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Hello Demonland It's been in the media recently that Rory Sloane may be on the move - Graham Cornes increasingly concerned Rory Sloane will leave Adelaide at end of 2018 With increasing talk about Free Agency every year, and the predictable constant speculation from the AFL media and Social media, I pose a couple of question to this learned group. 1. Are we a chance of bidding for and landing Rory? 2. Is the AFL community ready for an AFL player to commit to a new club before they are officially out of contract? Would be a massive step. Would anyone be upset if Rory came out and said, I will give my all to Adelaide in 2018 but I am committing to Collingwood in 2019? Rather then the now standard contract on hold? Interesting discussion I think

The Rory Sloane article in The Age gave me a moment of sympathy for Adelaide. But only a moment. Over the years we have been back-doored more than once losing top-line players when were in a high ladder position. We could have done with a Healey, a Thompson, a Farmer, even a Barassi over many a suffering season. So who cares if Jake Lever comes our way and helps to break this decades long pattern of losing top players when it counts. Perhaps it is a sign of the smartness of our new administrators that this failure has finally been recognised and acted upon. The article: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/rory-sloane-in-no-rush-to-enter-contract-talks-with-adelaide-ahead-of-2018-free-agency-20171102-gzduf1.html

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-04-10/suns-knocking-on-free-agency-door Interesting the AFL have elected to use this interpretation of "years of service" - I assume under this interpretation it will mean Hogan, Martin, Crouch etc are eligible after 7 years as well? What about Viney considering we apparently had a contract with him when he was 16? Could be a couple of big forwards on the market next year if the Suns don't re-sign them.

I didn't want to derail any of the trade threads (I.e. sylvia to Bombers) with a discussion about FA so thought I'd start a thread. There has been discussion about the worth of the compensation picks and whether they should be awarded. It seems people are on both sides of this and I'd like to understand some of the reasons. Personally I think compensation picks are a must. Clubs have a limited number of assets, players and draft picks, and when you lose a player with value it is hard to replace. To buy another established player you either trade players or picks, or replace then with FAs. Regarding bringing in FAs, this requires two things or at least one of them: the money/cap space to buy a player by paying over the odds and/or a desirable club ie facilities or on field performance. In theory, low ranked clubs should have just as much chance of bringing in FAs as high clubs; they should have more money to buy players as their playing list should be less expensive than the good clubs. In reality it seems that the poor clubs don't have this money. The AFL CBA means that all clubs must pay a minimum amount which is quite big (around 95% of the cap), so there is little cap space to work with to just buy a big fish. Additionally most of the poorer clubs don't pay 100% because they can't afford to. Even if a FA was available and interested they can't afford to throw the money at them. What I have seen so far is that the good quality free agents are interested in moving to finals bound clubs while mid tier players are more likely to chase a pay day. As a result those low ranked clubs can successfully overpay for average players but will struggle to bring in guns. A massive pay packet would be required to land this sort of fish. I think compensation is definitely required to make sure that free agency is fair to all clubs regardless of money or ladder position. Otherwise I think we will see the gap between the string and rich and the poor and poor get wider. Would love to hear some thoughts on these ideas. edit: cut a bit out that wasn't relevant

CHANGES 2012 - THE RIVERS RUN RED by The Oracle Melbourne coach Mark Neeld promised that the club would approach the AFL's free agency and exchange period with aggression and he has delivered in spades. Five players have been added to the club's primary list and another will come on board in 2014 after selection in the GWS Mini Draft. Two left the club as free agents, three contracted players were traded away and another eight (including three rookies) have been delisted after they were told they would not receive contract offers for 2013. Brad Green retired at the end of the season. The end result, after the carnage, is that fourteen members of the 2012 playing lists have departed, most of them involuntarily. When you add to that, the eight changes at the end of last year, it means that 22 players, virtually half the playing list, has been turned over since the end of Dean Bailey's reign as coach of the club. The rivers are certainly running red. The Melbourne Football Club's playing lists for 2012 were:- PRIMARY LIST: Rohan Bail Clint Bartram Matthew Bate Jamie Bennell Sam Blease Mitch Clark Lucas Cook Aaron Davey Troy Davis Lynden Dunn Jack Fitzpatrick James Frawley Colin Garland Max Gawn Jack Grimes Jordan Gysberts Jeremy Howe Mark Jamar Neville Jetta Nathan Jones Liam Jurrah Joel Macdonald Stefan Martin Tom McDonald Jordie McKenzie Brent Moloney Cale Morton Ricky Petterd Jared Rivers James Sellar Jake Spencer James Strauss Colin Sylvia Rory Taggert Luke Tapscott Jack Trengove Josh Tynan Jack Watts VETERAN LIST: Brad Green ROOKIE LIST: Tom Couch Michael Evans Kelvin Lawrence James Magner Dan Nicholson Jai Sheahan Leigh Williams We farewell former skipper Brad Green (retired), Brent Moloney (Brisbane Lions) and Jared Rivers (Geelong) who left as free agents and Jordan Gysberts (North Melbourne), Stef Martin (Brisbane Lions) and Cale Morton (West Coast Eagles) who were traded at the end of the exchange period. The club has delisted Matthew Bate, Jamie Bennell, Lucas Cook, Liam Jurrah and Ricky Petterd from its primary list and rookies Kelvin Lawrence, Jai Sheahan and Leigh Williams. We wish them well and it will certainly be a bitter-sweet experience to see many of them running around in different colours in the future. You don't have to look hard for justification for the hard decisions that need to be made in order to bring about changes when you're dealing with an organisation that has been starved of any form of success for a long period of time. The ingathering of new names and faces has been long awaited at the Melbourne Football Club and these are the first of the new crop who will take their places as part of the team in the near future:- # Dominic Barry # Shannon Byrnes # Chris Dawes # Jesse Hogan # Cameron Pedersen # David Rodan I haven't included Jack Viney whose name will officially become a Demon when his name is called out by his father Todd as second selection overall in November's national draft. The lists currently stand as follows but with delisted free agency on the horizon and the drafts coming up, there are more changes to come:- PRIMARY LIST: Rohan Bail Dominic Barry Clint Bartram Sam Blease Shannon Byrnes Mitch Clark Aaron Davey Troy Davis Chris Dawes Lynden Dunn Jack Fitzpatrick James Frawley Colin Garland Max Gawn Jack Grimes Jeremy Howe Mark Jamar Neville Jetta Nathan Jones Joel Macdonald Tom McDonald Jordie McKenzie Cameron Pedersen David Rodan James Sellar Jake Spencer James Strauss Colin Sylvia Rory Taggert Luke Tapscott Jack Trengove Josh Tynan Jack Watts National Draft Picks 4 27 (Jack Viney) 49 53 70 73 and 74* ROOKIE LIST: Tom Couch Michael Evans James Magner Dan Nicholson 2014 PRIMARY LIST Jesse Hogan * the places of these draft selections can be taken up prior to the National Draft by delisted free agents secured by the club and during the National Draft by rookie elevations.

Melbourne coach Mark Neeld promised that the club would approach the AFL's free agency and exchange period with aggression and he has delivered in spades. Five players have been added to the club's primary list and another will come on board in 2014 after selection in the GWS Mini Draft. Two left the club as free agents, three contracted players were traded away and another eight (including three rookies) have been delisted after they were told they would not receive contract offers for 2013. Brad Green retired at the end of the season. The end result, after the carnage, is that fourteen members of the 2012 playing lists have departed, most of them involuntarily. When you add to that, the eight changes at the end of last year, it means that 22 players, virtually half the playing list, has been turned over since the end of Dean Bailey's reign as coach of the club. The rivers are certainly running red. The Melbourne Football Club's playing lists for 2012 were:- PRIMARY LIST: Rohan Bail Clint Bartram Matthew Bate Jamie Bennell Sam Blease Mitch Clark Lucas Cook Aaron Davey Troy Davis Lynden Dunn Jack Fitzpatrick James Frawley Colin Garland Max Gawn Jack Grimes Jordan Gysberts Jeremy Howe Mark Jamar Neville Jetta Nathan Jones Liam Jurrah Joel Macdonald Stefan Martin Tom McDonald Jordie McKenzie Brent Moloney Cale Morton Ricky Petterd Jared Rivers James Sellar Jake Spencer James Strauss Colin Sylvia Rory Taggert Luke Tapscott Jack Trengove Josh Tynan Jack Watts VETERAN LIST: Brad Green ROOKIE LIST: Tom Couch Michael Evans Kelvin Lawrence James Magner Dan Nicholson Jai Sheahan Leigh Williams We farewell former skipper Brad Green (retired), Brent Moloney (Brisbane Lions) and Jared Rivers (Geelong) who left as free agents and Jordan Gysberts (North Melbourne), Stef Martin (Brisbane Lions) and Cale Morton (West Coast Eagles) who were traded at the end of the exchange period. The club has delisted Matthew Bate, Jamie Bennell, Lucas Cook, Liam Jurrah and Ricky Petterd from its primary list and rookies Kelvin Lawrence, Jai Sheahan and Leigh Williams. We wish them well and it will certainly be a bitter-sweet experience to see many of them running around in different colours in the future. You don't have to look hard for justification for the hard decisions that need to be made in order to bring about changes when you're dealing with an organisation that has been starved of any form of success for a long period of time. The ingathering of new names and faces has been long awaited at the Melbourne Football Club and these are the first of the new crop who will take their places as part of the team in the near future:- # Dominic Barry # Shannon Byrnes # Chris Dawes # Jesse Hogan # Cameron Pedersen # David Rodan I haven't included Jack Viney whose name will officially become a Demon when his name is called out by his father Todd as second selection overall in November's national draft. The lists currently stand as follows but with delisted free agency on the horizon and the drafts coming up, there are more changes to come:- PRIMARY LIST: Rohan Bail Dominic Barry Clint Bartram Sam Blease Shannon Byrnes Mitch Clark Aaron Davey Troy Davis Chris Dawes Lynden Dunn Jack Fitzpatrick James Frawley Colin Garland Max Gawn Jack Grimes Jeremy Howe Mark Jamar Neville Jetta Nathan Jones Joel Macdonald Tom McDonald Jordie McKenzie Cameron Pedersen David Rodan James Sellar Jake Spencer James Strauss Colin Sylvia Rory Taggert Luke Tapscott Jack Trengove Josh Tynan Jack Watts National Draft Picks 4 27 (Jack Viney) 49 53 70 73 and 74* ROOKIE LIST: Tom Couch Michael Evans James Magner Dan Nicholson 2014 PRIMARY LIST Jesse Hogan * the places of these draft selections can be taken up prior to the National Draft by delisted free agents secured by the club and during the National Draft by rookie elevations.

THE FAT CHRONICLES - FREE AGENCY by The Oracle Life was so much simpler ten years ago when we had a trade week that lasted, erm, well ... a week. Representatives of the sixteen AFL clubs would meet in the sponsors' boxes at Pricefixer Park on the Monday and that would be followed by seven days of argy bargy mixed with a little subterfuge and deception, stories would abound of players and draft picks changing places and in the end, perhaps a dozen or possibly twenty deals would get done, most of them singularly unspectacular. The result was often one of boredom mixed with disappointment met with a shrug of the shoulders and it was on to the next thing which was the national draft meeting in November. I must have missed something because, while this has been going on, those of us who have carefully watched the shenanigans of trade week have openly advocated that the entire process dragged on over too many days. Everybody was waiting for the action to hot up and reach a hectic, dramatic climax in the last day and a half. The pundits were all saying that the AFL should cut the player exchange period down to three days simply to restore some sanity into the picture. Well, the AFL, being the AFL, has suddenly taken a mysterious U turn following the introduction of free agency and has co-joined that concept with the trade period and extended it out to close on to the whole of the month of October. That's why I call it the "FAT" period, which stands for "Free Agency & Trade". The official AFL Free Agency Period runs from 1 October to 5pm on 19 October while the AFL Trade Period runs from 8 October to 2pm on 26 October. By the time we get to the end of the line on that last Friday of next month many of you will risk being left emotionally and physically wrecked by the twists and turns of the FAT period unless you are properly prepared for the ordeal. I'm here to help you get through this difficult time and to ensure that life remains as uncomplicated as possible during this time. The first thing to remember is the "much ado about nothing" rule which applies to a lot of the AFL's business. Despite the warnings of doom and all the hype about free agency, it's not really going to make a difference to most of our lives. One or two big names might change clubs, a number of hopefuls and lesser lights will get involved and a few of them could find new homes and some aging players will boost their pensions. That's it folks. No great dramas! If you don't believe me, here's the latest list of players available as free agents - Complete list of Free Agents: Restricted Free Agents Angus Monfries (Essendon); Brent Moloney (Melbourne); Troy Chaplin, Danyle Pearce (Port Adelaide); Luke McGuane (Richmond); Brendon Goddard (St Kilda). Unrestricted Free Agents Chris Knights (Adel Crows); Jordan Russell, Bret Thornton (Carlton); Ben Johnson (Collingwood); Ricky Dyson, Dustin Fletcher, David Hille, Nathan Lovett-Murray, Henry Slattery (Essendon); Luke McPharlin (Fremantle); Shannon Byrnes, Josh Hunt (Geelong Cats); Thomas Murphy, Michael Osborne, Clinton Young (Hawthorn); Matthew Bate, Lynden Dunn, Jared Rivers (Melbourne); Brett Ebert, Steven Salopek, Jacob Surjan (Port Adelaide); Jason Blake, Raphael Clarke (St Kilda); Jude Bolton, Jarred Moore (Sydney Swans); Quinten Lynch, Mark Nicoski (West Coast); Will Minson (Western Bulldogs). At a guess, no more than about half of this list is likely to change clubs. The rest will either stay put or retire. With a few exceptions (Brendon Goddard mooted to go to the Bombers very early in the proceedings) the changes are unlikely to represent much more than a blip on the radar although hundreds of articles will be written and thousands of discussions and arguments started on the subject with much time of that time wasted. The rumours, innuendo and scuttlebutt have already been flying around the media and the Internet for several weeks. Fear not and remember "much ado about nothing". Now, I've gone all this way without explaining Free Agency and that is because much of the information about the topic has been released by the AFL in dribs and drabs and if I didn't know better (and I actually don't) I would be saying that they're making it all up as they go. However, for a better understanding of the process, I refer you to FA explained by Luke Holmesby of the AFL's own site. He makes a good fist of it and I'll be back from time to time on an irregular basis to discuss the latest developments of this year's FAT Period. Sit back and enjoy the ride!

THE FAT CHRONICLES - THE FAT SIDE by The Oracle Soon after the free agency exchange period came to an end on Friday afternoon, the AFL announced the compensation it was giving to cover the loss of players and it finally dawned on players and supporters that the system was more about allowing the free flow of players with more than seven year's service to their clubs than about "compensation". It should be obvious to all and sundry by now that when the AFL talks about compensating clubs, it does not speak of providing restitution for players lost within the system it has created but something entirely different. The results of the system speak for themselves. Here are the movements of the past fortnight together with "compensation" (where applicable):- Free Agency Movements - October 2012 ■ Adelaide Gains: Nil Losses: Chris Knights ■ Brisbane Gains: Brent Moloney Losses: Nil ■ Collingwood Gain: Quinten Lynch and Clinton Young Losses: Nil ■ Essendon Gains: Brendon Goddard Losses: Nil ■ Fremantle Gains: Danyle Pearce Losses: Nil ■ Geelong Gains: Jared Rivers Loss: Shannon Byrnes ■ Hawthorn Gains: A third round pick (66) Losses: Tom Murphy and Clinton Young ■ Melbourne Gains: Shannon Byrnes and a third round pick (49) Losses: Brent Moloney and Jared Rivers ■ Port Adelaide Gains: Two second round picks (30 & 31) Losses: Troy Chaplin and Danyle Pearce ■ Richmond Gains: Troy Chaplin and Chris Knights Losses: Nil ■ St. Kilda Gain: A first round pick (13) Loss: Brendon Goddard ■ West Coast Gains: A third round pick (62) Loss: Quinten Lynch The "compensation" was based on a document issued by the AFL which said: ''We confirm that the compensation formula will produce a points rating for players based on two factors: 1) new contract of the free agent and 2) age of the free agent. ''Draft picks will be allocated to clubs based on the net total points for free agents lost and gained during the transfer period. Draft picks will be allocated to one of five places: first round, end first round, second round, end of second round and third round.'' There are winners and losers there and the frustration at some clubs was obvious. Hawthorn received a third round compensation pick from the AFL for the loss of Clinton Young, and nothing for Thomas Murphy. Football operations GM Mark Evans has told of how the Hawks feel they have been "pick-pocketed" and that they are considering an appeal. Melbourne could also feel cheated with its meagre "compensation" for two players who a little more than twelve months ago finished first and second in their best and fairest. On the other hand, if remuneration is paramount in determining compensation then the Demons might also feel vindicated in not working too hard to keep either Moloney or Rivers if their new pay packets are so meagre as to warrant nothing more than a third round pick at 49. Port Adelaide was nicely rewarded for the loss of its two players with not just one but two picks but it was aided by some nifty footwork in the guise of a trade it worked out with Essendon over free agent Angus Monfries. However, it is certainly arguable that the two clubs were tampering with the draft system in a way designed to manipulate the free agency compensation outcome in favour of Port Adelaide. Monfries and his four year contract would have bitten deeply into what Port would otherwise have received. Essendon who were going to get nothing out of it were glad to pocket pick 48. The AFL is usually swift to knock such things on the head but, in this instance, it did nothing. The end of the story is that in a very short period of time it is likely that free agency will become exactly that as otherwise the presence of this arbitrary system of compensation will destroy it altogether amid feelings of suspicion from both the clubs and the public about the way it is administered. If you think free agency is done and dusted until next year, then you should think again. Between 1 & 13 November any player who has been delisted can be signed up by any club. In other words, free agency will be well and truly on for delisted players and with no compensation for the clubs they are leaving. This will facilitate movement for delisted players without their involvement in the draft or trading. Naturally, the clever club list managers will have already worked things out and have been in the ears of player managers. The result might be a reduction in trade deals over the final week of the exchange period as clubs wait for the free pickings of delisted players. And so it was that this week's trading was subdued in many cases because clubs were waiting on the outcome of the free agency compensation.The big news from Melbourne's point of view was the club securing Chris Dawes for pick 20 and an exchange of later picks. The coup put a lie to the claims by critics that good players didn't want to go there but it didn't stop them from turning their attention to new claims that the price paid was too high or that the club was using a scattergun approach to recruiting. Undeterred, the Demons continue to move forward with their plans. This week's excerpt for Melbourne from the AFL website's State of Play for week three:- North's Cameron Pedersen remains in the club's sights while contracted Rockman Stef Martin is attracting interest from a few clubs. The long running Kurt Tippett saga continues and we're seeing signs that Sydney's "nice guy" image is beginning to tarnish. The coming weeks will continue to see changes to every club's list. This ain't done and dusted just yet. Completed Trades, Weeks 1 & 2 ■ Richmond trade Angus Graham and pick 50 to Adelaide for pick 40. ■ North Melbourne trade Hamish McIntosh to Geelong for pick 36. ■ Collingwood trade Chris Dawes and pick 58 to Melbourne for picks 20 and 45. ■ 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

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'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.

THE FAT CHRONICLES - COMBINATION by The Oracle We entered uncharted territory this week with free agency and the impending trade period dominating the football news at one level and the Draft Combine attracting interest with respect to new talent on another. The FAT "Free Agency and Trades The conclusion from the first week of FA is that it is generally an unqualified success in terms of getting seasoned players together with their preferred new clubs. Of the list of restricted free agents Brendon Goddard (Essendon), Danyle Pearce (Fremantle) and Troy Chaplin (Richmond) found new homes while Chris Knights (Richmond), Shannon Byrnes (Melbourne) and Quinten Lynch (Collingwood) are of the unrestricted variety who did likewise. This left many FAs still in limbo and while a few others will find new destinations and others will still come to terms with their existing clubs, for some it will be the end of the road. This weekend presents a perfect segue into a fortnight in which the FA and trade period becomes FAT. During the week, the trade conjecture stepped up with Kurt Tippett becoming the major player as he plans his exodus from Adelaide. Collingwood pair Sharrod Wellingham and Chris Dawes who both want out are also attracting interest and young Sun's midfielder Josh Caddy has everyone guessing as to where he will end up although some are scratching their heads as to how someone who finished 17th in the club's best and fairest while playing every game of the season could be such a wanted man. Things will play themselves out slowly in the coming weeks but one matter affecting the trades and draft positioning will be the three potential father/son picks nominated in that category for the 2012 national draft. Their fate will be decided on Monday morning at the opening of the exchange period when opposition clubs can bid for them ahead of the draft. The nominating club then has to decide whether to take player at its next available selection in that round (not including compensation picks). The players available are Joe Daniher (Essendon), Lachie Hunter (Western Bulldogs) and Jack Viney (Melbourne). Other potential f/s players. Jordon Bourke (Geelong - son of Damian), James Stewart (Collingwood - son of Craig) and James Stewart (Hawthorn - son of John Platten) were overlooked. Daniher is expected to be taken with Essendon's first pick, Hunter with the Bulldogs' third round pick while Viney's situation is up in the air. Depending on whether he is claimed by one of the new franchises he could go to Melbourne as early as pick three or in the second round. We'll know soon after 10 o'clock. By way of a general update, here is the excerpt for Melbourne from the AFL website's State of Play The Draft Combine There was an added flavour to this year's draft combine with the introduction of an international group of potential draftees - Internationals named for Combine. Some of the lads produced great results in the athletic testing and one Gideon Simon of Papua New Guinea has been added to Richmond's list as an international rookie while New Zealander Kurt Heatherly is a Hawthorn scholarship holder who has already shown out with Caulfield Grammar and the Sandringham Dragons. Melbourne, which pioneered international recruiting with its Irish contingent lad by Jim Stynes and Sean Wight in the 1980s, has shunned this pathway in recent years. Perhaps the success of Sydney's Canadian ruckman Mike Pyke might revive some interest on the part of the club. If it does, then in US College basketballer Eric Wallace might fit the bill. Athletically, he's a freak but the question is whether he has the same level of commitment and desire to learn and achieve at a foreign sport in an alien environment as did our Jim and whether the MFC has the resources and will to develop such a person. The rest of the week's combine didn't attract the hoopla of the internationals but there was a substantial amount of interest from club recruiting people who not only observed the testing but conducted what, in many cases, were detailed interviews with their subjects and these were only the tip of the iceberg where specific targets were concerned. The amount of background checking of potential draftees these days is quite unbelievable. Naturally, there were a few standouts and a handful would have improved their draft stocks. These included some of the more seasoned players in the group who have been playing against men such as North Ballarat's Dean Towers and Launceston's Jesse Lonergan through to 17 year old GWS Mini Draft prospects Jack Martin, Jesse Hogan and Joshua Kelly. More testing continues at the State Screeinings over the weekend. The big question as always is whether they can play footy? 2012 Draft Combine Results Below are the leading results from the 2012 NAB AFL Draft Combine held at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne. 3 kilometre time trial (minutes:seconds) Joshua Kelly Vic Sandringham Dragons 09:48 Tom Clurey Vic Murray Bushrangers 10:01 Dominic Barry NT North Ballarat Rebels 10:09 Kamdyn McIntosh WA Peel Thunder 10:14 Jake Neade NT North Ballarat Rebels 10:16 Sean Hurley Ire Kildare 10:17 Tanner Smith Vic North Ballarat Rebels 10:18 Sam Siggins Tas Lauderdale 10:19 Mitchell Van Den Berg Tas North Launceston 10:19 Sean Lynch WA South Fremantle 10:20 Jesse Hogan WA Claremont 10:20 Shuttle Run (Beep Test) Level Tom Clurey Vic Murray Bushrangers 15-1 Mitchell Van Den Berg Tas North Launceston 14-9 Kamdyn McIntosh WA Peel Thunder 14-8 Joshua Kelly Vic Sandringham Dragons 14-6 Will Hams Vic Gippsland Power 14-4 Jonathan O'Rourke Vic Calder Cannons 14-4 Sam Siggins Tas Lauderdale 14-4 Oliver Wines Vic Bendigo Pioneers 14-3 Jason Ashby Vic Oakleigh Chargers 14-2 Brodie Murdoch SA Glenelg 14-2 Jacob Ballard Vic Northern Knights 14-2 Dominic Barry NT North Ballarat Rebels 14-2 Jesse Hogan WA Claremont 14-2 Clean hands test Score Matthew Dick Vic Calder Cannons 29 Laine Wilkins WA Peel Thunder 29 Jake Stringer Vic Bendigo Pioneers 28 Nathan Hrovat Vic Northern Knights 28 Jordon Bourke Qld Morningside 27 Matthew Brett Vic Murray Bushrangers 27 Brodie Grundy SA Sturt 27 Toby Nankervis Tas North Launceston 27 Dayle Garlett WA Claremont 27 Harrison Marsh WA East Fremantle 27 Nick Rodda WA West Perth 27 Goal kicking test Score Andrew Boston Qld Broadbeach 30 Jesse Lonergan Tas Launceston 30 Jake Stringer Vic Bendigo Pioneers 30 Will Hams Vic Gippsland Power 25 Jake Neade NT North Ballarat Rebels 25 Shannon Taylor WA Claremont 25 Cameron Banfield Vic Sandringham Dragons 25 Sean Lynch WA South Fremantle 25 Jackson Macrae Vic Oakleigh Chargers 25 Brodie Murdoch SA Glenelg 25 Josh Simpson WA East Fremantle 25 Laine Wilkins WA Peel Thunder 25 Tim Broomhead SA Port Adelaide 25 Joshua Kelly Vic Sandringham Dragons 25 Jack Martin WA Claremont 25 Tom Clurey Vic Murray Bushrangers 25 Nick Rodda WA West Perth 25 James Stewart Vic Sandringham Dragons 25 Mason Wood Vic Geelong Falcons 25 Toby Nankervis Tas North Launceston 25 Kicking test Score Laine Wilkins WA Peel Thunder 29 Rory Atkins Vic Calder Cannons 29 Josh Simpson WA East Fremantle 29 Jack Martin WA Claremont 28 Will Hams Vic Gippsland Power 28 Brodie Murdoch SA Glenelg 28 Dominic Barry NT North Ballarat Rebels 27 Aidan Corr Vic Northern Knights 27 Kamdyn McIntosh WA Peel Thunder 27 James Stewart Vic Sandringham Dragons 27 Matthew Haynes Vic Northern Knights 27 Louis Herbert Vic North Ballarat Rebels 27 Jason Pongracic Vic Dandenong Stingrays 27 Agility test (minutes:seconds) Lachie Hunter Vic Western Jets 8:00 Jesse Lonergan Tas Launceston 8:25 Tim O'Brien SA Glenelg 8:30 Jordon Bourke Qld Morningside 8:30 Emmett Bradley Ireland Derry 8:31 Zac Williams NSW/ACT Narrandera 8:32 Laine Wilkins WA Peel Thunder 8:33 Mason Woods Vic Geelong Falcons 8:35 Jason Ashby Vic Oakleigh Chargers 8:36 Jason Pongracic Vic Dandenong Stingrays 8:36 Height Centimetres Cameron Symonds WA East Fremantle 203.4 Liam McBean Vic Calder Cannons 203.1 Darcy Fort Vic Geelong Falcons 202.7 Chris Prowse Vic Oakleigh Chargers 202.5 Lewis Pierce Vic Dandenong Stingrays 202.3 Brodie Grundy SA Sturt 201.8 Myles Bolger WA South Fremantle 201.6 Yannick Crowder USA Stone Mountain 201.6 Joe Daniher Vic Calder Cannons 201.0 Sam Gilmore Vic Northern Knights 200.6 Jack Hannath SA Central Districts 200.6 Weight Kilograms Cameron Symonds WA East Fremantle 104.9 Benjamin Shearry USA Idaho 102.9 Eric Wallace USA Winston-Salem 102.5 Brodie Grundy SA Sturt 99.8 Toby Nankervis Tas North Launceston 99.8 Yannick Crowder USA Stone Mountain 98.9 Nick Rodda WA West Perth 98.1 Jesse Hogan WA Claremont 97.4 Jack Hannath SA Central Districts 97.2 Myles Bolger WA South Fremantle 94.7 Hand span Centimetres Yannick Crowder USA Stone Mountain 26.8 Spencer White Vic Western Jets 26.1 Mason Wood Vic Geelong Falcons 25.3 Eric Wallace USA Winston-Salem 25.2 Brodie Grundy SA Sturt 25.1 Kurt Heatherley NZ Bay of Plenty 25.1 Jason Ashby Vic Oakleigh Chargers 25.1 Cameron Symonds WA East Fremantle 24.8 Nick Rodda WA West Perth 24.8 Jesse Hogan WA Claremont 24.8 Jacob Ballard Vic Northern Knights 24.8 Emmanuel Irra SA South Adelaide 24.8 Standing vertical jump Centimetres Dean Towers Vic North Ballarat Roosters 85 Jesse Lonergan Tas Launceston 83 Spencer White Vic Western Jets 82 Eric Wallace USA Winston-Salem 80 Laine Wilkins WA Peel Thunder 75 Harrison Marsh WA East Fremantle 73 James Stewart Vic Sandringham Dragons 73 Clay Cameron Qld Mt Gravatt 72 Adam Saad Vic Calder Cannons 72 Aidan Corr Vic Northern Knights 72 Running vertical jump Centimetres Spencer White Vic Western Jets 100 Laine Wilkins WA Peel Thunder 97 Jesse Lonergan Tas Launceston 91 Jake McKenzie Vic Western Jets 89 Clay Cameron Qld Mt Gravatt 88 Jed Anderson NT NT Thunder 87 James Stewart Vic Sandringham Dragons 86 Matthew Haynes Vic Northern Knights 86 Eric Wallace USA Winston-Salem 85 Jacob Ballard Vic Northern Knights 84 Dominic Barry NT North Ballarat Rebels 84 20 metre sprints (seconds) Adam Saad Vic Calder 2.81 Kurt Heatherley NZ 2.84 Leigh Osborne Vic Frankston 2.86 Matthew Dick Vic Calder 2.88 Matthew Haynes Vic Northern Knights 2.89 Dean Towers Vic North Ballarat VFL 2.89 Aiden Corr Vic Northern Knights 2.89 Clay Cameron Qld Mt Gravatt 2.91 Jordon Bourke Qld Morningside 2.92 Cameron Banfield Vic Sandringham 2.93 Jarrod Stokes NT Darwin 2.93 Repeat sprints (seconds) Matthew Haynes Vic Northern Knights 23.91 Harrison Marsh WA East Fremantle 24.32 Dean Towers Vic North Ballarat Roosters 24.48 Leigh Osborne Vic Frankston 24.74 Joshua Kelly Vic Sandringham Dragons 24.91 Tim Broomhead SA Port Adelaide 24.98 Jesse Lonergan Tas Launceston 25.12 Gideon Simon PNG Mt Hagan 25.18 Dominic Barry NT North Ballarat Rebels 25.19 Tim O'Brien SA Glenelg 25.19

With the recent departure of Moloney it raises a question in my mind. How are we going to attract new players to the club? We've made a play for Boak, don't know how it's holding up. Some of us would like to see Josh Caddy in the Red and Blue in 2013 as well. But 2012 was a really poor year. What would make a player join a club that, if not for GWS and GCS, probably would've only had 1 win for the year? Money isn't much of a problem as we have a fair amount of room in our salary cap. Can we still convince others that we are heading in the right direction? Or will they see the departure of Moloney as a steer clear sign? What do we have to do to put ourselves above other clubs in preparation for and during the trading period to lure players to this great and proud club?

THE FAT CHRONICLES - FREE AGENCY by The Oracle Life was so much simpler ten years ago when we had a trade week that lasted, erm, well ... a week. Representatives of the sixteen AFL clubs would meet in the sponsors' boxes at Pricefixer Park on the Monday and that would be followed by seven days of argy bargy mixed with a little subterfuge and deception, stories would abound of players and draft picks changing places and in the end, perhaps a dozen or possibly twenty deals would get done, most of them singularly unspectacular. The result was often one of boredom mixed with disappointment met with a shrug of the shoulders and it was on to the next thing which was the national draft meeting in November. I must have missed something because, while this has been going on, those of us who have carefully watched the shenanigans of trade week have openly advocated that the entire process dragged on over too many days. Everybody was waiting for the action to hot up and reach a hectic, dramatic climax in the last day and a half. The pundits were all saying that the AFL should cut the player exchange period down to three days simply to restore some sanity into the picture. Well, the AFL, being the AFL, has suddenly taken a mysterious U turn following the introduction of free agency and has co-joined that concept with the trade period and extended it out to close on to the whole of the month of October. That's why I call it the "FAT" period, which stands for "Free Agency & Trade". The official AFL Free Agency Period runs from 1 October to 5pm on 19 October while the AFL Trade Period runs from 8 October to 2pm on 26 October. By the time we get to the end of the line on that last Friday of next month many of you will risk being left emotionally and physically wrecked by the twists and turns of the FAT period unless you are properly prepared for the ordeal. I'm here to help you get through this difficult time and to ensure that life remains as uncomplicated as possible during this time. The first thing to remember is the "much ado about nothing" rule which applies to a lot of the AFL's business. Despite the warnings of doom and all the hype about free agency, it's not really going to make a difference to most of our lives. One or two big names might change clubs, a number of hopefuls and lesser lights will get involved and a few of them could find new homes and some aging players will boost their pensions. That's it folks. No great dramas! If you don't believe me, here's the latest list of players available as free agents - Complete list of Free Agents: Restricted Free Agents Angus Monfries (Essendon); Brent Moloney (Melbourne); Troy Chaplin, Danyle Pearce (Port Adelaide); Luke McGuane (Richmond); Brendon Goddard (St Kilda). Unrestricted Free Agents Chris Knights (Adel Crows); Jordan Russell, Bret Thornton (Carlton); Ben Johnson (Collingwood); Ricky Dyson, Dustin Fletcher, David Hille, Nathan Lovett-Murray, Henry Slattery (Essendon); Luke McPharlin (Fremantle); Shannon Byrnes, Josh Hunt (Geelong Cats); Thomas Murphy, Michael Osborne, Clinton Young (Hawthorn); Matthew Bate, Lynden Dunn, Jared Rivers (Melbourne); Brett Ebert, Steven Salopek, Jacob Surjan (Port Adelaide); Jason Blake, Raphael Clarke (St Kilda); Jude Bolton, Jarred Moore (Sydney Swans); Quinten Lynch, Mark Nicoski (West Coast); Will Minson (Western Bulldogs). At a guess, no more than about half of this list is likely to change clubs. The rest will either stay put or retire. With a few exceptions (Brendon Goddard mooted to go to the Bombers very early in the proceedings) the changes are unlikely to represent much more than a blip on the radar although hundreds of articles will be written and thousands of discussions and arguments started on the subject with much time of that time wasted. The rumours, innuendo and scuttlebutt have already been flying around the media and the Internet for several weeks. Fear not and remember "much ado about nothing". Now, I've gone all this way without explaining Free Agency and that is because much of the information about the topic has been released by the AFL in dribs and drabs and if I didn't know better (and I actually don't) I would be saying that they're making it all up as they go. However, for a better understanding of the process, I refer you to FA explained by Luke Holmesby of the AFL's own site. He makes a good fist of it and I'll be back from time to time on an irregular basis to discuss the latest developments of this year's FAT Period. Sit back and enjoy the ride!

I know it's only the Herald Sun, but has nobody on demonland seen this? http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/free-agents-on-the-you-wish-and-can-get-lists/story-e6frf9jf-1226279957739 I mean, I'm sure most dees supporters disregard it as rubbish, based purely on the fact that Moloney supported us a kid, but how much weight does that really hold? In any case, I'm not aware of him having too many mates at Essendon. He played for Geelong Falcons and is from Warrnambool - not many links I can see there. I'm willing to bet that the Neeld and the club's new approach will have him desperate to stick around for some success with the club. That and the fact he wouldn't have Jamar serving him the footy on a platter. Interestingly, it may make it easier for players to move clubs, but an aspect of free agency that I hadn't yet considered, is that the team poaching a player doesn't actually lose anything. They don't have to trade away picks or players - they part with nothing. The whole league supplies the player's original team with a draft pick.