THE TRADING CHRONICLES 2016 by The Oracle

[Demonland 73,139]

PART ONE - NOTHING SPECTACULAR

In case you haven't noticed, the AFL's free agency and trade period for 2016 is under way.

While the young hopefuls were going through the hoops at the AFL Draft Combine late last week and over the weekend, the NAB AFL restricted free agency offer and unrestricted free agency period began somewhat quietly on Friday.

In among the scuttlebutt, the trade rumours and the posturing of player managers, the first true sign that proceedings were under way came when Hawthorn tabled a free agency offer for Ty Vickery . They offered him a two-year deal and because the forward/ruckman is a restricted free agent, this gives the Tigers the right to match the Hawks' offer by Monday (i.e. within three days of the offer being made). If Richmond matches the offer, Hawthorn would have to trade for Vickery or seek to pick him in the national or pre-season draft.

So we're off and running and by tomorrow morning at 10.00am the official NAB AFL Trade Period will begin in earnest. The early focus will be on free agency with the AFL restricted free agency offer and unrestricted free agency period ending next Sunday (although the restricted free agency matching offer three-day period ends on Wednesday week). A day after that, Thursday October 20, at 2.00pm, the NAB AFL Trade Period will come to a close.

The following article from the AFL site provides an insight into the expected main activity of the free agency and trade period - Free agency open: Wells, Vickery, Mayne and others set to find new homes.

You might have noticed (and not just from the article) that according to the pundits, the Melbourne Football Club is not expected to figure heavily in the free agency and trading over the next fortnight. There's another article on the Demons' website where the club's national recruiting manager, Jason Taylor says the club "is keeping an open mind with it's opening selection in this year's NAB AFL Draft, ahead of the trade and draft period" - Open mind for recruiting period: Taylor. Well ... yes and what I get from the article is virtually nothing and certainly not the slightest hint that from an MFC point of view, anything spectacular is about to happen.

The reasons for that are obvious. The Demons appear to have entered into a period of stability with their list. In the first instance, most of us would accept that every required player has now been contracted at least for the coming year. The club has ticked off on Jesse Hogan, the McDonald boys, Dom Tyson and more recently Cam Pedersen. The only outside player coming in (aside from Category B rookie Corey Maynard) is Essendon defender Michael Hibberd who has confirmed he wants out of the Bombers and his preferred destination is Melbourne. The general consensus among draft watchers is that he will cost the Demons a second round draft pick. Hibberd would be joining Jake Melksham at the club giving it two experienced "recruits" to start with when next season comes around.

Time will tell as to what else the club can conjure up in the next fortnight. With its first round draft pick traded out last year and a second earmarked for Hibberd, the trade cupboard might be very bare although we will most likely not know until late in the piece as to whether the recruiting and list management team is capable of pulling off a dramatic coup.

The more likely scenario is that the club will pick up a free agent or carry out a trade involving players and/or draft picks but ... I'm not expecting anything spectacular.

Trade period preview: Who will your club target and shop around?

The Oracle will be back from time to time during the free agency and trade period to cover anything that might take place - spectacular or otherwise.

[Demonland 73,139]

PART TWO - FOR GOD'S SAKE ... SOMEBODY SEND US THE STEAK KNIVES !!! 

In my dream a full five days have elapsed since the wheeling and dealing started. Everything moves ever so slowly ... every movement is in slow motion and most of the people are speaking in words slurred as if they are half drunk. There's one person in the  room who looks out of place. He's wearing a brown and gold coloured jacket and smoking a Cuban cigar as he deals from a pack of cards to half a dozen faceless men.

The smoke from the cigar rises and curls in the air. He draws the Jack of Hearts, shows it to the other players, places the card face down and grabs the notes that sit in the middle of the table. There, he's just moved Brad Hill and Sammy Mitchell to clubs in WA. In comes Ty Vickery and Tom Mitchell. On the face of one of the notes he just picked off the table the words "NAB National Draft Selection # 10" appear. He turns over another card and it's the King of Diamonds but the face is familiar - that of Jaeger O'Meara.

Lurking furtively in the shadows around a corner, I get a fleeting glimpse of someone else now running out of the room. Could it be Jordan Lewis? He disappears from view as the gambler deals his next card. The Ace of Clubs. 

I turn around and there's a skeleton sitting at the card table. I wake in fright.

Leaving aside the frenetic activity of the Hawthorn Football Club, there hasn't been much going on over the past five days of the free agency and trade period. Collingwood picked up a couple of unrestricted free agents, St Kilda and Fremantle (not Carlton) were the first to claim players from the GWS Giants and the Saints have exchanged draft picks with the Hawks. A week after Brisbane was gifted a priority pick, the Lions traded out national draft selection #2. How does that happen? 

And Melbourne?

The Demons have apparently spent the last 120 hours negotiating with the Bombers over whether to hand over this year's second round pick or next year's. During that time the club's current best draft pick has moved back from number 26 to 29. We're going backwards and, after a whole week haven't even collected a single steak knife!

DONE DEALS SO FAR:

Tyrone Vickery moves from Richmond to Hawthorn as a restricted free agent
Daniel Wells moves from North Melbourne to Collingwood as an unrestricted free agent
Cam McCarthy, pick 7, 34 and 72 move from GWS to Fremantle in exchange for pick 3
Chris Mayne moves from Fremantle to Collingwood as an unrestricted free agent
Brad Hill traded from Hawthorn to Fremantle in exchange for pick 23
Pick 3 and 16 traded from GWS to Brisbane in exchange for picks 2, 31, 51 and 60.
Jack Steele moves from GWS to St Kilda in exchange for their 2017 future round two pick
Sam Mitchell, pick 54 and 72 traded from Hawthorn to West Coast in exchange for pick 52, 70 and 88.
Tom Mitchell and pick 57 traded from Sydney to Hawthorn in exchange for pick 14 and 52
Pick 10 and 68 traded from St Kilda to Hawthorn in exchange for Hawthorn's 2017 future first pick, and this year's picks 23 and 36

[Demonland 73,139]

PART THREE - THE KICK OFF by the Oracle

The end of the AFL's annual Free Agency and Trade period always seems to come as a welcome relief. As usual the fans have  seen the activity begin at a snail's pace at the kick off, build to a crescendo after a little over one and a half weeks and end in an eruption of activity in the last few hours. When the dust settled this year, 38 players had moved clubs and 113 draft picks had been exchanged.

The first reaction of many is to ask the question, "did we win?" as many ask every year - 

ANALYSIS: Who won the 2016 trade period?

Trade verdict: How did your club fare during the trade period?

I see that Melbourne's efforts have been given an A- rating by the AFL site and I won't argue with that but my view is that there are deeper reasons for that conclusion. 

First and foremost is that the Demons have retained all of their required players - in the lead up to the trade period they re-signed Jesse Hogan, Dom Tyson and Cam Pedersen and during the trades, the young component of their playing group was maintained intact. 

Secondly, they brought in experience in the form of Jordan Lewis and Michael Hibberd (with Jake Melksham also a virtual recruit for 2017). Pat McKenna is a bit of an unknown quantity but he is said to have an attribute common with the others coming in - the ability to dispose well of the football. Lewis chose the club because he was impressed with the it appears to be heading, a positive and ringing endorsement of the organisation and the playing group.

Another recent addition to the playing list was former basketballer Corey Maynard who joins the highly promising Joel Smith as a Category B rookie.

Thirdly, the cost of the above has been negligible. Melbourne entered the free agency and trade period without its 2016 first round draft pick which was given away to enable the selection of two top ten picks in what was perceived as a stronger draft pool last year. It had as its top four picks, 29, 48, 66 and 84 and comes out with out with 47, 69, 84 and 102 (which it might not need to use). The Demons traded out veteran Lynden Dunn who was a regular at Casey for most of the season. 

In effect therefore, the incoming newcomers cost the club a second round pick in this year's draft. The Demons have retained their full quota of 2017 draft selections. 

The downside of course is that Melbourne will have a late entry into next month's draft but nowhere near as late as Hawthorn which will have to wait for pick 88 which it got in exchange for its best and fairest winner Sam Mitchell.  That state of affairs probably sums up how this year's draft is viewed. 

The Demons will probably delist one more senior list player before the draft and a couple of rookies might also be cut. The opportunity is still there to pick up a delisted free agent but I have my doubts about the quality of the players in the available pool. 

The NAB AFL Draft will be held this year in Sydney on Friday 25 November 25. This will be one event when Melbourne fans can afford to miss the kick off and turn up at half time.

Free Agency and Trade Deals - October 2016

• Tyrone Vickery moves from Richmond to Hawthorn as a restricted free agent
• Daniel Wells moves from North Melbourne to Collingwood as an unrestricted free agent
• Cam McCarthy, pick 7, 34 and 72 move from GWS to Fremantle in exchange for pick 3.
• Brad Hill traded from Hawthorn to Fremantle in exchange for pick 23
• Pick 3 and 16 traded from GWS to Brisbane in exchange for picks 2, 31, 51 and 60.
• Jack Steele moves from GWS to St Kilda in exchange for their 2017 future round two pick
• Sam Mitchell, pick 54 and 72 traded from Hawthorn to West Coast in exchange for pick 52, 70 and 88.
• Tom Mitchell and pick 57 traded from Sydney to Hawthorn in exchange for pick 14 and 52.
• Pick 10 and 68 traded from St Kilda to Hawthorn in exchange for Hawthorn's 2017 future first pick, and this year's pick 23 and 36.
• Paul Ahern traded from GWS to North Melbourne in exchange for pick 69
• Three Way Trade: Gold Coast receive Pearce Hanley and Port Adelaide's pick 67. Port Adelaide receive Brisbane's pick 19 and Gold Coast's pick 30. Brisbane receive Gold Coast's pick 22 and Port Adelaide's future first round pick.
• Jordan Lewis, pick 57 and pick 58 traded from Hawthorn to Melbourne in exchange for pick 48 and 66.
• Joel Hamling, pick 40 and 63 traded from the Western Bulldogs to Fremantle in exchange for pick 35, 43 and 61.
• Michael Hibberd and pick 59 traded to Melbourne in exchange for picks 29 and 68.
• Dion Prestia and pick 24 traded to Richmond in exchange for picks 6 and the club's 2017 future second round pick.
• Toby Nankervis traded from Sydney to Richmond in exchange for pick 46.
Western Bulldogs trade pick 35 and 43 to the Gold Coast in exchange for picks 26 and 80
• Jarrod Witts traded from Collingwood to Gold Coast in exchange for picks 44 and 62
• Nathan Hrovat traded from Western Bulldogs to North Melbourne, with both clubs swapping their 2017 future third and fourth round draft picks.
• Shane Kersten traded from Geelong to Fremantle in exchange for pick 63.
• Zach Tuohy and Carlton's 2017 future second round pick traded from Carlton to Geelong in exchange for Billie Smedts, pick 63 and Geelong's 2017 future first round pick.
• Josh Caddy and pick 56 traded from Geelong to Richmond in exchange for picks 24 and 64
• Sydney trade picks 39 and 52 to GWS in exchange for pick 31
• Jarryd Lyons and pick 71 traded from Adelaide to Gold Coast in exchange for picks 43 and 67.
• Pat McKenna, pick 51 and pick 69 traded from GWS to Melbourne in exchange for picks 57 and 59
• Nathan Vardy traded from Geelong to West Coast in exchange for pick 72
• Travis Cloke traded from Collingwood to Western Bulldogs in exchange for pick 76
• James Stewart traded from GWS to Essendon in exchange for pick 77
• Aaron Black traded from North Melbourne to Geelong for pick 92
• Will Hoskin-Elliott traded from GWS to Collingwood in exchange for GWS' future second-round pick
• Jack Frost, pick 76 and Collingwood's 2017 future third-round selection traded from Collingwood to Brisbane in exchange for Brisbane's 2017 third and fourth round picks.
• Marley Williams traded from Collingwood to North Melbourne in exchange for pick 105
• Lynden Dunn and pick 51 traded from Melbourne to Collingwood in exchange for pick 47
• Koby Stevens, pick 61 and the Western Bulldogs' 2017 fourth pick traded from the Bulldogs to St Kilda in exchange for pick 50 and their 2017 round 5 pick.
• Brett Deledio traded from Richmond to GWS in exchange for GWS' 2017 first and third round picks
• Caleb Marchbank, Jarrod Pickett and GWS' future 2017 second round pick traded from GWS to Carlton in exchange for picks 45, 58 and Carlton's future 2017 first round pick
• Rhys Palmer traded from GWS to Carlton in exchange for pick 135
• Jaeger O'Meara traded from Gold Coast to Hawthorn in exchange for pick 10 and a future second-round pick
• Pick 14, 17 and 31 traded from Sydney to Port Adelaide in exchange for picks 9 and 19 and 49
• Pick 48, 66 and 70 traded from Hawthorn to Carlton in exchange for Carlton's 2017 second round pick.