THE TRADING CHRONICLES - PART EIGHT

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THE TRADING CHRONICLES 2011 by The Oracle

Part Eight: THE BIG BANG

The housewarming started late and it happened amid the chaos of an apartment that hadn't quite been moved into yet but this chaos was nothing compared to that which erupted later in the evening.

Although it was two weeks after the AFL Grand Final and a few of the blokes were into the second round of their cricket seasons, there was no guessing as to the main topic of conversation among the menfolk.

One of the first guests, a smug Collingwood supporter who didn't appear to have been taken down a peg or two as a result of the Pies' last performance, was baiting me when he asked:

"How do you reckon you'll go next year? Any better than this year?"

When I mumbled something about us improving on our performance against the Cats in late July, he chuckled and went on about us stealing their coaches and trying (but failing) to pinch Chris Dawes away from them but added patronisingly that we still couldn't and wouldn't get any decent players in trade week.

So we were onto Mitch Clark. I threw back the story about the Lion forward being homesick and for good measure recited the same words I had come up with the night before to rationalise how we'd apparently been rejected by Clark.

"... perhaps the recruiting of big names isn't all that it's cracked up to be."

As we were speaking, my neighbour entered shakily with six packs under both arms. He'd been to the races and was already pretty well blotto but managed to get out the fact that he just heard it reported that the Lions had signed Hawthorn's Jordan Lisle and this was going to somehow going to help Mitch Clark get to his preferred destination.

"Great", I thought. Dawes was gone. Clark was gone and now, our next fallback tall forward was gone too. And to make matters worse, Lisle had been nabbed by the Brisbane Lions who were supposed to be our allies on the Clark issue. Stabbed in the back again.

It was a week ago that Gerard Whateley described the exchange period on the ABC's Offsiders programme as "the greatest waste of oxygen on the sporting landscape".

I was tending to agree with this when one of my guests hit me fair square in the face with his iPhone and showed me the latest tweet that had just exploded onto his screen.

Agreement has been reached tonight to trade Brisbane player Mitch Clarke to @melbournefc for selection 12 in the 2011 National Draft.

The sporting landscape had just been fed a large dose of oxygen and trade week's big bang was happening!

Completed Trades after Day Six*:

1.  Richmond get Steven Morris (West Adelaide) and first round draft selection (No. 15)

GWS Giants get first round draft selection (No. 14).

2. Collingwood get Marin Clarke (ex-Collingwood),  Jamie Elliot (Murray Bushrangers) and fourth round draft selection (No. 67)

GWS GIANTS get first round draft selection (No. 25).

3. Adelaide get first round draft selection (No. 24), second round  draft selection (No. 46) and third round  draft selection (No. 64).

Hawthorn get Jack Gunston (Adelaide), third round  draft selection (No. 53) and fourth round  draft selection (No. 71).

4.  Gold Coast Suns get first pick in the "mini draft".

GWS GIANTS get first round draft selection (No. 4) and a mid first round compensation draft selection for future use.

5. St. Kilda get Terry Milera (Port Adelaide, SA),  Ahmed Saad (Northern Bullants) and first round draft selection (No. 25)

GWS GIANTS get first round draft selection (No. 20).

6. Fremantle get first round draft selection (No. 20).

GWS GIANTS get an end of first round compensation draft selection for future use.

7.  Adelaide get second pick in the "mini draft" and Luke Brown (Norwood).

GWS GIANTS get first round draft selection (No. 10) and a late first round compensation draft selection for future use.

8. North Melbourne gets Will Sierakowski (Hawthorn rookie)

Hawthorn get third round draft selection (No. 58).

9. Richmond get Ivan Maric (Adelaide) 

Adelaide get second round draft selection (No. 37).

10. Adelaide get Tom Lynch (St Kilda)

St Kilda get on traded second round draft selection (No. 37).

11. Port Adelaide get Brent Renouf (Hawthorn)

Hawthorn get second round draft selection (No. 33).

* no official trades have been lodged over the weekend.

The Oracle will spend most of today cleaning up the mess at his new home but will be back.