primary intention to leave the Saints is to be the leading ruckman, and in 2026, he recorded 44.9 per cent of centre ball-up attendances compared to De Koning's 62.9 per cent.
Geelong have been chasing an A-grade ruckman post Brad Ottens, using former Saint Rhys Stanley, youngsters Mitch Edwards and Toby Conway, unicorn Mark Blicavs and lesser-known names Zac Smith, Trent West, Dawson Simpson and Jonathon Ceglar in the role.
Cats football boss Andrew Mackie spoke of the "challenges" between the two clubs over agreeing on a deal for the contracted ruckman.
"It's hard to see (when a deal gets done) right now," Mackie said.
"There's some challenges to that deal, but we've committed to Rowan that we'll try and make it happen.
"We've been clear with them about what it looks like from our point of view, and the first-round pick's pretty valuable, obviously pre-Tasmania."
