Richmond is said to be eyeing Gold Coast's first-round pick as the Suns look to picking up three of their own Academy players in the upcoming draft.
The Suns will likely be looking to trade their opening pick, currently sitting at seventh overall, in the upcoming off-season to land three players from their Academy who are all seen as having a live chance to land in the top 20. Jed Walter, Jake Rogers and Ethan Read have all caught the eye of scouts from afar, with the Suns wanting to retain the trio within their system.
The Suns would look to trade away their pick in the hopes of gaining multiple later selections to increase their draft points tally to any match bids if another team selects any of the listed players. With this plan, Richmond is hoping to obtain the Suns' first-round pick after losing theirs in the Jacob Hopper draft last year, according to The Herald Sun.
However, acquiring all three Academy players might become a difficult task for the Suns, who will need enough capital to draft all of them.
While the Suns are likely to open to discussions for their top pick, rival clubs are also said to be circling players Caleb Graham, Sam Flanders and Elijah Hollands, according to News Corp.
While no clubs have currently been named in the pursuit of the fringe Suns, all three have had large stints in the VFL so far in 2023, making them ideal targets.
Teams from Victoria could look to persuade Flanders or Hollands to return to their home state.
Despite Graham's hometown being Cairns, key defenders have become hot property in the AFL and the market could see him on the move interstate this off-season despite his contract ties until 2026.
Trading all three could be the key to the Suns drafting their three Academy players.
The trio have only managed a combined ten games so far in 2023, with Caleb Graham yet to make an appearance at AFL level.
