Hawthorn and Carlton have sprung the first surprise of the AFL trade period with a draft pick swap that has major ramifications.
After an uneventful opening five days, the trade period had a major shakeup on Friday when Hawthorn gave their first-round No.14 draft selection in return for Carlton’s 2025 first and second-round picks.
The No.14 pick was expected to feature in Hawthorn’s efforts to recruit West Coast defender Tom Barrass.
The thinking had been that when that deal was struck, the Eagles would then use the No.14 selection to bring across Liam Baker from Richmond.
But it now gives Carlton extra leverage as they try to lure two-time All-Australian defender Dan Houston from Port Adelaide. The Blues already have the No.12 pick.
It also might mean West Coast are out of the running for Baker and it becomes more complicated for Barras to join Hawthorn.
Houston, Barrass and Baker are among several players who are waiting to learn their fates during the trade period.
Friday featured the first deals since the period opened on Monday, when Jack Darling joined North Melbourne and Alex Neal-Bullen went to Adelaide.
But none of the Friday trades involved any players.
Apart from the Hawthorn-Carlton bombshell, Brisbane traded their first-round draft selection at No.20 to Richmond for several second and third-round picks.
The Blues and Lions also struck a separate deal involving the swap of second and fourth-round picks in this year’s draft.
Otherwise it’s been all negotiations, with Houston’s future in particular proving tough to determine as he seeks a move from Port Adelaide back to his native Melbourne.
Collingwood and Carlton are the two main players in the Houston talks, but Magpies list manager Justin Leppitsch said on Friday they are in a holding pattern and will resume negotiations next week.
The trade period ends on Wednesday night, with North Melbourne also confident they are players in the Houston talks.
“Dan hasn’t nominated a club, so it is not like he is definitely coming to us. It is complicated, so there is a little bit to work through,” Leppitsch told AFL Trade Radio.
“The difficult part is getting everyone happy in the deal.”
Meanwhile, Jack Macrae has asked to leave the Western Bulldogs and join St Kilda, but those two clubs also are a long way off reaching agreement.
“The discussions between us and them about Jack really haven’t progressed too far. Whether they sort of accelerate up over the next few days, we’ll wait and see,” said Saints football boss David Misson.
Bailey Smith also wants out from the Bulldogs and is keen to head to Geelong, while Richmond will end up with a trove of draft picks if Daniel Rioli (Gold Coast), Shai Bolton (Fremantle) and Baker are granted their wishes.
Sydney and North Melbourne are also not close to settling on a trade for veteran Swans Luke Parker.
Brisbane football boss Danny Daly said on Friday that Deven Robertson and Harry Sharp are looking at moves to rival clubs.
Neither player was a member of the Lions’ premiership team.
