THE TRADING CHRONICLES 2013 by The Oracle

COLIN GOES WEST

On the opening day of the AFL Free Agency period, Colin Sylvia's proposed new three year playing contract with the Fremantle Dockers was lodged at AFL headquarters and by the end of the day he was officially a member of the club that was this year's runner up.

It was as simple as that. The player who spent ten years with the Demons and was drafted at pick three was gone without much fuss and little handwringing, his time at the club best remembered for his misdemeanors more than his good play which left him with few decorations and in return for which Melbourne is expected to receive a second round draft pick.

How different that is to the brouhaha that surrounded the departure of former captain Stan Alves to North Melbourne in 1977 which was a drawn out affair that ended in bitterness and recrimination. Alves, who was recruited from Edithvale-Aspendale in 1964 (but sent back by coach Norm Smith to grow in size), played 226 games for the club between 1965 and 1976) and finished second in the 1975 Brownlow Medal. The story goes that he chose to play for North Melbourne rather than Collingwood on the toss of a coin and luckily for him, played in a winning premiership against that club in his first season at North. The win came after a drawn grand final the week before. Melbourne received nothing in return when he moved to the Kangaroos.

Times have changed over the years in between. The warring and bickering over players continued but the threats of legal action and the need for an orderly competition resulted in the introduction in the 1980s of draft and salary cap rules under an independent commission formed to run the competition over and above individual club interests.

Until recently, the trade period was a humdrum affair which ran for a little over a week but most of the real action occurred on the last day or two. Nowadays, there's action aplenty even before proceedings start and the Buddy Franklin to Sydney on a multi million dollar nine year deal story dominated the media in the days after the former Hawk played in the 2013 premiership team. His club will receive a first round draft pick in return. Others changing clubs (or expected to do so) are Collingwood's Dale Thomas to Carlton, the Blues' Eddie Betts to the Crows and Richmond's Matt White to Port Adelaide. North Melbourne is expected to claim Saint Nick Dal Santo in the coming days.

On Monday, the official trade period opens and the rumour mill has been as busy as ever on that front. As usual, only a small percentage of those rumours will ever emerge as deals. Still, the period promises plenty of surprises as clubs strive to improve their lists.

There are some who have high expectations in the period ahead for the Melbourne Football Club but I am not one of those. The club is desperate for quality midfielders (a hard nut extractor and a line breaker who can run and carry and hit targets would do just nicely) but has a poor list leaving it with very few players it can offer as trade bait. The AFL shunned the club's application for a priority pick despite the fact that the club won only five matches in the last two years (a number which in one year not long ago got Hawthorn such a pick in the Franklin draft) and a club so bereft of recent success is not a popular destination for players on the move so the only real bargaining chip it has in trading is the number two draft pick which has been offered up to all and sundry in recent days.

Whether a club bites and coughs up a suitable midfielder or two in return remains to be seen but I suspect the frenetic pace of the last few days will slow in the coming week or so until later on when the free agency and trade period runs its course to finality on 25 October.

The other feature of the past week has been the Draft Combine which has showcased much of the young, new talent on offer for the AFL National Draft in November.

The draft pool is not considered particularly deep but a few players did put their hands up in the various tests which the hopefuls were put through over the week.

I liked the versatility shown by Sandringham Dragons midfielder Nathan Freeman who was prominent in both speed and endurance testing. His teammate Josh Kelly who killed it in the 3 kilometre run and scored well in the beep test and the running vertical jump pushed his top three credentials and Tasmanian Kade Kolodjashnij (if only the late, great Jack Dyer was around to call that name in the heat of the action) also pressed his claims.

Probably the most exciting young talent in the draft will be West Australian Dayle Garlett who has a history of trouble but, from all accounts, presented very well at the draft combine. Whoever takes him is almost assured of having a ten year player of quality but also takes a risk of Dustin Martin-like proportions and sleepless nights worrying about what the morning's headlines might bring.

A much safer bet for a club like ours might be Geelong Falcons midfielder James Tsitas (aka "Jimmy the Greek") who impressed in several tests and won the all-important kicking assessment. What Demon fan would not be stoked to have yet another player with these initials to join the club's midfield mix?

The Oracle will provide his commentary on the free agency and trade period on an irregular basis over the coming few weeks.

THE TRADING CHRONICLES 2013 by The OracleCOLIN GOES WEST

I liked the versatility shown by Sandringham Dragons midfielder Nathan Freeman who was prominent in both speed and endurance testing.

I haven't seen much of Freeman but that physical attribute can't be underestimated. It's the exact quality that Chris Judd had early in his career. If he can mark, kick well and make good decisions, he would make a worthy acquisition.

From shared kicks to top picks: Two friends' road to the draft