THE TRADING CHRONICLES 2010 by The Oracle 

THE INHUMAN FACE OF TRADE WEEK SATURDAY

We hear it said often these days that our game is a business and no longer just a sport: that the participants are all professionals from the top echelons of administration and control, to the players and right down to the legendary bootstudders (if they even exist any more). 

Fortunately, in spite of its increasingly commercial nature, we still witness many events that transcend the era of professionalism and return us to the romantic age when heroism, courage and self-sacrifice were the order of the day. The collective performances of those who took part in this year's grand finals was but one example.

Another was the performance in mid season of a virtual unknown from one of the competition's lowly clubs. 

Andrew Collins became the toast of the Richmond Football Club when he bounced back from a heavy collision to become an unlikely hero in his team's come from behind victory over the Sydney Swans in early July. The then 21 year old from country Victoria was playing only his 19th game in his fourth season when he was knocked out in a clash of heads with Sydney's Lewis Roberts-Thomson.

Later in the game, the Tigers trailled by 33 points at the 21-minute mark of the third quarter but came back to record a remarkable victory thanks in part to the efforts of Collins who lifted himself off the canvas to boot three vital goals in the second half including two match winners in the final term of the Round 14 game at the MCG.

The football world was in a spin about the youngster's gutsy performance that was the highlight of an accurate Richmond's narrow four point win - his team's fourth for the season after it lost the first nine games. The Tigers, who had been written off early in the season by bookmakers who paid out bets on them to be the wooden spooners, were off the bottom of the ladder and becoming winners again under first year coach Damien Hardwick. 

Fast forward three months and Collins is now a Carlton player following a straight swap with Shaun Grigg (who wanted to leave the Blues) in the only trade deal finalised on the Saturday of trade week. The romance is over and everyone's back to being cold, hard and professional.

Oh well ...

Completed Player Movements and Dealings on Day Five:

■  Gold Coast receives Gary Ablett (Geelong), Nathan Bock (Adelaide), Campbell Brown (Hawthorn), Jarrod Harbrow (Western Bulldogs), Nathan Krakouer (Port Adelaide), Michael Rischitelli (Brisbane) as uncontracted player selections  

■Western Bulldogs receive Mitch Wallis in return for its first-round draft selection (No. 20) under the father son rule

■Western Bulldogs receive Tom Liberatore in return for its second-round draft selection (No. 40) under the father son rule

■West Coast Eagles receive Jacob Brennan in return for its final-round draft selection (TBA) under the father son rule

■Western Bulldogs receive Patrick Veszpremi and fourth-round draft selection (No. 73)

Sydney Swans receive Andrejs Everitt 

■Adelaide receives Richard Tambling 

Richmond receives Adelaide's end-of-first round compensation for losing Nathan Bock and a third-round draft selection (No. 50) 

■ Gold Coast receives Josh Fraser (Collingwood) as an uncontracted player selection

■ Fremantle receives Peter Faulks (uncontracted Gold Coast draftee from Williamstown VFL) and fourth-round draft selection (No. 61)

Gold Coast receives third-round draft selection (No. 65) 

■ Collingwood receives Andrew Krakouer (uncontracted Gold Coast draftee from Swan Districts WAFL),  Jonathon Ceglar (uncontracted Gold Coast draftee from Murray Bushrangers WAFL), third-round draft selection (No. 55), fifth-round draft selection (No. 78) and sixth-round draft selection (No. 95) 

Gold Coast  receives first-round selection (No. 25)

■ Gold Coast receives Jared Brennan and first-round selection (No.10)

Brisbane Lions receive first-round selection (No. 5)

■ Western Bulldogs receive Nathan Djerrkura 

Geelong receives a third-round draft selection (No. 57) 

■ Hawthorn receives David Hale and third-round draft selection (No. 52) 

North Melbourne receives Hawthorn's end-of-first round compensation for losing Campbell Brown and a fourth-round draft selection (No. 71) 

■ Brisbane Lions receive Rohan Bewick (West Perth, WAFL), first-round draft selections (Nos. 5 and 25) and second-round draft selection (No. 27) 

Gold Coast receives the end of first-round Gold Coast draft compensation selection Brisbane Lions received for losing Jared Brennan, first-round draft selection (No. 10) and third-round draft selection (No. 48)

■ North Melbourne receives Ben McKinley 

West Coast Eagles receive fifth-round draft selection (No. 86)

■ Carlton receives Andrew Collins

Richmond receives Shaun Grigg

NAB AFL Draft selection numbers are indicative only. Gold Coast draft compensation selections do not yet have a number assigned to them. The above list shows only where selections may be placed if no compensation selections are activated.

No trades are official until paperwork has been accepted by the AFL and formally recognised after 2.00pm on Monday, October 11.

Well put. The kid went from hero to zero at Richmond in a very short space of time.

When Hardwick calls on his players to make supreme efforts of bravery for the sake of the cause, will they believe him in the future?

I think all AFL clubs are the same these days.

When it comes fo recruiting you do what it takes to get your man.

THE TRADING CHRONICLES 2010 by The Oracle

COUP

If I had written seven days ago that the Fremantle Dockers would announce on the Sunday of trade week that they had secured a Perth player named Tendai Mzungu by trading their pick 38 for said gentleman and the Gold Coast Suns' selection 44 there is little doubt that most of you would have had me placed in a straight jacket and shunted off to the funny farm.

The very name Tendai Mzunga conjures up strange and exotic visions in the mind:

AAP, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso June 15, 2007 - Calm was restored to the streets of Ouagadougou yesterday when President Tendai Mzunga was overthrown in a bloodless coup believed to be led by army general Thomas Ouedraogo. The army took over the nation's parliament building, the main airport and all television and radio stations in an action that follows several months of civil and industrial unrest. Ouedraogo immediately declared martial law and banned all reality television shows with the exception of Big Brother and Masterchef.

Mzunga's whereabouts remain unknown but rumours are sweeping the capital of the country once known as Upper Volta that the toppled leader crossed the border and fled overnight to Perth, Australia where his bodyguard lives. The President is expected to apply for political asylum.

Things are never so clear and uncomplicated. The true story of Fremantle's latest recruit is more like this:

The West Australian June 5, 2010 (Mzungu on the rapid rise) - Perth coach Andrew Jarman and his predecessor at EFTel Oval, Simon Eastaugh, believe hard-working Demons midfielder Tendai Mzungu can become WA football's next rags-to-riches story.

The 1997 Norwood premiership teammates said the 24-year-old Perth ball magnet was capable of stepping up from State level to the AFL, and follow a similar career path to that of mature-age Fremantle recruit Michael Barlow.

Despite ranking second in the WAFL for disposals this season with 253 touches at an average of more than 28 a game, Mzungu isn't getting ahead of himself.

He leads the competition for kicks (181) and has broken free to take 57 marks (ranked eighth), the majority of which have been uncontested in a testament to his hard-running style of game.

Only Claremont's Luke Blackwell (283 disposals) is ahead of him.

Mzungu has played 61 games in five seasons at Perth and credited his increased mental strength for this year's eye-catching performances. He will continue to work hard in pursuit of his AFL dream and takes heart from seeing mature-age recruits flourishing on the national stage.

"Getting our first win is the main priority at the moment but it's definitely a goal of mine to push up to that level," Mzungu said.

So there you have it. The story has nothing to do with violent coups and impoverished, politically unstable African republics although Jarman announced soon after making those statements that he was returning to Adelaide by "mutual consent", a phrase that could mean anything in the world of football when a coach is battling to break the ice in the month of June.

Jarman did get one thing right when he commented:

There's some duds running around in the AFL competition and he's a better player than a lot of those blokes that have got AFL contracts.

Well might he have been describing the array of football "talent" that has moved clubs during trade week (excluding of course, the father/sons and most of the Gold Coast recruits) although one exception to that rule could be former Brisbane Lion Justin Sherman whose club agreed yesterday on an in-principle deal to send him to the Western Bulldogs for that club's Jarrod Harbrow compensatory draft pick.

The fun, frivolity and occasional coups continue today and will thankfully end at 2.00 pm.

Completed Player Movements and Dealings on Day Six:

■ Gold Coast receives Gary Ablett (Geelong), Nathan Bock (Adelaide), Campbell Brown (Hawthorn), Jarrod Harbrow (Western Bulldogs), Nathan Krakouer (Port Adelaide), Michael Rischitelli (Brisbane) as uncontracted player selections

■Western Bulldogs receive Mitch Wallis in return for its first-round draft selection (No. 20) under the father son rule

■Western Bulldogs receive Tom Liberatore in return for its second-round draft selection (No. 40) under the father son rule

■West Coast Eagles receive Jacob Brennan in return for its final-round draft selection (TBA) under the father son rule

■Western Bulldogs receive Patrick Veszpremi and fourth-round draft selection (No. 73)

Sydney Swans receive Andrejs Everitt

■Adelaide receives Richard Tambling

Richmond receives Adelaide's end-of-first round compensation for losing Nathan Bock and a third-round draft selection (No. 50)

■ Gold Coast receives Josh Fraser (Collingwood) as an uncontracted player selection

■ Fremantle receives Peter Faulks (uncontracted Gold Coast draftee from Williamstown VFL) and fourth-round draft selection (No. 61)

Gold Coast receives third-round draft selection (No. 65)

■ Collingwood receives Andrew Krakouer (uncontracted Gold Coast draftee from Swan Districts WAFL), Jonathon Ceglar (uncontracted Gold Coast draftee from Murray Bushrangers WAFL), third-round draft selection (No. 55), fifth-round draft selection (No. 78) and sixth-round draft selection (No. 95)

Gold Coast receives first-round selection (No. 25)

■ Gold Coast receives Jared Brennan and first-round selection (No.10)

Brisbane Lions receive first-round selection (No. 5)

■ Western Bulldogs receive Nathan Djerrkura

Geelong receives a third-round draft selection (No. 57)

■ Hawthorn receives David Hale and third-round draft selection (No. 52)

North Melbourne receives Hawthorn's end-of-first round compensation for losing Campbell Brown and a fourth-round draft selection (No. 71)

■ Brisbane Lions receive Rohan Bewick (West Perth, WAFL), first-round draft selections (Nos. 5 and 25) and second-round draft selection (No. 27)

Gold Coast receives the end of first-round Gold Coast draft compensation selection Brisbane Lions received for losing Jared Brennan, first-round draft selection (No. 10) and third-round draft selection (No. 48)

■ North Melbourne receives Ben McKinley

West Coast Eagles receive fifth-round draft selection (No. 86)

■ Carlton receives Andrew Collins

Richmond receives Shaun Grigg

■ Western Bulldogs receive Justin Sherman

Brisbane Lions receive Western Bulldogs' end-of-first round compensation for losing Jarrod Harbrow

■ Fremantle receive Tendai Mzunga (Perth, WAFL) and second-round draft selection (No. 44)

Gold Coast receives second-round draft selection (No. 38)

NAB AFL Draft selection numbers are indicative only. Gold Coast draft compensation selections do not yet have a number assigned to them. The above list shows only where selections may be placed if no compensation selections are activated.

No trades are official until paperwork has been accepted by the AFL and formally recognised after 2.00pm on Monday, October 11.

Anyone around here think Marty McGuirk could revive his AFL career through the Gold Coast? I hear that he's been living in a caravan park in Broadbeach hoping for the day he gets the call.

THE TRADING CHRONICLES 2010 by The Oracle

DONE

The analysts will argue till they're blue in the face about what it all meant but the results of the exchange period simply reinforce the fact that the AFL has given the first of its latest two franchises a raft of recruiting opportunities that will far exceed all expectations when it was first announced that we were to have a new club on the Gold Coast. The remaining clubs duly accepted the rules and now, some of them have been done like a bad dinner.

For the remainder of the competition, the reality has now well and truly set in that their futures will depend on how well they are able to manage their lists and how far thinking their recruiting departments were in the past two or three years. In the case of some clubs, their supporters are in for a rude awakening in the coming years as the combined effect of GC17 and GWS and the concessions put into place to enable the formation of their playing lists sweep over the competition like a giant tidal wave.

The exchange period has produced insignificant results for the bulk of the sixteen "existing" AFL clubs as the Gold Coast Suns proved that they are the force with which to be reckoned. Arguably, the Bulldogs fared the best of the rest but they were well positioned for the trades and they did have the father/son picks waiting in the wings. Others like the Power and the Bombers demonstrated an inability to get trades through which suggested some underlying internal weaknesses while others again chose to do little because the dearth of opportunity available demanded a minimalist approach.

As I have maintained throughout the week, the majority of the names traded are underwhelming with few of the players changing clubs having much impact in the AFL in 2010. Rather, in the case of almost all of them, they were more noted for their service in the lesser state competitions and I suspect that the majority of the fourteen players involved, that's where we'll find them in 2011.

Of course, it's a worthless exercise to judge the performance of the clubs for what took place in the past week. The overall picture will become more apparent after the coming drafts and then in the years to come when the players arrive at their respective clubs and are developed by the coaches and others into members of their teams.<BR style="mso-special-character: line-break"><BR style="mso-special-character: line-break">

Melbourne finally managed to get its name on the trades scoreboard in the dying moments of the week when the Demons offloaded big-hearted young defender Kyle Cheney to Hawthorn for some loose change that in reality meant the club was simply freeing up some space on its list. The club can afford to maintain a low key approach as it still has a number of young talented players of all shapes and sizes and including high draft selections who have either yet to make their AFL debut or who have played a handful of games at that level.

For the moment, the Magpies continue to reign supreme despite the extraordinary influence of the competition's only ugly parent player manager on one of its key players. However, others will emerge to challenge in the future including one that has yet to take part on the competition's playing fields.

Completed Player Movements and Dealings on Day Seven:

■ Gold Coast receives Gary Ablett (Geelong), Nathan Bock (Adelaide), Campbell Brown (Hawthorn), Jarrod Harbrow (Western Bulldogs), Nathan Krakouer (Port Adelaide), Michael Rischitelli (Brisbane) as uncontracted player selections

■Western Bulldogs receive Mitch Wallis in return for its first-round draft selection (No. 20) under the father son rule

■Western Bulldogs receive Tom Liberatore in return for its second-round draft selection (No. 40) under the father son rule

■West Coast Eagles receive Jacob Brennan in return for its final-round draft selection (TBA) under the father son rule

■Western Bulldogs receive Patrick Veszpremi and fourth-round draft selection (No. 73)

Sydney Swans receive Andrejs Everitt

■Adelaide receives Richard Tambling

Richmond receives Adelaide's end-of-first round compensation for losing Nathan Bock and a third-round draft selection (No. 50)

■ Gold Coast receives Josh Fraser (Collingwood) as an uncontracted player selection

■ Fremantle receives Peter Faulks (uncontracted Gold Coast draftee from Williamstown VFL) and fourth-round draft selection (No. 61)

Gold Coast receives third-round draft selection (No. 65)

■ Collingwood receives Andrew Krakouer (uncontracted Gold Coast draftee from Swan Districts WAFL), Jonathon Ceglar (uncontracted Gold Coast draftee from Murray Bushrangers WAFL), third-round draft selection (No. 55), fifth-round draft selection (No. 78) and sixth-round draft selection (No. 95)

Gold Coast receives first-round selection (No. 25)

■ Gold Coast receives Jared Brennan and first-round selection (No.10)

Brisbane Lions receive first-round selection (No. 5)

■ Western Bulldogs receive Nathan Djerrkura

Geelong receives a third-round draft selection (No. 57)

■ Hawthorn receives David Hale and third-round draft selection (No. 52)

North Melbourne receives Hawthorn's end-of-first round compensation for losing Campbell Brown and a fourth-round draft selection (No. 71)

■ Brisbane Lions receive Rohan Bewick (uncontracted Gold Coast draftee from West Perth, WAFL), first-round draft selections (Nos. 5 and 25) and second-round draft selection (No. 27)

Gold Coast receives the end of first-round Gold Coast draft compensation selection Brisbane Lions received for losing Jared Brennan, first-round draft selection (No. 10) and third-round draft selection (No. 48)

■ North Melbourne receives Ben McKinley

West Coast Eagles receive fifth-round draft selection (No. 86)

■ Carlton receives Andrew Collins

Richmond receives Shaun Grigg

■ Western Bulldogs receive Justin Sherman

Brisbane Lions receive Western Bulldogs' end-of-first round compensation for losing Jarrod Harbrow

■ Fremantle receive Tendai Mzunga (uncontracted Gold Coast draftee from Perth, WAFL) and second-round draft selection (No. 44)

Gold Coast receives second-round draft selection (No. 38)

■ Adelaide receives Sam Jacobs

Carlton receives second-round draft selection (No. 33) and fourth-round draft selection (No. 67)

■ Fremantle receives Jonathon Griffin

Adelaide receives fourth-round draft selection (No. 61)

■ Carlton receives Jeremy Laidler and second-round draft selection (No. 41)

Geelong receives second-round draft selection (No. 36) and third-round selection (No. 53)

■ Hawthorn receives Kyle Cheney and fourth-round draft selection (No. 66)

Melbourne receives third-round draft selection (No. 52)

■ Collingwood receives Chris Tarrant and third-round draft selection (No.44)

Fremantle receives second-round draft selection (No. 43) and third-round selection (No. 55)

■ North Melbourne received Cameron Richardson (uncontracted Gold Coast draftee from North Ballarat, VFL)

Gold Coast receives second-round draft selection (No. 35)

■ West Coast Eagles receive third-round Gold Coast draft compensation selection for losing Josh Fraser

Collingwood receives third-round draft selection (No. 45)

■ Port Adelaide receives Simon Phillips (uncontracted Gold Coast draftee from Norwood, SANFL) and second-round draft selection (No. 35)

Gold Coast receive second-round Gold Coast draft compensation selection for losing Nathan Krakouer

■ Gold Coast receives middle-of-first-round Gold Coast draft compensation selection for losing Gary Ablett

Geelong receives first-round draft selection (No.15)

NAB AFL Draft selection numbers are indicative only. Gold Coast draft compensation selections do not yet have a number assigned to them. The above list shows only where selections may be placed if no compensation selections are activated.

The other lesson about trade week is that it's far too long.

Cut it down to three days next year and people might be interested.

I think they've got it just about right. Reducing the time would see less time for clubs to work out trades, speak to players & player managers. Much consultation and decision making about the playing list of clubs as well as balancing the respective TPP and new contracts I'd imagine goes on behind the scene. I'm mindful of this.

Whilst the majority of trades this week worked around the fringes, there were a decent number and a fair bit of movement. Sure no big names (other than the uncontracted players heading to the *Gold Coast); but that also might have something to do with existing clubs being able to secure alot of players as well (keeping the GC at bay from poaching).

*Gold Coast's booty of picks and the compo picks clubs got in return for uncontracted players may have encouraged more trades to be done this week. The uncontracted Gold Coast draftees also added to the tally.

S.Clayton's desire to regain some of those compo picks (3) highlight's how important they will be over time for GC.