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.
PIES' NEALE CHASE GROWS
COLLINGWOOD'S significant interest in Brisbane superstar Lachie Neale has opened the door to the prospect of a unique compensation pick for the Lions if Neale departs.
The Magpies are among a number of clubs with keen interest in the two-time Brownlow medallist, with the belief they could be prepared to get their offer to three years to land him at the club.
That would take him to 36 years of age, with the midfielder currently in career-best form on a number of statistical measures and expected to be current leader of Brisbane's best and fairest.
Neale is weighing up his future at Brisbane after his marriage breakdown at the end of last year, which saw him step down as co-captain of the Lions following their back-to-back premiership triumphs.
He is an unrestricted free agent so can walk to any club if he decides to leave Brisbane, with the Lions not giving up hope he could remain with them beyond 2026. They are ready to table a new deal to extend him if he was to choose that, although rivals believe he is more likely to head to a new club. He would have qualified to be a restricted free agent given he has played for eight years at Brisbane, but his last deal was front-ended so he sat outside Brisbane's top 25 per cent of earners this year.
The free agency compensation model takes into account the length and pay level of a player's deal when they switch clubs, but their age is also a determining factor under the secret formula.
However, if Neale was to depart he would likely secure the most significant free agency deal in AFL history for a player his age, putting a focus on what level the compensation would be for Brisbane under the free agency system.
Whilst his age would be expected to rule out a first-round and end-of-first-round compensation pick, if he is to depart clubs would be prepared to pay more given his unrestricted status, making the compensation selection a new case as players play on later into their 30s.
Collingwood is actively chasing Neale as the Pies continue to hunt the free agency market, while Adelaide, St Kilda and the West Australian clubs have also shown interest.
Neale has yet to decide what he will do in 2027, with the star Lion and six-time best and fairest winner saying earlier this year he would think about his future more in the back half of the year.
Brisbane has started scouring the trade and free agency market themselves as Neale and Zac Bailey consider moves. – Callum Twomey
DOCKER TALKS TO OPEN
FREMANTLE will open discussions with Sam Switkowski on a new deal, with the Dockers free agent having not been rushed to make a call on his future.
The Dockers have a two-year offer ready for the small forward, who kicked three goals against North Melbourne last week, which would take him through to the end of the 2028 season.
Switkowski is among the club's run of successes with rookie selections and late draft picks who have been central to their list build, with the 29-year-old selected as a mature-ager out of the Box Hill Hawks VFL program at the 2017 draft (pick No.73 overall).
He was restricted at stages by injury last year but has played every game for the Dockers this season as they sit on top of the ladder, with the pressure small forward kicking 10 goals.
Victorian clubs have enquired about Switkowski but do not expect him to take up interest elsewhere outside of Freo. – Callum Twomey
CATS RUCK EYES EXTENSION
GEELONG is in talks to extend the contract of emerging ruckman Mitch Edwards.
Edwards, who made his AFL debut earlier this year after being drafted in 2023, has shown exciting strides this season and played 10 games for the Cats.
He is already contracted until the end of 2027, but the Cats are understood to have already been in talks to add multiple years to his deal.
The 21-year-old, who was drafted from Western Australia after being tied to Fremantle's Next Generation Academy, has been a priority extension for the Cats and taking him past 2028 would see him outside of Tasmania's access to out of contract players as well.
Geelong chased St Kilda ruckman Rowan Marshall to the final minutes of last year's trade period but the Saints blocked any move, with Edwards' development and the contract talks adding intrigue to how closely the Cats target Marshall again this year.
Meanwhile, Geelong free agent Mark O'Connor is also considering his next move.
The 2022 premiership player has been in discussions on a new deal at the Cats, where he is out of contract at the end of this season.
Rivals have shown interest in him at stages through this year, including North Melbourne and Essendon, and the 29-year-old defender has been weighing up his future.
The Irishman is one of nine unrestricted free agents at the Cats this year, although Jack Martin is set to play on in 2027 with a trigger in his contract for an extra year at Geelong.
O'Connor has been one of the game's best success stories out of Ireland, having played 158 games for the Cats after debuting in 2017. He has played a range of roles throughout his career, including as a tight run-with tagger in the midfield, and played 22 games in the Cats' flag year of 2022. – Callum Twomey
FUTURE COACHES INCLUDED IN AFL PROGRAM
POTENTIAL senior-coach-in-waiting James Rahilly is one of 19 people taking part in the AFL's new General Manager of Football Program, which kicked off this week with a series of sessions at Ikon Park.
Rahilly, an assistant at Geelong, has been touted as a candidate for vacant senior coaching roles at Carlton and Essendon at season's end and has been selected to take part in the course, which looks to upskill industry staffers for heads of football positions.
Fellow AFL assistants Matthew Boyd (Collingwood), David Hale (Hawthorn) and Nathan Jones (Melbourne), as well as West Coast list manager Matt Clarke, are among 19 people from 15 different club and AFL roles also invited to take part in the second year of the months-long program.
St Kilda's Lenny Hayes, as well as Gold Coast's Erin Phillips, North Melbourne's Rhys Harwood, Greater Western Sydney's Alison Zell, Richmond's Jane Woodlands-Thompson and Brisbane's Danielle Smith, are among the current heads of men's and women's football programs involved in the course.
The AFL's football performance manager Jamie Macmillan and its football projects manager Lou Caluzzi are also taking part in the program, which the League said it hopes will "build the critical skills and capability of aspiring General Managers of Football to bolster the pipeline of talent into this critical role".
The program ran for the first time last season and featured ex-Geelong assistant Steven King within its inaugural intake, just months before he won the job to become Melbourne's current senior coach.
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The first two days of the course have featured lessons on culture, alignment and TPP, with guest speakers such as the AFL's chief operating officer Tom Harley and its head of list management Justin Reid.
Ex-West Coast chief executive Trevor Nisbett and long-time administrator Geoff Walsh, as well as Richmond leadership consultant Shane McCurry, hold key mentoring positions as part of the program. – Riley Beveridge
AFL GM FOOTBALL PROGRAM – 2026
- Jamie Macmillan (AFL Football Performance Manager)
- Lou Caluzzi (AFL Football Projects Manager)
- Danielle Smith (Brisbane Head of AFLW)
- Matthew Boyd (Collingwood Assistant)
- James Polkinghorne (Essendon Development, VFL and Pathways Manager)
- James Rahilly (Geelong Assistant)
- Erin Phillips (Gold Coast Head of AFLW)
- Alison Zell (GWS Giants Head of AFLW)
- David Hale (Hawthorn Assistant)
- Matt Spangher (Hawthorn Head of Football Strategy and Projects)
- Nathan Jones (Melbourne Assistant)
- Rhys Harwood (North Melbourne Assistant)
- Jane Woodlands-Thompson (Richmond Head of AFLW)
- Lenny Hayes (St Kilda GM of Football)
- Stephanie Maiolo (Sydney Football Operations Manager)
- Sean Hardy (Sydney Head of AFLW Athletic Performance)
- Aaron Pidgeon (Tasmania Head of Football Operations)
- Matt Clarke (West Coast List Manager)
- Chris Bell (Western Bulldogs Head of Medicine)
DOCKERS DEFENDER KEEN TO STAY
FREMANTLE has indicated it is keen to re-sign young key defender Hugh Davies and is expected to start meaningful talks with the 21-year-old in coming weeks.
Davies is out of contract at the end of this season and has produced excellent form at WAFL level as he fights to break into a strong Dockers' backline.
While he hasn't added to his two AFL games this season and has been behind experienced teammate Oscar McDonald as a back-up tall defender, the 196cm backman is viewed as an important part of the club's future.
Davies' recent form at WAFL level as a reliable key defender has put him on the radar of opposition clubs, with the young interceptor taking a massive 20 marks in a win against South Fremantle last month.
It is understood the Claremont product's preference is to stay at Freo, however, and fight for senior opportunities with the ladder leader.
Meanwhile, Bailey Banfield is unlikely to hit a games trigger for a contract extension into 2027, making him an unrestricted free agent in the second half of the season.
Banfield has played 118 games, including 43 across 2024-25, but is yet to feature at AFL level this season. His versatility has allowed him to play wing, forward and backline roles, with the 28-year-old last signing an extension in late 2024. – Nathan Schmook
LEAGUE PONDERS LONGER SSP WINDOW
THE AFL has begun conversations with clubs around potentially extending the supplemental selection period (SSP) window into the season as a means of combating the toll of long-term injuries on a list.
The League's new head of football performance and list management Justin Reid started touring clubs last week, canvassing feedback on a range of topics including the AFL's new draft bidding rules and Tasmania's upcoming list concessions.
However, speaking to AFL.com.au's Gettable on Wednesday, Reid said a possible extension of the SSP window had been raised by clubs and would be reviewed by the League at season's end.
This year's SSP deadline fell on March 2, three days before Opening Round, allowing clubs to complete all of their pre-season practice matches before having to make a final call on potential injury replacement players.
Clubs were then unable to top up their list to replace an injured or inactive player until the mid-season draft on May 26, with Reid saying the League would consider allowing clubs to fill a vacant list spot in-season at some point in the future.
"The SSP period and the mid-season draft is interesting," Reid told Gettable.
"You can get injuries at any time of the year. Some clubs will say … no, come March 1, that's your list and then you go through the season with that list and see how you work through it. If there are injuries along the way, so be it. That's part of the high-performance element of the game.
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"It's something we'll review, the SSP period. We obviously do something a bit different in the women's space in regard to the inactive list and how you can put players on the list straightaway through this pre-season period.
"It's something we're going to work through. We're mindful of the second-tier competitions as well." – Riley Beveridge
U18 CHAMPS VENUE LOCKED IN
THE AFL has locked in venues for the remainder of the Marsh AFL National Under-18 Championships, which begin this weekend.
The League has been working through venue options for a series of games in Victoria and has now locked in Mars Stadium in Ballarat for three days of the carnival.
Vic Metro and the Allies will play there on Sunday, June 28, before there is a double-header there on Wednesday, July 8 seeing the contests between Vic Country and South Australia and the Allies and Western Australia.
The championships will then finish again at Mars Stadium with the final game of the carnival between Vic Country and Vic Metro locked in for Sunday, July 19.
Marvel Stadium will host a double-header on Friday, July 3 under the roof. – Callum Twomey