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.

THE TRADE KING PIN

BEN KING'S contract call is having a domino effect on nearly 10 players and six clubs as Gold Coast sweats on his future.

King has had a two-year offer – which comes with the ability to add on an extra six years at any time – in front of him since April and looked set to sign it mid-year.

However, with more time he has been considering his options, with Hawthorn understood to be his preferred club of choice if he explored his free agency.

The Suns are still remaining positive about obtaining his signature and King has not backflipped on his stance, but he is taking time to look at his future beyond 2026.

His delay has caused a backlog of decisions around the competition.

Gold Coast would be prepared to match a bid for King if he departed which would force a trade, with Hawthorn likely to be unable to secure both King and Essendon target Zach Merrett, who remains keen to get to the Hawks but is under contract for another year.

The Hawks are also keen on Bailey Humphrey, who they met with last year, but the Suns hold the whip hand on his future given he is contracted, while Jed Walter is waiting on King's decision before getting to a call on his future.

The Suns and Bombers have both offered five-year deals for Walter, who has been surveying several options in Victoria, including interest from Geelong, Collingwood and Hawthorn.

If King stays at the Suns, clubs believe a move for Walter would be more likely, but if Walter and King were to look at departing, it would make it harder for Victorian clubs such as Hawthorn and Melbourne to try and prise out Humphrey.

The key forward market specifically is waiting on King's decision. Last month the Hawks tabled a four-year offer to free agent Mitch Lewis, which came before King's indecision, while Sydney has four and five-year deals in front of Joel Amartey. Both Amartey and King are unrestricted free agents and have been looking to stay at their clubs, but the market will likely dictate their value once King makes his decision.

The likes of Collingwood and Geelong, who have been interested in King but are unlikely to be his preferred destination if he explores a move, are also set to be impacted with a stay or go call depending on what the waiting players do with their contracts.

Also at the Hawks is Calsher Dear, who remains out of contract and behind in the club's key forward queue.

While not necessarily caught in the logjam of key forwards, defensive pair Jordan Ridley and Charlie Ballard are also among the players whose decisions could be impacted depending on how busy the Suns are at the end of the year.

Ridley has met with Gold Coast and is understood to have a leaning to the Suns, while also having interest from Brisbane, while Ballard could consider a move if he spends more time in the VFL. – Callum Twomey

DOG TO LOCK IN

THE WESTERN Bulldogs are close to tying down promising youngster Cooper Hynes to a fresh two-year deal that will ensure his future at the club through until 2029.

Hynes still has one year remaining on his draftee contract, having earned an initial three-year deal after arriving as a top-20 pick, but is now set to add another two seasons with talks on an extension ramping up in recent weeks.

It follows the 20-year-old earning a Telstra AFL Rising Star nomination a fortnight ago, having finished with 21 disposals and six inside 50s in the side's thrilling victory over Hawthorn.

It was the best game of Hynes' 20-game career to date, with the former Dandenong Stingrays gun emerging as a key part of the club's future planning.

As revealed by AFL.com.au last week, the Dogs are also in talks to sign Michael Sellwood to a fresh two-year deal through until 2028. – Riley Beveridge

HAWK SET TO SIGN ON

HAWTHORN is set to extend promising young forward Aidan Schubert's contract through until 2029, reward for the teenager continually pressing for his AFL debut in the first half of the season.

Schubert will activate the third year of his draftee contract, though the Hawks have also been in negotiations to add a fourth season to the goalkicker's deal after a fantastic start to his career at the club having been drafted at pick No.23 last year.

DRAFT HUB Click here for the latest draft news

The 198cm forward has been a standout at VFL level this season, kicking 14.15 from his first nine games and pressing his case in a Hawthorn attack that also features Jack Gunston, Mabior Chol, Mitch Lewis and Calsher Dear.

Speaking to AFL.com.au's Gettable on Wednesday, Schubert's manager Tim Hazell from Vivid Sports said discussions with Hawks list boss Mark McKenzie were progressing strongly.

"In conversations with Mark at the moment just to add on 2029," Hazell said.

"'Schuey' is really close. The best thing about where 'Schuey' is at right now is he's learning from the best. He's got a stacked forward line that he's really leaning into and learning from.

"That fast-track of when his debut comes and him being ready, it's on the right track. I'm really excited about where 'Schuey' is at and what he's potentially going to bring when he finally debuts." – Riley Beveridge

COOK'S NEXT MOVE

WANT to be an AFL club CEO? 

One of the AFL's longest serving administrators Brian Cook has established a course to help the next breed of sports officials based on his career as the CEO of West Coast, then Geelong, then Carlton and now as the interim boss of Melbourne. 

Cook has partnered with Apogee Sports to develop a course module to talk through his life in the AFL industry, building successful cultures, the work behind premiership success at the Eagles and Cats and the judgement calls that went into those wins and leadership moments. 

Apogee says the four to five-hour course can see users "bottle a career's worth of CEO judgement", after Cook spent a full day recording and retracing the decisions he made in clubland and where it worked and where it didn't. 

Cook finished up at Carlton last year, where he was succeeded by Graham Wright in a handover process, and in April was named the Demons' interim CEO after Melbourne sacked Paul Guerra. 

Cook's course has been built for middle and senior leaders in sport, with Apogee delivering a number of courses for recruiting and talent identification, list management, football operations, player management, coaching and leadership and culture.

The programs are aimed at players as well for their post-career opportunities, while Sydney's former recruiting and list boss Kinnear Beatson is one of the mentors for a masters program available after his long history in the game's development and pathway systems. – Callum Twomey

RIVALS EYE LION

THERE is interest in Brisbane forward Will McLachlan as he fights to land a regular spot in the Lions' attack.

McLachlan was a mid-season draft pick in 2024 and has played seven games for the club, including one this year.

The 21-year-old is out of contract at the club and the Lions are keen to keep him, with rivals also keeping a close eye on the medium forward. 

McLachlan was selected by Lions after missing out on being drafted in 2023, following a strong first half of the season with the Geelong Falcons. 

Brisbane is facing a number of contract calls this year, with premiership trio Zac Bailey, Lachie Neale and Sam Marshall all mulling departures. – Callum Twomey

ANOTHER SAINT SET TO LAND

ST KILDA'S next Irish recruit Kobe McDonald is set to join the club officially in July after finishing exams in Ireland. 

The Saints signed McDonald as a category B rookie at the end of last year, with the Gaelic prodigy seen as a rising star in Ireland and one of the most exciting players coming through in their sport. 

TRADE HUB All the latest player movement news

His father, Ciaran, was also one of the most highly rated stars in Gaelic football, with the Saints luring McDonald to join their Irish cohort. 

There are high hopes for McDonald at the Saints, with the new Irish recruit to join fellow countrymen Eamonn Armstrong and Liam O'Connell. – Callum Twomey 

TIGER TALKS UNDERWAY

RICHMOND has opened talks on a deal for young forward Steely Green, who has become an ever-present in the side's attack this season.

Green is uncontracted beyond this year, despite featuring in all 13 games for the Tigers so far in 2026.

He's kicked 13 goals, including three against Fremantle earlier in the season, with Richmond keen to retain the 22-year-old.

Having re-signed Rhyan Mansell and Jasper Alger to one-year deals on Tuesday, the Tigers' attentions are now likely to be trained on an extension for Green in the coming weeks.

"We just started talks with Richmond about looking to do something," Green's manager Tim Hazell told AFL.com.au's Gettable on Wednesday.

"He's ranked ninth at the moment in the AFL for crumbs. He's been a real driver in that forward line, especially being a little bit undermanned.

"The thing that you love about Steely is he just works. He'll go through his AFL career without second guessing himself. He'll put everything on the table.

"We've been really proud of Steely's development this year and looking to get a couple of years on for Steely." – Riley Beveridge