Whispering_Jack

Today’s hot potatoes ~ • Cal Wilkie recommits to the Saints after Bulldogs pursued him with a significant offer. • Tom Morris claims that Christian Petracca has felt for the last few months that Melbourne was pushing him out. “Then on Monday he spoke to Damien Hardwick and Matthew Nicks. He will soon choose between the Suns and the Crows and it is a genuine 50/50." NOTE: Many attendees at the best and fairest would have had a somewhat different impression about the situation, but Morris should know, given his intimate involvement with the inner workings of Brand Petracca. • Cal Twomey was also talking about the decision Tracc has to make in coming days. “It is line ball whether it is Adelaide or Gold Coast. He is on the move, it is just about what the deal looks like.” Twomey also believes Charlie Curnow is in the mix for the Suns who can’t fit both of them onto their list. • Tasmania's full list rules have been revealed. The Devils will be given picks No.1, 3, 5*, 7*, 9, 11*, 13* in year one, No.5* and 9 in year two and three. Picks with * must be traded. They will get 11 first round picks over their first three years and six of those have to be traded. The AFL wants the other struggling clubs to be able to access other early picks. The clubs who lose players to Tasmania will be given at least one, maybe two floating picks. The Devils will also have a $5 million sign-on bonus. • Cal Twomey opines, “If you are Tasmania, do you offer Nick Daicos in 2028 an 8-year deal worth $2 million plus, as well as a $3 million sign-on fee? They have so much to play with.” • James Hird on the centre bounce being removed - "I think it is a bad decision re the centre bounce. it just favours the tallest guy in the ruck. You want guys with craft. I am disappointed it is gone." NOTE: Max should be happy about this. • Tiger defender Tylar Young has requested a trade to West Coast. AND JUST IN • Christian Petracca will travel to Gold Coast to meet with the Suns in person. More to come, no doubt

Re Marcus Prasad - See my comments above about the need for further information on any changes to our zone. Re Toby SInnema - we still have access to him as the changes don’t appear to apply to the 2025 draft eligibility criteria.

The changes to the rules are substantial. Under the new rules, the cultural background of the parent is paramount; a player must have at least one parent born overseas to qualify for multicultural status. Clubs must spend more time with NGA prospects, have nominated them earlier, and proven that they have improved their football. Pacific and Central and South American regions have been added to the cultural eligibility criteria while European countries have been removed. With the inclusion of the Tassie Devils, North Melbourne loses its zone in the Apple Isle and the zones will be shifted around to accommodate them in Victoria. Obviously, more details are required to assess the effect on the MFC. We need to see what the boundaries are of the amended zones and know more detail about the families of the potential NGA prospects. It appears that there are no changes to 2025 draft eligibility criteria so on that basis, we can still get Toby SInnema but not Tairon Ah Mu, although we might have access to the latter’s younger brother who is also a talented young player. afl.com.auAFL cracks down on player eligibility in NGA revampClubs must spend more time with Next Generation Academy prospects and register their interest earlier in order to get priority draft access

Thanks Andy and happy birthday!!! I’m fully fit and prepared for the season ahead.

Timely for Max Gawn at this stage of his career. It could extend it by a couple of years with the capacity to have your back up ruckman playing on and off the bench. This could also assist players like JvR as they could concentrate on becoming settled as KPF's without tiring themselves out as relief ruckmen. It might also affect how teams go about their drafting this year.

Aussie Rules Rookie Me CentralTaylor credits "team footy" for flag successEastern Ranges defender Xavier Taylor lauded his side's even effort after being named best afield in Saturday's Grand Final.

Aussie Rules Rookie Me Central2025 Draft Combines kick off tomorrowThe 2025 AFL and AFLW Draft Combines kick off this week as top prospects look to further raise their draft claims.

Champion.

The 10 most valuable players this trade period, in the eyes of Kane Cornes.

Rookie Me Central’s latest top 30 ~

Plenty of material covered today among the news, opinion and some speculation: • big names for discussion on the 2026 free agents list include Zac Bailey, Zak Butters, Ben King and Sam Walsh. • Riley Beveridge says the Swans are making good progress locking away Joel Amartey ahead of his free agency year. • Dees CEO Paul Guerra: "We met with Christian late last week where he expressed his desire to explore a fresh start in 2026. Christian is a once in a generation player. With this in mind, any decision regarding Christian's future will be made in the best interest of the MFC." • Cal Twomey on Petracca - it’s now about happening and is about satisfying Melbourne in a deal. • "St Kilda and Melbourne are in strong favouritism for Sam Flanders after he met four clubs last week." • The Saints are having a massive crack by bringing in so many players, but it is also a huge risk. • The Merrett situation will unfold. The test is how much does Essendon want out of the deal? • Liam Pickering’s hypothetical - "Would Adelaide be willing to give Melbourne a Jake Soligo type player to secure Christian Petracca? They might need to bite the bullet and trade a player like him in order to get their missing piece in the midfield." • the AFL announced its assistance package for the wooden spoon West Coast Eagles. They will receive Pick 19 and four extra rookie spots.

As per the above post, the AFL Commission has granted the West Coast Eagles a draft and list assistance package which includes: • An end-of-first-round selection in the 2025 Telstra AFL Draft (currently pick 19) • Four additional rookie list spots (funded by the Club) for AFL seasons 2026, 2027 and 2028 The AFL has reserved the right to review or alter the provision of assistance in 2027 or 2028. As a result, the 2025 AFL draft order now is ~ ROUND ONE 1 West Coast Eagles 2 Richmond 3 Richmond 4 Essendon 5 Essendon 6 Gold Coast Suns 7 St Kilda 8 Hawthorn 9 Sydney 10 Western Bulldogs 11 Fremantle 12 GWS Giants 13 Gold Coast Suns 14 Adelaide 15 West Coast Eagles 16 Gold Coast Suns 17 Brisbane Lions 18 Geelong 19 West Coast Eagles ROUND TWO 20 West Coast Eagles 21 North Melbourne 22 North Melbourne 23 Essendon 24 Melbourne 25 Port Adelaide 26 Essendon 27 Hawthorn 28 Sydney 29 Western Bulldogs 30 Fremantle 31 GWS Giants 32 Gold Coast Suns 33 GWS Giants 34 West Coast Eagles 35 Collingwood 36 Carlton 37 Geelong ROUND THREE 38 Brisbane Lions 39 Fremantle 40 North Melbourne 41 Brisbane Lions 42 Adelaide 43 Port Adelaide 44 St Kilda 45 Carlton 46 Sydney 47 Brisbane Lions 48 Fremantle 49 Adelaide 50 Brisbane Lions 51 Adelaide 52 West Coast Eagles 53 Collingwood 54 Geelong 55 Melbourne ROUND FOUR 55 Hawthorn 57 Gold Coast Suns 58 North Melbourne 59 St Kilda 60 Melbourne 61 Port Adelaide 62 Brisbane Lions 63 Carlton 64 Sydney 65 Collingwood 66 Fremantle 67 Adelaide 68 Gold Coast Suns 69 Adelaide 70 Hawthorn 71 Collingwood 72 Geelong 73 Brisbane Lions

On this day in 1969, Melbourne played Hawthorn in the VFL Night Series Grand Final (audio only)

Suggested by Josh Jenkins and Damo agrees.

According to SEN, Tom Morris has Melbourne’s blessing to speak to other clubs and added that he's also spoken to Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick in recent days. According to Morris, Melbourne's stance has softened surrounding Petracca after they gave him the 'green light' to explore a move last week. “Christian Petracca is a wanted man, he’s speaking to not one, but two clubs recently,” Morris told Nine News. “He met with Adelaide today and had a medical, but I can also tell you tonight he’s also chatted to Damien Hardwick and the Suns in recent days. “Melbourne is open to negotiating a trade for Petracca, their stance has softened since last year. “My understanding is the club gave Petracca the green light to have a look around last week knowing they hold all the cards and won’t trade him for anything less than they believe he’s worth.

Scraps from today - • Gold Coast forward Malcolm Rosas Jnr has picked Sydney as his preferred destination. • Connor Budarick has narrowed his decision down to either the Western Bulldogs or North Melbourne, if he leaves Gold Coast. • Cal Twomey believes it’s either stay at the Pies or go to Gold Coast for Jamie Elliot although his understanding is “he would prefer to stay at Collingwood, but the deal has to be right”. Heard this story before • Riley Beveridge thinks Gold Coast and Sydney are best placed to get a deal done, ahead of Geelong. • The Western Bulldogs have emerged as a potential home for Brisbane midfielder Deven Robertson, who is expected to seek a fresh start elsewhere next season. • Christian Petracca has been spotted with manager Anna Scullie and wife Bella at the Adelaide Airport amid rumours of a desired shift to the Crows.

Nobody has held anyone for ransom yet and we don't know how negotiations will pan out. I would think Melbourne would want pick 11 on the basis that, unlike some of the other players whose names are being bandied about, McVee is only 22 years of age and has a long future in front of him. This makes him a much better proposition to recruit than a 29 year old and should be reflected in the final negotiation.

You should have written ~ Not too late

The draft order at the end of the 2025 finals series ~ ROUND ONE 1 West Coast Eagles 2 Richmond 3 Richmond 4 Essendon 5 Essendon 6 Gold Coast Suns 7 St Kilda 8 Hawthorn 9 Sydney 10 Western Bulldogs 11 Fremantle 12 GWS Giants 13 Gold Coast Suns 14 Adelaide 15 West Coast Eagles 16 Gold Coast Suns 17 Geelong 18 Brisbane Lions ROUND TWO 19 West Coast Eagles 20 North Melbourne 21 North Melbourne 22 Essendon 23 Melbourne 24 Port Adelaide 25 Essendon 26 Hawthorn 27 Sydney 28 Western Bulldogs 29 Fremantle 30 GWS Giants 31 Gold Coast Suns 32 GWS Giants 33 West Coast Eagles 34 Collingwood 35 Geelong 36 Carlton ROUND THREE 37 Brisbane Lions 38 Fremantle 39 North Melbourne 40 Brisbane Lions 41 Adelaide 42 Port Adelaide 43 St Kilda 44 Carlton 45 Sydney 46 Brisbane Lions 47 Fremantle 48 Adelaide 49 Brisbane Lions 50 Adelaide 51 West Coast Eagles 52 Adelaide 53 Geelong 54 Melbourne ROUND FOUR 55 Hawthorn 56 Gold Coast Suns 57 North Melbourne 58 St Kilda 59 Melbourne 60 Port Adelaide 61 Brisbane Lions 62 Carlton 63 Sydney 64 Collingwood 65 Fremantle 66 Adelaide 67 Gold Coast Suns 68 Adelaide 69 Hawthorn 70 Collingwood 71 Geelong 72 Brisbane Lions afl.com.auDraft order: Your club's picks locked in for free agency,...Check out the draft order as it stands ahead of the Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period