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.
SAINTS CLOSER ON GARCIA DEAL
ST KILDA is getting closer to locking in Hugo Garcia to a contract extension after ongoing talks.
Garcia has a year to run on his deal at the Saints to the end of 2027, but the club and his management have been in discussions on an extension after a breakout campaign this year.
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The hard-nosed midfielder has averaged 23 disposals, six clearances and 10 contested possessions a game while playing every match for the Saints.
Talks have centred on a new deal of multiple years being added to his current contract, which would lock him in past Tasmania's access to out of contract players in 2027 and 2028.
Garcia has been a success story in St Kilda's recent draft hauls, with the 21-year-old taken at pick No.50 in the 2023 intake. – Callum Twomey
PORT CLOSE ON A SWEET DEAL
PORT Adelaide is set to lock away Jordon Sweet on a new long-term deal, taking his name off the ruck market ahead of this year's trade period.
Having tabled multiple options to retain Sweet, the Power will secure his signature on a long-term agreement following a successful season at Alberton.
Sweet has now cemented his place as the club's first-choice big man and was the No.7 rated ruck in the competition this season.
He was coming towards the end of the three-year contract he signed upon joining from the Western Bulldogs, but has been locked in talks on an extension for some time and is now close to re-signing at the Power.
Sweet has played a total of 57 games for the club across his three-year stint in Port Adelaide colours, having managed just 11 in five years on the Dogs' list. – Riley Beveridge
MELBOURNE AMONG LION'S CHASERS
MELBOURNE is among the suitors for Brisbane forward Will McLachlan, who is weighing up his future at the Lions.
The Lions have an offer in front of the exciting goalkicker, but the Demons are among the clubs with interest in him. Essendon, as revealed on Gettable in July, is tracking McLachlan as well.
McLachlan joined Brisbane as a mid-season rookie draft selection in 2024 and has played seven games for the Lions, including one this year.
He hasn't been able to break into the reigning back-to-back premiers' forward half despite a run of excellent VFL form where he has booted 35 goals for the season, which has included hauls of seven and eight goals.
The Lions face a potential raft of trade and free agency activity this year, with Lachie Neale set to depart the club and premiership midfielder Sam Marshall also expected to leave, while Zac Bailey has been torn about whether to stay at the Lions or join Adelaide on a mega deal. – Callum Twomey
BOMBERS' SOFT CAP ASK
ESSENDON asked the AFL for soft cap relief as part of its suite of assistance package requests to the League.
The Bombers are understood to have put forward a range of different options as they officially presented their case to League headquarters, which included an end-of-first round draft pick, extra rookie selections and also asked if Tasmania could be blocked from bidding on their tied Academy and father-son players next year.
As part of the discussions the Bombers also put forward their case for extra soft cap relief and spending. Essendon sacked coach Brad Scott with a year and a half to run on his contract, stretching their soft cap spending given his payout.
That, however, will not be part of any possible package the Bombers receive, with the AFL to decide around the Grand Final whether the club's dire form is enough to warrant any help.
Sunday's clash against Port Adelaide will decide whether Essendon collects just its second wooden spoon in more than 90 years. – Callum Twomey
DEES IN TALKS ON ANOTHER SIGNING
MELBOURNE has opened talks on a new deal for Bailey Laurie after his impressive recent run in the back half of the season.
Laurie is uncontracted at the Dees beyond 2026, but has played a career high 15 games this year and has now cemented his place in coach Steven King's finals plans.
The 24-year-old enjoyed perhaps the best game of his six-year stint in Melbourne colours during Saturday night's victory over Port Adelaide, finishing with 20 disposals, two goals and 11 score involvements in the big win.
It continued a nice stretch of form across recent weeks, after Laurie also chipped in with three goals during the side's upset victory over the ladder-leading Fremantle a game earlier.
Laurie, a former first-round pick in the 2020 draft, managed just 12 games in his first five years on the club's list but has emerged as a handy forward-half player throughout a breakout 2026 campaign. – Riley Beveridge
EX-ROO PUSHING FOR AFL RETURN
FORMER North Melbourne forward Tyler Sellers has caught the eye of clubs considering mature-age prospects out of the VFL.
Sellers played two games for the Kangaroos in 2024 before being delisted at the end of that season.
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He played last year as a forward with Essendon's VFL side but has been deployed as a key backman this year, catching some interest from clubs watching him as a potential experienced option.
The 24-year-old has been one of the Bombers' most consistent players at VFL level in taking on AFL-listed forwards, with his strength and competitiveness crucial to their rise to the finals. – Callum Twomey