Get all the latest news in the trade, free agency and draft landscape in Inside Trading, AFL.com.au's dedicated column for player movement. Find out the latest on contracts, deals, trades, draftees, rules, agents and who is going where from the AFL.com.au team.
HAWK FREE AGENT CLOSING IN ON DEAL
CLUBS hoping to prise free agent Jarman Impey out of Hawthorn will need to look elsewhere for half-back options.
The 30-year-old is one of six restricted free agents in 2026 and is a player rivals have enquired about in recent months.
But AFL.com.au understands the Hawks have tabled a two-year extension to retain Impey until 2028.
Impey has a trigger in his contract for 2027, but is set to secure a new two-year contract after finishing top 10 in the past three Peter Crimmins Medals.
After playing 75 games for Port Adelaide before returning to Victoria in 2017, Impey will play his 150th game for Hawthorn in the traditional Easter Monday blockbuster against Geelong. – Josh Gabelich
CAT SET FOR TRIGGER
JACK Martin reignited his career in Geelong in the second half of 2025 and is now on track to hit a trigger for a third season at Kardinia Park.
The 31-year-old moved to the Cats on a two-year deal as a delisted free agent at the end of 2024 after five injury interrupted seasons at Carlton. It's understood that contract included a trigger for a third season.
TRADE HUB All the latest player movement news
Geelong carefully managed Martin across the first half of last year, bringing him back through the VFL for a fortnight in May, before he played for the Cats for the first time in round 13.
Martin played 13 of the final 14 games of 2025, including both the qualifying and preliminary final wins before being subbed into the Grand Final loss to Brisbane.
Chris Scott has used Martin in a variety of roles since he moved down the highway, but played him deep forward last Thursday night, when the West Australian kicked 3.2 in the win over Adelaide.
After so many soft tissue issues at Princes Park, Martin has extended his career in the hoops and is now nearing a trigger to extend his time even further. – Josh Gabelich
PRE-AGENT POWER RISES
A STACK of the competition's stars are set to cash in as pre-agents this year as the market inflates with Tasmania's entrance in 2027.
Pre-agents – the players who are one year away from being free agents – will carry more power than ever this year given the Devils' entrance at the end of next year.
It will have clubs desperate to lock in their pre-agents to big deals ahead of then, but if players want to hold talks off until their free agency year then they will also be ready for lucrative offers in 2027.
The likes of Chad Warner, Matt Rowell, Noah Anderson, Sam De Koning, Miles Bergman, Mitch Georgiades, Lachie Ash, Tom Green and Cody Weightman are among the group of 2019 draftees who will reach free agency for the first time next year.
Warner attracted massive interest last year from West Coast and Fremantle before re-signing for two years with the Swans, while Rowell took until deeper into 2025 before recommitting to two more years at the Suns after meeting with Collingwood, Essendon, Geelong and the Western Bulldogs.
Gold Coast is expected to look to lock in Anderson on a long-term extension before he reaches free agency, with Fremantle having done similar earlier this year with Caleb Serong, who took himself off the market until 2034 with his mega deal.
Bergman has the option of signing a huge long-term deal at Port Adelaide at any stage of his current contract with the Power after having that agreement with the club when he signed on for two seasons last year, while Georgiades will be on the radar of the Eagles as well as the Power look to lock him in.
Greater Western Sydney pair Ash and Green are also set to get significant interest, with Green on the Devils' target list and Ash certain to attract big deals from rivals as soon as this year.
Charlie Comben is another pre-agent who will be in the sights of clubs if he doesn't sign on this year, while the likes of Patrick Cripps, Zach Merrett, Alex Pearce and Jack Sinclair are among the current or former skippers also a year off being free agents.
YOUR CLUB'S KEY PRE-AGENTS
Adelaide: Ben Keays, Lachie McAndrew
Brisbane: Keidean Coleman
Carlton: Patrick Cripps, George Hewett, Brodie Kemp
Collingwood: Jordan De Goey, Jamie Elliott
Essendon: Zach Merrett, Kyle Langford, Nick Bryan, Harrison Jones
Fremantle: Alex Pearce, Luke Ryan
Geelong: Sam De Koning, Jeremy Cameron, Tom Stewart
Gold Coast: Matt Rowell, Noah Anderson, Touk Miller
Greater Western Sydney: Lachie Ash, Tom Green, Lachie Whitfield
Hawthorn: Will Day, James Sicily, Finn Maginness, Karl Amon, Jack Scrimshaw
Melbourne: Trent Rivers, Max Gawn, Harrison Petty
North Melbourne: Charlie Comben
Port Adelaide: Miles Bergman, Mitch Georgiades
Richmond: Toby Nankervis, Nick Vlastuin, Jayden Short, Ben Miller
St Kilda: Rowan Marshall, Jack Sinclair, Hunter Clark, Bradley Hill
Sydney: Chad Warner, Tom McCartin, James Jordon, Hayden McLean
West Coast: Tim Kelly, Elliot Yeo
Western Bulldogs: Cody Weightman, Bailey Williams
SWANS DEFENDER SEWN UP
SYDNEY'S Lewis Melican has extended his stay at the club, with the defender signed through to the end of 2028.
Melican was due to come out of contract at the end of 2027, but has added the extra season to his deal after becoming an important part of the Swans' back half in the past three years.
He would have qualified as a free agent at the end of next year before adding the extra year.
The 29-year-old played 24 games in the Swans' 2024 Grand Final season, including the flag decider against Geelong, before 17 games last year. He has featured in all of the Swans' matches so far this season after reaching his 100th game at the end of last year.
Melican, who was drafted from the Geelong Falcons, made his debut in 2017 and battled injuries for the first half of his AFL career. – Callum Twomey
SURGERY FOR TOP DRAFTEE
NO.1 pick contender Dougie Cochrane is set to miss the Marsh AFL National Under-18 Boys Championships after having knee surgery.
The highly talented utility has been battling knee tendinitis since the back end of last year and last week underwent surgery on his patella to correct the issue, which is expected to sideline him for around 12 weeks.
The injury has seen him miss the start of this season at SANFL level and will put him out of action for the next couple of months, with South Australia's under-18 carnival to kick off in June. There is still hope he plays some SANFL games at the end of the year.
Cochrane is tied to Port Adelaide at this year's draft after being approved to be a part of the club's Next Generation Academy at the end of last year.
The son of former Roo and Power player Stuart, and brother of current Port forward Tom, is considered one of the leading contenders to be the top pick this year and that is unlikely to change even if he doesn't play much footy this year. – Callum Twomey
AFL TO RETURN TO THE UNITED STATES
THE AFL has started canvassing clubs around their interest in returning to the United States in June for a second successive American draft combine event.
Clubs have been told this week that the League will return to Dallas for a three-day combine running from June 5-7 and is already in the process of scouting collegiate athletes, again focusing on prospects standing above 200cm.
Five clubs travelled to the United States last year for an international combine event with Collingwood, St Kilda, Gold Coast, Hawthorn and Geelong all making the trip to Dallas.
DRAFT HUB Click here for the latest draft news
Eight youngsters, all of whom with either basketball or volleyball backgrounds at collegiate level, were put through their paces by AFL clubs in the hopes of finding the next Mason Cox.
Clubs invited two of those prospects back to Australia – the 208cm Josh Van Gorp from Central College in Iowa and the 211cm Hayden Curtiss from Portland State University – but neither ultimately earned AFL opportunities. – Riley Beveridge
LION CUB IN TALKS ON EXTENSION
BRISBANE has launched talks with draftee Cody Curtin for an early contract extension, with the WA product adapting quickly to AFL demands with the back-to-back premier.
Curtin joined the Lions with pick No.43 in last year's Telstra AFL Draft on an initial two-year deal, with talks now focused on the potential for a one or two-year extension.
The 18-year-old is the brother of Adelaide midfielder Dan Curtin and made his VFL debut last week, kicking one goal against Southport and using his 200cm frame to provide some ruck support.
He exceeded the club's expectations by forcing his way into the team for the AAMI Community Series clash against Gold Coast and has stood out with his competitive and intense training style.
A combative forward/ruck who booted 45 goals across 17 games at various levels last season, Curtin also offers the Lions list flexibility with the ability to play as a key defender if needed.
He has modelled his forward game on Freo goalkicker Josh Treacy, watching the contested marking star closely as a junior while spending time with the Dockers as part of the Marsh AFL National Boys Academy. – Nathan Schmook
ACADEMY GAMES LOCKED IN
THE COUNTRY'S leading draft prospects will line up for back-to-back games with the Marsh AFL National Boys Academy this month.
The boys Academy group have returned to playing two games across a week, with the full program to as closely as possible resemble an AFL club's preparation, recovery and training regime.
They will play North Melbourne's VFL team on Sunday, April 12 at Arden Street and then the following week face Richmond's VFL side on Saturday, April 18 at Ikon Park. Both games are scheduled to start at 12.30pm local time.
The consecutive matches against senior opposition is a chance for the Academy to come together for the week, having also toured New Zealand in December for the first international trip the Academy had taken in seven years.
West Coast's Josh Lindsay and Essendon's Dyson Sharp were among the players to perform well in the Academy games last year. – Callum Twomey
