Trade week primer: Geelong

WITH trade week upon us, afl.com.au runs through how each of the 16 clubs are placed and which players, if any, they will be courting in the post-season period.

Where's the club at?
It could be easy to jump off the Cats following their grand final heartache but one must remember they still have arguably the strongest list in the competition, a playing roster that needs little tinkering.

Geelong simply had a bad day against Hawthorn but will again be looking at a premiership tilt in 2009, and they certainly have the cattle to threaten for another flag.

Coach Mark Thompson has plenty of depth at his disposal. There will be no major player turnover, with veterans staying on and youngsters to further develop over the summer.

However, its attack let it down on grand final day. The club does have a couple of young key forwards (most notably Tom Hawkins) who are expected to fill goalkicking posts in coming years.

But the coach knows he has already lost at least one tall forward next season with Nathan Ablett departing. Does he feel as though he needs another marking option, or someone that can add some firepower to an already high-scoring attack?

Ryan O’Keefe might be an attractive option, although the Cats would struggle to fit him under their already-tight salary cap.

An area of concern for the Cats further down the track could be in defence.

However with Harry Taylor progressing nicely and with Matthew Egan a likely ‘recruit’ next season, longer-term planning can be taken care of via the NAB AFL Draft.

Tradeable commodities
Almost all of Geelong’s senior list is signed up for 2009, but that doesn’t mean a player and the club might not agree to a trade if both parties were happy with the deal.

Some at Geelong might feel they’ll get a better go elsewhere in coming seasons, such is the strength of the list.

The Cats have an abundance of midfielders, and they’re all quality. Brent Prismall suffered a serious knee injury in the finals and won’t be back until at least mid-way through next season. Several clubs could be interested in the talented youngster who showed plenty before going down.

Travis Varcoe and Shannon Byrnes seem to be fighting over the one spot, so one might seek greener pastures, while Kane Tenace and David Johnson almost certainly appear to be on borrowed time at the Cattery.

Whether any other club would be interested in the pair remains to be seen.

Jason Davenport also won the VFL best and fairest this year and that award has proven to be a bit of a curse in recent years, with past winners finding themselves elsewhere the following season.

What the club says
"We're going into trade week open-minded," Geelong's national recruiting manager Stephen Wells said.

"We'll certainly look forward to discussions with all of the clubs and we'll see what comes of those discussions.

"At this stage though, we don't plan to be heavily involved in trade week. But we may become involved as the week goes along."

Crystal ball trades
Brent Prismall came on in leaps and bounds for the Cats this season before injuring his knee.

Could North Melbourne, a club looking for more run and who Prismall followed as a youngster, try to lure the talented midfielder in exchange for a pick?

More trade talk
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Trade week runs from October 6-10, 2008. Please note, no trades are official until paperwork has been accepted by the AFL and formally recognised after 2pm on Friday, October 10.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.