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.

PORT EXPLORING PICK SWAPS

PORT Adelaide is exploring a range of pick swap options with multiple clubs as it works through the best way to extract the most from Zak Butters' departure.

The Power have held talks with several clubs about potential pick swaps in the event they hold just pick No.4, or if they end up taking the compensation pick for Butters and have both picks 4 and 5.

The interest from rivals in those discussions will play a big role for the Power in deciding whether they accept the compensation pick or force a trade with the Western Bulldogs for Butters. A trade would see the Dogs likely to give up pick 12 and two future first-round picks in a swathe of other connected moves.

The Giants are one club with interest in moving up the board if Port Adelaide shift back; the Giants' first pick is currently at No.7 but it would be shifted back to No.9 if Port and Gold Coast take their compensation picks for losing Butters and Ben King.

There have been discussions between the Giants and Port over potential moves, however other clubs are also eyeing a shift up the board if the Power look to trade back to accumulate future picks. Port list boss Jason Cripps told Trade Radio last week future selections were important in their decision-making as part of the club's their draft strategy over three years.
 
Greater Western Sydney's interest in getting higher up the board would be to see if they could get inside a bid for their Academy player, Ethan Matthews. However, the Giants would need to be sure they have enough picks behind that to be able to match a bid for Matthews, which would be the challenge under the new system. 
 
The Dogs' moves for Hawks midfielder Finn Maginness and Carlton ruckman Hudson O'Keeffe are on hold as Port works through its plans on the Butters' deal, which will shape the whole trade period given there are many clubs who could be tied into a mega deal.

However there is an earlier deadline for that, with clubs aware the Power will need to have a read on where things are headed before the end of the free agency period on Friday.

The Bulldogs are expected to lodge paperwork for Butters as late as Friday afternoon before the 5pm AEDT deadline, with Port able to have another three days beyond that point to decide whether they match the deal and force a trade or take the compensation pick and work on what they layer the compensation pick into.

It comes as Port prepare for a bid to come on Next Generation Academy star Dougie Cochrane at pick No.1 this year, while tied players Louis Salopek and Zemes Pilot are committed to the club for 2027. – Callum Twomey

WHITFIELD TALKS TO RAMP UP

CARLTON will be expecting to have to use one of its picks in the 20s in a trade for Lachie Whitfield, who has narrowed the call on his future.

Whitfield met with Melbourne and Carlton ahead of the Grand Final after the Greater Western Sydney told clubs they would be open to offers on their older players, but Melbourne is not considered to be in the race, with the Blues expected to be Whitfield's preferred landing spot.

DRAFT ORDER Click here for the full draft order

With a year to run on the veteran's contract, the Giants have been looking for a first-round pick to be a part of the deal.

However the Blues are expecting to have to use one of their early second-rounders for the deal, with the club currently holding picks 23 and 24 in this year's draft.

The Blues also hold two first-round picks in 2027, including one tied to Sydney.

Whitfield has completed a medical at Carlton but is set to return to Victoria as the Giants undergo list renovations this off-season. – Callum Twomey

PIES' NEXT ADDITION CLOSE

JESSE Hogan's move to Collingwood is set to be one of the first deals completed this week as the 2026 Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period officially gets underway on Monday.

Clubs will gather at Marvel Stadium on Monday morning for the opening day of the trade window, but discussions between officials have been ongoing over the past month.

TRADE TRACKER Get the details of every trade

One of those is the agreement between Collingwood and Greater Western Sydney over a fourth-round pick to land Hogan, as AFL.com.au revealed last week.

The Pies hold three fourth-round picks, which have been bumped back to No.66, 68 and 75, with pick No.75 (tied to Sydney) having been eyed as the selection to send to the Giants for Hogan.

Hogan wasn't officially delisted by the Giants, with list lodgements coming at the end of October, so the deal for a late selection will allow him to land at Collingwood rather than wait for the delisted free agency (DFA) window.

The Coleman Medallist will join the Pies on a two-year deal, which is expected to be locked in on Monday.  
 
It is the among the most progressed deals of the trade talks between clubs in the early stages of the window ahead of Deadline Day on October 14. – Callum Twomey

LION'S CALL LOOMS

BRISBANE forward Will McLachlan is getting closer to making a call on his future, with a decision likely later this week.

McLachlan has an offer in front of him from the Lions, who want to keep the mid-season recruit, while he also has interest from Melbourne and Essendon.

The 21-year-old made his debut in 2025, having been picked mid-year the previous season, and played six games before featuring only once this year in Brisbane's historic three-peat flag run.

But he showed he was a level above the VFL, having booted 35 goals in 11 games for the Lions' VFL side, including a haul of eight against North Melbourne.

Melbourne has long been linked to McLachlan, having been interested in him as a mid-season draftee after his breakout start to 2024 with the Geelong Falcons as an over-aged player.

The Lions are set to see youngster Sam Marshall depart the club, with the midfielder keen to get to St Kilda. – Callum Twomey

BOMBERS' COMPENSATION IMPLICATIONS

THE AFL'S tough stance on compensation picks this year has a flow-on effect for the Zach Merrett trade negotiations, with Essendon staring at a later pick next year if the Bombers were to hold onto the midfielder for a second straight season.

Whilst the strong expectation is that Merrett will get to Hawks this year through a trade, there have been early bumps in the talks, with the Bombers rebuffing Hawthorn's offer of picks 15 and 25 this year and a future third-round selection for Merrett.

The discussions are still early and Essendon has targeted Noah Mraz to be a part of the deal, however the Hawks are adamant the youngster will not be involved in a trade.

Merrett has one year left on his deal and could walk to the Hawks as an unrestricted free agent next year aged 32, which would hand the Bombers a single draft selection in return. AFL.com.au revealed last month the Hawks have tabled a four-year deal worth $4 million for the seven-time best and fairest winner.

The AFL's free agency compensation picks handed out last Friday suggest the Bombers would likely get a band three pick – after their second-round selection – for losing Merrett, based on a three-year deal worth $1 million a season at his age. Toby Greene and Lachie Neale landed band three compensation picks for Greater Western Sydney and Brisbane respectively after they left those clubs as 33-year-olds with deals of between $900,000-1,000,000 a season over three years.

The tougher compensation picks continued on Saturday when Adelaide received a band three pick – No.33 currently – for losing Jordon Butts as a free agent to the Western Bulldogs on a deal upwards of $750,000 a season over five years. Joel Amartey's move to Carlton, on a deal around $750,000-780,000 a season over five years, also saw the Swans get a band three pick. Both Sydney and the Crows had been hoping to receive band two compensation at the end of the first round. 
 
There was disappointment across the board from clubs who received compensation on Friday, particularly the Giants and Lions, who had been expecting more for their departing champions. – Callum Twomey

HvH CATCHES RICHMOND'S EYE

POTENTIAL top draft pick Harry van Hattum has detailed Richmond's interest in him, but he says he doesn't yet have a clear indication of where he will go in next month's Telstra AFL Draft.

The Tigers, who currently hold the No.2 pick in the draft, have already brought van Hattum through their facilities and had him go through vision with ruck coach and player development manager Ivan Maric earlier in the year.

Richmond is also one of multiple clubs, including Essendon – who has the No.1 pick in this year's pool – who is set to undergo home visits with van Hattum in the lead-up to November's draft.

The 205cm prospect, who enjoyed a fantastic season with the Northern Knights, Vic Metro and at school level with Ivanhoe Grammar, is viewed among a handful of players in the top tier of talent ahead of the national draft.

"I have home visits with both [Essendon and Richmond]," van Hattum told AFL.com.au's Gettable on Saturday.

"I've spent a fair bit of time with Richmond. I've gone in there a few times and done some vision with Ivan Maric and some ruck stuff with him.

"But apart from that, there hasn't really been one (club) that's stood out a lot more than any other. We'll wait and see how the next couple of months goes and see what happens." – Riley Beveridge

GIANTS RETAIN MATTHEWS FOCUS

GREATER Western Sydney will lock onto gun Academy prospect Ethan Matthews, informing the youngster the club will do everything in its power to match a bid on the tied prospect at the national draft.

Matthews, a classy 186cm midfielder, has rocketed into top five considerations ahead of the draft following a stellar campaign that was then cut short by a bone stress issue in his foot in June.

The Giants made several unsuccessful pleas to the AFL to have Matthews listed outside of the bidding processes, given his status as a rare top-tier draft prospect from the western Sydney region.

The club now has the No.7 pick in the draft and could even be forced to pick Matthews with their natural selection, if he's not bid on beforehand, given the complex and difficult nature of the League's new bidding system.

The Giants' next pick isn't until No.26, although they have asked rivals for another first-round selection in return for contracted half-back Lachie Whitfield, should a rival club bid on Matthews before their No.7 choice.

But Matthews, who enjoyed a strong start to this season's national carnival with the Allies and has also played at VFL level for the Giants across recent years, said the club has told him it is focused on bringing him in this November.

"They've said as much as they can without saying it," Matthews told AFL.com.au.

"Obviously, no one is going to tell you you're getting drafted. Things change, trades happen. They've made it clear to me that they're very interested and they'll do as much in their power to get me, but you never know what could happen. Picks change, people get traded, then all of a sudden you're not at the Giants.

"I've got to prepare for that as well. I thought I was probably going to go to the Giants no matter what, but now the rules are a lot different. While it's frustrating, I'm happy to play footy anywhere.

"The Giants have been really welcoming and said they'll do as much as they can to hopefully get me. But if that doesn't happen, then it doesn't happen and I'll go somewhere else." – Riley Beveridge