THE FAT CHRONICLES - ROLLING ALONG

THE FAT CHRONICLES - ROLLING ALONG by The Oracle

The AFL Free Agency and Trade periods became intertwined as the second week of FA was opened and the trade period officially kicked off last Monday. It turned out a reasonably hectic week with most of the focus on the trade aspects while clubs battled to get their heads around the most appropriate strategies for FA.

The uncertainty regarding the actual compensation involved under the FA system wasn't helping and some clubs were clearly holding back some of their decisions for later next week and until their trade options had crystallised.

The end result from a FA point of view was that only two players found new homes in the second week. Unrestricted FA Tom Murphy (Hawthorn) moved to the Gold Coast Suns while restricted FA Brent Moloney (Melbourne) found a new home with the Brisbane Lions.

The list of FAs continues to dwindle with some finalising their commitments to their existing clubs. Many of the rest are not attracting a great deal of interest. In some cases, the waiting game continues.

The Trade period started with the father son bidding. The result was predictable in the cases of Lachie Hunter, son of Mark, taken by the Bulldogs at #46 and Joe Daniher, son of Anthony, claimed by the Bombers with tenth pick overall. The intrigue involved Jack Viney and whether Melbourne would have to give up a first round selection for the son of former Demon skipper Todd Viney. Sanity and some behind the scenes wheeling and dealing must have prevailed and Jack managed to be taken at 26 (although that number will change when FA compensation picks are doled out next week). The Dees were thrilled and their fans, ecstatic. With all due respect to Essendon on capturing both Goddard and Daniher, to their minds, the first real "prize" of FAT was theirs!

The Gold Coast Suns who had decided against nominating with their pick #2, immediately traded off that selection to Greater Western Sydney for 17 year old WA prodigy Jack Martin who will be pick 1 in the mini-draft. A day later Melbourne moved in on the other pick with a more complex trade handing over picks 3 and 13 for Claremont's Jesse Hogan, North Ballarat's Dominic Barry and pick 20. More excitement for long suffering Dees fans.

Meanwhile, the real trade action kicked off with Port Adelaide getting Angus Monfries from Essendon for pick 48. The Bomber forward could have been taken as a FA but the deal was done to preserve Port Adelaide's compensation levels for Danyle Pearce and Troy Chaplin who departed the club in week one of FA.

The first bombshell of FAT came when Hawthorn snared Brian Lake and pick 27 from the Western Bulldogs in return for their first and second round picks (21 and 41). The Doggies were somewhat reluctant but knew that they would have received zilch for Lake in 12 month's time when he would have become a FA.

The Kurt Tippett saga ran its course through the week and remains unresolved with the Crows and Swans both playing hardball as the impasse continued to have bitter undertones.

Things continued to move slowly through the week with the odd deal done here and there. The Saints picked up Claremont tall and picks 24 and 43 for their first rounder (12) which went to GWS. Lee, who had previously been on Adelaide's list but did not play a senior game for the Crows was football for the club, was pre-listed by GWS.

Geelong won the battle for reluctant Gold Coast Suns midfielder. Although the final deal is yet to be worked out, it is likely to cost the Cats either a first rounder or a compensation pick received when Gary Ablett went north.

West Coast and Collingwood finally came to agreement on Sharrod Wellingham who returns home to Perth in exchange for draft selection 17.

Of course, the completed deals were only the tip of the iceberg as discussions on the fate of several players continued. Here is the excerpt for Melbourne from the AFL website's State of Play for week two:-

MELBOURNE: North Melbourne's Cameron Pedersen is still in the club's sights but the trade is unlikely to be done until later in the trade period. The Demons are still waiting on Dawes and the answer is likely to come this weekend. Whatever the outcome, the club has given Dawes its best shot. Melbourne's interest in Farren Ray is genuine but the negotiations with the Saints are not going to be simple.

Negotiations for a new contract for unrestricted free agent Lynden Dunn are progressing well. Finally, with Moloney and Shannon Byrnes likely to cancel each other out in relation to compensation picks, the decision of Rivers to leave or not may determine what the Demons have to offer to attract players in the final week of the trade period.

Melbourne's trade strategy of bringing in a selection of players with maturity and experience to balance the loss of others who have either gone or are on the way out is interesting. Having collected their young prizes early in the week, it is becoming apparent that the national draft will not present too many difficult selection issues for the recruiting staff. The Demons should retain pick 4 which is likely to present the club with a talented young midfielder but otherwise, when the FAT is done and dusted (including possible delisted FAs in November) the actual national draft itself may not be very eventful for Melbourne. We should remember that the father son pick and rookie elevations count as part of a club's minimum allowable three draft selections. If a few other clubs follow that course (and I suspect that this will be a flow on from FAT) then the rookie draft might present some interesting choices in December.

In the meantime, the FAT times just keep rolling along.

Week Two - completed FATs -

Trades, Week 1

■ Gold Coast Suns trade picks 2, 63 and 2010 end-of-first-round compensation pick to GWS for selection 1 in the mini-draft (Jack Martin) and 2011 end-of-first-round compensation pick.

■ Port Adelaide trades pick 48 to Essendon for Angus Monfries.

■ St Kilda trades pick 12 to GWS for Tom Lee (Claremont), picks 24 and 43.

■ Hawthorn trades picks 21 and 41 to Western Bulldogs for Brian Lake and pick 27.

■ Melbourne trades picks 3 and 13) to GWS for Dominic Barry, selection 2 in the mini-draft (Jesse Hogan) and pick 20.

■ West Coast Eagles trade pick 17 to Collingwood for Sharrod Wellingham

Free Agency Movements, Week 2

■ Tom Murphy (Hawthorn UFA) moves to the Gold Coast Suns.

■ Brent Moloney (Melbourne RFA) moves to the Brisbane Lions.